Agenda item

To present to the committee the revised budget estimates for 2022/23 and the original estimates for 2023/24.

The Accountancy Manager introduced the report and explained that the report included a revised budget for the current financial year and budget setting for the coming financial year 2023/24. She highlighted an error (Error! Reference source not found) that had been published in the decision box of the report and asked the Committee not to include it in the decision. She then provided an overview of the report and its saliant points which included:

General Fund (Overview on table 1, page 41)

·         Increased budget for pay and national insurance due to the national pay award.

·         Fees and charges set out in appendix A.

·         The homelessness grant from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) was due to continue which was an unexpected additional income.

General Fund Capital Programme

This was set out in table 3 on page 42 of the reports pack and changes included:

·         The addition of a £1m Warm Homes-Low Carbon Initiative grant scheme for private sector homes in the 2022/23 budget.

Housing Revenue Account

This position had changed significantly throughout the year, and further savings were required, the changes were outlined in table 4 on page 43. The Accountancy Manager highlighted the proposed changes in rents and service charges which were set out in appendix B and included:

·         Dwelling rents - Central Government had capped the rental increases to 7% which equated to a £900k a year difference from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1% (11.1%). It was assumed that any new lets would be charged at the higher 11.1% increase.

·         Shared Ownership rents would be increased by 13.1% in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) due to the lease agreement. Support by way of a Tenant Support Fund could be provided for tenants impacted by these increases.

·         District heating systems (IL) - The average weekly charge for tenants was £7.38 with the actual cost rising to £54pw. It was proposed to cap the cost in line with the residential rate to £28.09pw.

·         Independent living (IL) - Proposed costs had again been capped at the residential rate and IL tenants were eligible for housing benefits and universal credit to support with costs.

Capital Programme

The proposed capital programme included a revised budget of £16,389k for 2022/23, and a budget of £25,710k for 2023/24. A full breakdown of the capital programme and capital financing was included at Appendix D

Councillor Miles questioned the difference in increases between Walter Preston Court and Malvern Gardens listed in appendix B. The Accountancy Manager explained that those figures did not including the district heating system and were solely based on utilities.

The Accountancy Manager gave the following answers in response to questions asked:

·         The Tenant Support Fund was due to start in April 2023, they would be looking to complete the modelling for this in the coming months in order to best target those tenants who will need it.

·         It was difficult to compare to other Social Housing Providers because Stroud District Council were much earlier in the budget setting process.

·         The forecast figures included within the report were based on the rent cap only being in place for a 12 month period. Should the Government decide to put an additional rent cap in place for a further year, the figures would need to be recalculated.

·         The rent was cap created a difference of 4% between rental income and inflation however because actual costs had risen by more than inflation it meant that the percentage difference between costs and income was greater than 4%. This would continue to have an impact on the HRA in future years due to existing tenants remaining on the lower charges.

Councillor Schoemaker proposed and Councillor Hynd seconded.

Councillor Fryer highlighted the importance of the Tenant Support Fund.

Councillors Jockel, Baker, Miles and Hynd commended the Officers for the report.

After being put to a vote, the Motion was carried unanimously.