Issue - meetings

On 24 April 2017, Cabinet took a decision to end the management agreement with Brent Housing Partnership (BHP), and bring housing management services back under direct control of the Council. This paper aims to give an update on progress with the transition of staff and services from BHP to the Council, and to make a recommendation regarding  the future of BHP Ltd and the properties in its ownership.

RESOLVED:

14.1       Cabinet noted the update on progress with transition of the Council’s housing management functions from BHP back to the Council.

14.2       Cabinet approved that moving forward in the short term, BHP is retained as a company that is wholly owned by the Council and as a registered provider of social housing which will include the properties that it owns in its own right. Any change of course that is proposed to deviate from this direction of travel would be put forward to the Cabinet for a decision.

14.3       Cabinet approved on behalf of the Council to authorise the Strategic Director for Community Wellbeing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform to make the necessary amendments to the company name, the Articles and Memorandum of Association and changes to the Board Membership of BHP which they see fit, in consultation with the Chief Legal Officer and work with the current BHP Board to implement the necessary changes at BHP’s next AGM at the end of September 2017.

14.4       Cabinet agreed to delegate authority to the Strategic Director for Community Wellbeing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform to novate and assign relevant contracts from BHP to the Council for the reasons detailed in paragraph 3.8 of the report from the Strategic Director of Community and Wellbeing.

Phil Porter (Strategic Director, Community Wellbeing) introduced the report updating the Cabinet on progress made on the transition of staff and services from Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) to the Council, following the Cabinet’s decision of 24 April 2017 to end the management agreement with BHP. The Council and BHP were working to a transition date of 2 October 2017 and negotiations were ongoing.  Phil Porter stated that BHP currently managed 11,000 council homes as well as 329 homes and 2 commercial properties owned by BHP. The report therefore proposed that BHP continued to exist in a revised form, with new articles of association, new board membership and a new name but retaining its Registered Provider status and continuing to own the 331 properties currently within its ownership.

RESOLVED:

14.1      Cabinet noted the update on progress with transition of the Council’s housing management functions from BHP back to the Council.

14.2      Cabinet approved that moving forward in the short term, BHP is retained as a company that is wholly owned by the Council and as a registered provider of social housing which will include the properties that it owns in its own right. Any change of course that is proposed to deviate from this direction of travel would be put forward to the Cabinet for a decision.

14.3      Cabinet approved on behalf of the Council to authorise the Strategic Director for Community Wellbeing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform to make the necessary amendments to the company name, the Articles and Memorandum of Association and changes to the Board Membership of BHP which they see fit, in consultation with the Chief Legal Officer and work with the current BHP Board to implement the necessary changes at BHP’s next AGM at the end of September 2017.

14.4      Cabinet agreed to delegate authority to the Strategic Director for Community Wellbeing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform to novate and assign relevant contracts from BHP to the Council for the reasons detailed in paragraph 3.8 of the report from the Strategic Director of Community and Wellbeing.