Issue - meetings
Supported Accommodation Task Group
Meeting: 18/12/2012 - Cabinet (Item 6)
6 Supported Accommodation Task Group 
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Additional documents:
Minutes:
Background:
This report provided details of the in-depth review of supported accommodation undertaken by a short life Task Group which reached the following conclusions on the issue of supported accommodation:
- There was a need for legislation to be tightened in relation to housing benefit and exempt accommodation;
- Additional assistance would be helpful in the housing benefit section to address the high volume of claims, to continue the robust challenge to high rents and the vigorous challenge to any future Tribunal cases;
- Outcomes based commissioning was the way forward in terms of quality of provision in relation to housing related support along with a greater understanding of the need in this area.
The Regeneration, Community and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered this report on 13 December 2012 and its views were set out in an addendum report.
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Decision number: |
Decision: |
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211/2012 |
The Cabinet agreed to request the Chief Finance Officer to write to Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare Reform at the Department of Work and Pensions, and to the three Medway Members of Parliament requesting that they also put pressure on Lord Freud, to (a) tighten up the regulations in connection with eligibility to exempt accommodation in view of the increasing financial burden being placed on local authorities brought about by the lack of a cap on the amount which could be charged by providers for enhanced housing benefit; and (b) address the inequality and burden placed on this Council by the increasing migration of people into Medway, eligible for enhanced housing benefit, for whom the Council may only claim part subsidy. |
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212/2012 |
The Cabinet agreed to request the Chief Finance Officer to report back on the business case for seconding additional, specialist, support into the Benefits Team in order to increase the capacity for dealing with complex negotiations with exempt accommodation providers. This would be on the basis of an ‘invest to save’ proposal as it would release the Benefits Manager to continue in her existing role within the specialist service, with responsibility for the quality assurance of the benefits caseload together with work in respect of liaison and forward planning in respect of Welfare. This would enable the Council to maintain its stance in robustly challenging high rents, negotiating lower rents and provide for a robust case in the event of a challenge at Tribunal stage. |
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213/2012 |
The Cabinet agreed tosupport the following proposals in relation to enhanced housing benefit and instructed officers as follows: a. As part of the negotiations with exempt accommodation providers the Council should set out its expectations relating to outcomes and promote a clear ‘move on’ pathway/outcomes star programme (or equivalent pathway) with regular monitoring updates to enable the Council to track the outcomes for people in exempt accommodation. b. An enquiry tickbox questionnaire should be developed for potential providers of exempt accommodation asking the following: i. Questions about the eligibility of the landlord to provide the relevant support ii. Questions about the premises – does the landlord own ... view the full minutes text for item 6 |