Purpose

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member
for Housing seeking approval to spend an already agreed Capital
Budget as part of the Homelessness Prevention Transformation
Project.

Decision

Subject to Council approval on 24 September
2025:
 
(i) 
To approve the additional borrowing of £3,000,000 through the
Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Capital Programme for purchasing
additional units of emergency accommodation, that once purchased
will sit in the HRA.
(ii) 
To delegate to the Director of Housing following consultation with
the Executive Director of Enabling Services, Executive Director of
Growth and Prosperity, the Director of Legal and Governance and the
Cabinet Member for Housing, to agree and approve the detail of the
additional property investment in line with the details set out in
this paper.

Reasons for the decision

In the Cabinet report dated 25 February 2025
and the Council meeting of 26 February 2025, capital expenditure of
£3,000,000 from the General Fund was approved for the
purchase of additional emergency accommodation units, aimed at
reducing the council’s expenditure on nightly paid
accommodation. Following further review from Legal and Finance
Teams, it has been determined that funding for these additional
units should be sourced from the HRA, as the properties should to
be held under the HRA rather than the General Fund to enable
appropriate maintenance and management of the properties. Approval
of these recommendations will enable officers to initiate the
Delegated Decision Notice process for viable opportunities and
ensure the acquisition process is carried out efficiently. The
properties will generate a rental income for the HRA. If any
additional resources are required to administer these properties
this will be funded through general fund activity.

Alternative options considered

Option 1 – Do Nothing . If we do nothing, then our
spend on emergency accommodation will continue to increase and
could exceed that of previous years.
Option 2 – Continue to look at
alternative options for prevention  Currently we are exploring other
options which focus on preventing homelessness which includes
working with landlords in the private rented sector, working with
households to prevent them from becoming homeless where possible.
The prevention work will continue alongside this initiative,
alongside the other activity within the Homelessness Transformation
Programme.
Option 3 – To purchase the
properties out of General Fund Capital  
Consideration has been given to the option of
purchasing the properties with General Fund Capital but this would require an income stream and
housing land generally falls under the HRA, where the income from
rents is used to manage and maintain the properties. The properties
could be appropriated from the General Fund into the HRA, but this
would need a formal resolution under the Local Government Act 1985
(section 74). A valuation at the time of appropriation would be
required as the HRA must pay the GF for the asset, usually at
market value unless the Secretary of State consents to a different
approach.