Agenda item

The Committee received a report and presentation on the work and performance of the Housing Services team, including the Housing Services Position Statement and Work Plan for 2016/17.

The Team had sought to develop and deliver a range of housing and housing services that promoted the health and well-being of residents and the wider community through:

1.          Providing effective, customer focused housing advice that offers a range of options and prevents homelessness;

2.          Working with owners, landlords and tenants to maintain, adapt and improve their homes to meet current and future needs;

3.          Joint working with statutory, voluntary and private sector partners to offer residents the right housing and support at the right time to meet their needs;

4.          Developing joint strategies designed to promote independence and re-enablement, supporting effective service delivery across a range of partners and reducing pressure on health and social services; and,

5.          Promoting and providing evidence to support the delivery of new homes and investment in the current housing stock to meet the Borough’s current and future housing requirements.

The success or otherwise of the above would be reflected in a number of key indicators, namely:

•       Increasing the number of households who have their homelessness prevented through advice and assistance year on year;

•       Limiting the use of bed and breakfast by not placing households unless in an emergency and with no accepted household being placed in shared facility B&B for longer than 6 weeks;

•       Delivering new affordable homes;

•       Increasing the number of homes where category 1 and 2 hazards are eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level;

•       Ensuring all Housing related complaints are investigated and resolved, using enforcement powers where necessary;  

•       Delivering a Home Improvement Agency that is responsive, cost effective and maximises the benefit of available grant;

•       Increasing the number of households assisted into the private rented sector;

•       Meeting the Silver Standard in the delivery of homelessness in 2017; and,

•       Achieving 70% positive outcomes for Team Around the Person clients.

The Housing Services Manager highlighted a shortage in the Borough of suitable new rented accommodation, making it a challenge to meet some of the targets set for the Team. Members expressed concern at the low levels of affordable housing both built and planned.

There were currently only 2 households in bed and breakfast accommodation and one of these had alternative accommodation to move to.

As at November 2015, there were 18 rough sleepers in the Borough. Members noted that an all-night café had been opened in Camberley by a charitable organisation, which could be attracting homeless people from further afield. Given that people coming into Camberley from elsewhere would not be entitled to assistance in this area, it would be important to ensure that they were reconnected to their real home areas.

Part of the work of the Housing Team was to mitigate the impact of welfare reforms, particularly for single homeless people. Members were informed that 3 out of every 4 people in social rented accommodation who had been moved to universal credit were already in arrears.

Within 5 ½ months, every form of benefit would be accessed by the internet only, yet many of those in receipt would be unable to access the internet or have the requisite skills. Members suggested that the Committee should highlight this development to the Executive and to ask what mitigating steps would be taken, particularly given the number of publically available PCs against the expected demand.

Resolved, that

(i)              the report be noted; and

(ii)            The Executive be advised to consider ways to mitigate the impact of changes, due to be introduced in less than 6 months, to benefit arrangements, requiring all applications to be submitted on-line.