Agenda item

To provide a verbal update to the Committee on budget pressures around homelessness.

That the Chair write to the Welsh Government, on behalf of the Committee, to express its concern around the financial implications to the Local Authority following changes to the Housing Wales Act 2014 (HWA 2014) and the need for appropriate levels of resource and support to be provided to the Local Authority.

The Service Manager – Housing & Prevention provided an update on emergency accommodation budget pressures.  A briefing note had been circulated to the Committee ahead of the meeting, which provided further detail.

In referring to the briefing note, the Service Manager advised that within the Housing Solutions Service, there were a number of specific budgets for homeless accommodation settings for ‘interim housing’.  In addition, there was a further specific budget for emergency accommodation which needed to be used when there was no remaining capacity in other budgeted temporary accommodation.  The emergency accommodation used was mostly hotel rooms within and beyond the boundaries of Flintshire, together with some use of other forms of holiday lets, such as caravans and apartments.  A summary of in year spend to date was outlined within the briefing note. 

The Committee was advised that the projected total spend for the year was based on the spend to date with adjustments for prepaid accommodation and also for outstanding commitments.  Further allowance was then made for the expected spend for the remainder of the year using the spend to date as the initial base point, but also taking account of the full year impacts of growth in numbers in the year to date and further expected growth in numbers in the remainder of the year.

The Service Manager reported that since October 2022 there had been significant and sustained growth in the numbers of homeless people needing to be accommodated in emergency accommodation due to homelessness.  As had been referenced in previous reports to Committee on homelessness, the challenging market conditions, instability in the private rented sector, tensions at home, increases in people’s complexity of needs and changes to homelessness legislation were all key drivers for ongoing and sustained demand for homeless services and emergency accommodation.  The lack of appropriate social housing to meet the needs of those who experience homelessness, along with affordability and availability issues within the private rented sector, continued to present significant barriers to assisting people to exit homelessness in a timely manner.

In response to a question from Councillor Gladys Healey around rough sleepers, the Service Manager reported that there were currently four rough sleepers in Flintshire and advised that these were not included within the figures presented to the Committee within the briefing note.  Support was provided to the rough sleepers to ensure that they were aware of the support available to them.

In response to a question from Councillor Pam Banks on the Homeless unit within her ward, the Service Manager agreed to speak to Councillor Banks following the meeting.

In response to a question from Councillor Rosetta Dolphin on whether the homeless units at Park Lane and Duke Street had been completed, the Service Manager advised that completion was imminent.

Councillor Bernie Attridge thanked the Service Manager for the briefing note.  He said that the budget pressures were very concerning and would only get worse over the next 12 months.  He asked the Chief Officer and Cabinet Member what representation they were making at a national level to secure additional funding to assist the Council in meeting the requirement of Welsh Government (WG) legislation to support people presenting as homeless and providing emergency accommodation.

The Cabinet Member for Housing & Regeneration agreed that there seemed to be a mismatch between WG aspirations and resources being provided to deal with issues at a local level.  He gave an assurance that he was meeting regularly with counterparts across Wales, as this issue was not limited to Flintshire, to be very clear to WG that new legislation required adequate resources to be provided.

Councillor Hilary McGuill asked if the service communicated with the Empty Homes Scheme as she was aware of two private properties within her ward which had been empty for a considerable amount of time.  The Service Manager advised that the Council were actively looking to purchase ex Council homes with a number of leads being progressed.  The Chair advised that this had been previously considered but there was a lot of barriers to purchasing private homes.

Councillor Dale Selvester asked whether consideration would be given to suspending the housing register, as had been carried out previously, to assist with the accommodation available for people who presented as homeless and bring the budget pressure down.  The Service Manager that all options needed to be considered prior to bringing back options to the Committee to consider.  He outlined the number of people currently listed on the housing register who also had housing needs.

In response to further concerns raised by the Committee, the Chair suggested that a letter be written to the WG to express the Committee’s concerns around the financial implications to the Local Authority following changes to the Housing Wales Act 2014 (HWA 2014) and the need for appropriate levels of resource and support to be provided to the Local Authority.

Councillor Dennis Hutchinson recommended that the Chair write to the WG, on behalf of the Committee, to express its concerns around the financial implications to the Local Authority following changes to the Housing Wales Act 2014 (HWA 2014) and the need for appropriate levels of resource and support to be provided to the Local Authority.  This was seconded by Councillor Ray Hughes.

RESOLVED:

That the Chair write to the Welsh Government, on behalf of the Committee, to express its concerns around the financial implications to the Local Authority following changes to the Housing Wales Act 2014 (HWA 2014) and the need for appropriate levels of resource and support to be provided to the Local Authority.