Agenda item

Housing Act 2014 (Wales) - Homelessness and Power to Disregard the test of intentionality

Decision:

That the Committee support the proposal that, until it is confident that it is cost effectively undertaking its new homelessness prevention statutory duty, the Authority should still have regard to the homelessness intentionality test and take the appropriate steps to inform the Welsh Minister of this decision.

Minutes:

The Team Manager - Advice & Homeless Service introduced the report summarising the new powers to Local Authorities under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 to decide whether or not to apply the intentionality test to requests for housing assistance from homeless applicants.

 

On the key considerations of the report, the Team Manager explained that the focus of this significant change in legislation was to put the individual at the centre of engagement to identify a solution to their housing problem.  From April 2015, the Authority had a statutory duty to help anyone at risk of losing their property within 56 days and would have the power to disregard the test of intentionality for any category of homeless applicant (listed in the appendix to the report) rather than on a ‘case by case’ basis.  The Team Manager explained the reasons behind the intentionality test, as set out in the report and advised that the Welsh Government (WG) had granted powers for Authorities to opt back into the use of the intentionality test, if they wished, through a set approach.

 

As reported to the Committee in November 2014, in preparation for the new legislation, the Housing Options team had been piloting enhanced homelessness prevention to take reasonable steps to help anyone threatened with homelessness within 56 days, irrespective of their priority need status.  The Team Manager reported continued positive progress on the pilot however the Authority did not have full powers until April 2015.  The recommendation was therefore to take a prudent approach and continue maintaining the intentionality test until a later stage to seek assurance on the cost effectiveness in undertaking the new statutory duty.

 

In response to a query from Councillor Rosetta Dolphin, the Team Manager said that the Authority must be satisfied that the applicant is at risk of homelessness within the given timeframe, ie  56 days.  The Chief Officer (Community & Enterprise) gave an example which detailed the assessment process and preventative work carried out with the individual to help maintain their current accommodation where possible.  Following concerns raised by Councillor Dolphin around affordability of private rent, the Team Manager spoke of assistance by the Housing Options team in helping to provide short-term measures or work with the individual on a housing plan for long-term solutions.

 

Councillor Hilary Isherwood welcomed the proactive approach being taken by the Council and asked about information exchange between departments to plan ahead, for example with Social Services in respect of care leavers.  The Team Manager stated that some figures had been identified through the pilot, however as this only represented elements of the legislation, this was not a complete picture.  With regard to preventative work, he pointed out the challenges if care leavers chose not to engage with the Authority.  The emphasis of the legislation on preventing homelessness as a corporate duty would be shared in a Member workshop to be arranged.

 

Queries were raised on homeless applicants from outside the county where a history of anti-social behaviour issues had been identified.  The Team Manager provided information on the powers of Authorities to refer back those individuals where a local connection could not be identified.

 

Councillor Ray Hughes felt that consideration should be given to the criteria for a local connection, as the county covered a substantial area.  The Team Manager replied that the legislation on local connections applied to local housing authorities rather than towns.

 

When asked by Councillor George Hardcastle about the allocation points and banding system, the Chief Officer advised that this was currently in transition with the policy due to be implemented from April 2015.

 

Following comments from Councillor Peter Curtis, explanation was given on work undertaken by the Income team to tackle rent arrears by working with tenants on income expenditure.

 

Councillor Mike Reece suggested that representatives from Conwy and Denbighshire Councils be invited to attend the workshop as both were proposing to use a similar approach to that of Flintshire.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Committee support the proposal that, until it is confident that it is cost effectively undertaking its new homelessness prevention statutory duty, the Authority should still have regard to the homelessness intentionality test and take the appropriate steps to inform the Welsh Minister of this decision.

Supporting documents: