Agenda and decisions

Minutes of the meeting held on the 14^th December 2021.

Joint Report of the Strategic Director of Service Reform and the Strategic Director of Place.

Salford City Council - Record of Decision (Cabinet)

I, Paul Dennett, City Mayor, in consultation with the Cabinet and in exercise of the powers contained within the City Council Constitution do hereby approve:

Rent and Services Charge Setting for 2022/23

1.    An increase of 4.1% for rents in 2022/23 for the Pendleton PFI stock

2.    Adjustments to Pendleton PFI service charges in line with the costs of providing those services as detailed in section 3 of the report

3.    The creation of a hardship fund for the PFI stock to support households who are in financial difficulties, utilising up to £216k from the additional income for 2022/23

4.    An increase of 4.9% for rents in 2022/23 for the Duchy Caravan Site

5.    The implementation of a service charge to tenants at Duchy Caravan Site during 2022/23, subject to a detailed further report for decision by the Lead Member for Housing, Property and Regeneration

The Reasons are:

·         In line with government rent setting methodology the rental increase is based upon the CPI inflation measure at September 2021 plus 1%.  Additional rental income will help to meet the costs included within the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) business plan which must be balanced on a 30 year basis.  The resulting rents are below Local Housing Allowance rates which are used to calculate entitlement to housing benefits.

·         Pendleton Together and the Council have reviewed the current charges and have proposed revised charges based upon actual costs. The actual costs of services will vary from block to block depending upon services received.  The table below identifies the average service charge per block to show the variation across blocks.

·         Service charges were reduced in year as a result of reduced costs being passed onto residents.

·         Over the last year the country has experienced rising costs of living due to COVID and a significant increase in the cost of utility bills. The addition of a rent and service charge increase for 2022/23, will place financial pressures on many households and in some cases extreme financial hardship.

·         The recommendation to increase rents by CPI +1% has not been taken lightly. Following careful consideration of the options available by senior officers, members have been briefed on how these options have been assessed and the associated risks / impact, including the short to long term implications for the housing revenue account. In the current economic climate these are very difficult recommendations to make but are being proposed to ensure future investment and good quality services can be maintained, alongside the need to consider the long term impact on the HRA business plan.

·         Residents of the Pendleton Tower blocks affected by the fire safety works  ...  view the full decision text for item 4.