Issue - meetings

            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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 90