Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

None.

None.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 11 January, 2023.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 January be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Councillor David Evans referred to page 8 of the minutes and said that his question on the number of tenants previously evicted and then re-homed and whether they had then gone into arrears had not been captured in the actions arising from the meeting.  The Facilitator said that she would pick this up after the meeting.

Councillor Dale Selvester referred to his question on the minutes and said that he had asked for a breakdown between water rates arrears and rent arrears.  The Facilitator said that she would pick this up after the meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 January 2023 were approved as a correct record as moved and seconded by Councillor David Evans and Councillor Bernie Attridge. 

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 January be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be noted;

(b)       That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)        That the Committee notes the progress made in completing the outstanding actions.

The Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator presented the current Forward Work Programme for consideration. 

The Facilitator commented that there were no proposed changes to the items listed for future meetings.  In referring to the actions arising from the last meeting, the Facilitator reported that officers had confirmed that the actions relating to the Housing Rent Income & Welfare Reform report would be captured as additional information in future reports.  The action on a letter being sent to the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) would be completed later in the week.

Councillor Dave Evans referred to the following actions arising from the last meeting and asked that this information be circulated prior to the next Housing Rent Income & Welfare Reform update report in six months’ time:-

• Information on the number of cases waiting to go back to court to be provided following the meeting; and
• Information on how many of the 454 households who were subject to a reduction in their housing benefit payment because of the Bedroom Tax and were in arrears to be provided following the meeting.

            The recommendations, as outlined within the report, were moved by Councillor Bernie Attridge and seconded by Councillor Dale Selvester.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be noted;

(b)       That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)        That the Committee notes the progress made in completing the outstanding actions.

(a)       That the Committee support the Housing Support Grant Delivery Plan for 2023-2024 attached at Appendix 1 of the report;

(b)       That the overview of the Housing Support Grant regime and wide range

of delivery of services locally be noted; and

(c)        That the feedback on the impact of the Housing Support Grant and range of good practice examples shared through the report be noted.

The Housing & Prevention Service Manager introduced a report which provided an overview of the Housing Support Grant (HSG) regime and details of the Housing Support Delivery Plan, which was a requirement of receiving the Welsh Government (WG) revenue supported HSG.

The HSG was a WG funded programme which provided housing related support services to people over the age of 16.  It was an early intervention programme to support activity which prevented people from becoming homes, stabilised their housing situation or helped potentially homeless people to find and keep accommodation.    

The Housing & Prevention Service Manager provided a detail presentation of the report, advising that having initially anticipated a reduction in WG funding in December 2020, it was announced that a further £40m would be put into the national award for HSG and there was an expectation that the additional funding provided a platform to transform services and build on the positive practice that had been developed during the response to Covid.  The funding allowed for the Council to respond to the increasing pressures on housing and homelessness services post pandemic and the current cost of living crisis and should be aligned to the shift in service delivery towards Rapid Rehousing.

A detailed update on the following areas, as outlined within the report, were also provided to the Committee:-

• Current HSG Services
• Accessing Housing Support Services
• Developing the HSG Delivery Plan
• HSG Local Delivery Priorities
• Spend against the HSG
• Commissioning and Reviewing Services
• Regional Working Arrangements
• Sector Wide All Wales Recruitment Campaign

Councillor Bernie Attridge asked a number of questions as detailed below:-

• Could information on the split of Flintshire County Council CC services and Commissioned services in regard to spend for the HSG to be provided and what level of control and accountability was in place when money was being spent externally;

• Assurance requested that the HSG was not being used as a tool to keep waiting lists down on Council properties;
• What was the average case load per member of staff;
• Concerns around the reduction in days that the Connects Office in Connah’s Quay was open and the impact this was having on residents being able to meet face to face with housing officers to discuss any issues;
• In developing the HSG Delivery Plan what consultation activities were carried out;
• In opening up the Private Rented Sector, how many private properties were exclusively for Flintshire County Council;
• In relation to the underspend within the HSG, were no other projects considered to ensure that all funding is used;
• Could information be provided on the future of the Plas Bellin site, given the concerning rumours circulating on social media on its future use;
• Why were void properties being held back given the high number of void properties and the number of people on the housing waiting list;
• Why are no elected Members sitting on the North Wales Regional Housing Support Collaborative Group (RHSCG);
• Could a breakdown of the spend plan 2022/23 categories be provided;
• How much does the Council contribute financially to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

(a)       That the Committee note the significant increases in housing needs across the county and the growing pressures in regard to social housing which was not in line with the supply of available homes locally; and

(b)       That the Committee note the customer feedback following survey work and the progress in relation to opportunities for service improvement and in particular digital transformation.

The Housing & Prevention Service Manager introduced a report on the Single Access Route to Housing (SARTH) which was a partnership between all the major providers of social housing in North Wales, covering the local authority areas of Conwy County Borough Council, Denbighshire and Flintshire.

The Council managed the housing register on behalf of Flintshire’s Social Housing Partners (Flintshire County Council, Clwyd Alyn Housing, Wales and West Housing, Grwp Cynefin and Adra Housing Association) and a single Common Housing Register provided the list of all eligible applicants for social housing. 

The Housing & Prevention Service Manager explained that the number of applicants accepted onto the Common Housing Register had grown significantly over the past three years.  This was putting increasing pressure on the administrative burden and management of the register and was also leading to increased wait times for the limited amount of social hosing that was available each year.  The report outlined the increases in housing needs and the disparity with the availability of social housing which was not increasing at the same rate as the levels of housing needs that were prevalent within the community.

Councillor Rosetta Dolphin expressed concern around the lack of available social housing and commented on a recent report presented to the Committee on the current level of void properties.  She asked if the number of void properties in Flintshire were comparable with neighbouring counties.  The Service Manager Housing Assets advised that neighbouring counties had similar levels of void properties and in response to further questions advised that there were currently 259 void properties in Flintshire.

Councillor Bernie Attridge commented on previous concerns around the reduction in opening hours at Connects centres and raised concerns that this decision had been made without considering the impact on residents who need to speak to officers on housing issues, especially those who were unable to access information electronically.  He also raised concern on the previous decision to not provide Members with the names of tenants when they move into Council properties in their ward and asked that this be re-considered.

Councillor Dale Selvester said that Members were provided with the names of residents on the electoral register and said that whilst this might be provided under different legislation, he agreed with the concerns raised by Councillor Attridge that tenants’ details were not being provided to local Members.  He commented on the very poor/poor satisfaction levels outlined within the report and said this was worrying and said further information on the reason for this needed to be provided.  He welcomed the opportunity for applicants to update their application area and commented on a previous matrix which assisted applicants in reviewing their application area.  He also commented on the waiting list calculator and raised concern that it was not possible to provide applicants with information on how long they would be waiting and he did not want to give applicants false hope.

The Housing & Prevention Service Manager explained that feedback from the dissatisfaction levels had shown that applicants/tenants did not like  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

(a)       That the Committee support the garage demolition programme proposals for addressing those sites and assets in a poor condition; and

(b)       That the Committee support the matrix, outlined in the report, on the criteria for assessing the garage sites for demolition.

The Service Manager Housing Assets introduced a report to provide an update on the Council’s garage demolition programme along with providing an insight into how the Council assessed the land for future use. 

As part of the Council’s continued investment works towards maintaining the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS), the garage sites across the County had been assessed in terms of their condition, investment requirements and revenue generation/income.  The Council had developed a scoring matrix to allow an objective assessment of each garage site.  Each of the categories, as detailed within the report, were scored and re-scored during any new survey/assessment with the total score assisting with the prioritisation of the demolition programme.

In response to a question from Councillor Rosetta Dolphin, the Service Manager Housing Assets advised that the disposal of land was considered where it was found not suitable following a survey/assessment and all options considered.

Councillor Bernie Attridge referred to a previous commissioned report on garage sites and asked if the previous report had been considered as part of the basis for the report presented to the Committee.  He also commented on the number of unusable garages across the County and asked if there was an option to fast track sites that could be developed in order to bring in additional revenue to the Council and assist with the lack of housing supply across the County.  The Service Manager Housing Assets advised that the previous report had formed the basis for the matrix and had been used to prioritise garages to be demolished first alongside working with the Strategic Housing and Regeneration Programme (SHARP) team to identify sites for new development.  In consultation with local Members and the Chair of the Committee sites had been identified and were being progressed by the SHARP team. 

Councillor Sean Bibby, Cabinet Member for Housing & Regeneration, welcomed the report and advised that he had attended a number of site visits with the Strategic Housing & Program Delivery Manager to identify sites prior to consultation with local Members.

Councillor David Evans said that, alongside Councillor Ron Davies, he had recently met with residents of Poplar Avenue and Dodd’s Court in Higher Shotton on parking issues.  He commented on the garage site at Melrose Avenue which had recently been demolished and asked that when future plans for this site were being considered could consideration be given to ensuring that there was sufficient parking made available to ensure there is no further impact on adjacent streets.  The Service Manager Housing Assets advised that prior to the disposal of any land and before any new build there was a need to consider the impact on the whole community, parking and congestion.  The Environmental Works Programme addressed parking in the community. 

The recommendations, as outlined within the report, were moved by Councillor David Evans and seconded by Councillor Bernie Attridge. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee support the garage demolition programme proposals for addressing those sites and assets in a poor condition; and

(b)       That the Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

RESOLVED:

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting as the following item was considered to be exempt by virtue of paragraph 15 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

(a)       That the report be noted; and

(b)       That a Task & Finish Group be established to consider the next steps for the Sheltered Housing Review.

The Service Manager Housing Assets presented a report to provide an update on the Council’s sheltered housing review, the proposed methodology to be utilised to identify assets to be included in the review and the associated option appraisal of these assets. 

In response to comments made by Councillor Bernie Attridge around communication, the Service Manager Housing Assets explained that the report was seeking the Committees’ comments on the proposed methodology and that following this, the next stage of the process would be to engage/consult with Members and tenants.  The Chief Executive referred to previous Scrutiny reports and added that the pandemic had slowed down the pace of the project but that it was still in its very early stages.  

Councillor Attridge suggested that a Task & Finish Group be set up to consider how the project would proceed.  This was supported by the Committee and the Facilitator advised that a report to outline the terms of reference of the Task & Finish Group would be presented to the next Committee meeting. 

Councillor Attridge proposed that the report be noted and that a Task & Finish Group be established to consider the next steps for the Sheltered Housing Review.  The proposal was seconded by Councillor Linda Thew.   

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the report be noted; and

(b)       That a Task & Finish Group be established to consider the next steps for the Sheltered Housing Review.

There were no members of the press in attendance.