Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from, Councillor Naeem Akhtar (Coventry), Councillor Mike Chalk (Worcestershire non-constituent authorities), Mike Lyons (Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP) and Sarah Windrum (Coventry & Warwickshire LEP).

The Chair indicated that although the ‘Affordable Housing Collaborative Delivery Vehicle: Progress Update’ report considered by the Housing & Land Delivery Board on 2 November 2020 had been considered as a private item of business, it was her intention to hold as much of this meeting in public so as to ensure scrutiny was being undertaken in an open and transparent way. She requested members to consider the nature of their questioning and to avoid quoting confidential information in public.

·       Provisions within the Constitution relating to Call-In

·       Call-In Affordable Housing Collaborative Delivery Vehicle: Progress Update

(a)      Provisions within the Constitution relating to Call In

The Governance Services Manager outlined the requirements for a call in as outlined within the constitution, highlighted the timescales involved and the options available to the committee to take no further action or to refer the report back to the Housing & Land Delivery Board to be re-considered, along with the comments and observations of this committee.

(b)      Call In - Affordable Housing Collaborative Delivery Vehicle: Progress Update

The Chair provided an overview of the stated reason for the call-in, which was initiated by Councillor Naeem Akhtar, Councillor Cathy Bayton, Councillor Ahmed Bostan, Councillor Stephen Simkins and Councillor Lisa Trickett, namely:

‘The Housing & Land Delivery Board was not made aware of the extent of need and the possibility of specifying a purpose to deliver on social housing requirements. Our concern is that members have not been given the information required to make an informed decision and that this report unduly fetters the opportunity to use such a vehicle to deliver on housing need in the region.’

·       Affordable Housing Collaborative Delivery Vehicle: Progress Update Report

·       Minutes – 2 November 2020

The Chair welcomed the Chair of the Housing & Land Delivery Board and the Director of Housing & Regeneration to the meeting and invited them to give an outline of the Affordable Housing Collaborative Delivery Vehicle: Progress Update report considered by the Housing & Land Delivery Board on 2 November 2020.

The Chair of the Housing & Land Delivery Board reported that his committee had expressed concerns in 2017 that the supply of affordable housing was not matching the housing need of the region. Discussions had been undertaken between WMCA, the West Midlands Housing Association Partnership and the National Housing Federation to take forward the proposals for a bespoke affordable housing delivery vehicle that would help secure affordable housing delivery above and beyond those of the housing associations’ committed and approved business plans. At its meeting on 4 November 2019, the board approved a report setting out the Heads of Terms and key criteria for a new regional affordable housing delivery vehicle focussed on increasing the supply of new homes, particularly affordable housing, on some of the most challenging sites in the region. The report to the board that had been called in by this committee provided an update on the work being undertaken to date, with an expectation that a full business case would be submitted through the WMCA’s governance approvals process in January/February 2021.

The Director of Housing & Regeneration indicated that the aims of this project were to bring forward affordable homes that would otherwise not be delivered, allow for the development of brownfield land, and to promote innovative methods of construction. He noted the previous close working between this committee and the Housing & Land Delivery Board, and would welcome this being renewed so as to ensure the views of overview and scrutiny members were able to help shape the development of policies and proposals.

The Chair expressed her concern that there had been little apparent progress in delivering affordable housing for the region since these discussions had commenced in 2017. She considered that the report as presented did not set out the relevant considerations that would enable the Housing & Land Delivery Board to make an informed decision. The Chair also drew attention to the proposed return on investment and questioned the efficacy of this as a means of delivering affordable housing. She enquired whether there was a shared understanding of the purpose for the delivery vehicle so as to ensure that the region and its communities had confidence in the delivery of this policy.

Councillor Cathy Bayton highlighted the lack of governance oversight evidenced within the report for this vehicle and requested reassurance on how this was going to be taken forward, given that the proposals would result in public money supporting a private asset. She also requested a clear understanding on the plan for delivery, referencing how social housing was being addressed within local development plans, which would help enable the demand seen in the region for social housing to be better targeted. She also felt that local authorities had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.