Agenda and minutes

We noted the appointment of County Councillor F. Taylor as Chair.

We appointed County Councillor L. Brown as Vice-Chair.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

There were no members of the public present.

Context:

To outline the various methods available to the Council of calculating a redemption value on the settlement of a Property Appreciation Loan (PAL).

Key Issues:

Welsh Government has provided funding to local authorities in Wales to help improve the standard of properties in the private sector. This funding is a combination of grant and repayable loan streams.

Due to mixed success of the grant scheme throughout Wales, Welsh Government introduced new criteria, terms and conditions in 2018 in the hope that there would be greater take up. The new conditions allowed for the creation of equity release loans for homeowners who were unable to access loans under the previous scheme.

Individual Cabinet Member Decision (ICMD) approval was sought and granted on the 25^th July 2018 to accept the new criteria, terms and conditions and for continued participation in the scheme.

There are three options available in respect of determining the redemption value of the Property Appreciation Loan (PAL), namely:

Option 1: To determine the settlement value, the PAL percentage value of 4.93% is applied to the revised value of the property at sale or transfer, for example, the value of the property at sale or transfer in December 2017 is £271,187. The redeemed figure is £271,187 x 4.93% = £ 13,370.

However, in times of exceptionally high property value increases, using this method can generate overly high redemption values.

Using the example above, if the property was valued in February 2018 it would be valued at £306,800, an increase in value of £35,613 between December 2017 and February 2018. Calculating the redemption figure in this instance the valuation at the date of sale or transfer = £306,800 x 4.93% (the PAL percentage value) = £15,125. This represents a percentage increase of 13.13% in the space of two months.

This could create the following scenario whereby two applicants, A and B, take out loans in September 2009. Applicant A dies in December 2017 and applicant B dies two months later in February 2018. Potentially, there could be the perception that the 13.13% increase in property values and hence the higher redemption value has an unfair impact on applicant B’s estate.

To avoid this scenario the Authority can instead look to the monetary value of the loan in terms of its purchasing power rather than its relationship to the value of the property to calculate a redemption value, as exampled in option 2.

Option 2:This method relies on using monetary inflation calculations to calculate the purchase power of the money borrowed on the date of redemption.

For illustrative purposes the following information will be used:

Loan Value: £10,000

Loan Commencement Date: 2009

Loan Redemption Date: 2017

Using the online inflation calculator the original loan amount of £10,000 in 2009 is worth £12,750 in 2017 (Inflation averaged 3.1% a year).This becomes the redemption figure.

Options 1 and 2 provide an uplift value that will take into account any monetary inflation.

Option 3: This option will redeem the original amount  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Context:

The UK Government is continuing to implement its programme of welfare reform. The programme has a number of policy objectives to encourage those on benefits to find work and to move away from dependency on benefits payments, whilst at the same time, contributing a significant proportion of savings towards Governmental public spending.

A summary of the main impacts of the welfare reform programme includes reference to Universal Credit, reductions in Housing Benefit and the ability of some of Monmouthshire’s most vulnerable households to afford their rental payments.

The main practical mitigation offered by the Council is via the administration of Discretionary Housing Payments to assist customers to meet the rent shortfall incurred due to the welfare reforms. The Council has previously confirmed that, in addition to the administration grant provided by Department for Works and Pensions, it will make £60,000 per annum available to meet the demand placed upon the Discretionary Housing Payment fund.

Key Issues:

·         The major reforms currently affecting Monmouthshire local authority             customers are as follows:

-       Universal Credit – the new benefits system replacing six legacy benefits (jobseekers allowance, income support, employment and support allowance, tax credits and housing benefit) fully introduced in Monmouthshire in June 2018. This replaces all new claims for the legacy benefits. Customers have a five week waiting period for their initial payment but can access advance payments and in some cases receive a two week transition payment of housing benefit to assist themwith their rent.

-       Under occupation charge / ‘bedroom tax’ restricting rents for working age people on Universal Credit and Housing Benefit in social housing owned by landlords such as Monmouthshire Housing Association, Melin and Charter (affecting 450 households by an average of £13 per week).

-       Private sector rent limits – particularly those restricting rents for the under 35’s – their rents are limited to the shared room rate of £50 per week.

-       Household Benefit Cap – a maximum limit on benefits for households. £13,400 for single people and £20,000 for lone parents and couples (affecting 54 households by an average of £45 per week).

·         The administration of Housing Benefit, delivered by the Shared Benefit

Service led by Torfaen County Borough Council, is the responsibility of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and is not currently a devolved matter. In addition, the Shared Benefits Service administers Council Tax Reduction, Free School Meals and Clothing Grants, and Guardianship / Adoption Order assessments.

·         This means that the Council’s Benefits service is well placed to understand the local circumstances and implications, and are a key part of the system that can potentially provide help and support. In particular, the transition to Universal Credit can be a difficult one for residents. Therefore, a dedicated resource has been made available from within the service to assist customers to claim Universal Credit, to ensure they claim other benefits and to assist them to manage their financial affairs.

·         In order to mitigate the impact of the changes, the Government has provided additional  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Context:

To provide a summary overview of Housing & Communities performance for 2018/19 and to provide an opportunity to scrutinise the achievements of the service in the context of last year’s demand.

Key Issues:

Housing & Communities has responsibility for the following broad housing functions:  Homeless Prevention and Homelessness; Housing Support Gateway; Disabled Adaptations; Assistive Technology; Empty Homes and Affordable Housing. 

Taking the Housing & Communities service as a whole, performance for 2018/19 is considered to have been good and that effective progress and improvement in key areas can be evidenced. The main challenge is considered to be avoiding the on-going need to use Bed & Breakfast provision.

Member Scrutiny:

·         In response to a question raised regarding the County Council building its own affordable housing, it was noted that this matter was still in the preliminary stages of developing the business case.  A report will be presented to Full Council in September 2019 to obtain the next stage of approval to proceed with the commercial development side.

·         In response to a question raised regarding the under spend for Social Grant and Housing Finance and whether this might be used to fund the provision of temporary accommodation for homeless people, it was noted that Welsh Government is encouraging the Authority to look at any alternative options to support temporary accommodation.  There is funding available via the Innovative Housing Fund.  However, the opportunities for Monmouthshire are more difficult.

·         Discussions are being held regarding the use of pods for homeless people.

·         Work has also been undertaken to expand the Authority’s temporary accommodation portfolio with Monmouthshire Housing Association being supportive of the Council in respect of this matter. 13 Units are coming online very shortly.

·         Ultimately, proper accommodation is required for homeless people.

·         With regard to Monmouthshire lettings, pleasing progress is being made.  The Authority is managing 26 units on behalf of private landlords.  There are also a number of expressions of interest which are currently being assessed. Monmouthshire’s shared accommodation has also been expanded. The short term emphasis is to continue to develop this as a brand with a view to getting the message out into the wider community.

·         Empty homes is a area that the Authority is currently reviewing. However, it was noted that the level of resource available is restricted.  The approach being undertaken is based on a bi-annual mailing session to empty homes that have been identified.  Feedback received is generally mixed. Over the previous months, officers have been reviewing this process with a view to putting more officer resource into it to change the activity to a monthly basis.

·         A survey has been undertaken on Abergavenny High Street regarding flats above shops and it is hoped that some opportunities might arise that could be further explored. The survey had indicated that of the 76 spaces above shops surveyed, 66% of those spaces appeared to be used with the remaining 34% appearing to be empty. Therefore, extended work will be undertaken with regard to the 34%.

·         The vast majority of homeless people that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The minutes of the special meeting of Adults Select Committee dated 29^th April 2019 were confirmed and signed by the Chair.

The minutes of the Adults Select Committee meeting dated 30^th April 2019 were confirmed and signed by the Chair subject to a slight amendment to indicate that the meeting had been chaired by the Vice-Chair, County Councillor L. Brown.

We received the actions arising from the previous meetings.  In doing so, the following points were noted:

·         The Scrutiny Manager informed the Select Committee that the actions for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) arising from the Select Committee meeting dated 29^th April 2019 had not yet been received.  She would therefore contact ABUHB with a view to progressing these matters as quickly as possible.

·         With regard to the minutes of the ordinary Select Committee meeting held on 30^th April 2019, the following actions were identified:

-       To receive further information on the viability of single dwelling affordable housing contributions.

-       Eco Flex Policy monitoring.

-       A further workshop regarding Gypsy and Travellers Needs Assessment to be arranged.

We received the Adults Select Committee Forward Work Programme. In doing so, the following points were noted:

·         A Joint meeting between the Adults Select Committee and the Children and Young People Select Committee to be arranged in September 2019 to scrutinise the Corporate Plan.

·         The Scrutiny Manager with the Select Committee Chair, Cabinet Member and officers will be meeting shortly to outline the Select Committee’s forward work programme. It was suggested that the work programme should include an update from Social Services with regard to social care provision for elderly people and the wider population.

·         The Scrutiny Manager to present a report to the next Adults Select Committee meeting outlining options for appointing co-optees to the Select Committee.

·         The next Select Committee meeting to be moved from the 23^rd July 2019 at 10.00am to the 30^th July 2019 at 10.00am.

We received the Council and Cabinet Business Forward Work Programme.

Tuesday 23^rd July 2019 at 10.00am.

Tuesday 30^th July 2019 at 10.00am.