Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Housing Services, Private Renters, and Planning considered the report which sought Cabinet Member approval for the receipt of grant funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) under the Rough Sleeping Initiatives (RSI) programme 2022-2025.

The grant had been awarded following a successful bidding process to the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) Programme. The paper provided some detail as to how the grant would be spent, including the provision of directly delivered and externally commissioned services, as set out in the successful funding bid, and allowed under Contract Standing Order (CSO) 17.3.

The Cabinet Member congratulated the team on the success of the bid and of securing such a substantial sum to support rough sleepers in the borough.

The Cabinet Member RESOLVED

1.    To approve the receipt of grant funding from the Rough Sleeping Initiative Programme, in the sum of £3,641,429 over 3 years as permitted under Contract Standing Order (CSO) 17.1.

2.    Pursuant to CSO 17.3, to approve the award of grant funding to identified partner agencies listed in the table at 2.3, which were set out in the successful bid for funding.

3.    To note that the following delivery partners were identified as part of the bid:

1)    St Mungo’s for the delivery of the Haringey Housing First Service for Rough Sleepers. This is an ongoing service that has been in place since 2018 and is for the provision of intensive floating support to 5 people. The service is part of an existing contract with St Mungo’s for the provision of wider Housing First services across the borough.

2)    Thames Reach for the delivery of an existing service which provides the Haringey Street Outreach Team. There is an existing contract in place with Thames Reach for 2021-23 with provision to extend for a further year (2023-24). The contract was funded in 2021-22 by the RSI 4 allocation, and it is likely that the service will be commissioned, beyond 2023-24 and to continue into 2024-25 on the same basis. Grant funding from RSI-5 of £548,844 is ringfenced for this intervention for a period of 3 years for 2022-25. Haringey were also granted a total of £1,194,188 for the delivery of a night shelter, with Thames Reach named partner in the bid for the delivery of the service. It is recommended that Cabinet approves the award of a new £1,194,188 contract to Thames Reach Charity Ltd for the delivery of the Haringey Night Shelter at Clarendon. In the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Housing Services, Private Renters, and Planning considered the report which, following a design process, tenant engagement and an evaluation, sought approval to withhold a notice to proceed for a pilot Energiesprong project of 51 council-owned properties.

It was noted that the delegation to Cabinet Member of a decision whether or not to proceed was agreed under 3.6 in the Cabinet Report “Energiesprong Retrofit Pilot Project Progression” at the Cabinet meeting on 16 March 2021.

The Cabinet Member RESOLVED

1.    To agree to withhold issuing a notice to proceed and end the contractual arrangements with the Energiesprong solution provider Equans UK (previously Engie Regeneration Limited). This will mean that the Energiesprong project on 51 properties around Rivulet Road stops.

2.    To agree that Haringey remains within the Greater London Authority (GLA) Innovation Partnership to investigate further opportunities to undertake an Energiesprong project on the Council’s housing stock.  This could involve exploring options with alternative suppliers on the GLA Innovation Partnership framework.

3.    To approve not drawing down £1,487,000 of Government Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Social Housing Decarbonisation Funding (SHDF) from London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (lead partner) which was secured to deliver this pilot project.

4.    To agree that an alternative deep retrofit project is investigated for the 19 tenanted homes who had signed up to the pilot Energiesprong project and 2 council properties which are void.

Reasons for decision

The Energiesprong designs submitted by Equans:-

·         did not meet the agreed gross maximum price per property of £85k. This meant that the Council would have to significantly increase its funding towards the project.

·         did not offer the expected maintenance savings. This meant that the Council would have to increase its maintenance programme to manage these improved properties.

·         could not be completed by the end of March 2023 to claim BEIS funding. This meant that the Council would have to significantly increase its funding towards the project.

·         included unacceptable design compromises. This would introduce issues not previously agreed with the tenants (such as internal works), may require planning requirements or did not offer a pathway to a quick and replicable solution.

Alternative options considered

Continue with the Energiesprong pilot project with Equans for 51 properties around Rivulet Road.

This option is not recommended as the suggested approach does not satisfy the principles set out below:-

·         Quick installation with minimum disruption to tenants through offsite manufacture.

·         Financial viability, ie with the BEIS grant funding, maintenance savings and comfort charge payments, the capital outlay is recouped over a 30 year period.

·         A replicable approach.

·         A fixed gross maximum price (for the works) per property with available grant funding.

·         Economies of scale in future stages of the project through continued innovation.

·         Delivery to the BEIS funding deadlines. Without the grant funding the business case is not met.

Continue with the Energiesprong pilot project with another solution provider for 51 properties around Rivulet Road.

This option is not recommended as it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.