To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Roger Phillips, and Cllr Robert Owens.

To receive details of any councillor nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the committee.

Cllr Richard Thomas was present as the named substitute for Cllr Roger Phillips.

To receive declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 10 July 2024.

The minutes of the previous meeting were received.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 10 July 2024 be confirmed as a correct record and be signed by the Chairperson.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

No questions had been received from members of the public.

To receive any written questions from members of the council.

No questions had been received from councillors.

To receive an update on commissioned research into housing delivery models in other local authorities.

The committee considered a report on the background of the challenges faced by Herefordshire in meeting the demand for affordable housing by council officers and; an update on commissioned research into housing delivery models in other local authorities by Three Dragons.

The Chairperson introduced the officers to present the council’s report before the update by Three Dragons.

The principal points of the discussion are summarised below:

1. The Service Director, Economy & Growth noted that the report provides additional context and sets out to a certain extent what the social housing requirement is and where there are gaps and what the affordable challenges are.
2. In response to a question about how the 16,500 homes in the current calculations in the Local Plan is calculated, the Service Director, Economy & Growth said that there is a national calculation set by government through the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which looks at the future housing need over the following 20 years. It was noted that the NPPF is currently going through a consultation following the national elections and the target will potentially increase to 27,000 new homes over the next 20 years across the county. The council’s response to that is that 27,000 is a bit too high for the county to sustain, particularly with infrastructure challenges to support that housing target.
3. In response to a question about the split between affordable and social housing, the Head of Service Housing noted that there is the Housing Market Area Needs Assessment which is the council’s local needs document that looks at trends and housing needs and from that information, the affordable housing threshold is calculated. The threshold depends on the market town and can differ from one place to another. In strategic housing, it is worked out what the breakdown of accommodation should be and social rent is the greatest need and therefore it is encouraged for more housing to be delivered in social rent. It is down to the officer to determine what the tenure should look like on site.
4. The Head of Service Housing clarified the situation in a number of points, including providing some figures on the finances involved in sourcing accommodation:

To agree recommendation from the committee’s task and finish group scrutinising proposals for a new operating model for the council’s contract for public realm works.

The Chairperson noted that the committee had a productive working group meeting prior to the committee meeting on the Public Realm Future Operating Model. The recommendations as proposed in the report were read out by the Chairperson and agreed by the committee.

Resolved: That

1. The committee note the report and
2. Endorse the findings of the working group’s report.

To consider the draft work programme for Herefordshire Council’s scrutiny committees for the municipal year 2024/25.

The Statutory Scrutiny Officer presented the draft work programme for scrutiny committees for the municipal year 2024/25. In particular, it was recommended that Local Authority Housing Delivery Models item be brought back to the next committee meeting on 13 November 2024 with the final report from Three Dragons.

It was noted that dates were added for 2025 including in May, July, and September. Currently, no items are down for each of those meetings and it is for the committee to have an informal meeting to discuss how it uses the time it is granted for each of the committee meetings listed above and how it might/might not incorporate any suggestions made into its work programme.

The Chairperson requested that an informal work programme discussion be arranged for committee members in the first week of November. 

Resolved:

a)    That the work programme, as amended and subject to periodical reviews, be agreed as the basis of the primary focus for the committee for the remainder of the municipal year 2024/25.

b)    The committee note the work programme for the other scrutiny committees, and identify any opportunities for collaboration or alignment of work.

The date of the next meeting is Wednesday 13 November 2024, 10:00 am

The next scheduled meeting in public was confirmed as Wednesday 13 November 2024 at 10.00 am.