Agenda item

This report sets out activities and progress on work areas within the Housing and Community Services Portfolio, which fall within the remit of this Committee. This information is provided in relation to the Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Housing and Community Services being held to account.

Discussion:

Members received an overview of progress on the area within the terms of

reference of this Committee covered by Councillor Howard Doe, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Housing and Community Services, i.e.

·         Disabled adaptations to housing

·         Homelessness and housing options

·         Housing management and allocations

·         Housing strategy

·         Private sector housing

·         Housing Landlord Services (HRA)

·         Development of the Council’s housing stock

·         Adult learning

·         Libraries and Community Hubs

Councillor Doe responded to Members’ questions as follows:

Housing

A Member asked whether the Council was prepared to make further representations to the Government on allowing Councils more flexibility to build new houses. Councillor Doe replied that there was a recognition not enough was being done at a national level to facilitate new housing. The Council was expecting a response on this point from its representations as a result of the work of the Housing Task Group. Dependant on the response he was prepared to make further representations. He considered that the forced reduction of rents was an ill advised policy which would reduce funding to the Housing Revenue Account by almost £6m over a four year period. The possible risk of between £0.5-£1m grant being clawed back was not helpful in terms of planning. If this did not happen then the HRA would be in a reasonable position. If it happened at the upper end of projections then strong representations would be made. The Homes and Community Agency were discussing making make more funds available for house building, which the Council would be looking very closely at. The Council was exploring ways of how to develop more homes in a way which did not risk the authority’s finances. Discussions were also taking place with a company about system build housing opportunities.

A Member asked if the Council was prepared to review the Homebond Scheme, as after listening to complaints from constituents it appeared the scheme was no longer fit for purpose. Councillor Doe replied that he was not aware of such concerns. There was reluctance amongst some private landlords to let to tenants in receipt of housing benefit. He was willing to look at any suggestions how the scheme could be improved and asked if details could be sent to him of concerns raised with Members.

Referring to the unsuccessful bid to the Government for funding to combat homelessness, a Member asked if the Council was prepared to think about collaborating with other councils in future when making a bid. Councillor Doe did not consider that the bid failed due to a lack of cross border working although there had not yet been any formal feedback on the bid. He was happy to consider collaboration if that would improve the chances of a bid being successful. 

A Member noted the increasing likelihood of homelessness due to Universal Credit with some private landlords viewing tenants in receipt of Universal Credit as a risk. Councillor Doe agreed that Universal Credit was likely to lead to a significant increase in housing debt.

A Member asked whether the Council would be reviewing its approach to public consultation before the review of the Homelessness Strategy. Councillor Doe responded that he wanted the consultation to be as wide as possible and it was far better to have preventable measures in place to avoid homelessness.

A Member felt that there was more scope for joint working with partners to prevent homelessness and hoped the street triage service funded by KMPT would help. Councillor Doe commented that the Council already worked with partners and the voluntary sector on homelessness but was prepared to look at whether more could be done.

Referring to the ten year wait for council housing, a Member questioned how the Housing Strategy could be seen as fit for purpose and called for a step change and increase in resources to tackle the very real housing issues facing Medway. Councillor Doe commented that the country was not investing enough in housing. If housing was to be given a greater priority then other services would need to be reduced or stopped. Rents were too high and more houses were needed. Agreeing with this analysis, a Member highlighted spending across the council totalling £0.25m from the Public Health budget on issues which he considered were much less important than housing.  Councillor Doe replied that this was outside his Portfolio and the expenditure needed to make a difference was on a much greater scale than £0.25m.

A Member asked why the Council was reluctant to introduce a private landlord licensing system as this would send a strong message and also be a source of income. Councillor Doe commented that he did not think such a scheme would be self funding. The service had efficiently dealt with 1,000 complaints in the last year and setting up a landlord registration system could be expensive while producing little in the way of results.

A Member referred to the importance of extra care and life time housing. Councillor Doe felt that extra care had been reasonably successful but not enough was being built due to the cost. Every opportunity should be taken to by the Council to secure more extra care housing.

A Member referred to a scheme developed by Southampton City Council whereby pension funds were used to deliver new housing and asked if the Council would consider a similar scheme. Councillor Doe responded that the Council was looking at what many other authorities were doing. The key issue was achieving a rate of return sufficient to make such a scheme self financing and this was difficult to achieve with affordable housing. Sustainability was important as it would not be prudent to build in more instability to the Council’s finances.

Adult Education

Recognising the improvements in the service in recent years, a Member asked what the Deputy Leader’s vision was for adult education for the next 3-5 years. Councillor Doe remarked on the importance of adult education in helping to combat social isolation. There was a need to work with partners to build the business and ensure that the service also contributed to the wider employment agenda in the area.

Libraries and Community Hubs

Noting the tendency for libraries across the country to be closed, a Member referred to the possibility of the post office being located in Luton Library and asked if there were plans for similar opportunities in other libraries. Councillor Doe regretted the trend for libraries to be closed elsewhere, which was often seen as an easy option. He emphasised the importance of libraries being buildings which were relevant to their communities and which offered a comprehensive service. Discussions were ongoing with the post office and he undertook to provide Members with an update.

A Member asked if there were any plans for a Community Hub south of the A2. Councillor Doe replied that Wigmore library was a possibility but Rainham less so unless it was redeveloped.

A Member recognised Councillor Doe’s personal commitment to the library service and felt the service was good although there was still room for improvement. Due to new housing in Rochester more people were likely to use the library and it merited redevelopment. Councillor Doe replied that realistically resources were not available to open new libraries but he was prepared to look at ways of reaching more people. 

Decision:

The Committee thanked the Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Housing and Community Services for his attendance and noted that a briefing note on the possibility of the post office co-locating in Luton Library would be provided.