Agenda item

To provide an update on the recent work of Blackpool Coasting Housing (BCH) including a summary of Quarter 1 performance for the period 1 April – 30 June 2018.

Mr John Donnellon, Chief Executive, Blackpool Coastal Housing (BCH) Limited provided an update on the recent work of BCH. He reported that £500k had been transferred from the company to the Council’s general fund as part of the current year’s budget process despite operating on a frozen fee.

He also provided an overview of the ongoing development work, providing updates to the work at the Queens Park development and Grange Park.

It was reported that following the Council’s decision to demolish and redevelop Troutbeck, extensive work had taken place to relocate tenants and deal with leaseholders. In response to questions, Mr Donnellon advised that all tenants had been spoken to on an individual basis regarding the proposals and that there had been very few objections from tenants. He added that a decision would be required in the near future to determine how the site should be redeveloped and that a report would be submitted to the Shareholder’s Advisory Board in due course.

The Positive Transitions Service was brought to the Advisory Board’s attention. It was reported that the service targeted the provision of stable accommodation and support for care leavers moving into independent living. Mr Donnellon advised that research had demonstrated that without adequate support a number of care leavers had been evicted for poor behaviour. A bid had also been made to the Opportunity Areas fund to provide a one-off service to care leavers aged 18 – 25 who had not benefited from the support currently being provided.

The Advisory Board went on to consider the key performance information relating to BCH. It was noted that ‘the percentage of homes empty but not available for letting’ was below target. The performance had been affected negatively by a number of properties being deliberately kept empty to enable redevelopment. It was agreed that the figure be divided into two separate indicators for future meetings to give a true reflection of performance. One indicator would show the proportion of empty properties not available for letting excluding planned development, and the other would show the proportion of empty properties not available due to planned development activity.

The current tenant arrears as a percentage of collectable rent was also noted to be performing below target. A number of concerns were raised relating to the roll out of Universal Credit and the subsequent impact on rent collection. In response to concerns raised, Mr Donnellon advised that the IT system operated by BCH identified anomalies in rent collection very quickly allowing the company to put interventions in place as required. The company was also providing support to assist tenants to return to work.

The Advisory Board discussed the roll out of Universal Credit in detail and noted that Blackpool was one of the final areas to be fully moved over to Universal Credit. It was considered that a large amount of research had been undertaken assessing the impact of the introduction of Universal Credit in other areas. It was suggested that the research be considered prior to the next meeting with the company in January 2019 to provide context and commentary to data and identify ways in which the company could best prepare for the potential impact of Universal Credit.

The Advisory Board agreed:

1.   To divide the indicator ‘percentage of homes which are empty but not available for letting’ into two separate indicators to give a true reflection of performance. One would show the proportion of empty properties not available for letting excluding planned development, and the other would show the proportion of empty properties not available due to planned development activity.

2.      To consider research from areas that had rolled out Universal Credit prior to the meeting of the Advisory Board in January 2019 to provide context to the rent collection of Blackpool Coastal Housing.