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New General Exception Notices to be considered by Cabinet 21 July 2025, General Exception Notices - Monday 21 July 2025 6.00 pm
July 21, 2025 View on council websiteSummary
The General Exception Notices of Hackney Council met on Monday 21 July 2025 to discuss a council housing acquisition programme and a housing improvement plan. Both of these topics were brought to the meeting under a General Exception Notice1.
Housing Improvement Plan and Housing Ombudsman Response
The meeting was scheduled to discuss Hackney Council's plan to improve housing services, as well as the council's response to recommendations made in a special investigation report by the Housing Ombudsman Service, which was published on 22 May 2025.
According to the report pack, the Housing Improvement Plan was developed iteratively through engagement with the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH). The report pack stated that extra time was needed by councillors and officers to consider the final report from the Housing Ombudsman, and the Extraordinary Scrutiny Panel session on 12 June where the Ombudsman presented their findings.
Council Housing Acquisition Programme
The meeting was scheduled to discuss a request to approve the purchase of 125 homes for use as temporary accommodation. Funding for the purchases is to be sought from the Greater London Authority (GLA) under the Council Housing Acquisition Programme. According to the report pack, the funding application has received in principle support from GLA officers and will be considered shortly for final approval at the relevant board meeting.
The report pack stated that delegated powers are also sought where appropriate to process the legal and financial approvals for each property.
The report pack stated that the funding opportunity is time limited and the purchase of all homes will be required to have been completed by 31 March 2026. The report pack stated that consideration of this report at the July cabinet is critically important because there is no cabinet date in August. According to the report pack, these units will be used for temporary accommodation and will have a significant impact on both the residents that are in vital need of stable long term housing and the council's finances given the temporary accommodation overspend currently experienced.
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A General Exception Notice is required when a decision needs to be made urgently, without the usual 28-day notice period. This is in accordance with Regulation 10 of The Local Authority (Executive Authority) (Meeting and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 and Hackney Council's Constitution, Part 6C Paragraph 11.6. ↩
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