Agenda item

The Council is statutorily obliged to adopt and operate a Housing Allocation Scheme which sets out the rules by which it allocates affordable rented accommodation. This report sets out proposed changes to the scheme, which will help ensure that those residents with the greatest need are prioritised for the right housing solution.

Gerry Crowley (Head of Allocations and Lettings), introduced the report which set out six proposed changes to the Council’s Housing Allocation scheme. The Housing Allocation Scheme sets out the rules by which the Council allocates affordable rented accommodation. The purpose of these changes was to help ensure those residents with the greatest need were prioritised for the right housing solution.

Details were provided on the six proposed changes, which were:

1.    To improve the way in which the Council allocates its housing stock and to ensure this is done in a fair and transparent way by introducing an online digital platform. The platform will enable the Council to advertise its housing stock to those on the housing register and allow applicants to play a more active role in their housing journey.

2.    To take action, to ensure that those residents living with disabilities are prioritised for the right housing solution.  Therefore, accommodation which has been adapted or is deemed adaptable by our Occupational Therapy service is prioritised for those that need it most. 

3.    To help more young adults leaving care with the best possible start as they transform to adulthood, by increasing their priority award to Band 1 whilst increasing the annual quota for Children Leaving Care from 30 to 40 housing lets.

4.    To avoid and reduce the number of households in expensive temporary accommodation, officers recommend a change to the policy which will allow those homeless households that work with our housing prevention service and have their homelessness successfully prevented by accepting accommodation in the private rented sector, to remain on the housing register.

5.    To qualify to join the Council’s housing register, applicants are required to meet the local residency criteria, i.e. resident in the borough for 5 of the last 7 years. So young people with SEN are not disadvantaged, it is proposed to change the policy, to ensure that time spent outside the borough to access SEN services will be disregarded, this will ensure that young people with special education needs are not disadvantaged as they transition to adulthood.

6.    To propose that Local Lettings Plans are automatically implemented for all new housing developments consisting of five or more social housing units. The lettings plans will prioritise qualified local residents living on the effected estate or the immediate locality before opening up to the rest of the housing register

The Chair thanked officers for the comprehensive overview and invited questions from the Committee.

In relation to the first proposed change, Councillor Adronie Alford explained she was worried about residents having the necessary access to go online and secondly, she asked, what actions were officers taking to manage the expectations of those residents applying online for housing. In response, Gerry Crowley explained that although all the fine detail was still a work in progress, residents would be able to use computers at a variety of municipal buildings, and an accessibility programme would be also rolled out in parallel (to new Housing Allocation Scheme). He explained that arrangements would be made to ensure those residents without internet access were not excluded. In terms of managing expectations, Gerry confirmed that, presently, properties / choice were not overly visible and the intention was to create a bespoke online product which could advertise properties, the outcomes of properties and create data sets which would be able to inform residents where their best opportunities for housing lay.

Commenting further, Councillor Lisa Homan, Cabinet Member for Housing, explained that a new bespoke online platform would bring far greater transparency and one of the greatest benefits  would be allowing residents to consider properties without having to visit them in person and so immediate housing options could be discounted if they were not suitable. It was noted that the Council had used the Locata system in the past, but this had become clunky and dysfunctional which was one of the reasons why it was discarded.

Councillor Adronie Alford reiterated the points which had been made about Locata and explained she was worried there was a possibility that the new online platform might follow the same path. In response, Gerry Crowley explained that officers were very mindful the issues which had beset Locata in 2013 and lessons had been learnt.

Councillor Rowan Ree commended the recommendations within the report and the proposal to develop and new online platform. He highlighted it was important to involve residents throughout the transition to a new system. Noting the 5 main suppliers, Councillor Rowan Ree asked whether officers had liaised with other Councils to learn from their experiences. Gerry Crowley explained that officers needed a ‘green light’ before they could proceed further, but confirmed that the Council had spoken to other Authorities. The Committee noted the 5 main suppliers were already on the Council’s procurement framework, so it would be relatively easy for them to be invited to demonstrate their systems, and officers had already drawn up the Council’s specification.

Asking a supplementary question, Councillor Rowan Ree noted recommendation two sought to improve access to those in the greatest need and he asked what provision was being made for members of the armed forces (currently serving or veterans). He explained he was aware of the exemptions to the residency test for veterans and asked officers to comment further. In response, Gerry Crowley explained that the Council had signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant, and, in terms of the allocations policy, the residency test did not apply to the Armed Forces. Additional priority was also given to the Armed Forces. Gerry confirmed that new Government Guidance had been issued and the Council was in  the process of responding to this. In addition, the Council was currently looking at introducing a Champion for the Armed Forces on Housing’s front-line team.

Action: That Gerry Crowley provide the Committee with a copy of the Council’s proposed response to the new Government Guidance on Housing Allocation for the Armed Forces.

Councillor Helen Rowbottom accepted that residents would be able to use terminals in municipal buildings to access the online platform, but thought that the Council needed to be more proactive in relation to access, especially during the Covid period. She asked whether the new online platform would have the ability to save search preferences and also send / generate text messages to those on the housing register.  In response, Gerry Crowley confirmed that as the new online platform was bespoke, there would be an ability to build in functionality around automation, texting, emailing, and some of the features which had already been considered included automatic notifications for particular cohorts such as disabled families  waiting on adapted properties.

Providing assurance, Mark Meehan, Chief Housing Officer, commented he  had successfully introduced online platforms at two other Local Authorities and a thorough consultation with residents would be undertaken to help identify any groups which might be excluded from the online process. In terms of transparency, the online platform would also enable residents to see what types of  property became available and where these were within the borough. Making a final point, Mark Meehan explained that the new Armed Forces guidance was issued on the CLGF website last week and all Committee members would be provided with an internet link  to this. He also confirmed that the Council had a close working relationship with the Oswald Stoll Foundation, based in Fulham

Councillor Lisa Homan confirmed that, as well as these work streams to improve digital inclusion, the Council would be working closely with the Citizen’s Advice Bureau’s digital champions. It was noted that just over a week ago, 35 residents attended the Housing Reps Forum (which significantly exceeded previous attendance).

The Chair reiterated there would be a public consultation about digital exclusion and,  if the right system was chosen, this would benefit everyone. More information, rather than less was best, and it was likely that this would change people’s behaviour (in terms of housing allocation applications). It was noted that the online platform could not alter the housing stock the Council held, but the increased transparency would assist in managing residents’ expectations. The Chair confirmed he endorsed the six recommendations in the report, but also highlighted the important topic of homelessness within the Private Rented Sector that had not  been raised so far. The Chair commented that recommendation four was vital, as this addressed residents’ concerns that, if they accepted accommodation in the Private Rented Sector, then they would not lose their place on the Housing Register.

The Chair asked how the offer for young adults leaving care would change with the proposals (made in the report) and what assistance would they receive moving to a more independent setting. In response, Gerry Crowley confirmed that before any young adult left care, there was a full assessment process, as well as a leaving care panel that would convene to consider a priority matrix to assess whether the young adult was ready to move. An assessment would also be made about what types of support were required and Housing worked closely with Children’s Services to ensure an appropriate tenancy was offered.

The Chair asked what the time frame was for the proposals to be considered at Cabinet and, subject to approval, when the recommendations might be implemented. In response, Gerry Crowley explained he was unsure of a Cabinet date at this stage, but in terms of the ICT platform roll-out, he confirmed it would take at least six months.

RESOLVED

That the Committee endorsed the six recommendations within report.