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1.   
Approved that the Council enters into a Memorandum
of Understanding with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities, as set out in Appendix 1 of this report, to deliver
Round One of the Local Authority Housing Fund and provide the Royal
Borough of Greenwich with £365,817 of grant
funding.
 

2.   
Approved that the Council enters into a Memorandum
of Understanding with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities, as set out in Appendix 2 of this report, to deliver
Round Two of the Local Authority Housing Fund and provide the Royal
Borough of Greenwich with £8,000,000 of grant
funding.
 

3.   
Approved the following budgets to enable the
delivery of the Local Authority Housing Fund programme:
 
Local Authority
Housing Fund Round 1
•          
DLUHC Grant = £365,817
•          
General Fund Borrowing = £105,683
 
Local Authority
Housing Fund Round 2
•          
DLUHC Grant = £8,000,000
•          
General Fund Borrowing = £4,489,000
 

4.   
Approved the use of the funding relating to the
Local Authority Housing Fund Round 2, which can be used to acquire
temporary accommodation for any household owed a homeless duty by
the Council, so that properties outside of the borough within a
30-minute travel time from the Royal Borough of Greenwich may be
acquired for the provision of temporary accommodation for that
purpose.
 

5.   
Noted the assumptions outlined in Appendix 3 of this
report, which apply a portfolio approach to the delivery of the
programme and set indicative purchase prices per property against
each bedroom size.  These assumptions ensure the proposals in
this report do not provide a General Fund budget
pressure.     
 

6.   
Delegated to the Director of Regeneration,
Enterprise and Skills authority to acquire properties and otherwise
apply the funding under, and in accordance with, the Local
Authority Housing Fund programme.
 

7.   
Approved that the Council, in the provision of
housing as a part of the temporary accommodation programme, be
authorised to acquire properties out of the Borough within a
30-minute travel time from the Royal Borough of Greenwich using
Right to Buy Receipts for use as temporary
accommodation.
 

8.   
Delegated to the Director of Regeneration,
Enterprise and Skills authority to select and acquire properties
for that purpose.
 

9.   
Noted that the Memorandums of Understanding relating
to the Local Authority Housing Fund were due for signature on 14
September 2023 but this was delayed so that additional funding
could be sought. Access to the funding is required as a matter of
urgency and before the next Cabinet Meeting.
 

10.Noted
that the Council is also under immediate and sustained pressure in
order to meet its duties to provide temporary accommodation and
requires the ability to acquire properties out of the borough in
order to fulfil this duty as a matter of urgency and before the
next Cabinet Meeting.
 

11.Noted
that the Leader of the Council has, therefore, amended the Scheme
of Delegation to enable these matters to be approved by the Leader
of the Council owing to the urgency with which the Council is
required to take these matters forward in fulfilment of its
duties.