Agenda, decisions and minutes

Purpose: To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

No declarations of interest were made.

Purpose: To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2016 (copy enclosed).

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

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 16^th March 2016 had been circulated to Members with the agenda.

            RESOLVED:

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

(a)       That the Committee welcomed the progress made by NEW homes to date against its business plan and the NEW homes future growth strategy projections and proposals; and

(b)       That the Committee were content that the appropriate governance arrangements were in place. 

The Service Manager – Housing Programmes introduced a report to update the Committee on the second full year of operation of North East Wales (NEW) Homes and the progress it had made against the 2015/20 business plan and growth strategy.  He detailed the background to the report and introduced Ms. Jan Lysett who was an independent board member.

Councillor Bernie Attridge, who was the Chairman of the NEW Homes Board, commented on the exciting opportunities that had arisen for Flintshire County Council since the introduction of NEW Homes, which allowed an increase in the range of housing options for the “squeezed middle” housing market.  He spoke of the realisation of the need for small steps at the beginning of the Company and the new learning experience for all concerned.  He commented on approaches by other local authorities on the work undertaken by Flintshire County Council to set up the Company and to seek advice and guidance on best practice so they could also consider this as an option. .  Flintshire County Council was the first in Wales to set up such a company and it was heartening to see a projected operating surplus of £33,000 for 2015/16, which he welcomed.  He introduced Ms. Jan Lysett who was an Independent Board Member and asked her to explain her background and the way forward that had been agreed by the Board. 

Ms. Lysett thanked the Committee for the opportunity to attend the meeting.  She explained that she had been on the Board since its inception and detailed her background which had included 30 years in the area of social housing and her current work for a housing association in Cheshire.  She welcomed the exciting opportunity to be part of the company and commended the Council for being forward thinking in meeting its housing obligations.  Slow and steady progress had been made and the Board had recognised that this was the necessary approach.  Ms. Lysett spoke of the other two independent board members (one had very recently been appointed).  She also said that one of the key headlines was the opportunity to develop new homes.  She added that the projected operating surplus was also to be welcomed. 

The Service Manager – Housing Programmes spoke of the increase in the housing portfolio through Section 106 agreements and commented on one scheme which it had been intended would be delivered in 2015/16 but this had been delayed slightly.  He also commented on the steady growth in the areas of management of properties for landlords through a management agreement and commented on the introduction of a Rent Smart Wales scheme which was a compulsory licensing and registration scheme for landlords; close working with local landlords was continuing.   The introduction of the over 55’s scheme had not gone as well as had been hoped.

The Chief Officer (Community & Enterprise) spoke of the next 12 months and the consideration being given to borrowing against “gifted units” to produce more properties to let.  A report was to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.

            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.

That the progress in implementing the Communities First programme in Flintshire be noted. 

The Enterprise and Regeneration Manager introduced a report to provide a summary of the progress made in implementing the programme in Flintshire and an update on the future direction of the programme. 

            The Communities First programme was launched by Welsh Government in 2001 and supported activity in 52 clusters of deprived neighbourhoods across Wales including two in Flintshire (the East Cluster in Deeside and the West Cluster incorporating parts of Mold, Holywell and Flint).  Each cluster prepared an annual delivery plan and community involvement plan which summarised the projects to be delivered and how local people would be engaged in the work of the programme.  There were a number of significant changes expected to the Communities First programme in 2016/17 which included a review of the structure for the Communities First team and the launch by Welsh Government of a Communities 4 Work (C4W) programme across all 52 clusters in Wales.  The Team currently operated across three offices but it was intended to reduce this to one with the savings used for project delivery which would continue across all areas.  The fourth change was to increase the integration of Communities First, Flying Start, Families First and Supporting People to increase joint planning and commissioning in the future. 

            The Lead Officer East Cluster provided a detailed presentation which covered the following areas:-

·         Communities First

·         Learning activities

·         Health activities

·         Prosperous communities

·         Job clubs

·         Jobs, skills & training events

·         Local labour market initiative

·         Financial literacy

·         Business entrepreneur network

·         What’s next

The Lift Mentor then provided additional information on the Lift initiative, which covered the following areas:

·         What is Lift?

·         How we work

·         Contact details

Councillor Paul Cunningham thanked the team for their presentation.  He welcomed the excellent work that Communities First was doing and referred in particular to the work being undertaken in the area of Dementia Support and the dementia friendly areas of Flint and Buckley.  He spoke of a play that he had seen recently on the issue of dementia which he thought was excellent and commented on the work of Communities First in Flint to encourage those with dementia to come forward and seek advice and help.

Councillor Paul Shotton congratulated the team for their work and in recognising the work of Communities First, spoke of evidence of their work in his ward.  He welcomed the introduction of the Dragon’s Den and Business Entrepreneur Initiatives which he felt was an exciting project and added that he had also seen the play on the issue of dementia.  He commended the work of the team on the Lift initiative which he felt would provide exciting opportunities and chances for local residents.  On the forthcoming jobs fair to be held later this month, he spoke of a previous event that had been extremely well attended and had been worthwhile for many.  He sought clarification on how the profile of local industry was introduced into high schools in Communities First areas. 

In response, the Cluster Manager East spoke of the initiatives with local schools and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 91.

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme, as amended at the meeting, be approved; and

(b)       That the Environment and Social Care Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair, Vice-Chair and officers, be authorised to vary the work programme between meetings. 

The Environment and Social Care Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator introduced the report to consider the Forward Work Programme for the Committee. 

            The Facilitator detailed the items for consideration at the 9^th May 2016 meeting of the Committee and advised that it had been suggested that the Review of the Fair Debt Policy be deferred to a future meeting to allow consideration of the Draft Improvement Plan at the 9^th May 2016 meeting. 

            Councillor Alison Halford queried whether the Committee could receive an update on the issue of repairs to Council properties and times taken for such repairs.  The Chief Officer (Community & Enterprise) advised that information on repairs could be circulated to the Members and that a report could be submitted to the Committee if further information was required.  She added that the issue of repairs was a good news story.

            The Facilitator also detailed the items for consideration at the 8^th June and 13^th July 2016 meetings of the Committee and added that during earlier discussions, it had been suggested that the Allocations Policy and Local Lettings Policy also be considered at a future meeting.      

            RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme, as amended at the meeting, be approved; and

(b)       That the Environment and Social Care Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair, Vice-Chair and officers, be authorised to vary the work programme between meetings. 

            There was one member of the public and no members of the press in attendance.