Decision details

To provide an update on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan with updated financial assumptions, recommending in year budgetary changes for the HRA and setting the budget strategy for 2019/20.

Cabinet approved the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) as set out in Appendix 1 to the report from the Head of Finance, to include:

·     changes in financial assumptions as detailed in Appendix B to the HRA MTFS

·     mid-year revenue budget changes, as detailed in Appendix D(1) to the HRA MTFS, which impact future forecasts for the HRA.

·     mid-year capital budgets changes, as detailed in Appendix E to the HRA MTFS, to include recognition of the virement of resource of £1,560,000 from the unallocated acquisition / new build budget for the acquisition of market dwellings, to ensure that right to buy receipts are appropriately reinvested in 2018/19

·     updates in the new build budget and the new build schemes included in the Housing Capital Investment Plan, incorporation of the latest budgetary figures in respect of approved new build schemes, inclusion of new pipeline schemes with associated budgetary provision and re-phasing of expenditure in line with anticipated build timetables

·     changes in anticipated receipt and use of capital resources for the HRA, as included in Appendix H to the HRA MTFS

·     approval of the HRA budget strategy for 2019/20, to include the exemplification of efficiency savings of £142,000, to facilitate the creation of a corresponding strategic investment fund also of £142,000 for 2019/20, with both reducing to £95,000 per annum from 2020/21 onwards for a further 4 years.

·     noting the early proposals for bids and savings in the HRA, as detailed in Appendix D (2) to the HRA MTFS in advance of formal consideration as part of the HRA Budget Setting Report in February 2019.