Issue - meetings

Report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services in respect of the current housing governance arrangements and how they might be provided in the future.

The report recommended that there be no immediate change to the current governance arrangements, due to the dedicated focus on improving operational performance, and the new management arrangements for the Barbican Residential Estate and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).  The Chair endorsed this view, noting that a housing governance review will have implications for other Committee and City residents might be better served in the future by a stand-alone Housing Committee.

RESOLVED, that:

1.          There be no immediate change to the current governance arrangements because of the dedicated focus on improving operational performance with new management arrangements for the Barbican Residential Estate and the HRA.

2.          Authority be delegated to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chair and Deputy Chairs of the BRC and RCC, to consider any further changes to the Terms of Reference arising from the discussion (agenda item 6). 

3.          Consideration be given to options for the establishment of a separate forum for Housing Revenue Account (HRA) residents, including proposals for a body comparable to the Barbican Residential Consultative Committee.

4.          It be noted that Terms of Reference are routinely reviewed on an annual basis, and that there should be a further, more comprehensive, review of housing governance arrangements in two years’ time, on the understanding that the dedicated focus on both the Barbican Residential Estate and HRA should have delivered significant improvements to performance and the customer experience.

Report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee received a report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services in respect of the current governance arrangements and recommended how they might be provided in the future.

Members noted the following amendment, submitted by the Chairs of the RCC and the Barbican Association, and circulated ahead of the meeting:

The terms of reference for the Barbican Residential Committee should be reviewed to reflect it’s responsibility for oversight and scrutiny of the management of services and costs of the Barbican residential estate, and that draft terms of reference should be considered at the next meeting of the RCC and BRC.  It is recommended that the BRC Members approve the continuation of the current governance structure but with strengthened terms of reference and annual workplans of committees to enable the dedicated focus on performance and cost to embed and improve the resident experience. 

The BRC be recommended to :

1.     Agree that there should be no immediate change to the current governance arrangements because of the dedicated focus on improving operational performance with new management arrangements for the Barbican Residential Estate and the HRA.

2.     Delegate authority to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chair and Deputy Chair, to consider any changes to the Terms of Reference arising from the discussion, noting the comments set out above

3.     Agree that consideration should be given to options for the establishment of a separate forum for HRA residents, including proposals for a body comparable to the Barbican Residential Consultative Committee.

Note that Terms of Reference are routinely reviewed on an annual basis, and that there should be a further, more comprehensive ,review of housing governance arrangements in two years’ time, on the understanding that the dedicated focus on both the Barbican Residential Estate and HRA should have delivered significant improvements