PART 1
(OPEN TO THE PUBLIC)
ITEM NO.
REPORT OF THE HEAD OF HOUSING SERVICES
TO: THE LEAD MEMBER FOR HOUSING on 6th October 2005
TITLE: Housing General Fund Budget monitoring report to 31st August 2005
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1.
That the lead member for Housing notes the position of the HGF as at the
31st August 2005 and receives further reports throughout the year when
continuous monthly monitoring has been performed.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This report details the current position for the 2005/06 Housing General Fund
Budget.
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
(Available for public inspection)
Budgetary Control File
Financial Information from SAP
ASSESSMENT OF RISK:
Failure to monitor the Budget and instigate appropriate actions of findings
can lead to significant over/underspends in 2005/06 that will affect the
financial health of the City Council.
THE SOURCE OF FUNDING IS:
Not applicable as the report is commenting on the financial position.
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS:
Not required for this report.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Report outlines financial implications of current levels of spend.
CONTACT OFFICER:
Simon Ashworth 0161 922 8793
WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S):
All
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KEY COUNCIL POLICIES:
CITY COUNCIL REVENUE BUDGET 2005/06
DETAILS (Continued Overleaf)
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1
Housing General Fund Budget 2005/06
1.1
2
The budget for Housing Services is delegated to individual teams. Each
team leader is responsible for the management of their team budget and
receives a monthly monitoring report; a summary of the General Fund costs
up to the 31st August are listed in Appendix 1.
Staffing
2.1
2.2
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As mentioned in previous Housing General Fund Monitoring Reports, a small
number of posts on the Housing Services structure remain vacant, this has
lead to an underspend against the budget profile for specific areas of the staff
budget.

As noted in previous Housing General Fund monitoring reports, staffing
costs at Petrie Court have continued to exceed their budget allocation; this
is due to a number of serious staffing issues. Although it is anticipated that
the current situation will continue for the foreseeable future, management
are closely monitoring the situation, and have taken steps to minimise its
impact on the Units budget.

Belmont HPU has continued to overspend against its agency staff
allocation. The Unit has recently recruited permanent staff to cover vacant
posts (one reason for the use of agency staff), however, the cost of
providing sickness and holiday cover has lead to a continued use of agency
staff. Management are monitoring this situation, and are aiming to reduce
the use of agency staff where possible.

As mentioned in the previous General Fund monitoring report, staff costs
for the Services Development Team have continued to exceed their budget
for salaried staff. The Section’s budget will be recast as a result of the
restructure of the Housing Services establishment, which includes a
provision for the extra staff.

Changes to the Housing Services staff structure will be implemented in
September, to bring the establishment in line with the restructure. As
mentioned in last months Housing General Fund monitoring report, the
changes to the staff structure will be covered by a realignment of the
Housing Services budget.
Agency Staff have been used by a number of teams to cover for vacancies
and variability of workloads. Teams within Housing Services that have used
agency staff include the Homelessness Team, Service Development Team,
Administration and Facilities Team and Belmont HPU. Although a number of
officers have been recruited in the recent past to fill vacancies, Housing
Services expenditure on agency staff has continued at a rate similar to when
vacancy levels were much greater.
3
Other Issues
3.1
There are a number of minor overspends on certain areas of Housing Services
team budgets which have been identified to budget managers during the
monthly budget monitoring process, for example;  the Sustainability Team has overspent on marketing and exhibition
materials,
 and expenditure on Land Registry searches by the Administration and
Facilities Team has exceeded the provision. After discussions with the
Section’s management it is understood that an element of this expenditure
should be recharged to HMRF, therefore, revised figures will be included in
the next monitoring report.
3.2
Homelessness and Housing Advice – Although the expenditure on temporary
accommodation by the Homelessness Section has recently increased, a minor
underspend has been reported against this area of the budget (As shown in
Appendix 1 under temporary accommodation). Due to the fluctuating nature of
the demand for homelessness services (with the winter traditionally being the
busiest time for the Homelessness Section), this area will continue to be
closely monitored. A report is to be presented to Budget and Audit Scrutiny
Committee on the 5th October, identifying current levels of expenditure and
plans for future spend on preventative measures.
3.3
The refocusing of the Homelessness and Housing Advice Section towards a
prevention strategy outlined in a report to Lead Member in April, led to a
budget provision being made for expenditure on landlord incentives, mediation
services and credit checks. Although expenditure in these areas has not yet
been incurred, efforts are being made to implement the prevention services in
the very near future, with expenditure predicted to rise to budgeted levels as a
result.
3.4
Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder – Expenditure shown here relates to the
secretariat function for the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder, HMRF income
will be received during the financial year to cover this expenditure.
3.5
Supporting People – As noted in previous General Fund monitoring reports, a
separate report monitoring the Supporting People programme will be provided
on a monthly basis along with the other budget monitoring reports.
3.6
Asylum Contract – The negotiations between the consortia’s partners for the
Asylum Seeker dispersal contract are at the final stage. At the time of writing
the financial model for the new contract was being finalised, and so the
financial implications of the final agreement will be made known in the near
future.
3.7
Marketing – As mentioned in last months General Fund Monitoring Report, the
need for a dedicated Housing Services marketing budget has been identified,
the proposed budget requirement for the service has been set at £180,000. At
present there is no budget provision for this expenditure, this issue should be
further considered alongside the realignment of budgets to reflect the Housing
Services restructure.
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4
Conclusion
4.1
5
At present, there are a number of existing budget areas (highlighted above),
which are causing concern. Additionally, the requirement for a central
marketing provision will place increased pressure on the Housing General
Fund budget. Subject to further consideration of the marketing requirement, it
is anticipated that expenditure will remain within budget.
Recommendations
5.1
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That the Lead Member for Housing notes the report and receives regular
reports for the remainder of the financial year.
APPENDIX 1
HOUSING GENERAL FUND BUDGET POSITION TO 31st August 2005
Team
Housing Management Team
STRATEGY
Market Renewal Team A
Market Renewal Team B
Market Support (Enforcement)
Market Support (Sustainability)
Strategy & Planning
Admin and Facilities Management
Performance Team
HMR Secretariat
STRATEGY Sub-total
Annual Budget Budget to date
Spend to date
Variation
£
477,450
£
198,938
£
199,522
£
-585
543,150
359,315
390,760
388,790
792,650
557,730
213,750
0
3,246,145
226,313
217,421
162,817
161,996
330,271
233,234
89,063
30,115
1,451,228
223,429
173,876
163,472
175,053
320,661
197,466
81,135
30,115
1,365,207
2,884
43,545
-655
-13,057
9,610
35,768
7,928
0
86,021
SUPPORT
Homelessness - Operational
Homelessness - Short term
Accommodation
Homelessness - Prevention
Petrie court HPU
Belmont HPU
Asylum Seekers
Housing Association Team
Service Development Team
SUPPORT Sub-total
553,700
220,310
206,114
14,196
270,000
200,000
-70,290
-107,025
-148,450
0
158,460
856,395
137,500
62,500
-15,433
-8,573
0
9,792
66,025
472,121
121,904
0
-16,854
-13,419
0
15,228
83,942
396,915
15,596
62,500
1,421
4,846
0
-5,436
-17,917
75,206
OTHER
Rent Allowances
-239,560
Monitored by Corporate Services
Discretionary Rent Rebates
72,682
0
0
0
Housing Benefit
975,510
0
0
0
Transfer from HRA
Rent Rebates
Supporting People
Recharges
OTHER Sub-total
-460,000
-212,767
552,000
185,090
872,955
0
0
0
Monitored by Corporate Services
Monitored in dedicated Supporting People report
0
0
0
0
0
0
Income from Recharges
Recharge to HMRF
Recharge to HRA
Recharge to Capital
Other central recharge
INCOME Sub-total
-1,270,000
-1,326,000
-1,000,000
-222,945
-3,818,945
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
HGF - Total
1,634,000
2,122,287
1,961,644
160,643
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