Agenda item

Glendine Shepherd (Assistant Director, Housing Management) introduced the report that set out the challenges in delivering services to fulfil the Council’s statutory obligation to provide suitable and affordable TA in the face of welfare reform changes, rising accommodation costs and decreasing availability of in-borough accommodation.

As well as providing a comprehensive overview of the pressures, Glendine Shepherd outlined what the Council was currently doing to help mitigate the risks. Steps included, having a strong TA reduction programme in place to reduce the financial impact of this accommodation type.

It was noted that a Cabinet report had been written requesting the Authority join Capital Letters -  an ambitious Government and London Councils sponsored scheme to centralise the procurement of TA and Private Rented accommodation from private landlords. Further actions included, implementing an interim staffing structure to prepare for the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 with temporary roles being budgeted to end in March 2019.  In the longer term, Glendine Shepherd explained that a full-service review was underway to establish the interim structure and review overall service delivery to ensure a robust response to the new legislation, ensure legal compliance and provide greater emphasis on preventing and relieving homelessness.

In addition, and as a result of the current budget pressures for 18/19, Glendine Shepherd explained that a review of the TA provision had been carried out to ensure that the best possible value for money was being achieved from available resources. Finally, it was noted that the introduction of a new Trail Blazer service would support and enable tenants to gain exemption from the Benefits Cap through: Training and qualifying employment; Disability/Carers benefit where possible; Crowd funding arrangements in partnership with BEAM (a service that fund-raises for employment and training for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Concluding her initial remarks, Glendine Shepherd stated that increasing the supply of social and affordable housing was crucial to thesuccess of any strategic approach to managing the TA process. Low turnover in social housing (in common with all of London) had slowed the TA move on process and resulted in more households remaining in TA for longer periods – compounding the need for additional TA units. It was noted that the Council plans to increase affordable housing, reducing pressure on TA budgets by providing permanent lower cost homes through direct delivery, partnership with housing associations and working with developers through the planning process

Councillor Zarar Qayyum asked in cases where a resident or homeless person had a connection within the borough whether this affected their housing entitlement. In response, Glendine Shepherd explained that this factor only carried weight if it was for an application for permanent housing. In those cases where an offer of temporary accommodation was appropriate, only temporary accommodation would be offered on a time limited basis.

Councillor Zara Qayyum asked for further details to be provided on the Trail Blazer scheme. Glendine Shepherd explained that this was a 2-year pilot scheme funded by the Government which was geared to working with young people. Full details of the scheme were provided and it was noted that 200 homeless persons had been assisted back into sustainable employment.

Action: The Committee requested a further breakdown of the Trail Blazer scheme, including the numbers of persons assisted back into employment.

In relation to the Capital Letters scheme, Councillor Rowan Ree asked if the Council paid into the scheme and how it worked. Councillor Lisa Homan confirmed that the scheme had not started yet but further information could be circulated to Committee outside the meeting.

Action: That a copy of the report on Capital Letters be circulated to the Committee.

Councillor Adronie Alford commented that the mitigation measures outlined in the report were excellent if they worked and asked for a further update on temporary accommodation be provided to a future meeting. Councillor Adronie Alford followed this, by asking what happened in those cases where a request for temporary accommodation was centrally turned down. In response, Glendine Shepherd said that the Council still worked to assist the family by putting them in touch with the Moving on Team.

The Chair noted that the Capital Letters Scheme stopped London Councils from bidding against each other for housing stock and asked how the collaboration process worked. In response, Glendine Shepherd explained that the scheme used a pool of temporary and private accommodation to provide a wealth of housing options. However, the concept was still in the early stages and so would need close monitoring before an assessment of its overall effectiveness could be made.

RESOLVED

That the Committee reviewed and commented on the report.

WORK PROGRAMMING 2018/19

The Chair introduced the item and suggested the Committee could be provided with an update on the work of the Arts Commission, a report on digital inclusion on estates and an update report on Private Sector Licensing to the next meeting. The Committee was also conscious that it wanted to look at the progress that was being made on the Fire Safety Plus scheme later in the year. Committee Members were encouraged to contact the Chair with any potential topics they might have.

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