Agenda item

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:-

The Chairman declared the motion carried.