The Budget Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to meet on 23 April 2025 at Waltham Forest Town Hall. The agenda included updates on joint ventures and council-owned companies, as well as a review of the committee's activities. The committee was also expected to discuss the forward plan for the next municipal year.

Here are the main topics that were listed for discussion:

Waltham Forest Services - Progress Report

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on Waltham Forest Services Ltd (WFS Ltd), which trades under the name Servicestore, and Waltham Forest Trading Ltd (WFT Ltd), which is not currently trading.

WFS Ltd has a range of income streams, including:

• Grounds and caretaking maintenance contracts and gardening
• White goods and clearance service collection
• Handyman service
• Pest control
• Caretakers bank staffing
• Facilities Management including Helpdesk Services
• Housing Voids and Clearances
• Housing Buy Backs Project
• Redbridge Retrofit Programme
• Warm Homes Grant

According to the report pack, during 2023/24, WFS Ltd generated £5.690m of income, against direct costs of £4.211m, delivering a gross profit of £1.478m and a net profit of £0.328m. The report pack also stated that WFS Ltd contributed c.£0.130m back to the council through Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

The report pack stated that the company had success through:

• Delivering a retrofit programme on behalf of Redbridge
• Programme support for the The Hive through £250k in sponsorship for 24/25
• Expansion of its local supply chain with £1.200m (86% of supplier spend) being spent locally
• Continued commitment to increasing local employment with six apprenticeships in place, alongside a significant upskilling of existing staff in the green economy

More Homes Waltham Forest Joint Venture Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the More Homes Waltham Forest joint venture (JV), a partnership between the council and Mears Group PLC, which aims to reduce homelessness by providing long-term homes for rent to eligible households.

According to the report pack, the JV raised funds via a bond issued to the BAE Systems Pension Fund and used the funds to acquire 330 homes, which are let to homeless households nominated by the council. Mears’ housing management subsidiary, Plexus, provides housing management, repairs and maintenance services. The contractual term of the JV is 40 years from August 2018.

The report pack stated that the business plan for 2025/26 estimates that the total rent collected will increase to £3,273k, as a result of applying 2.62% rent increase, capped at Local Housing Allowance (LHA).

The report pack also stated that the net savings to the council from the JV are calculated as the net weekly cost to the council of each tenanted JV dwelling compared to the net weekly cost to the council of each household in a nightly let or in private sector leased temporary accommodation. The average weekly cost of temporary accommodation in 2023/24 was £152, while the average weekly cost of a tenanted JV property is £25 plus any void charge, income guarantee and interest cover payments made by the council to the JV.

Evolve Norse Performance Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on Evolve Norse Ltd, the property services and built environment joint venture (JV) between the council and the Norse Group. The JV was established in 2007 as NPS London Ltd. and rebranded as Evolve Norse in April 2022.

The JV provides technical services to deliver the council’s capital programme and manage its schools and corporate estate (excluding housing). The Norse Group, owned by Norfolk County Council, is described in the report pack as the largest local authority trading company in England.

The report pack stated that the governance structure for Evolve Norse includes a tripartite framework, with involvement from both council officers and senior staff from the JV, including project delivery boards, a strategic partnership board, and a company board that oversees risk, financial management, and contractual obligations.

The business plan target for 2024/25 is to deliver an annual gross operating profit of £407,454 (net profit of £152,974), but the report pack recognised that this target is unachievable due to the contraction of the council’s capital programme. At period 11 of 2024/25, the JV is forecasting to deliver a gross operating profit of £141,741 for the financial year, which is 71% lower than the business plan target.

Sixty Bricks Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the progress of placing Sixty Bricks Limited, the council’s housing development company, into dormancy as a solvent company.

According to the report pack, Sixty Bricks was established in 2017 as an additional delivery route as part of the council’s overall housing delivery model and successfully completed its Phase 1 development programme at the end of 2022, comprising 299 new homes, of which 78% were affordable, including 188 Social Rent homes.

The report pack stated that Sixty Bricks finalised all trading activity in August 2024 and returned a residual cash balance of £1.09 million to the council on 11 November 2024, which will be used to offset any future liabilities incurred by the council from Sixty Bricks pipeline schemes that are not progressed in the future.

The report pack also noted that construction of all Sixty Bricks Phase 1 schemes completed in 2022 and the final remaining sales of new private homes at the Jazz Yard concluded in June 2024.

The Scrutiny Report

The committee was scheduled to review the action and recommendation trackers, as well as the draft summary of committee activity for the Scrutiny Annual Report. The draft forward plan was also scheduled for discussion, with members invited to suggest items for the 2025/26 work programme.

The draft summary of committee activity included in the report pack stated that the committee heard consistently that the council’s main challenges were in Adult Social Care, Children’s Services and Temporary Accommodation costs.