Issue - meetings

Report number DRS16 by the Director of Regulatory Services.   (Enclosure)

DECISION

To identify large scale voluntary transfer as the preferred option of the Council for the future ownership and management of the housing stock, following the recommendation made by the Stock Option Appraisal Commission (SOAC) who have undertaken the detailed appraisal of the options on behalf of the Council for the following reasons:-

a To provide the opportunity to secure investment for tenant priorities

b  To provide an opportunity to invest in improving tenant services

c  To provide opportunities for enhanced tenants involvement

d  To provide the opportunity for investment in affordable housing

e To provide the ability for the council to focus on its strategic                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            housing function.

The Chairman welcomed Miss Gillian Tressider, Chairman, and other members of the Stock Option Appraisal Commission (SOAC) to the meeting. The Chairman, on behalf of the Council, presented Miss Tressider with a floral basket as a token of the Council’s appreciation for her considerable input into the process.  Miss Tressider gave a presentation which detailed the work of the SOAC and its links to the Tenant Options Appraisal Group (TOAG). She explained why it was the SOAC’s view that the tenants should be balloted on the transfer option.

The Chairman, on behalf of the Council, thanked Miss Tressider for her presentation. Thanks were also recorded to Sally Marshall, Corporate Director of Regulatory Services, and her team of officers.

The Chairman reminded Full Council that all Members had been invited to a joint meeting of Community and Capacity and Resources DSPs on 8^th April 2005. The work of the SOAC had been scrutinised in great detail and the meeting could not find any flaw in the process nor any reason to conclude that the evidence suggested that a different conclusion could have been reached. This was not the time to delve into the process in great depth.

The merits or otherwise of stock transfer were debated, some Members expressing a preference for an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO). It was emphasised that any decision to transfer the Council’s housing stock would have to be made by the tenants themselves in a ballot. The Council was not debating stock transfer but to allow the process towards a decision to move forward.

The motion was duly moved and seconded.  A request for a recorded vote was made and supported in accordance with Council procedure rule 16.4. The names of members voting either for or against the motion or abstaining are recorded below:-

Report number DRS14 by the Director of Regulatory Services.  (attached)

DECISION: That the Cabinet endorses the Stock Option Appraisal recommendation to identify large-scale voluntary transfer as the preferred option for the following reasons:

(1)     to provide the opportunity to secure investment for tenant priorities;

(2)     to also provide an opportunity to invest in improving housing services;

(3)     to provide opportunities for enhanced tenant involvement;

(4)     to provide the opportunity for investment in affordable housing;

(5)     to provide the ability for the Council to focus on its strategic housing function.

Considerations/Reasons for Decision:

(1)     Report number DRS14 by the Director of Regulatory Services detailing the recommendations of the Stock option Appraisal Commission (SOAC) which has carried out a work programme as approved by the Council on 28^th October 2004.  The Council is required to obtain Government Office sign off of this process by July 2005;

(2)     Noting a presentation by the tenant representatives of the SOAC and that the appraisal process undertaken by the Commission  was subject to a consultation process during which  it considered various sources of evidence and data provided by the Council, Independent Tenant Advisors and other external consultants who have validated both the financial position and the stock condition assumptions;

(3)     Noting the work undertaken by the SOAC was subject to pre-decision scrutiny by a combined meeting of the Community and Capacity & Resources DSPs, and the resultant unanimous conclusion drawn from that meeting on 8^th April 2005;

(4)     The contents of the draft final report from Beha Williams Norman Limited circulated to the Cabinet on 6^th May 2005;

(5)     Further explanations given at the meeting by the Director of Regulatory Services and Director of Finance and Strategic Resources  in response to questions from Cabinet members on the tenants aspirations, legal implications of stock transfer to a registered social landlord, use of capital receipts, how the Tenants Charter would be dealt with under any transfer, and consultation with tenants;

(6)     The Cabinet’s acknowledgement of the significant amount of work carried out by the SOAC and its expressed confidence that this work had been carried out appropriately and effectively.

Other Options considered and assessed

Throughout the Stock Option Appraisal, the Commission was required to consider the most appropriate option for the future management and ownership of the Council’s Housing Stock against four defined options.  The reasons for not supporting the remaining three options are detailed in the report by the Council’s lead consultants Beha Williams Norman Ltd., copies of which have been made available to all members of the Council.