Issue - meetings

This report details the outcomes of a piece of consultancy work relating to all aspects of providing temporary accommodation

(Report of Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health)

The outcomes of consultancy work undertaken in respect of the provision of temporary accommodation were detailed.  The Temporary Accommodation Consultancy report was attached at Annex 1.  Consideration was given to a number of recommendations relating to the management and procurement of temporary accommodation and attention was drawn to the overview of the Housing Solutions Team, the fundamental importance of triage, casework and outcome management and the need for additional rigor and a revised approach to assessing priority need.  Reference was made to the draft Temporary Accommodation Procurement Strategy to be reported to the Finance, Innovation and Property Advisory Board in May 2022, the use of the private rented sector, the draft Landlord Incentive Scheme offer (attached at Annex 2) and the review of the Housing Allocations Scheme.  The report highlighted the importance of managing the expectations of residents and stakeholders when communicating the changes to the approach to managing Temporary Accommodation.

Following consideration by the Communities and Housing Advisory Board, the Cabinet Member for Housing resolved that:

(1)             the contents of the Temporary Accommodation Consultancy report and the work to date to commence implementation of the recommendations be noted;

(2)             the target for reduction of households in temporary accommodation to 80 by October 2022 be endorsed, subject to noting that the level would fluctuate and that a range of between 70 and 100 households would be considered acceptable for the purposes of performance management;

(3)             the recruitment of additional temporary staffing resource, as detailed in the report, to support delivery of the recommendations in the Temporary Accommodation Consultancy report be endorsed;

(4)             the presentation of a Temporary Accommodation Procurement Strategy to the meeting of the Finance, Innovation and Property Advisory Board in May 2022 be noted;

(5)             the Landlord Incentive Scheme (as set out at Annex 2 to the report) be approved and authority delegated to the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing to approve any minor changes to the scheme required to deliver a complete Landlord offer;

(6)             the potential requirement to update the Council’s Private Rented Sector Discharge Policy, as set out in 1.7 of the report, to ensure it remained fit for purpose be noted and authority delegated to the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Director of Central Services, to make any necessary changes; and

(7)             the actions taken under the existing Housing Allocations Scheme be noted and the proposed revised Housing Allocations Scheme be presented to the meeting of the Communities and Housing Advisory Board in May 2022 for consideration in advance of formal consultation.

(Decision Notice D220021MEM)

The outcomes of consultancy work undertaken in respect of the provision of temporary accommodation were detailed in the report of the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health.  The Temporary Accommodation Consultancy report was attached at Annex 1.  Consideration was given to a number of recommendations relating to the management and procurement of temporary accommodation and attention was drawn to the overview of the Housing Solutions Team, the fundamental importance of triage, casework and outcome management and the need for additional rigor and a revised approach to assessing priority need.  Reference was made to the draft Temporary Accommodation Procurement Strategy to be reported to the Finance, Innovation and Property Advisory Board in May 2022, the use of the private rented sector, the draft Landlord Incentive Scheme offer (attached at Annex 2) and the review of the Housing Allocations Scheme.  The report highlighted the importance of managing the expectations of residents and stakeholders when communicating the changes to the approach to managing Temporary Accommodation.

RECOMMENDED:  That

(1)             the contents of the Temporary Accommodation Consultancy report and the work to date to commence implementation of the recommendations be noted;

(2)             the target for reduction of households in temporary accommodation to 80 by October 2022 be endorsed, subject to noting that the level would fluctuate and that a range of between 70 and 100 households would be considered acceptable for the purposes of performance management;

(3)             the recruitment of additional temporary staffing resource, as detailed in the report, to support delivery of the recommendations in the Temporary Accommodation Consultancy report be endorsed;

(4)             the presentation of a Temporary Accommodation Procurement Strategy to the meeting of the Finance, Innovation and Property Advisory Board in May 2022 be noted;

(5)             the Landlord Incentive Scheme (as set out at Annex 2 to the report) be approved and authority delegated to the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing to approve any minor changes to the scheme required to deliver a complete Landlord offer;

(6)             the potential requirement to update the Council’s Private Rented Sector Discharge Policy, as set out in 1.7 of the report, to ensure it remained fit for purpose be noted and authority delegated to the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Director of Central Services, to make any necessary changes; and

(7)             the actions taken under the existing Housing Allocations Scheme be noted and the proposed revised Housing Allocations Scheme be presented to the meeting of the Communities and Housing Advisory Board in May 2022 for consideration in advance of formal consultation.