The Crawley Borough Council cabinet met on 3 September 2025 and approved a revised Civil Penalties and Rent Repayment Orders Policy, a new Domestic Abuse Policy for Crawley Homes, and the Crawley Homes Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report. The cabinet also reviewed the financial outturn for 2024-2025, budget monitoring for the first quarter of 2025-2026, and the Treasury Management Outturn for 2024-2025.

Civil Penalties and Rent Repayment Orders Policy

The cabinet approved a revised Civil Penalties and Rent Repayment Order Policy, as detailed in Appendix A of report SHAP/096. The policy allows the council to pursue civil penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution for certain housing offences. The cabinet also delegated authority to the Head of Strategic Housing, in consultation with the Head of Governance, People and Performance, to agree on the sum of civil penalties to be issued on a case-by-case basis. Authority was also delegated to the Head of Strategic Housing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Public Protection, Councillor Yasmin Khan, to make amendments to the policy as legislation and statutory guidance changes.

Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of the Opposition, welcomed the policy, stating that it gave the council another tool to crack down on private landlords that might be breaking the law and not treating their tenants correct. He also noted that the policy was aligned with those of Horsham District Council and Mid Sussex District Council, which would be helpful given potential local government reorganisation options.

The key changes in the revised policy include:

• Replacing the banding model for determining fines with starting points, from which a landlord's circumstances are considered to identify mitigating and aggravating factors.
• Adjusting the penalty based on the number of rental properties a landlord controls, owns, or manages, with distinctions made between landlords managing one or two properties, three to five properties, and six or more properties.

Crawley Homes Domestic Abuse Policy

The cabinet approved the Crawley Homes Domestic Abuse Policy, as detailed in Appendix A of report CH/219, for adoption and publication. The policy aims to ensure compliance with legislation and provide clarity for staff and tenants regarding domestic abuse. The cabinet also delegated authority to the Head of Crawley Homes, Amanda Kendall, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Ian Irvine, to make amendments to the policy as needed.

Councillor Justin Russell presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission's comments, which included seeking clarification regarding the processes for safeguarding referrals.

The reasons for the recommendations are to ensure that Crawley Homes complies with legislation, fulfils regulatory requirements, aids staff in making consistent decisions, and ensures that staff understand their responsibilities under the law.

Crawley Homes Complaints Report and Service Improvement Plan

The cabinet approved the Crawley Homes Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report, including the Service Improvement Action Plan and Self-Assessment (appendix A of report CH/229), for publication. The cabinet also delegated authority to the Head of Crawley Homes, Amanda Kendall, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Ian Irvine, to make minor amendments to the report as needed.

Councillor Justin Russell presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission's comments, noting a significant improvement in complaints handling despite an increase in the volume of complaints. The Commission requested year-on-year comparisons of stage 1 and stage 2 complaints data going forward.

Councillor Ian Irvine acknowledged the Tenants and Leaseholders Action Panel's (TLAP) help and support in driving improvements within Crawley Homes.

Financial Outturn 2024-2025 (Quarter 4)

The cabinet noted the financial outturn for 2024/2025, as summarised in report FIN/704, and the carry forward requests. The cabinet recommended that the full council agree to the transfers of reserves and balances as outlined in Appendix F of the report and approve the additional capital programme as detailed within section 8.10 of the report.

The General Fund outturn was favourable by £918k, partly due to a variance from investment income of £2.484m. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) outturn was an overspend of £2.656m, mainly due to repairs being £1.15m over budget. Actual spend on the Capital programme was £33.491m, with a slippage of £11.778m to future years.

Councillor Justin Russell presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission's comments, welcoming the favourable outturn despite ongoing financial pressures. Councillor Duncan Crow queried when it had become apparent that the investment interest would be so significant and asked for further information on the New Burdens funding for the housing of Chagossians¹. Councillor Michael Jones, Leader of the Council, responded that the increased investment income was due to officers securing longer-term, higher-rate deals. He added that the council had been informed in writing by the Home Office that it would receive the New Burdens funding by the end of the month.

2025-2026 Budget Monitoring - Quarter 1

The cabinet noted the projected outturn for the financial year 2025/26, as summarised in report FIN/703. The cabinet approved a capital virement² of £646k from the Towns Fund monies to Crawley Innovation Centre, an increase in the Unsupervised Play Investment Programme budget funded from £68k S106 monies and £421k CIL monies, and a supplementary estimate of £79k for phase two of the Housing Management Project.

The General Fund net projected overspend was £476k, after adjusting for £300k investment interest. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) forecast overspend was £156k, mainly driven by disrepair claims.

Councillor Justin Russell presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission's comments, raising concerns over consistent under-budgeting with regards to temporary accommodation. Councillor Duncan Crow raised concerns about the overspend relating to Ashdown House, commenting that he hoped the cabinet and officers would keep evaluating whether keeping the property compared to selling the property was in the council's best interest.

Treasury Management Outturn 2024 – 2025

The cabinet approved the actual 2024/25 Prudential and Treasury Indicators, as set out in report FIN/705, and noted the Annual Treasury Management Report for 2024/25.

The report confirmed compliance with the Council's Treasury Management Strategy and policies. The council's capital expenditure was fully financed, and no borrowing was required. The council received an average rate of return of 5% from its treasury investments and 4.26% from its commercial properties.

Councillor Justin Russell presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission's comments, welcoming the levels of investment income achieved.