Agenda item

In accordance with Regulation 11 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, approval is being sought from Councillor Stephen Button, Chair of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee, to the following decision being made by Cabinet on 26^th March 2025, under the special urgency provisions for key decisions, on the grounds that the decision is urgent and cannot reasonably be deferred.

Approval is also being sought from the Mayor to the disapplication of the call-in procedure on the grounds of urgency, in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule C14.

Report attached.

In accordance with Regulation 11 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, approval was granted by Councillor Josh Allen, Deputy Mayor, (in the absence firstly of the Chair of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee and secondly of the Mayor), to the following decision being made by Cabinet on 26^th March 2025, under the special urgency provisions for key decisions, on the grounds that the decision was urgent and could not reasonably be deferred.

Approval was also obtained from the Deputy Mayor (in the absence of the Mayor) to the disapplication of the call-in procedure on the grounds of urgency, in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule C14.

Members considered a report of Councillor Melissa Fisher, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities, seeking Cabinet’s approval for a new Housing Renewal Assistance Policy.  The report advised upon the Council’s power under The Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002 which provided local authorities with wide ranging powers to provide assistance for the purpose of improving living conditions in their area.  A summary of changes to the existing policy and reasoning behind them was also included.

Councillor Fisher provided an outline of the report.

Approval of the report was considered to be a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The Regulatory Reform (England and Wales) (Housing Assistance) Order 2002 (the RRO) granted a general power to local authorities to provide “assistance” “in any form” “to any person”, to improve, repair, adapt or rebuild residential premises.

This Order required the Council to adopt a housing renewal policy setting out what forms of discretionary financial assistance they would provide to address local needs.

The RRO acknowledged that it was primarily the responsibility of private sector owners to maintain their own property, but recognised that some owners, particularly the elderly and most vulnerable, did not have the necessary resources to repair or improve their homes.  Local authorities therefore, subject to resources, had an important role to play in providing assistance in these cases.

Hyndburn’s current Housing Renewal Policy had last been reviewed in 2019.

Following a recent review, a new Housing Renewal Assistance Policy was proposed (as set out at Appendix 1 to the report) which identified the forms of assistance, including financial assistance that would be available from the Council to assist vulnerable occupiers in all tenures (including disabled people) to improve or adapt their homes, the eligibility criteria for assistance and the terms upon which this assistance would be provided.

The Council funded housing renewal activity and assistance through the Capital Programme.  Due to austerity measures, including public sector funding cuts, there was very little money now available to support housing renewal activity.  However, one area where funding was increasing was for disabled facilities grants (DFG’s).  In 2025/26, the Council was due to receive £1,359,906 for DFG’s, which was allocated through the Better Care Fund (BCF).

The BCF was a programme spanning both the NHS and local government which sought to join-up health and care services, so that people could manage their own health and wellbeing, and live independently for as long as possible.  This fund was allocated to upper tier authorities (i.e. Lancashire County Council) then passed on to the Districts under ring-fencing arrangements.

DFG funding could be used beyond mandatory DFG’s to support vulnerable households        remaining in their existing homes.  The new Housing Renewal Assistance Policy, subject to approval, would allow the Council to continue to use DFG funding to support wider measures.

The policy also supported two key corporate priorities:

• Health and well being; and
• Domestic home energy reduction.

Changes were proposed to the current policy to ensure the Council had an updated policy in place which was appropriate to help improve household living conditions within the Borough’s housing stock through various grants which were available and targeted at the most vulnerable groups – either defined by age, income or disability.

The report included a summary of 14 proposed changes to the policy.

Alternative Options considered and Reasons for Rejection

The Council was required to have a RRO Policy in place in order to provide various forms of housing assistance and therefore not having a policy was not an option.

Resolved                                    -    That Cabinet approves Hyndburn’s new Housing Renewal Assistance Policy, set out at Appendix 1 to the report, with the same to take effect from 1^st April 2025.