Agenda item

            That the update on the Housing Solutions Service and the management of the new legislation within the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 be noted. 

The Customer Support Manager introduced a report to provide an update for Members on how the Council had met the requirements of the new homeless legislation including the focus on homeless prevention and support for more households.

                        She detailed the background to the report and explained that the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 had introduced new homeless legislation in April 2015.  A year before the legislation had come into force, Flintshire County Council’s Housing Options Team had agreed to pilot the delivery of homelessness prevention service aligned to the requirements within the new legislation.  During the period April 2015 to March 2016, the Housing Options Team received 1,176 referrals of households in need of housing assistance and by the end of quarter 3 had successfully prevented or relieved homelessness in 91% of cases.  The figures for the full year showed that the number of customers being referred to Housing Solutions had increased by 7% compared to 2014/15. 

                        The Customer Support Manager provided a detailed update on the Triage & Housing Solutions.  This included the launch of the new Single Access Route to Housing (SARTH) allocations policy and she explained that this service was a ‘gateway’ for all enquiries from people who were in housing need.  The triage team identified whether someone was eligible to go on the register for social housing but all also identified if someone was at risk of homelessness or requiring housing advice and assistance.  NEW Homes and the Bond Scheme had made available an increased supply of private sector options for families and in 2015/16 133 households accessed private rental properties through the Bond Scheme and of these 17 households were housed by NEW Homes.  The triage services was also able to promote the affordable options available in the county and the team now had a list of schemes in development to ensure they could give accurate advice. 

The Customer Support Manager commented on reducing the use of Bed and Breakfast (B&B) accommodation and advised that the new legislation required a Local Authority to provide a household with interim accommodation if there was reason to believe the household had a priority need; this was a lower threshold than the threshold in the previous legislation.  She commented on the use of B&B accommodation for families and single households and explained that in order to reduce B&B use for single households awaiting a permanent housing solution, the service set a target to bring on line 27 leased temporary units managed by the Housing Solutions Service.  There were 21 units up and running and the final six would be available by the end of April.  The Offender Pathway paid particular attention to the needs of people leaving custody to prevent them from becoming homeless, thereby improving their resettlement into society and reducing their risk of reoffending.  Prisoners facing homelessness received support 56 days before their release and the Pathway clarified the roles and responsibilities of all agencies and organisations involved in the process. 

                        The Welsh Government had made available transition funding to support the implementation of the new legislation.  Flintshire was awarded £228,000 in 2015/16 and this had reduced to £140,000 in 2016/17 and would reduce again in the final year of allocation.  Paragraph 1.32 of the report detailed how the funding had been used in the following areas:-

·         Increasing the availability of suitable and affordable private rented properties

·         Homeless Prevention

·         Support for the Third Sector

·         Regional Services

The funding had supported the creation of posts within the Environmental Health Service (to help prevent homelessness by working with landlords to address any issues in privately rented properties) and a post in the Private Sector Team had made available additional properties through NEW Homes and the Bond Scheme.  The Customer Support Manager commented on the Regional Reviewing Service which had been set up to ensure that there was a consistent approach to the interpretation of the homelessness legislation across the Local Authorities.  A review report had been circulated to demonstrate patterns within reviews to improve services and to ensure regional consistency in approach. 

            Councillor Rosetta Dolphin asked for a breakdown of the 1,176 referrals of households in need of housing assistance and spoke of a family in her ward who had been allocated a property that was unsuitable for their needs.  She also referred to some hard-to-let properties in her ward.  The Customer Support Manager agreed to provide the breakdown information and speak to Councillor Dolphin following the meeting about the individual case she had referred to.  On the hard-to-let properties, Councillor Brown provided Members with details of a website that such properties were posted on which could be applied for.   

            Councillor Paul Shotton welcomed the report and in recognising that there were new arrangements in place, commended the team for the first class advice and care provided, particularly for the 91% of cases where the team had demonstrated that they had successfully prevented or relieved homelessness.  He spoke of the scheme for those offenders leaving custody and understood that they would be directed more to properties owned by private landlords.  The Customer Support Manager explained that under the old legislation, offenders were automatically treated as a priority need but now prisoners received support 56 days prior to their release which allowed for the most suitable type of accommodation to be found.  Following a question from Councillor Ian Dunbar about where prisoners that would be released would be housed, referring in particular to the new prison that was being built in Wrexham, Councillor Brown said that she had also raised similar concerns but had been advised that consideration would be given to housing the prisoners in the area that they were from. 

            Councillor Mike Reece congratulated the team for their hard work and commented on the stronger duties on Housing Associations to provide co-operation and support to local authorities in carrying out homelessness duties, when requested.  He asked if it was possible for Ward Members to have a list of those residents who moved into Housing Association properties, similar to the information Members received for new residents who moved into Council properties in their ward.  The Chief Officer (Community and Enterprise) said that she would discuss the request with the Housing Associations. 

            In response to a question from Councillor Paul Cunningham on whether there were properties available for single people who worked, the Community Services Support Manager provided details of a range of options that were available.

            Councillor Gareth Roberts welcomed the report.  He commented on an option of multiple occupancy of three bedroomed houses and whether this was still being explored.  The Customer Support Manager said that a number of options for shared housing was being considered and advised that the 27 leased temporary units managed by the Housing Solutions Service would be shared accommodation.  

            Councillor Dolphin asked whether the Council accommodation would be held for a Flintshire resident who had been sent to prison.  In response, the Customer Support Manager said that the new Offender Pathway provided guidance on the handling of short sentences but there were specific rules of how long a property could be held for.    

            RESOLVED:

            That the update on the Housing Solutions Service and the management of the new legislation within the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 be noted.