Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors David Morton, Frances Umeh (Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness), and Rebecca Harvey (Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion and Community Safety).

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

NOTE: Since the previous meeting, the policy and accountability committees have been reorganised and renamed. Some elements of the previous version of the committee’s work are now the responsibility of The Economy, Arts, Sports and Public Realm Policy and Accountability Committee.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 25 January 2022 were noted.

To note the terms of reference of the Housing and Homelessness Policy and Accountability Committee.

The Committee noted the terms of reference.

Change of agenda order

The Chair explained that Item 6 would take priority on the agenda to allow officers to attend another meeting following their briefing to the Committee.

Officers will deliver a short presentation on housing repairs.

Mark Meehan (Chief Housing Officer) and Richard Buckley (Assistant Director, Residents and Building Safety) gave a short briefing to the Committee on the state of the housing repairs service. Mark Meehan noted that a detailed report on repairs was planned for the November meeting, including an update on the capital programme, the housing pipeline, and plans to spend £600m to improve housing in the borough.

ACTION: Mark Meehan

Councillor Paul Alexander asked how much compensation the Council had paid out for delayed repairs so far. Mark Meehan said £154,000 had been paid out this year.

Councillor Adronie Alford was concerned about the performance of contractors and repeated service failings. She asked how long it would take to improve the situation. Mark Meehan said the service should be in a steady state by September and if it wasn’t, officers would reconsider the delivery model.

This report provides an update on rough sleeping, homelessness prevention,  temporary accommodation, and the private rented sector.

Residents with an interest in this item are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion. If you would like to attend, please contact: David.Abbott@lbhf.gov.uk

The Chair introduced the item and the officers and guests in attendance.

Officers attending from the Council:

·       Lucy Baker (Prevention and Rough Sleeping Commissioning Manager)

·       Simone Melia (Head of Homelessness Prevention)

·       Gerry Crowley (Head of Allocations and Lettings)

·       Nicky Pooni (Property and Place Manager)

Guest attending from third sector organisations in the borough:

·       Michael Angus (Barons Court Project)

·       Stewart Proudley (St Mungos)

·       Chris Francis (The Upper Room)

·       Alyssa Muck (BEAM)

·       Mark Dronfield (Turning Point)

·       Stephen Tooby (Thames Reach)

The Chair noted that the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) had been activated in the borough in recent days to provide shelter for people sleeping rough when there was an increased risk of death due to the weather. She thanked officers in the Street Outreach team and all others involved in facilitating it.

Officers presented the report which gave an update on rough sleeping, homelessness prevention, temporary accommodation, and the private rented sector.

The Chair asked officers how the Council communicated what support was available to those at risk of homelessness. Simone Melia (Head of Homelessness Prevention) said information was available on the Council’s website and was disseminated to partners. There was a duty for public agencies (job centres, hospitals, prisons etc.) to refer people at risk to the Council. Gerry Crowley (Head of Allocations and Lettings) added that officers were also working with Housing Associations to develop referral protocols. Alyssa Muck said BEAM did prevention work – they identified people at risk of homelessness and provided services for them as quickly as possible.

Simone Melia said the Council didn’t record the ‘pre-prevention’ work that took place before the 56-day relief duty period officially started. She said officers did a lot of work in that period including providing support and helping people into work or training, but it wasn’t recorded.

The Chair asked what programmes were available to provide social, financial, and digital inclusion to people. Stewart Proudley (St Mungos) said IT equipment was available and there were training courses and online learning opportunities, but uptake was relatively low. Many of the people affected didn’t own laptops or smart phones. He added that the online nature of so many services was a barrier for people. Stewart Proudley commented that the goal at St Mungos was not just housing people in the short-term but putting them on a pathway out of homelessness – which often meant some form of drug or alcohol treatment. He felt there needed to be an integrated offer with services provided at the right phases.

The Chair asked if appropriate pathways were available. Officers said there were several pathways including supported accommodation, Housing First, and social housing.

Dr Nicola Lang (Director of Public Health) agreed that digital inclusion was an important factor. She noted that was why the Council was developing co-located services, so people were there to explain how to use the services available to them.

Councillor Paul Alexander, in reference to paragraph 27 of the report, said he supported the Council’s approach to avoiding the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To note the following scheduled dates:

·       14 November 2022

·       23 January 2023

·       20 March 2023

The Committee noted the dates scheduled for future meetings:

·       14 November 2022

·       23 January 2023

·       20 March 2023