Chorley Council Registered Provider Partnership Framework

Introduction

The Chorley Council Registered Provider Partnership Framework is a strategic partnership between the Council and the Registered Providers selected by the Council to deliver affordable housing in the borough secured through Section 106 Agreements.

The delivery of high quality affordable housing is a key objective of the Council's Corporate Strategy. This Framework allows careful selection of Registered Provider partners to ensure that those Registered Providers delivering affordable housing in the borough meet the objectives of the Council and benefit residents by providing high quality and well managed affordable homes.

Objectives

The objectives of the Framework are:

• to work in partnership with Registered Providers to maximise the delivery of high quality and well managed affordable housing, of the right tenure, in the borough secured through Section 106 Agreements, in accordance with the requirements of Policy 7 of the Central Lancashire Core Strategy, the Central Lancashire Affordable Housing SPD and the Council's Tenancy Strategy.
• to seek to provide certainty to developers and Registered Providers and ensure affordable units are truly affordable by identifying transfer prices to be used as a guide for affordable units secured through Section 106 Agreements.
• to provide a consistent approach to allocations by only allowing Registered Providers that are signed up to the Council's choice based lettings scheme Select Move, or give assurance that they will sign up to Select Move if selected to be a partner, and have a local presence to be a partner of the Framework.

Membership Criteria

Only Registered Providers that meet the following mandatory criteria are invited to apply to be a partner of the Framework:

• are a Registered Provider with Homes England and have Investment Partner status.
• are signed up to the Council's choice-based lettings scheme Select Move or give assurance that they will sign up to Select Move if they are selected as a partner. Failure to sign up to Select Move will result in the Registered Provider being removed from the Framework.
• have existing affordable stock in the borough or have secured affordable stock through planning permission/Section 106 Agreements that have not yet been developed.
• are committed to investing in Chorley Borough with particular focus on new social rented stock (affordable rent where grant funded).

Applications from Registered Providers meeting the above criteria will be considered further and assessed against the following performance criteria:

• compliance with regulatory standards
• management arrangements
• customer care/quality of service
• development expertise
• support for Council's strategic objectives

Application Process

Registered Providers wishing to join the Framework will be required to provide a written submission confirming that they meet the mandatory criteria and outlining how they meet the performance criteria set out above. Appendix 1 sets out further information on the criteria and the process for scoring submissions and selecting partners.

A Selection Panel comprising of Chief Officers, Elected Members and at least one independent representative has been formed which will assess and score the applications and decide which Register Providers will be selected as partners.

Allocation Process

The process for allocating affordable units, which will be secured through a Section 106 Agreement, is as follows:

1. The planning application will be determined, and the Section 106 Agreement signed which will specify that the affordable units must be allocated in line with this Framework.
2. The developer will be required in the first instance to liaise with the Council regarding the transfer of the affordable units.
3. If the Council do not wish to secure the affordable units, the developer can transfer the affordable units to any other Registered Provider on the Framework. The preference is that if a particular RP owns significant existing stock in the area of the development then the affordable units should be allocated to that RP. The developer must notify the Council which RP has secured the units upon entering into a contract.
4. Prior to or upon completion of the affordable units, the Registered Provider will pay the developer the agreed transfer value.

Transfer Values

The following transfer values should be used as a guide for affordable units secured through Section 106 Agreements:

These transfer values have been calculated based on household income and affordability in Chorley Borough. It is proposed that they will be updated on an annual basis to account for changing market conditions and local housing need requirements.

Duration of the Framework

The Framework will run for a three year period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2025. However, if it is considered necessary the Council will review the Framework sooner. New Registered Providers will only be invited to join the Framework during any review.

Number of Partners

The aim is for the Framework to have a minimum of five partners to ensure that all affordable units secured through Section 106 Agreements can be delivered. There will be no maximum number of partners.

Fees

All partners are required to contribute to the cost of service delivery. A fee will therefore be charged for each affordable housing unit delivered through the Framework. These fees go towards the provision of services which enable the delivery of affordable housing and assist in funding the administrative services required to secure and maximise affordable housing delivery. They may also be used to secure any other additional services directly relating to affordable housing delivery.

The total fee for a development is payable by the Registered Provider to the Council when a start on the first affordable unit on a site is made by the developer or upon entering into a contract with the developer if the affordable units commence prior to this. The fees cannot be paid from reserves which have been accumulated via funded schemes such as Recycled Capital Grant Fund.

The fee is £500 per affordable unit. This fee will be increased annually by RPI.

Requirements of Partners

Partners of the Framework are required to sign a Partner Agreement and:

• adhere to the membership criteria and allocation process
• pay the relevant fees in a timely manner
• recycle shared ownership staircasing receipts in the Borough
• provide quarterly update reports to the Council
• provide details of Regulator of Social Housing regulatory judgements/regulatory notices to the Council when published

Monitoring the Framework and Addressing Poor Performance

The Council will annually review the performance of the Framework and the performance of each partner against the membership criteria and partner requirements. Poor performance or failure to meet these requirements will result in the partner being removed from the Framework.

If a partner is judged to be non-compliant with the Regulator of Social Housing regulatory framework and/or is subject to intervention/enforcement action they will be removed from the Framework. Their partner status will be reviewed following the outcome of the intervention/enforcement action.

Process for Scoring Submissions and Selecting Partners

Membership criteria

Applications from Registered Providers must confirm that they meet the mandatory membership criteria and include a written submission setting out how the Registered Provider meets the performance criteria set out below. Details of the evidence to be provided are also set out below. Applications should be accompanied by relevant documentation.

Scoring system

Each of the above criteria will be scored as follows on a scale of 0 to 5: