Issue - meetings

[Report of the Chief Operating Officer. To be introduced by the Cabinet member for Housing and Regeneration.]Cabinet is asked to approve the new Management Agreement between the Council and Homes for Haringey. At the Cabinet meeting of September 2015, a decision was made to grant a new ten year Management Agreement to Homes for Haringey and to bring back the final agreement for approval no later than March 2016.

The Leader introduced the report which sought approval for the new Management Agreement with Homes for Haringey, following the decision by Cabinet in September 2015, which had considered recommendations from a cross-party working group, and agreed to retain Homes for Haringey as the Council’s Arms Length Housing Management Company with a new contract for ten years in duration. The contract was due to expire on 31^st March 2026, with a review after five years.

RESOLVED

1.    To note that the Management Agreement requires the consent of the Secretary of State.

2.    To approve the new Management Agreement between the Council and Homes for Haringey attached as appendix 1, to take effect from 1st April 2016, or from such date that approval of the Management Agreement is received from the Secretary of State if later than 1^st April 2016.

3.    To delegate authority to the Chief Operating Officer, to be exercised in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration, to make  amendments to the detail of the Management Agreement that may arise from the requirement to gain the consent of the Secretary of State to enable the implementation of the agreement, or in general.

Reasons for decision

A decision is required following the previous Cabinet decision to retain Homes for Haringey and put a new management agreement in place.  The current agreement expires on 31 March 2016 and approval of the new agreement is required to take effect on 1 April 2016.

Alternative options considered

The current Management Agreement with Homes for Haringey (HfH) is a long and detailed document.  An alternative option was to recreate a similar type of agreement but it was felt this approach was outdated and would not fully reflect the new relationship and style of working with HfH that the council is moving towards, as set out in the report.

The recommended approach provided a shorter and more focused agreement as HfH’s priorities and objectives are now fundamentally determined by the Corporate Plan and the Housing Strategy and will be reflected in HfH’s annual business plan.