Agenda and draft minutes

72/22 – APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND NOTIFICATION OF SUBSTITUTES: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Tim Myatt and Phil Ireland.

(4.01 pm)

Members to advise of any declarations of interest.

73/22 – DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: There were no declarations of interest.

(4.01 pm)

of the meeting of 1 March 2023

74/22 – MINUTES: The Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 1 March 2023 were approved unanimously as a correct record.

(4.02 pm)

To determine whether to exclude the press and public during the consideration of any exempt information items.

75/22 – EXEMPT INFORMATION: There was no exempt information.

(4.02 pm)

The Head of Housing and Property to submit a written report.

76/22 – LOCAL AUTHORITY HOUSING FUND: The Head of Housing and Property submitted a written report which reported on a potential £2.5m of grant funding from the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) for the part-funding of purchase and refurbishment of houses in order to provide sustainable housing for Afghan and Ukranian refugees.  Approval was sought to accept the funding and pass it to Broadacres Housing Association to deliver the grant objectives.

The funding would be for the provision of a minimum of 19 homes for Ukrainians and two homes for Afghans, and there was an expectation that local authorities would secure match funding of approximately 60% of the total funds needed.  Broadacres Housing Association (BHA) had indicated that they wished to take part in the scheme and had come forward with proposals which met the requirement of DLUHC and the Council.  Therefore it was proposed that the LAHF funds be passed to BHA to deliver the initiative within the area currently covered by the Council and provide the necessary match funding. 

In order to access the funding a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would need to be signed.  A separate agreement would also need to be signed with BHA committing to the terms of the MoU, the requirements were set out in paragraph 5.11 and the Heads of Terms at Appendix 1.

Whilst the item had been identified as a key decision, it had not been included in the Forward Plan as it had not been possible to give the required 28 days’ notice, and a notice had been published to that effect.  In accordance with Paragraph 14 of the Access to Information Procedure rules the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission had been notified of this.  The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission had also agreed that the call-in procedure would not apply in accordance with Paragraph 16(b) of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules.  Notices to this effect had been published on the Council’s website.

RESOLVED (UNANIMOUSLY):

That   (1) the acceptance of the grant funding in the sum of £2,539,453 be approved and authority be delegated to the Director of Economy, Environment and Housing to enter in to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC);

(2) the transfer of the grant funding received from DLUHC to Broadacres Housing Association Limited (BHA) be approved; and

(3) authority be delegated to the Director of Economy, Environment and Housing in consultation with the Head of Legal and Governance to enter in to the agreement with Broadacres Housing Association Limited to deliver the grant funding objectives and purchase the homes as per the Heads of Terms set out in Appendix 1 to this report.

Reasons for decision:

To secure the provision of homes in the Harrogate District for refugees under the Homes for Ukraine (HFU) scheme, the Ukraine Family Scheme and Afghan resettlement schemes.  The provision of safe homes formed a key part of the proposed housing strategy for the new North Yorkshire  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.