The Chairman asked Members to switch off their mobile phones or as a minimum, switch them to silent.

Transcription

1 MINUTES OF THE 641 ST MEETING OF THE NORTHERN IRELAND HOUSING EXECUTIVE HELD ON WEDNESDAY, 26 TH NOVEMBER 2014 AT AM IN THE BOARDROOM, THE HOUSING CENTRE, 2 ADELAIDE STREET, BELFAST The Chairman asked Members to switch off their mobile phones or as a minimum, switch them to silent. 1. PRESENT Mr D Hoodless Prof P Roberts Mr F Britton Mrs A Coffey Mrs E Dunbar Mr G Lomax Mr K Millar Mrs J Palmer Mr J Speers Chairman Vice Chairman 2. IN ATTENDANCE Ms M Lightbody Mr T McCartney Mr C Bailie Miss S McCauley Mr G Flynn Mr J Blease Miss A Neill Mrs J Boyd Acting Chief Executive Director of Corporate Services Director of Finance Director of Regional Services Director of Landlord Services Head of Corporate Communications & Secretariat Company Secretary Meetings Secretary 3. APOLOGY There were no apologies. 4. WELCOME The Chairman welcomed Ashley Neill, Company Secretary to the meeting. 5. DECLARATION OF INTERESTS The Chairman asked if any Member had an interest to declare in relation to any item on the Agenda. The standing interests of Mrs Dunbar, Mrs Coffey & Mrs Palmer, as landlords were noted. No action was deemed necessary in relation to the agenda items. No other interests were declared.

2 continued. 5. MINUTES AND NOTE/MATTERS ARISING i) Minutes of the 639 th Board Meeting held on Wednesday, 24 th September 2014 Paper No 640/3(1) It was proposed by Mrs A Coffey, seconded by Mrs J Palmer and Resolved That the Minutes of the 639 th Meeting held on Wednesday, 24 th September 2014, be approved and signed by the Chairman subject to the following amendment:- CH Page 2 Item 6 Away Day should read Chief Executive of Fermanagh & Omagh Super Council. 6. MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS 6.1 Presentations Budget Impact 2015/16 Clark Bailie, Director of Finance See Paper No R641/6(1) Data Analytics Trevor McCartney, Director of Corporate Services & Sean Nolan, Head of IT Services 7. WELCOME TO MINISTER MERVYN STOREY The Chairman advised that Members would be meeting privately with Mervyn Storey, Minister for Social Development to meet with Members am. The note of the meeting will be held under separate cover by the Chairman. 8. CHAIRMAN S BUSINESS 8.1 Chairman s Report Extension of the Post of Acting Chief Executive Correspondence from Andrew Hamilton received 17 November 2014 regarding the Ministers approval to continue with the existing acting up arrangements for the Chief Executive post and the Chairman s reply was circulated to Members.

3 8 continued.. The Chairman advised that he had met with the Permanent Secretary earlier this morning and that he had discussed the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive, Director for Asset Management, Director for Human Resources and Finance Support from PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The Chairman commented that the Permanent Secretary had suggested making these appointments through SIB. The Chairman undertook to raise the issue of appointments directly with the Minister. Mrs Coffey commented that as the organisation is going through a period of change with the Social Housing Reform Programme, the Permanent Secretary should be invited to meet with the Board 2/3 times a year in order to build a closer relationship. The Vice Chair commented on the need for extra support within the Regional Services Division as it develops its future role. The Acting Chief Executive advised that the Director of Regional Services and her team are working closely with the Department for Social Development on the HANI (?) role and commented that discussions are well advanced. The Board discussed the Department s role in the appointment of senior management posts within the organisation. The Chairman requested a paper for the December board outlining the governance arrangements for appointments. DCS Audit & Risk Assurance Committee Members Deane Morrice s term of appointment is due to expire in December The Board approved the extension of Mr Morrice s term until 30 September JP Irvine s term of appointment is due to expire on 31 st January The Board approved the extension of Mr Irvine s term for a future two years until 31 January 2017.

4 continued. 9. FOR APPROVAL 9.1 Acquisition of Land in Support of the Social Housing Development Programme Paper No 641/7(2) The Board noted the difficulties being experienced by Housing Associations in obtaining land and the work being undertaken by Regional Services to identify hotspots and a joint review with SIB to match available land with areas of high housing demand. The Vice Chair commented on the negotiations with Councils regarding their new land use powers and stated that the organisation is being effective in a joined up thinking approach to this issue. Mr Lomax commented on the issue of risk in regard to Housing Associations purchasing sites at higher land values. The Acting Chief Executive commented on the aspiration and building components to bring regeneration to life by leading the delivery programme. The Acting Chief Executive advised the Board that no other organisation is looking at land assembly for housing and regeneration. The Acting Chief Executive commented on the lack of certainty regarding funding for this strategy. Mrs Coffey expressed her concern regarding the acquisition of large sites and her uncertainty regarding the organisation s role in regeneration. The Vice Chair commented on the need to acquire sites at the right price to ensure added value is achieved. The Vice Chair stated that this strategy presented a low risk. Mrs Palmer commented on the issue of contamination at the St Patricks Barracks and Hilden Mill sites and the costs involved. The Vice Chair commented on the need to consider sites on a case by case basis. He also commented on the unlikelihood of housing associations producing a 5 year land programme. Decision taken: The Board approved the submission of a business case and budget bid to the Department for Social Development.

5 continued FOR INFORMATION 10.1 Regional and Support Services Business Monitor for October 2014 Paper No 641/8(2) The Board noted the performance results for Regional and Support Services at the end of October Routine Business under Board Scheme of Delegations i) Report on MEI Killowen Estate, Coleraine ANY OTHER BUSINESS The paper was approved. There was no other business. 12. DATE AND VENUE OF THE NEXT BOARD MEETING The next meeting of the Board will be held on Wednesday, 17 th December 2014 at am in the Boardroom, the Housing Centre, 2 Adelaide Street, Belfast. The meeting ended at 1.40 pm CHAIRMAN