New Forest Borough Council Housing and Homelessness Overview and Scrutiny Panel Meeting

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 September 2021 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

No declarations of interest were made by members in connection with an agenda item.

No issues were raised in the public participation period.

The Panel considered the proposed Housing Revenue Account budget and the Housing Capital Expenditure Programme for 2022/23-2024/25.  As part of the budget it was proposed that there be an increase in social housing rent of 4.1% from the current weekly rent level for the next financial year.  There was also a proposed inflation based increase of 3.1% in the weekly services charges from 3 April 2022.

A member of the Panel spoke in opposition to the rent increase recommendation for Cabinet, noting that the rise in the cost of living and the proposed increase in Council rent would be detrimental to tenants. Other members of the Panel expressed their support in relation to the proposed increases, recognising that a freeze in social rent would have a detrimental impact on the Council’s maintenance programme and would for example, delay the replacement of kitchens and bathrooms.

RESOLVED:

That the recommendations for Cabinet set out in paragraph 1.2 of the report be supported.

The Panel considered the report providing details on the Social White Paper – the Charter for Social Housing Residents and Consultation on new tenant satisfaction measures.

The Panel noted that since the last update, a new Mental Health Practitioner had been appointed.  The MH Practitioner had direct links to the Community Mental Health Team.  It was expected that this role would reduce the need for crisis intervention, reduce failures in accommodation and the cost on the public purse.  The outcomes to date arising from this new post included, for example, direct referral to the Early Intervention and Psychosis (EIP) team cutting the number of appointments and time before a patient was seen by professionals, and further Joint working with the MH Team on a crisis mental health case which had prevented admission to hospital.

It was proposed that a Task and Finish group be established to consider the District Council’s consultation response to the proposed new tenant satisfaction measures.  Cllrs Corbridge, Crisell, Davies and Murray expressed an interest in being involved in this group.

RESOLVED:

(i)             That the Government’s proposals as set out in the Social Housing White Paper and implications for the Council be noted; and

(ii)            That the process for responding to the new consultation on proposed Tenants Satisfaction Measures be approved.

The Panel received a presentation providing an update on homelessness which has been attached to these minutes as an appendix.

The Panel noted that since the last update, a new Mental Health Practitioner had been appointed.  The MH Practitioner had direct links to the Community Mental Health Team.  It was expected that this role would reduce the need for crisis intervention, reduce failures in accommodation and the cost on the public purse.  The outcomes to date arising from this new post included, for example, direct referral to the Early Intervention and Psychosis (EIP) team cutting a number of appointments and time before a patient is seen by professionals, and further Joint working with the MH Team on a crisis mental health case which had prevented admission to hospital.

The annual count on rough sleeping at the end of the year 2021 had been six, this had reduced significantly from 22 in 2019.  There were three long standing rough sleepers in the District who had refused the offer of accommodation.  Regular welfare checks were carried out on these rough sleepers.  The Government had made funding available to source ‘Out of the Box’ solutions to rough sleeping, this was for non traditional accommodation. 

The Panel noted that assessment of and access to covid vaccinations had been built into the housing welfare assessments and rough sleepers had been linked up with GPs in order to access vaccines.  All those in temporary accommodation had been vaccinated and only two rough sleepers were unvaccinated, due to personal preference. 

A new funding round had been opened with a deadline of 28 February to submit applications for the Rough Sleeper Initiative (RSI).  Any successful bid would be awarded funding for the three years in what was likely to be the last funding opportunity before embedding services into the Council offering.  There would be a focus on prevention of homelessness, therefore moving away from crisis intervention.

Members noted that there were 41 households in emergency accommodation at the end of the 2021.  47 households were currently in external emergency temporary accommodation.  The number of those on the housing register and the banding placements were presented to the Panel.

The Panel recognised the hard work of the housing and homelessness team in reducing homelessness and providing support to residents and expressed their thanks.

The Panel received a presentation providing an update on the Housing Strategy and property development which has been attached to these minutes as an Appendix.

The presentation included the following:

·       Old Bakery, New Milton: This scheme was close to completion to provide six self-contained flatlets for temporary accommodation. 

·       Gorse Close, New Milton: Six flats were under construction and would be available for social rent.  These had been designed to reduce carbon emissions with enhanced fabric and Air Source Heat Pumps.

·       Ladycross, Hythe: 37 garages had been demolished and groundworks were underway to build four 2 bed homes and two 3 bed homes for affordable rent.  They would have Air Source Heat Pumps and enhanced fabric to reduce carbon emissions.

·       110 Christchurch Road, Ringwood: Work had commenced to provide seven units of temporary accommodation.  It was expected that these would be completed in March / April 2022. 

·       Testwood Club, Totton: This pilot scheme had been designed to meet the Future Homes standard.  A tender for a building contractor was imminent and a bid to Homes England for grant funding would follow.  Officers had been researching the appointment of a Building Performance Engineer to ensure that the ‘performance gap’ between design and construction was monitored and evaluated.

·       Moore Close, New Milton: Planning approval had been secured subject to conditions.

·       Pentagon Court: Planning approval had been secured.

·       Hythe Medical Centre, Hythe:  Approval to purchase this site had recently been obtained.  It was proposed that the site be developed for affordable housing.

·       37/39 Salisbury Road, Totton:  Design options were currently being investigated through an Architect and through pre-planning enquires with the Planning Department.   

The Panel noted the hard work being carried out to provide more affordable homes within the District and welcomed the greener housing initiatives.  Officers would continue to look for more opportunities to increase affordable housing provision in the District.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Homelessness Services reported that throughout the meeting, the Panel had heard about the work being carried out in the housing department and the challenges the Council was facing.  She was delighted that additional Council housing was being provided for local residents.  There had been positive results arising from the collaboration with the community mental health services, including the newly appointed Mental Health Practitioner.  She felt that the proposals within the Social Housing White Paper should be embraced and that it would provide new opportunities to work with Council tenants and deliver good services.  She looked forward to the forthcoming work with members in relation to the proposed tenant satisfaction measures consultation.

A question was asked in relation to the use of external emergency temporary accommodation (ETA) and when the Key Performance Indicator target within the Performance Dashboard to reduce the number of households in ETA to 30 was expected to be met.  It was noted that a further 15 units of Council owned ETA was expected to become available, this included 6 units at the Old Bakery, New Milton, 2 units at Pentagon Court, Lymington and 7 at 110 Christchurch Road, Ringwood.  There was a potential purchase of an additional seven units which would increase the number of ETA units to 22.

The Panel also noted that officers had been working with private landlords and the next Landlord Forum would take place in March.  It was anticipated that this work would enable the Council to have more access to private rented properties reducing the demand on external temporary accommodation.  It was also explained that the housing team each week considered those single people in emergency temporary accommodation on a case by case basis and review all the options.

RESOLVED:

That the work programme be approved with the inclusion of an additional item at the meeting on 16 March 2022 providing an update on the consultation on the new tenant satisfaction measures.