COMHAIRLE NAN EILEAN SIAR

HOUSING COMMITTEE

Minute of Meeting held in the Council Offices, Stornoway, on Tuesday, 20 March 2007 at 11.00am.

PRESENT	Mr Norman M Macleod (Chairman)
	Mr George Lonie (Vice-Chairman)
	Mr Alex A MacDonald	Mr Angus Campbell
	Mr Malcolm J Graham	Mr Donald I Nicholson
	Mr Neil Campbell	Mr Alexander M Mackintosh
	Mr Murdo Macleod	Mr Martin C Taylor
APOLOGIES	Mr Angus Nicolson

		MINUTES
Minute of Meeting of 6 February 2007	1	The Minute of Meeting of 6 February 2007 was approved.
Minute of Meeting of the Housing Review Panel of 21 February 2007	2	The Minute of Meeting of the Housing Review Panel of 21 February 2007 was approved.
Declaration of Interest	3	Mr Neil Campbell declared an interest in Item 9 and left the meeting during consideration of the matter. Mr Donald I Nicholson declared an interest in Item 9 and left the meeting during consideration of the matter. Mr Alex A MacDonald declared an interest in Item 5 and left the meeting during consideration of the matter. Mr Murdo Macleod declared an interest in Item 5 and left the meeting during consideration of the matter. Mr George Lonie declared an interest in Items 7 and 9 and left the meeting during consideration of these matters.

		FINANCE
Business Plans and Budget 2007/08 PR33.01.04	4	The Chief Executive submitted a Report seeking approval of the Business Plans for 2007/2008 and the Budget for 2007/2008. It stated in the Report that the Chartered Institute of Public Finance (CIPFA)/Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) Corporate Governance Framework advised that Local Authorities should maintain effective arrangements for explicit accountability to stakeholders for an Authority’s performance and its effectiveness in the delivery of services and the sustainable use of resources. It was intimated in the Report that the preparation of Departmental Business Plans and Budgets had been brought together for 2007/08, with the result that the Budget now included Business Plans alongside the planned expenditure for any given service. It was emphasised that possible targets and action points relating to 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 had also been included in the Plans. It was agreed to recommend, in so far as the Committee’s interests were concerned that the Business Plans, as amended, be approved.
Additional Council Tax Income on Second Homes: Programme for 2007/08 H02	5	The Director for Sustainable Communities submitted a Report concerning the allocation of funds as generated by Additional Council Tax on Second Homes (ACTISH) for 2007/08. The Report gave details of those Housing Projects promoted by Registered Social Landlords, which could be assisted by ACTISH funding including : (a) 57 Back, Isle of Lewis – provision of six units; (b) Galson Old School, Isle of Lewis – provision of six units; (c) The rental of property in Lewis and Harris – provision of two units (d) Berneray Old School – provision of four units; (e) Garynamonie, South Uist – provision of ten units (f) St Brenden Road, Castlebay – provision of four units The Report also referred to the development work being undertaken by the Lewis and Harris Rural Community Housing Project, support for which could also be an appropriate use of ACTISH funding. The Report highlighted that there was a need to prepare a Scheme of Administration for distributing ACTISH funds, in order that funding could be utilised to best effect throughout the Western Isles. It was agreed to recommend that the Comhairle approve: (1) that the projects listed in Appendix 1 to the Report form the approved ACTISH elements of the Housing Development Programme for 2007/08; and (2) that the allocation of any further ACTISH funds collected by the end of the financial year 2006/07 be delegated to the Director for Sustainable Communities, in consultation with the Director of Finance, towards the Garynamonie Housing Project.
		PRIVATE SECTOR HOUSING
		It was agreed that the public, including the press, be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item 6 on the grounds that exempt information as defined in Paragraph 6 of Schedule 7A to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 namely information relating to the financial of business affairs of any particular person other than the Comhairle would be disclosed.
Care and Repair Best Value Review H10.15	6	The Director for Sustainable Communities submitted a Report concerning the outcome of the Best Value Review of the Western Isles Care and Repair Service. It was stated in the Report that it was proposed to monitor the performance of the Western Isles Care and Repair Service in terms of the Service Improvement Plan appended to the Report. It was agreed to recommend that the Comhairle: (1) note the findings of the Best Value Review of the Western Isles Care and Repair Service; (2) approve a revised Service Level Agreement with Western Isles Care and Repair from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008, that sets out the monitoring and performance standards to be met - with Notice of Termination reduced to two months; (3) monitor the Service Level Agreement for the next four months to determine the level of service performance and review this in August 2007, along with progress on the Comhairle’s Business Plan tasks relating to Private Sector Housing Grant policy and procedures; (4) require the Director for Sustainable Communities to monitor service performance and investigate alternative methods of providing the Care and Repair Service in the Western Isle, with support from the Chief Executive’s Internal Strategy team, in consultation with Communities Scotland; and
		(5) delegate authority to the Director for the Department for Sustainable Communities, in consultation with the Head of Internal Strategy, to finalise the Service Improvement Plan for the Care and Repair Service by the end of March 2007
Serviced Plots at Marybank and Leurbost: Applications Involving Members’ Families H10	7	The Director for Sustainable Communities submitted a Report intimating that applications to purchase a serviced plot at Marybank, Isle of Lewis had been submitted by relatives of Members of the Comhairle and that consequently the matter had been referred to the Committee for consideration. It was agreed to recommend that the two applications by relatives of Members of the Comhairle be approved.
		HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Housing Development Funding: Operational Process H05.01.01	8	The Director for Sustainable Communities submitted a Report concerning the management of the Comhairle's Housing Development Funding Programme. It was intimated in the Report that the development of new affordable housing was a key objective of the Local Housing Strategy and that the Comhairle could utilise a number of sources of funding to meet this objective, with the sum of approximately £7 million being available in the 2007/08 financial year for this purpose. The Report identified the principal sources of funding available to the Comhairle for new housing development including: (a) The Community Ownership Programme; (b) Community Scotland Housing Association Grant; and (c) Additional Council Tax Income on Second Homes
		It was further intimated that it was possible that the Comhairle could also utilise some of the reserves generated by the Housing Revenue Account for Housing Development purposes. It was stated in the Report that at present there was no formal co-ordinating process between the organisations involved in housing development and it was suggested that a process, with a set time frame for determining, approving and monitoring the various sources of housing development funding, be introduced, on the basis that the Comhairle's Local Housing Strategy would be utilised as the key document in the development of a co-ordinated approach to the management of funding for new affordable housing, with the aim of encouraging partnership working between the Comhairle, the Hebridean Housing Partnership, Tighean Innse Gall and Communities Scotland. It was agreed to recommend that: (1) the process for managing the Comhairle’s Housing Development Programme as detailed in Section 7 of this Report be approved by the Comhairle; (2) the Director for Sustainable Communities be given delegated authority to manage, monitor and report on the Housing Development Programme as specified in 7.15; (3) a Scheme of Administration for ACTISH funding be developed and brought to the next meeting of the relevant Committee; (4) proposals for use of HRA Reserves be brought to a future meeting of the relevant Committee; and (5) the outline housing development funding programme for 2007/08 be noted.
		It was agreed that the public, including the press, be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item 9 on the grounds that exempt information as defined in Paragraph 6 of Schedule 7A to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 namely information relating to the financial of business affairs of any particular person other than the Comhairle would be disclosed.
Disposal of Gibson Hostel Site, Stornoway LB06	9	The Director of Corporate Services submitted a Report concerning the disposal of the Gibson Hostel Site. It was agreed to recommend that the whole site shown in Appendix 1 to the Report including both hatched and cross-hatched areas be offered for sale to Hebridean Housing Partnership Limited, at nil price for the construction of up to a maximum of twenty two units subject to Scottish Ministers’ consent and: (1) subject to any building development of the site being one hundred per cent social rented housing; and (2) on condition of the retention of an open ‘green space’ or amenity area, as shown in the hatched area on the plan appended to the Report and such other terms and conditions as the Director of Corporate Services in consultation with the Director for Sustainable Communities shall determine.

		PERFORMANCE MONITORING
Housing Committee Outstanding Reports PR3.01.12	10	The Director for Sustainable Communities submitted a Report giving information on the status of each Report included in the “Reports Outstanding Progress” together with a strategy for dealing with the matters raised in the Reports. It was agreed to recommend that the Comhairle approve the strategy for dealing with Housing Committee ‘Outstanding Reports’ as set out at Appendix 1 to the Report.
Reports Outstanding – Progress PR33.01.12	11	The Director of Corporate Services submitted a Report concerning Reports outstanding arising from the decisions of the Committee. It was agreed to recommend that the Comhairle note the Report.