Decision details

That the Leader of the Council:

1.         Notes the Director of Finance’s approval to accept grant funding from the Refugee Housing Programme and the Local Authority Housing Fund Round 2

2.         Approves the creation of a capital budget of £16,800,000 for the Refugee Housing Programme, to be partly funded by £8,400,000 capital grant from the GLA;

3.         Approves the creation of a further capital budget of £2,655,000, of which £1,062,000 will be partly funded by capital grant from DLUHC’s Local Authority Housing Fund Round 2;

4.         Approves the acquisitions under these budgets and delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Economy, in consultation with the Director of Finance, to select and complete acquisitions of properties under each capital acquisition budget and approve associated expenditure;

5.         Notes that each individual acquisition will require a delegated authority report seeking approval from the Strategic Director of Economy, in consultation with the Director of Finance.

An urgent decision is required due to the short timeframes within which the grant must be spent. This is because completion on acquisitions under the RHP funding must have taken place by the end of November 2023 while LAHF2 funding requires completion to take place within this financial year; the council first received notice of its funding allocations in May 2023 and therefore has not been able to follow standard governance arrangements. Approval of this Leader’s Urgency Decision will enable the council to complete property acquisitions within the time limits of each funding source.

This decision is required in order to comply with the council’s Financial Regulations 2021, according to which increases in borrowing of above £300,000 require Cabinet approval. The decision is also required to establish a series of delegations that will enable the council to both respond flexibly to opportunities that may arise within the market, and to deliver within the timeframes of grant funding conditions.

Refugee Housing Programme – Options

RHP Option 1: Do nothing

RHP Option 2: Approve the creation of a match funding budget only

RHP Option 3: Approve the creation of a match funding budget and associated delegations (recommended option)

Local Authority Housing Fund Round 2 – Options

LAHF2 Option 1: Do nothing

LAHF2 Option 2: Approve the creation of a match funding budget only

LAHF2 Option 3: Approve the creation of a match funding budget and associated delegations (recommended option)