Agenda item

To consider a presentation in response to requests from the Board regarding the governance of internal estate management and community asset transfer process.

The Chair advised that she had followed up on the lack of a written report for this item which the Board had requested to enable proactive scrutiny.

The Leader of the Council introduced the item and referred to the importance of understanding the variety of the Council’s estate to gain a strategic oversight. She indicated support for Community Asset Transfers (CATs) and the virtual corporate landlord model. She advised the Board that she had written to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to highlight the impact on local communities of asset sales to fund the Council’s Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) debt.

The Interim Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Property Officer, the Director of Customer and Property and the Estates Manager gave a joint presentation, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book. Officers provided further details regarding the following key areas of focus in the presentation: governance and accountability, disposal progress and effectiveness, CAT process and performance, and data gaps, risks and decisions.

The Leader, Deputy Leader and Officers responded to questions on the presentation. A number of issues were raised in the discussion, including:

•         In response to a query about Council involvement in governance once a CAT was delivered, the Board was assured that there were robust processes in place to assess the application and business case and that the Council as landlord retained certain rights post transfer. It was noted that resources to undertake this work were limited.

•         There were concerns that no wider corporate condition survey programme was funded or active, leaving a gap in data and knowledge when it came to understanding the condition of the estate and making decisions on asset disposal. The Board was assured that the high-priority repair work was knowledge based. There was a recognised lack of resources to facilitate a more proactive approach.

•         Issues were raised around the length of time taken to dispose of assets and missed opportunities for CATs. There was a need to improve timescales which it was acknowledged took longer than planned sometimes for a variety of reasons. While the Council encouraged community use of assets it also had a duty to apply the appropriate tests when assessing suitability.

•         Regarding the current budget allocation for repairs and maintenance it was noted that for the Facilities Maintenance (FM) element of this FM was forecasting an overspend.

•         In terms of how much of the SEND debt would realistically be funded by asset disposal and how long this would take, it was confirmed that there was a shortfall of £17million based on current estimates of capital receipts which would need by met by 2028 to avoid the need to borrow. Officers were confident as far as possible that this could be achieved and a number of steps were being taken, including a review of corporate asset data and options for unconditional sales and auctions. 

•         Board members still wanted to receive the data and information requested as part of their Key Lines of Enquiry, including an up to date list of capital receipts received and those expected, with realistic valuations and timescales. The Board was advised that this could be circulated but members were asked to note the commercial sensitivities of this information.

•         It was confirmed that capital receipts could be used for repairs and maintenance of a capital nature. Although there was a finite deadline for the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts (FUCR), in practice the Government continued to roll this over on an annual basis.

•         It was noted that the CAT process had been formally initiated from 2023 onwards.

During the discussion the Leader agreed to follow up on concerns expressed about written reports not being provided when requested by the O&S Board and the impact this had on the Board’s ability to scrutinise effectively and manage its busy programme of work within limited resources. The Leader agreed to raise these issues with the Chief Executive and make Cabinet members and senior officers aware and to ensure that where there were reasons for delay these were clearly communicated in a timely manner.

Board Members discussed making a recommendation to Cabinet to reflect their concerns at the lack of a wider corporate condition survey programme and the risks associated with this. Members noted that the current lack of resources necessitated a more reactive/pragmatic approach to be adopted but there was no evidence to show whether or not this was cost effective in longer term. The recommendation gained majority support although one member was concerned that the proposal itself wasn’t the best use of resource.

RECOMMENDED to Cabinet:

That Cabinet be advised that the Overview and Scrutiny Board considers that the condition of our estate needs to be known in order to ensure we have the data to inform asset disposals and maintenance needs and to plan maintenance in the most cost-effective way. This Board recommends that Cabinet support officers to find a way to complete this work as a matter of urgency.

Voting: For – 8, Against – 0, Abstain – 1

RESOLVED that the Board adds the following request to its Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE) document under the Data and Information requests section: “Any available data on assets being considered for disposal but not yet approved, including anticipated capital receipts and associated timescales”

Voting: For – 8, Against – 0, Abstain – 1