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Health, Housing and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee |
12 March 2025 |
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Report of the Director of Finance |
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2024/25 Finance and Performance Monitor 3
Summary
2. This report outlines the Council’s continued challenging financial position with a forecast overspend for 2024/25 of £2.6m which is a huge improvement on the c£11m forecast overspend we have previously seen at this stage in the financial year. The forecast also assumes we can release some earmarked reserves to offset the overall position.
3. However, this is still a forecast overspend and therefore, whilst it is incredibly positive that the position is much improved, there is work still to do to ensure the continued financial resilience of the Council. It remains that the Council cannot afford to keep spending at this level. The general reserve is £6.9m and, whilst we have other earmarked reserves that we could call on if required, continued overspending will quickly see the Council exhaust its reserves.
4. As outlined in previous reports, the existing cost control measures remain in place, and further action is needed to bring spending down to an affordable level, both within the current financial year and over the medium term, to safeguard the Council’s financial resilience and stability. The impact that this work is having can be clearly seen in this latest forecast and the Council’s track record of delivering savings, along with robust financial management, provides a sound platform to continue to be able to deal with future challenges.
5. If we continue to take action and make any difficult decisions now, this will ensure the future financial stability of the Council and that we can continue to provide services for our residents. It is vital that mitigations are delivered, and the forecast overspend is reduced.
6. Local government continues to be in challenging times, with worsening performance in a number of sectors nationally. The majority of performance indicators chosen to support and monitor the Council Plan in York, continue to show a generally positive and stable trend against this difficult financial picture and shows the hard work from staff, partners and the city to tackle these challenges.
7. This set of indicators are the high-level measurable element of our performance framework, and in newly available data up to Q3 there has been positive performance in areas such as; The survival of newly born businesses after one year has been consistently higher in York than national and regional averages, there has been an increase in net additional homes provided and housing consents approved compared to the same period last year, we have seen a narrowing of the gap, and therefore a reduction in health inequalities, between the highest and lowest ward in York for the % of year 6 children recorded as overweight and the number of households with children in temporary accommodation continues to be lower than previous years. The % of children achieving a Good Level of Development at Foundation Stage continues to be high compared to benchmarks and our building services indicators continue to show a positive direction of travel with a high percentage of repairs completed on first visit alongside the low number of void properties.
8. Alongside the Council plan indicators there are a number of areas of positive performance from across the Council. In 2024, over 39,000 eligible households in York subscribed to the new Garden Waste Subscription scheme. Work is underway to prepare for the 2025 scheme which will run for the full season from March to December. Queen Street bridge was demolished during Q3, and other public spaces are emerging from the ground, with good progress being made on major projects. In order to help young people move around the city, the £1 bus fare initiative for 16 to 18 year olds has been used by more than 250,000 young people so far. The Council has recently successfully delivered a local by-election, ensuring it delivers on its statutory duties.
9. The Council have placed nearly 300 migrant children into York schools this year, highlighting their commitment to support our most vulnerable residents. KS4 and KS5 outcomes remain significantly above average, York has a high proportion of 5 year olds achieving a good level of development and the second lowest number of children who receive an ‘Elective Home Education’ in the region. There has been a reduction in numbers of Children’s Social Care agency staff to zero. The Council recently ran a targeted Pension Credit campaign using the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) platform to identify eligible residents and maximise their income. To date, the initiative has resulted in 100 pensioner households in York receiving over £662,700 per year in Pension Credit. This campaign has helped combat rising pensioner poverty and adult social care costs.
10. There has been a smooth transfer into the council of an external homelessness service. In addition, an extra £87,000 has been secured to support the expected rise in rough sleeping with up to 29 extra emergency beds and additional support this winter. The extra funding reflects the rise in rough sleeping nationally and the funds will contribute to bed and breakfast for rough sleepers with the lowest support needs, other accommodation options as well as extra staffing support.
11. To progress with the changes needed to implement the previously announced Childcare reforms to help parents with early years childcare and provide more children with access to high quality early years education, the council has undertaken a deep dive into sufficiency for both early years and wraparound care. Progress reports have been presented to Executive and the Children, Culture and Communities Scrutiny Committee. A report went to the Children, Culture and Communities Scrutiny Committee in November to inform on work taking place to develop a neighbourhood working model as a way of delivering improved outcomes for individuals, communities and the wider system of services in the city. The design principles for the model were approved at Executive in December.
12. In order to improve outcomes for those in need and to manage costs, the council has internally launched a practice model framework and assurance forum in adult social care. There has been a transformation in Healthy Child services, with the introduction of skill mix teams and the recruitment into specialist roles. The Health Trainer team are the best performing stop smoking service in the country, with an over 80% 4-week quit rate (national 57% and regional 65%).
13. We are listening to residents within Our Big Budget Conversation, a consultation on budget priorities taking place over 4 stages during 2024-25. The final stage of the consultation closed at the end of Q3 and asked people to provide thoughts on proposals to help the council balance its budget based on feedback from the previous two stages. York remains committed to improving stock condition and tenant experiences, and results from the 2023-24 Regulator for Social Housing return were published for residents with the current consultation underway.
14. Council Plan Progress Reports, providing an update of activity against each of the plan’s seven priorities, will be published on an annual basis and sit alongside a six-monthly snapshot of progress available on the Council’s website (https://www.york.gov.uk/council-plan-1/snapshot-progress-council-plan/5). The reports complement the Finance and Performance Monitor, providing a narrative for the steps that the Council is taking to meet its ambitions.
Background
Financial Summary and Mitigation Strategy
16. If the Council continues to spend at the current level, and no action is taken, then we will continue to overspend and will exhaust our reserves and any other available funding. The current level of expenditure is unaffordable and therefore we must continue the work started in the previous financial year to identify and take the necessary actions to reduce expenditure.
17. As outlined in previous reports to Executive, we have continued to see recurring overspends across both Adult and Children’s Social Care. However, the underspends and mitigations that have allowed us to balance the budget at year end have generally been one off. Whilst the use of reserves to fund an overspend is appropriate as a one-off measure, it does not remove the need to identify ongoing savings to ensure the overall position is balanced. The budget report considered by Executive in February 2024 also included an assessment of risks associated with the budget, which included the need to secure further savings and effectively manage cost pressures.
18. Members will be aware that the financial position of local government is a national challenge and that the pressures being seen across both Adult and Children’s Social Care are not something that is unique to York. Many Councils are experiencing significant financial pressures and struggling to balance their budgets now, so it is vital that we continue the work started last year to reduce our expenditure down to a sustainable level both within the current financial year and over the medium term.
19. Given the scale of the financial challenge, and the expected impact on budgets in future years, it is vital that every effort is made to balance the overall position. It is recognised that this will require difficult decisions to be made to protect services for vulnerable residents. The Financial Strategy report elsewhere on this agenda outlines proposals for balancing the budget in 2025/26.
20. Corporate control measures are in place, but it is possible that they will not deliver the scale of reduction needed within the year. Other savings proposals, including service reductions, may also be needed. Officers will continue to carefully monitor spend, identify further mitigation, and review reserves and other funding to make every effort to reduce this forecast position. However, it is possible that it will not be reduced to the point that the outturn will be within the approved budget. The Council has £6.9m of general reserves that would need to be called on if this were the case. As outlined in previous reports, any use of the general reserve would require additional savings to be made in the following year to replenish the reserve and ensure it remains at the recommended minimum level.
21. The delivery of savings plans continues to be a clear priority for all officers during the year. Corporate Directors and Directors will keep Executive Members informed of progress on a regular basis.
Financial Analysis
22. The Council’s net budget is £149m. Following on from previous years, the challenge of delivering savings continues with c£14m to be achieved to reach a balanced budget. The latest forecasts indicate the Council is facing net financial pressures of £2.6m and an overview of this forecast, on a directorate by directorate basis, is outlined in Table 1 below.
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Service area |
Net budget £’000 |
2024/25 Q2 Forecast Variation £’000 |
2024/25 Q3 Forecast Variation £’000 |
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Children & Education |
28,659 |
1,111 |
994 |
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Adult Social Care & Integration |
46,807 |
3,286 |
3,608 |
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Transport, Environment & Planning |
23,464 |
-610 |
-859 |
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Housing & Communities |
6,779 |
790 |
711 |
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Corporate & Central Services |
42,983 |
-132 |
-149 |
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Sub Total |
148,692 |
4,445 |
4,305 |
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Contingency |
576 |
-576 |
-576 |
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Use of earmarked reserves |
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-1,089 |
-1,089 |
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Total including contingency |
149,268 |
2,780 |
2,640 |
Table 1: Finance overview
Directorate Analysis
Adults
23. The projected outturn position for Adult Social Care is an overspend of £3,608k and the table below summarises the latest forecasts by service area. This projection is based on customer numbers and costs to the end of October 2024. The projection assumes that £344k of previously agreed savings will be made by the end of the year.
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2024/25 Budget £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance % |
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Direct Payments |
4,841 |
1,197 |
24.7 |
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Home and Day Support |
2,844 |
807 |
28.4 |
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Supported Living |
15,689 |
2,605 |
16.6 |
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Residential care |
15,244 |
1,219 |
8.0 |
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Nursing care |
5,149 |
541 |
10.5 |
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Short term placements |
861 |
-171 |
-19.9 |
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Staffing (mostly social work staff) |
7,218 |
406 |
5.6 |
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Contracts and Commissioning |
2,353 |
-126 |
-5.4 |
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In House Services |
4,837 |
33 |
0.7 |
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Be Independent & Equipment |
982 |
329 |
33.5 |
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Other |
-14,650 |
-3,246 |
22.2 |
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Recharges |
-61 |
14 |
-23.0 |
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Total Adult Social Care |
45,307 |
3,608 |
8.0 |
24. ASC has received total growth of £7m in 2024/25. £2.8m of this growth has been allocated to external care budgets to cover demographic pressures, £1.4m has been allocated to fund inflationary pressures, £800k to reducing growth needed by managing demand and £500k has been allocated to fund savings which are unlikely to be achieved this year. In addition to this £300k has been set aside to fund Preparing for Adulthood (PFA) customers coming through from Children’s Services and £200k to tackle the current review backlog where it is expected that there are savings to be crystalised.
25. The directorate is taking the following action to improve the financial position;
a) The reablement contract has been retendered and is now being implemented. This is designed to support more people to go through the reablement service in a shorter time frame, at lower cost, resulting in more people with lower or no care needs. Contract monitoring arrangements are being put in place to make the most of the contractual arrangements that promote good performance and enable the reduction in payment should the provider not deliver. Occupational Therapy expertise has a key role to play in maximising independence and reducing level of need: Therapy led reablement is known to be effective and additional occupational therapy is planned to be deployed to support this.
b) The provision of support to people overnight by internal adult social care provision is under review with a view to remodelling support and reducing costs while ensuring we continue to meet our duty to meet eligible needs.
c) Further work is being undertaken in relation to continuing health care funding. This includes developing a consistent approach with other local authorities in the ICB, improved engagement in the process by CYC including developing joint training and processes to support resolution of disputes.
d) The Adult Social Care practice assurance process continues to be developed with an emphasis on embedding the strength-based approach to practice and supporting decision-making at the earliest opportunity. This process will be linked with our Workforce Development colleagues to assure any learning identified informs future practice. The Assurance Forum will look to ensure that Community and individual networks and community based resources have been considered. This also gives consideration of a range of issues including alternatives to high cost provision, the prevention of expensive off- framework provision, ensure full use of in house and block provision, the use of equipment and technology, and where possible, the reduction of proposed paid for care.
e) A working group has been established to carry out a detailed review of Direct Payments which should lead to a reduction in the overspend on these budgets.
f) The review project team will be in place from January 2025. This team will tackle the volume of overdue reviews, using an improved review methodology and multi-disciplinary approach which is expected to reduce spend.
g) Internal capacity to undertake Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding (DoLS) and Best Interest assessments (BIA) is being created by retraining of staff in order to reduce the reliance on external BIA assessors.
26. The following sections describe any significant variations to budgeted costs, customer numbers and income. The variations are generally due to not fully meeting previous years’ savings targets plus significant price pressures in the market. Some variations are large due to having small numbers of individuals within those budgets whose individual needs can vary significantly.
Direct Payments (£1,196k overspend)
27. The main overspend is on the Learning Disability (LD) direct payments budget, which is expected to overspend by £1,082k. There are currently six more individuals receiving payments than in the budget (£154k) and the average payment being £114 per week higher (£725k). In addition, average Health income received per individual is less than assumed in the budget (£252k). This is partially offset by a projected overachievement on recovering unused direct payments.
28. The Older People (OP) direct payments budget is expected to overspend by £148k, largely due to the average cost of a direct payment being higher than budgeted (£201k) offset by having three fewer people (£74k).
Home and Day Support (£807k overspend)
29. The Community Learning Disability budget is expected to overspend by £128k. The average cost of a homecare placement is £160 per week higher than in the budget (£60k) and the average cost of a day support placement is £149 per week higher (£248k). This is offset by having one less homecare package and two less day support packages than assumed in the budget (£86k). In addition, there has been an increase in Health’s contribution to packages (£90k).
30. The Community LD under 25 budget is expected to overspend by £190k, due to having four more people receiving homecare than assumed in the budget (£112k) together with the average cost per person being £125 per week higher (£116k). In addition, the average health income received per person is £240 per week lower than budget (£195k). This is offset by the average cost of a person in day support being £30 per week less than budget (£233k).
31. The Community OP budget is expected to overspend by £215k. This is mostly due to an increase in the weekly hours of homecare provided on framework contracts (£561k), offset by an increase of £11 per week in what individuals contribute to their care costs (£310k).
32. The Community Physical & Sensory Impairment (PS&I) budget is expected to overspend by £232k, largely due to the weekly cost of all homecare exception contracts being £655 per week higher than in the budget (£205k).
Supported Living (£2,605k overspend)
33. Supported Living are settings where more than one customer lives, with their own tenancy agreements, where their needs are met by a combination of shared support and one to one support. Supported Living providers received a mid-year inflationary increase in 2023/24 which was covered by the MSIF grant and the pressures shown below are in part due to the full year effect of this increase.
34. The Learning Disability Supported Living budget is projected to overspend by £1,896k. The average cost of a placement is £140 per week more than in the budget (£1,468k), there are four more customers than budgeted for (£410k) and expenditure on voids is expected to be around £276k this year.
35. The Physical & Sensory Impairment Supported Living schemes budget is projected to overspend by £525k. This is due to the average cost of a placement being around £375 per week higher than in the budget (£959k), partially offset by having five fewer customers in placement than assumed in the budget.
36. The Mental Health Supported Living schemes budget is projected to overspend by £184k. This is due to the average cost of a placement being around £151 per week higher than in the budget (£166k) and two additional tenants compared to budget (£82k).
Residential care (£1,219k overspend)
37. The OP Residential Care budget is expected to overspend by £1,652k. There are fifteen more customers than in the budget (£500k) and the average cost per customer is £169 per week higher (£1,406k). This is offset by three more individuals receiving Health contributions (£136k) at an average rate of £119 per week higher than in the budget (£74k).
38. The P&SI residential care budget is expected to overspend by £219k due to having one more placement than assumed in the budget (£74k) together with a reduction in the average amount of Health income received per person of £980 per week compared to budget (£165k)
39. The MH Residential Care over 65 budget is expected to underspend by £358k. There are two fewer customers in placement (-£70k) and the average cost of care per customers is £499 per week less than in the budget (-£312k).
40. The MH Residential Care working age budget is expected to overspend by £241k due to there being three more placements than assumed in the budget.
41. Additional Funding from the ASC Discharge fund will also be added into the Residential Care Budget (£-500k).
Nursing Care (£541k overspend)
42. LD Permanent Nursing Care budgets are projected to overspend by £190k, due to having one more customer in over 65 placements than assumed in the budget and the average cost per placement being higher (£285k). This is offset by an increase in Health contributions.
43. Mental Health Nursing Care budgets are expected to overspend by £280k due to there being five more customers in placement than budgeted.
44. The P&SI Nursing budget is expected to overspend by £136k, largely due to the average weekly cost per customer being higher than assumed in the budgeted.
In House Services and Staffing
45. The Council employs a variety of staff to advise and assess residents’ and customers’ social care needs. We also directly provide care and support to individuals and have teams which provide home care both overnight in the community and in our Independent Living Schemes as well as running day support activities for those with a learning difficulty and those experiencing poor Mental Health. We also operate short stay residential care for the same customer groups.
Staffing (£406k overspend)
46. There are staffing overspends in the Hospital Discharge Team, Mental Advocacy Team, and the Mental Health Social Work Team. Mostly due to these teams being over establishment and using agency staff.
Contracts and Commissioning (£126k underspend)
47. Based on activity to date there is likely to be an underspend on the Reablement Contract and Carers commissioned services budget by the end of the year.
Be Independent & Equipment (£329k overspend)
48. Be Independent provide equipment to customers to allow individuals to remain independent and active within their communities. They also provide an alarm response service means tested as to whether a customer pays for it.
49. There is still a budget gap of £180k arising from when the service was originally outsourced which has yet to be fully addressed. Staffing is expected to overspend by £115k largely due to an unfunded regrade of some of the posts in the team and to having a review manager post above establishment. In addition there has been an increase in rental costs for the premises which will be fully absorbed by the service and not recharged to Mediquip this year (£30k).
Housing and Services
50. The Housing Services directorate is forecasting an overspend at quarter 3 of £711k and the table below summarises the latest forecasts by service area. The primary reason for the overspend relates to the delivery of two key savings across the Directorate. These are detailed further in the paragraphs below.
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2024/25 Budget £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance % |
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Housing Services |
-126 |
3 |
2.4 |
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Healthy & Sustainable Homes |
352 |
-11 |
-3.1 |
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TOTAL |
226 |
-8 |
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51. Costs have been able to be contained within Housing General Fund although there have been additional funding from Homelessness Grants and Winter Pressures Grants that have eased cost pressures. These costs do not include losses on Temporary Accommodation that the council incurs due to loss of benefits. These are reported elsewhere in in the council’s budgets.
Housing Revenue Account
52. The Housing Revenue Account budget for 2024/25 was set as a net surplus of £2,023k prior to debt repayment at February 2024. There were carry forwards of £2,293k agreed as part of the outturn report meaning the revised budget stands at £8,670k deficit (including £8,400k debt repayment).
|
Activity area |
2024/25 Budget £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance % |
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Repairs & Maintenance |
10,761 |
-25 |
0% |
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General Management |
7,896 |
-293 |
-4% |
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Special Services |
3,912 |
-125 |
-3% |
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Other Expenditure |
19,870 |
+473 |
+2% |
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Dwelling rents |
-37,933 |
+100 |
+0% |
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Non-Dwelling Rents |
-533 |
-39 |
-7% |
|
Charges for Services |
-2,385 |
+140 |
+6% |
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Other Income |
-1,318 |
-1,013 |
-77% |
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Total |
270 |
-782 |
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Debt Repayment |
8,400 |
0 |
0 |
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Revised Position |
8,670 |
-782 |
-9% |
53. Repairs costs are expected to increase to meet a backlog of electrical inspections and emergency repairs to be carried out in quarter 4. This can be met by the repairs budget brought forward and the underspend on the painting contract. Once the backlog is cleared expenditure will return to budget levels and overall a small saving this year.
54. Legal costs relating to Disrepair claims have risen to £180k which is being shown as an overspend. The claims are being vigorously defended and costs can be claimed for all unsuccessful claims against the council.
55. Other additional costs that have arisen this quarter are insurance costs (£110k) relating to the HRA properties insurance, which is a problem experienced by all local authorities, and additional utility bills being identified (£46k).
56. The additional costs have been offset by budget savings identified: The pay award was less than the contingency set aside and other savings have been identified in the business support budgets totalling £200k.
57. The majority of the HRA overspend and underspend are now balancing each other, and it is the high level of working balances that is providing the HRA with additional interest income (£1m) less the additional interest costs from the loan taken out last year (£293k) that gives rise to the latest HRA position. If the council is successful in defending against the disrepair claims, then our legal costs can be claimed, and the financial position will improve accordingly.
58. The high level of working balance is available to start repaying the £121.5m debt that the HRA incurred as part of self-financing in 2012. The first repayment of £1.9m was paid in 2023/24 and a second payment on £8.4m is due to be repaid at 31st March 2025. This repayment is to be funded from general HRA reserves.
59. The HRA working balance position as at 31st March 2024 was £30.0m. The latest forecast balance at 31st March 2025 is estimated to reduce to £21.4m which is higher than that assumed when the budget was set (£19.9m).
Performance – Service Delivery
60. This performance report is based upon the city outcome and council delivery indicators included in the Performance Framework for the Council Plan (2023-2027) which was launched in September 2023. Wider or historic strategic and operational performance information is published quarterly on the Council’s open data platform; www.yorkopendata.org.uk
61. The Executive for the Council Plan (2023-2027) agreed a core set of indicators to help monitor the Council priorities and these provide the structure for performance updates in this report. Some indicators are not measured on a quarterly basis and the DoT (Direction of Travel) is calculated on the latest three results whether they are annual or quarterly.
62. A summary of the city outcome and council delivery indicators by council plan theme are shown in the paragraphs below along with the latest data for the core indicator set.
63. Number of children in temporary accommodation – at the end of Q1 2024-25, there were 50 children in temporary accommodation in York which is an increase from 45 at the end of Q4 2023-24. Although the number of children has increased, the number of households with children has decreased from 29 to 26 which continues to be 46% of total households in temporary accommodation. The majority of these children are in stable family setups, do not show evidence of achieving worse outcomes, and York continues to report no households with children housed in Bed and Breakfast accommodation.
64. % of adults (aged 16+) that are physically active – The latest data from the Adult Active Lives Survey for the period from mid-November 2022 to mid-November 2023 was published in April 2024. Data for 2024-25 will be available in April 2025. In York, 515 people aged 16 and over took part in the survey, and they reported higher levels of physical activity, and lower levels of physical inactivity, compared with the national and regional averages. Positively:
· 69.8% of people in York did more than 150 minutes of physical activity per week compared with 63.4% nationally and 61.7% regionally. There has been no significant change in the York value from that 12 months earlier.
· 18.8% of people in York did fewer than 30 minutes per week compared with 25.7% nationally and 27.7% regionally. There has been no significant change in the York value from that 12 months earlier.
65. Percentage of people who use services who have control over their daily life – Disabled People – In 2022-23, 78% of all York’s respondents to the Adult Social Care Survey said that they had “as much control as they wanted” or “adequate” control over their daily life, which was the same as the percentage in the Y&H region as a whole. It is higher than the corresponding percentage who gave one of these responses in England as a whole (77%). It has slightly decreased in York from the 2021-22 figure (79%). ASCOF data for 2023-24 has just been released but is being quality assured for accuracy as recording framework has been changed.
66. Percentage of people who use services who have control over their daily life – Older People – In 2022-23, 77% of older people in York that responded to the Adult Social Care Survey said that they had “as much control as they wanted” or “adequate” control over their daily life. This is higher than the corresponding percentages experienced by older people in the Y&H region and in England as a whole (both 74%). It has also increased in York from the 2021-22 figure (71%). ASCOF data for 2023-24 has just been released but is being quality assured for accuracy as recording framework has been changed.
68. Health Inequalities in wards – The ‘health gap’ indicators show the difference between the wards with the highest and lowest values. A lower value is desirable as it indicates less variation in health outcomes based on where people live within the City. Trend data for these indicators helps to monitor whether the gaps are narrowing or widening over time.
· Absolute gap in % of Year 6 recorded overweight (incl. obesity) between the highest and lowest York ward (3 year aggregated) - The value for this indicator for the 3 year period 2021-22 to 2023-24 was 22.9% (the gap between 41.9% in Huntington & New Earswick and 19.0% in Heworth Without). The gap has narrowed compared with the previous reporting period (from 24.7% to 22.9%). The trend in this gap indicator shows a widening in the difference between the values in the highest and lowest ward over time (18.4% in 2008-09 to 2020-11 to 22.9% in the most recent 3 year period).
· Absolute gap in % of children who reach expected level of development at 2-2.5 years of age between highest and lowest York ward (4 yr aggregated) - The value for this indicator for the 4 year period 2020-21 to 2023-24 was 10.53% (the difference between 95.95% in Haxby & Wiggington and 85.42% in Clifton). The latest value represents an improvement (a narrowing of the gap in York) compared with the previous values of 13.65% for 2019-20 to 2022-23 and 13.1% for 2018-19 to 2021-22.
· Absolute gap in % of children totally or partially breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks between highest and lowest York ward (4 year aggregated ward data) - The value for this indicator for the 4 year period 2020-21 to 2023-24 was 39.3%% (the gap between 81% in Heworth Without and 41.7% in Westfield). There has been a widening of the gap from the 4 year period 2017-18 to 2020-21 (36.5%) to the most recent 4 year period (39.3%).
69. Number of new affordable homes delivered in York – During 2024-25, it is expected that affordable housing completions will be significantly below the identified level of need (58 affordable homes have been delivered in the first six months of the year, compared to 46 in the first six months of 2023-24). National scale challenges are facing many areas with buoyant housing markets such as a shortage of sites for affordable housing and labour and supply chain constraints, and these have affected delivery in York. The council itself is maximising delivery opportunities currently, and will access a range of funding opportunities for direct delivery in addition to securing over half of the total completions during 2024-25 through Section 106 planning agreements.
70. There remains a significant future pipeline of affordable homes with planning permission in place across the council's own newbuild development programme and section 106 planning gain negotiated affordable housing. Inclusive of applications with a resolution to approve from Planning Committee, there are over 1,000 affordable homes identified in approved planning applications. The progress ranges from sites that are being built out currently to others with substantial infrastructure or remediation challenges to resolve prior to development. Over 600 of these have progressed through detailed planning, either as a Full application or Reserved Matters. The remainder are at Outline stage, with more uncertainty on timescales and final delivery levels, including the York Central affordable housing contribution.
71. The new Government and Combined Authority have stated that housing supply, and affordable homes in particular, are amongst its key delivery priorities and the council will take advantage of new opportunities in this climate wherever possible.
72.
% of dwellings with energy rating in A-C band in the EPC
register – An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) gives
a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G
(least efficient) and is valid for 10 years. Apart from a few
exemptions, a building must have an EPC assessment when
constructed, sold or let. Whilst the EPC register does not hold
data for every property, it can be viewed as an indication of the
general efficiency of homes. The rating is based on how a property
uses and loses energy for example through heating, lighting,
insulation, windows, water and energy sources. Each area is given a
score which is then used to determine the A-G rating and a rating
of A-C is generally considered to be good energy performance.
73. The % of properties on the register for York with an EPC rating of A-C at the end of October was 45.6%. This measure has increased incrementally month on month since CYC began reporting on the information in March 2023 when 42% of properties were rated A-C. The largest changes in York continue to be in the middle categories with around 3% less properties rated D-E and around 3% more rated C. Data is based on the last recorded certificate for 62,027 properties on the register for York, some of which will have been last assessed more than ten years ago. When looking at certificates added or renewed in the past year only for 2023-24, 58.5% of certificates were rated A-C for York compared to 59.7% Nationally and 55.3% Regionally.
· There has been a total of 339 net housing completions. This represents more than double the number of housing completions compared to the same monitoring period last year. The main features of the housing completions that were carried out are:
o 309 homes (91.2%) were completed on housing sites (Use Class 3).
o 243 homes (71.7%) resulted from the change of use of other buildings to residential use. The Cocoa Works site provided 172 of these properties.
o A total of 99 new build homes (29.2%) were completed.
o 4 homes were demolished during the monitoring period.
o Individual sites that saw the construction of five or less dwellings contributed just 37 (10.9%) additional homes.
o The most significant individual sites providing housing completions (Use Class C3) over the monitoring period have been 172 flats at the Cocoa Works, Haxby Road (Phase 1 Blocks A and B), Cherry Tree House (48), 218 Fifth Avenue (48), Germany Beck (16), Former Civil Service Club, Boroughbridge Road (11) and the former York City Football Club, Bootham Crescent.
· In addition to the 339 net additional homes completed, four care home developments were built during the monitoring period resulting in a net increase of 107 bedspaces. Using the nationally set ratio for communal establishments, this equates to a further 59 completed homes.
75. Net Housing Consents – Planning applications determined during the half year monitoring period of 1st April 2024 to 30th September 2024 resulted in the approval of 383 net additional homes and represents an increase of almost sixty approved homes compared to last year’s update covering the equivalent monitoring period.
76. The main features of the housing approvals are:
· 272 of all net homes consented (71%) were granted on traditional housing sites (Use Class C3).
· Sites granted approval on traditional housing sites (Use Class C3) included Station Yard, Wheldrake (139), Land at Moor Lane, Copmanthorpe (75), whilst the site at Hospital Fields Road & Ordnance Lane was granted consent for an additional 16 homes compared to its earlier approval for 85 homes. A further 36 homes were approved on sites of 5 homes or less.
· The Enterprise Rent-a-Car site at 15 Foss Islands Road was granted consent for 133 privately managed student accommodation studio flats.
· Two previously approved sites at Huntington South Moor New Lane Huntington (-20) and Chelmsford Place Fulford Road (-4) resulted in a total loss of 24 homes compared to their original consents.
· During the monitoring period, a further 282 homes were approved by Planning Committee through a resolution to grant planning permission subject to the execution of a section 106 agreement and recommended conditions. These sites are at draft housing allocation ST4: Land adjacent to Hull Road (162) and the Retreat, 107 Heslington Road (120). These sites are still awaiting full approval.
78. Of the 26 households with children in temporary accommodation at quarter end, 24 were recorded as accommodated in hostels and two within Local Authority or Housing Association housing stock. York continues to report no households with children housed in Bed and Breakfast accommodation at quarter end.
79. During 2023-24 and into 2024-25, an upward trend in overall numbers can be seen both nationally and regionally, however York has been moving in the opposite direction. When looking at the total number of households in temporary accommodation per households in area (000s) at the end of Q1, York continues to perform positively compared to benchmarks (0.65 in York compared to 5.08 Nationally, 1.45 Regionally and 18.85 in London). It should be noted that these figures are snapshot figures and therefore may fluctuate between the snapshot dates.
80. Number of people sleeping rough – Every Thursday, Navigators carry out an early morning street walk checking known rough sleeping hot spots and responding to intel or reports of rough sleepers. The monthly figure is based on the number of rough sleepers found bedded down on the last Thursday of each month. The latest figure shows that there were 16 people sleeping rough in York in December 2024, which is a slight increase from 13 people in December 2023.
81. HMO’s as % of properties in York – The estimate of the proportion of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) divided by the total number of dwellings within York has remained at 4.4% which is the 3rd highest in the region, behind Leeds and Sheffield. The average for England is 1.5% and regionally it is 1.6%. It is not surprising that the levels are higher in university cities as a recent survey suggests that 7 in 10 students live in a privately rented HMO house while studying in the UK.
82. A HMO is defined as an entire house, flat or converted building which is let to three or more persons who form two or more households and who share facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom and toilet.
84. An increase in the number of non-decent properties for York was anticipated following the commissioning of a Full Stock Condition Survey to be carried out on HRA housing stock during 2024. The extensive survey provides a range of information on the internal, external and communal safety and condition of each property. By the end of 2023-24, 36% of stock had been inspected and whilst strengthening the information held on housing, has surfaced further properties requiring work. Survey information received has highlighted in particular an increase in the number of properties with a category 1 hazard which causes an instant fail against the decent homes criteria, these are being responded to by the service as a matter of priority.
85. % of repairs completed on first visit – The percentage of repairs completed on the first visit was 80.2% in November 2024, which remains high and at a similar level to figures seen over the past few years.
86. Number of void properties – Numbers of standard void properties reduced throughout 2023-24 from 73 at the start of the year to 52 at the end of March 2024. Despite 2024-25 starting with 62 voids in April, the latest data for November 2024 shows a reduction to 48 void properties. There was only 1 major works voids at the end of November 2024 which is a large decrease on the 6 major works voids in September 2023.
87. % of tenants satisfied that their landlord provides a home that is well maintained – In 2023-24 in York, 64% of tenants were satisfied that the landlord provides a well maintained home. There are no national benchmarking figures available, as yet, however Leeds have released their results and they have a 67% satisfaction rate.
Consultation
88. Not applicable.
Options
89. Not applicable.
Analysis
90. Not applicable.
Council Plan
91. Not applicable.
Implications
92. The recommendations in the report potentially have implications across several areas. However, at this stage
· Financial implications are contained throughout the main body of the report. The actions and recommendations contained in this report should ensure the continued financial stability and resilience of the Council both in the current year and in future years.
· Human Resources (HR), there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
· Legal The Council is under a statutory obligation to set a balanced budget on an annual basis. Under the Local Government Act 2003 it is required to monitor its budget during the financial year and take remedial action to address overspending and/or shortfalls of income.
· Procurement, there are no specific procurement implications to this report.
· Health and Wellbeing, there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
· Environment and Climate action, there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
· Affordability, there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
· Equalities and Human Rights, there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
· Data Protection and Privacy, there are no implications related to the recommendations.
· Communications, there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
· Economy, there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
Risk Management
93. An assessment of risks is completed as part of the annual budget setting exercise. These risks are managed effectively through regular reporting and corrective action being taken where necessary and appropriate.
94. The current financial position represents a significant risk to the Council's financial viability and therefore to ongoing service delivery. It is important to ensure that the mitigations and decisions outlined in this paper are delivered and that the overspend is reduced.
Recommendations
95. The Committee is asked to:
a. Note the finance and performance information.
b. Note that work will continue on identifying savings needed to fully mitigate the forecast overspend.
Reason: to ensure expenditure is kept within the approved budget.
Contact Details
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Author: |
Chief Officer Responsible for the report: |
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Patrick Looker/Steve TaitHead of ServiceFinance/Finance ManagerExt 1633
Ian Cunningham Head of Business Intelligence Ext 5749 |
Debbie MitchellDirector of Finance
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Report Approved |
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Date |
04/03/2025 |
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Wards Affected: List wards or tick box to indicate all |
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For further information please contact the author of the report |
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Background Papers: None.
Annexes: HHASC Q3 24-25 Scrutiny Committee Scorecard