Agreed: 20 January 2020
Due for review: January 2021
1. Aims and Objectives
1.1 To review and agree funding applications from residents’ groups and relevant officers for estate improvements outside the scope of responsive repairs process or planned maintenance schemes.
1.2 To review and agree funding applications against an agreed set of criteria.
1.3 To provide accountability, transparency, and value for money in terms of reviewing and agreeing funding applications.
2. The Role of the Investment Group
2.1 To review all relevant funding applications for the Neighbourhood Improvement Projects (NIP), the Place Environmental Rejuvenation Programme (PERP) and the Inclusion Fund (IF)
2.2 To agree priority funding applications using an approved weighting criteria, if necessary.
2.3 To ensure that funding is awarded where it is most needed.
2.4 To receive progress updates on approved bids.
2.5 To promote the work of the group to other residents and encourage them to get involved.
2.6 To ensure that there is appropriate funding for bids and to have the knowledge to direct to an alternative appropriate budget (eg Play Innovation, Repairs, Planned Maintenance).
2.7 To review and agree other relevant funding streams available for estate improvements and agree funding applications as appropriate.
3. Membership
3.1 Membership of the Investment Group is open to all residents living in a property managed or leased from the council.
3.2 There should be no less than 6 members in the Group. The maximum number of resident members is 12. There can be a maximum of five leaseholders on the group, proportional to the total number of members of the group. One of the tenants can be a sheltered housing tenant. The Group aspires to have a fair representation of residents from the north and south of the borough, in proportion to the number of properties, 6 from north, 5 from south and 1 from sheltered.
3.3 Membership is subject to four conditions:
3.3.1 to work co-operatively and constructively as part of a team
3.3.2 a willingness/commitment to undertake training for the role
3.3.3 a willingness/commitment to set aside the time necessary to attend meetings and training
3.3.4 a commitment to abide by the agreed Code of Conduct
3.4 Membership of the group will be reviewed annually. If membership fall below 50% (i.e. 6 residents), the viability of the group will be considered Membership will be publicised on the resident involvement webpage and provided to all Housing Representatives Forum members after the AGM.
3.5 Members of the Investment Group cannot be both a member of the Investment Group and any future Scrutiny Panel. This clause is intended to avoid any potential conflict of interest in the work of both groups.
3.6 Members of the Investment Group can also be members of one other service improvement group.
4. Equalities, Diversity, and Inclusion
4.1 The council believes in a fair society that gives everyone an equal chance to learn, work and live free from discrimination, harassment, and prejudice and recognises that the diversity of our community is an asset to our borough.
4.2 The council will ensure no-one is discriminated against based on their age, class, disability, employment status, ethnic or national origins, race or colour, HIV status, marital status, religious or political beliefs, responsibilities for children or dependants, sex, sexuality, trade union activities and unrelated criminal convictions.
4.3 The Investment Group will recognise the existence and importance of the different lifestyles within our communities. The Group will work to ensure that no Group or individual will be directly or indirectly discriminated against.
4.4 The council will ensure relevant support is provided so that the membership of the Group is accessible to all. Members must abide by the Code of Conduct which undertakes to deal firmly and promptly with any cases of discrimination, harassment, or prejudice.
4.5 All members are required to undertake relevant training
5. Frequency of Meetings
5.1 The Group will have a minimum of 6 meetings per year. Dates will be agreed at the Annual General Meeting. These may need to change on occasion throughout the year, based on funding cycles.
6. Quorum
6.1 A quorum will be more than 50% of members e.g. if membership is 12, a quorum will be 7. Inquorate meetings should be noted and decisions ratified at the next quorate meeting.
6.2 If a meeting is inquorate:
6.2.1 absent members will be entitled to present their vote in advance (up to 48 hours before the meeting) in writing
6.2.2 if required, officers can join the voting panel
7. Officer Support
7.1 The Investment Group will be provided with officer support to co-ordinate activities.
7.2 A summary of the bids for consideration will be given to all group members. Group members are not permitted to vote on bids for their own estates or schemes.
8. Chairing of meetings
8.1 The Investment Group will elect a Chair and Vice Chair. The election for both roles will take place annually during the AGM.
8.2 The term of the appointment to Chair and Vice Chair roles will be for one year. Following this, the Chair and Vice Chair will stand down and an election will take place. Residents can only be Chair of one service improvement group, or resident-led forum. Residents can only be Vice Chair of one service improvement group, or resident-led forum.
8.3 The Chair will be provided with updates in terms of group member attendance and will be responsible for discussing any areas of concern in terms of attendance, contribution to the group, or breaches of the agreed code of conduct.
8.4 The Vice Chair will deputise for the Chair in their absence. This includes dealing with any issues in terms of breaches of the agreed code of conduct.
9. Area of Business
9.1 The remit of the Investment Group will be to consider and award funding in terms of the PERP, NIP, and IF programmes and any other relevant funding streams available for estate improvement works.
10. Programme of Work
10.1 The Investment Group will hold award funding meetings six times a year normally in:
- January and March for NIP and IF
- June for PERP
- September for NIP and IF
- October for PERP projects review
- November for NIP and IF
Meetings will consider
- Sustainability
- Community safety and community development
- What component of a bid can be funded?
- Estate/block historic investment
- Project life expectancy
- Whether the proposed works constitute capital expenditure in terms of the Section 16 definition of the Local Government Act 2003
10.2 The Investment Group will have a tour to review completed projects.
11. Accountability
11.1 The Investment Group is formally accountable to the Housing Representatives Forum and the Cabinet member for Housing.
11.2 The minutes and all reports of the Group will be made available on the council’s web site and to any resident on request.
11.3 When required, the Investment Group may request that the Cabinet Member for Housing, Executive Director, or Director to attend their meeting.
11.4 In the event of the council having concerns about Investment Group compliance with these Terms of Reference, representatives from the council will meet with the Group at their next scheduled meeting. A joint agreement will be put in place to remedy this.
12. Budget
12.1 The council will consult with the Investment Group and link to the resident involvement budget to support the Group to operate effectively. An overall annual budget for resident involvement is agreed and can be made available to the Investment Group.
12.2 Expenses will be paid in line with the Resident Expenses Policy (pdf 225KB).
13. Training
13.1 All new members will undertake an induction programme and training. Requirements will be assessed and agreed by group members A training programme will be developed and delivered with resident input. This will be regularly reviewed.
14. Evaluation of Investment Group Activities
14.1 The work of the Investment Group will be subject to an annual impact assessment and its findings will be reported to the Housing Representatives Forum.
15. Recruitment and Succession
15.1 Investment Group members will be recruited via an advertisement to residents. Training will be provided and there will be a code of conduct that members of the Group are expected to adhere to.
15.2 Members will be asked about any support they may need if they cannot attend meetings and other activities. If a member has not attended three consecutive meetings, a meeting/phone call will be organised to discuss if any additional support can be offered and to identify a plan to support attendance or by mutual agreement, temporary or permanent stepping down from the Group.