The Joint Performance Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel of South Holland Council met on Tuesday 13 January 2026 to consider the Council's financial outlook for the coming years and to review plans for its housing stock. The meeting's agenda included a budget overview and a detailed examination of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan and Asset Management Strategy.

Budget Overview 2026/27 - 2030/31

The panel was scheduled to consider and scrutinise the Council's financial outlook, including its provisional finance settlement and draft General Fund budget position. This information was intended to inform discussions prior to the budget being considered by the Cabinet and the full Council.

HRA Business Plan and Asset Management Strategy 2026-2056

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to reviewing the Council's Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan for 2026-2056 and its accompanying Asset Management Strategy for 2026-2035. These documents, developed in partnership with Savills, outline the Council's approach to maintaining and enhancing its council housing stock over the next three decades.

The HRA Business Plan aims to ensure the financial sustainability of the Council's housing revenue account, taking into account factors such as rising inflation, increased investment needs, and higher borrowing costs. The report indicated that, based on the assumptions made, the HRA is sustainable over the 30-year period, which was considered a substantial achievement given the financial pressures facing the social housing sector. The plan is to be updated annually to reflect the most current operating and capital programme costs.

The HRA Asset Management Strategy is designed to provide an action plan based on the recommendations from the HRA Business Plan and to establish a five-year capital investment programme. This strategy will guide annual budget setting and will also be updated annually. Both documents are evidence-led, informed by recent stock condition surveys and consultations with tenants and councillors.

The report pack included recommendations for the panel to review both the HRA Business Plan and the Asset Management Strategy, provide comments to the Cabinet, and endorse their adoption by the Council. It was also recommended that the Council delegate minor operational and legislative amendments to these documents to the Assistant Director for Housing, in consultation with the s151 Officer and the Portfolio Holder for Strategic and Operational Housing.

The report highlighted that Section 76 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 requires local authorities with an HRA to set a budget that avoids a deficit, using robust assumptions. Furthermore, there is a statutory requirement to review the 30-year HRA Business Plan annually to ensure its long-term financial viability.

The report detailed the context for the HRA Business Plan, noting significant challenges such as increased capital investment needs driven by inflation and updated stock condition data, rising demand for repairs, increased development costs, high interest rates, and potential changes to the Decent Homes Standard and Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES). Despite these pressures, the plan confirmed that the HRA can afford all currently planned expenditure over the next 30 years, involving a substantial investment programme funded partly through borrowing. The total projected income over the life of the plan is £854.5 million, with an investment of £235 million in the housing stock.

The Asset Management Strategy outlines objectives to grow knowledge of the housing stock, bring stock up to the revised Decent Homes Standard by 2035, meet Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards by 2030, and invest in neighbourhoods and the environment. Tenant and councillor priorities, gathered through consultations, informed the strategy's approach, including extending component lifecycles, providing for an acquisition/development programme, investing in energy efficiency, and supporting disabled aids and adaptations.

The report also addressed the financial implications, noting that the HRA is sustainable over the 30-year period. It outlined the need to maximise income and manage borrowing sustainably. Risk management was also a key consideration, with sensitivity analysis performed on financial assumptions. The strategy is considered to align with the Council's corporate priorities of efficiency and effectiveness, delivering good quality and value-for-money services. Constitutional and legal implications were noted, including the requirement for the HRA Business Plan and Asset Management Strategy to be formally adopted by the Full Council. The strategy also has positive implications for climate change and environmental impact, aiming for all properties to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or higher by 2030.