The Head of Housing, Housing Options Manager and Cabinet Member for Housing have been invited to the meeting to provide a presentation on Housing services.

The Chairman welcomed the Head of Housing, Housing Options Manager and the Cabinet Member for Housing to the meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Housing thanked the Committee for the invitation to brief Members, and considered that it was important to share information on the services and high level of performance delivered by the Housing Team.

The Housing Options Manager gave a presentation outlining the national picture of Housing Services, the picture in Swale, the key challenges, temporary accommodation, complex cases and homeless prevention.  A copy of the presentation was circulated to the Committee and is available to view on the on-line agenda.

The Head of Housing provided an overview of the work of the Private Sector Housing Team, Staying Put – the Council’s Home Improvement Agency, and Strategic Housing. 

The Cabinet Member for Housing emphasised the importance of partnership working with Kent County Council, Registered Social Landlords, Housing Associations and health services and the need for Swale to be pro-active in undertaking new projects.

A Member made the following comments: need to look separately at tactics and strategy; the Housing Team offer excellent assistance but there is an issue with the strategy; housing availability in Faversham was appalling; not just about homelessness but also about unsuitable accommodation; need to look innovatively at ways to create more accommodation; how could the Council work collaboratively with Housing Associations to encourage building?; could the Council secure more Section 106 funding?; how could the Council improve our engagement with private sector landlords to provide more rental properties for residents claiming benefits; what messages should the Council be sending to central Government?; Council needs to review its overall strategic position and create a stronger policy position; need to consider borrowing to build housing; residents want to stay within the area they currently live in; moving residents out of the Borough was detrimental; there was a risk that the Council was failing residents by not providing suitable temporary accommodation in the locality.

The Head of Housing advised that the Housing Team were working with the Planning Department to secure as many affordable homes as possible on new developments.  The Team had a good relationship with a number of landlords in Swale but it was important to recognise that market forces made it difficult to encourage landlords to rent to benefit claimants, especially given there was a shortage of rental properties, and Faversham was the least affordable area in the Borough for private rental. 

The Cabinet Member for Housing considered that it was important to support residents in gaining employment,  which would then enable them to access private rented accommodation.  He referred to the benefit of Life Time Homes and the Council’s policy of investment, rather than borrowing.

A Member welcomed the reduction in the number of residents on the housing list, but raised concern that there was not enough smaller accommodation in the Borough and the condition of some properties was very poor.

The Chairman thanked the Head of Housing, Housing Options Manager and the Cabinet Member for Housing for the briefing.

The Chairman invited Members’ views on the potential areas for review.

A Member commented on whether there was an issue with residents living in caravans for the majority of the year, and then requiring accommodation for those months they were unable to live on the caravan sites.  A Member advised that she had raised this with the Housing Team and this was not a significant issue, although it required enforcement to ensure the site occupancy conditions were being complied with.   

A Member suggested reviewing the demand for temporary accommodation; what could be done to improve the position; could the Council purchase more accommodation; and how could the Council improve the availability of private rented accommodation by liaising with landlords.

The Chairman referred to a previous scrutiny review of empty homes in the Borough and suggested that it would be beneficial to receive an update on the position with empty homes and the outcome of the recommendations.

A Member referred to a scheme used in London whereby a Local Authority rents a property direct from the landlord and then sub-lets the property for use as temporary accommodation.

The Chairman suggested that the Committee explored the recent Cabinet decision to purchase of a property for temporary accommodation, in particular to review if the pilot had been successful, and what was being proposed for the future.  He considered that it would also be useful to have information on the categorisation of the housing list.

The Policy and Performance Officer undertook to produce a draft review plan for consideration at the next Scrutiny Committee meeting on 30 September 2014.

·         Policy and Performance Officer