Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Chairman explained that at a previous meeting, the presence of the Rent Arrears Team had been requested.   The Head of Housing introduced the members of the team and explained that a report on Welfare Reform would be considered at the next meeting of the Committee. 

Councillor Alison Halford said that Members had requested the attendance of the team to hear their comments following the introduction of the Welfare Reform changes.   

The Senior Housing Officer Rents said that it had been a challenging time and added that the team of tenancy support officers had worked hard with tenants to ensure that they received the help and support that they needed.  All of the tenants had been informed of what they needed to pay prior to the introduction of Welfare Reform and for the first quarter since its introduction, the impact had not been as significant as had been expected.  In response to a question from Councillor Halford about whether there were some tenants who would not pay, the Senior Housing Officer said that there were procedures in place which could result in evictions if tenants did not pay what they needed to. 

Councillor George Hardcastle said that there had been concerns about rent arrears which would worsen in the future but thanked the officers for doing an excellent job.    

No declarations of interest were made. 

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 10 July 2013 (copy enclosed).

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 July 2013 had been circulated with the agenda. 

RESOLVED:

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

(a)       That the aspirations for developing the housing service be supported;

(b)       That the development of proposals to establish a housing company for consideration at a future Cabinet meeting be supported; and   

(c)        That a workshop be arranged to provide additional information on the proposals and that all Members be invited.         

The Head of Housing introduced a report to explain potential long term strategic aspirations for housing provision in Flintshire and to seek support in principle to the establishment of a housing company that could be instrumental in delivering this vision. 

The Council had a range of housing services for which there had been positive improvement at a time when residents of the County were facing increasing difficulty in accessing affordable housing due to economic pressures, welfare reform and the challenges in accessing mortgage finance.  The number of new homes being developed to meet emerging needs had been stagnant for the last few years despite planning approvals being provided and land being available for development.  Officers, with the support of Senior Members, were working on a number of new initiatives to meet local needs and grow the Council’s service delivery offer and had found that a number of new opportunities could not be taken forward satisfactorily due to the constraints placed on the Council through its current arrangements for service delivery.  The Head of Housing detailed the potential service developments which included:-

• private sector leasing – exploring leasing options with private landlords but there were currently limits on the tenancies the Council could offer
• elderly homes owners who were prevented from accessing more suitable accommodation (for health reasons) as they received insufficient priority on the Council’s waiting list 
• regeneration schemes – when looking at homes to be developed, the Council wanted to be able to offer assured rather than secure tenancies but again there were limits on the tenancies that could currently be offered
• gifted units – the benefit of this arrangement was that the Council had properties it could let to meet local needs for social and affordable housing

Discussions had been undertaken with colleagues from Legal and independent advice had been sought and one possible way to deliver several of these aspirations would be to establish a housing company, which was detailed in paragraph 3.09. 

            The Head of Legal and Democratic Services said that there were implications to setting up a housing company but added that once the issues raised had been addressed and the Council was satisfied with the level of protection and flexibility it provided, there was no reason it could not be undertaken. 

            Councillor Peter Curtis queried what would happen if a property was leased from an elderly person and they were re-housed and their property was let but the elderly person then passed away.  He also said that landlords would prefer to have a say of who their property was let to and felt that the proposals were a good idea but raised concern about possible problems.  In response, the Head of Legal and Democratic Services said that mechanisms would need to be in place to bring the tenancy to an end if the homeowner passed away and the family wanted to sell the property.  He said that the provision of a management company would allow for greater flexibility to do this than was currently  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

That the Flintshire Private Rented Sector Improvement Plan be supported.         

The Director of Community Services introduced the report to inform Members of the work undertaken to date as part of the WLGA supported Private Rented Sector Improvement Plan and to seek Members views on how the Council should work with the sector to achieve the key outcomes of growth, quality and accessibility. 

He detailed the background to the report and explained that in Flintshire the levels of private rented housing was just below to the national average at 11.5% however, there was a lower than average social rented sector at 15% compared to 17% nationally.  Flintshire had developed a Private Rented Sector Improvement Plan which was structured around five objectives which were detailed in the report.  The Director of Community Services explained that the lower number of both privately rented and socially rented properties in Flintshire would become increasingly problematic, as a highly competitive rental market would restrict access generally and particularly to those from vulnerable groups requiring support.  Reductions in the availability of mortgage finance and the need for a large deposit had also resulted in more people seeking to rent rather than buy.  The result of this was that private landlords had the ability to ‘cherry pick’ their tenants and may therefore overlook vulnerable groups, who may be deemed to be of greater risk.  In quarter 1 of 2013/14 42 people were accepted as homeless compared to 21 people for the same quarter in 2012/13.  Welfare benefit changes were also impacting on the sector and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP), which could be made available for a short fixed term period to those tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit or Council Tax and in difficulty paying their rent, had increased by 42% during April/May 2013 compared to the same period in 2012/13. 

The Director of Community Services explained that new duties and responsibilities would be placed on private landlords which may deter them from entering and/or remaining in the private rented market in the future and these included mandatory licensing, which was likely to come into force during 2015.  A further impact on landlords was that during 2016, it would become illegal to rent out properties with an energy rating of F and G, which could require many to make further improvements to their properties and could be an issue for older properties and those of solid walled construction. 

The Community Support Services Manager said that an additional pressure was that from 2015 a change to legislation meant that the local authority had a duty to prevent more homelessness and could discharge duty into the private rented sector.  An inspection had been undertaken to establish how prepared the authority was for the changes and this had indicated that Flintshire County Council was well prepared.  She commented on the work which had been undertaken to date which included enhancing the Flintshire Bond Scheme and improving existing private sector arrangements.  A temporary officer had been appointed to undertake this role and had been funded through the homelessness prevention budget.  The officer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

That Members support:-

·        the development brief so that it can be adopted as supplementary planning guidance

·        the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) powers if necessary

·        the resolution of Clwyd Alyn’s interest in 7 maisonettes

·        the tenure mix and “key principles” for the scheme which will then form a firm recommendation as to the delivery model for new homes

The Head of Housing introduced a report to consider the next steps in progressing delivery of the Housing element of the Flint town centre master plan.

She detailed the background to the report explaining that approximately 40 households remained occupied which was 12 months ahead of schedule and most who had vacated their properties had been housed in the local area.  One block of maisonettes had been demolished with a number of others close to being demolished by the end of the financial year.  The six strategic objectives for the plan for Flint were reported and paragraph 3.04 provided further information on the principles of a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) if this was required.  If approval was given to the making of a CPO, it was intended to instigate the process as soon as possible.  However, this did not mean that the Council would have to rely on the CPO but it did allow for the flexibility to do so, should it become necessary. 

It was reported that two remaining leaseholders had rejected the offers made but officers would continue to engage with them in an attempt to reach an agreement.  Five of the maisonettes were originally owned by Clwyd Alyn Housing Association and the Council had a number of options to deal with the Clwyd Alyn interest on the site and these were detailed in the report.  Option 3 (agreeing a ‘deal in the round’) was the recommended option and the aim of the approach was that there would be no financial outlay for the Council in cash terms.  This arrangement would involve the Council providing land for future developments to an agreed value. 

The Head of Housing provided details of the current tenure mix in Flint town centre and explained that the broad tenure mix being planned was for 40 homes for social rent developed by a Registered Social Landlord and/or the Council, 15 homes for Rent to Buy, 105 homes at affordable (LHA) rents and 20 homes at market rents.  Appendix C provided a summary of each of the model options and risks and would be applied to arrive at final proposals once key principles had been agreed.  The Head of Housing explained the key questions to determine the final decision making and these were detailed in the report.  A development brief for Flint was also attached to the report and this was intended to compliment the vision for the regeneration of Flint town centre following the proposals contained in the Flint Strategy and Master Plan 2021. 

Councillor Rosetta Dolphin welcomed the plan and asked if Flint Town Council had been consulted.  She felt that the ‘deal in the round’ was the best option.  The Head of Housing confirmed that a presentation had been given to Flint Town Council some time ago and that further discussions would take place.

Councillor Peter Curtis welcomed the progress made in re-housing tenants which was ahead of schedule.  He asked if what was shown in the development brief  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

(a)       That Members support the new approach to performance reporting and

(b)       That the report be noted.

The Housing and Learning Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator introduced the report to provide an update on the streamlined and corporate approach to performance reporting. 

The Facilitator explained that the reports for quarters one and three would be more aligned to the Improvement Plan which had been adopted by the Council on 25 June 2013 and quarters two and four would look similar to the performance reports that the Committee had received previously.  The first quarter one report would be submitted to the meeting scheduled for 16 October 2013. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       That Members support the new approach to performance reporting and

(b)       That the report be noted.

That the Forward Work Programme be noted. 

The Housing and Learning Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator introduced the report to consider the Forward Work Programme of the Committee.

The Facilitator detailed the items to be considered at the meeting scheduled for 16 October 2013 which was to be held at the Flintshire Connects office in Holywell.  She reminded Members that a Welfare Reform briefing for all Members was to be held on 8 November 2013 at 1pm in the Alyn & Deeside Room. 

Following a question from Councillor Rosetta Dolphin, the Facilitator explained that the review of garage sites was one of the topics which would be considered at a joint meeting of this Committee and Environment Overview & Scrutiny Committee, which had not yet been arranged. 

RESOLVED:

That the Forward Work Programme be noted. 

There were no members of the public and three members of the press in attendance.