Agenda item

To consider the report.

 

DECISION

 

a)     To accept and note the report.

b)     To ask the officers to report back to the Committee in due course on any potential implications for the policy after assessing the contents of the Welsh Government's White Paper.

c)     To ask the officers to consider whether the Committee should contribute to Cyngor Gwynedd's response to the consultation following the publication of the White Paper.

 

The report was submitted explaining that a further update on the Housing Allocation Policy was in question and that the policy had already been submitted before the Care Scrutiny Committee in the past. It was explained that changes had been made to the Council's policy in the context of which bands housing applications were determined to and that the current policy had now been in operation for nearly three years. It was noted that the policy had managed to maximise the number of houses let to Gwynedd residents from 90% to 96.7% and that this was a very high percentage, especially considering that local connection could not be considered as an essential priority criterion in every application.

 

It was explained that the Welsh Government intended to publish a White Paper in October 2023 that would review the legislation and undertake fundamental changes on the way homelessness was dealt with in Wales. Due to the link between homelessness and social housing, the side effect of examining the legislation review on homelessness was the need to re-examine how social housing was let and any side effects that derived from that process.

 

It was noted that the Housing Department was waiting eagerly to see the White Paper to gain an understanding of the Government's direction. It was explained that they had a fairly good idea as they had attended regular meetings and discussions with the Government over the past few months and had been given an opportunity to note their opinions and feelings about the potential changes. Therefore, it was noted that they hoped that nothing too shocking would be included in the White Paper, but the department would need a bit of time to evaluate its contents and any impact it could have on Council policies. It was explained that considerable work was likely to face the department once the White Paper would be published.

 

 

During the discussion, the following observations were noted: 

 

-        The members expressed their thanks for the report noting pride in the success of the policy so far.

 

-        Questions were raised about the definition of local connection and concern was expressed that the Council could say it had been successful when providing a house to someone from Aberdyfi in Bethesda. An explanation was requested of how it could be ensured that vulnerable people could remain in their communities.

o   In response, it was explained that although every authority had an element of flexibility when it came to a Housing Allocation Policy, that statutory priority had to be given to 5 categories of people and, therefore, the local connection element had to be secondary to those statutory categories.

o   It was noted that Cyngor Gwynedd had added a community connection tier which went further than local connection. In a situation where applicants were equal in the same priority band, it was explained that people with a community connection would be given priority over those who did not have a community connection.

o   It was explained that 54% of the recent placements had been given to applicants with a community connection. Although the figure appeared low on the face of it, it was explained that there was a lack of suitable accommodation in some communities for example, no flats for single people in more rural areas, which directly contributed to the figure. It was confirmed that the figure was much higher if people with a connection to nearby communities were considered.

o   In the context of strengthening the local connection element, it was noted that it would be difficult to see what else could be done within the constraints of the current guidelines and legislation and, therefore, we would have to wait and see what was stated in the White Paper.

 

-        It was confirmed that the Council received substantial funding from the Welsh Government every year to support people facing homelessness and that they collaborated with external agencies to ensure that people could keep hold of their tenancies.

 

-        In response to a question about the role of housing associations in the process of determining who was given a house, it was explained that the policy drove the decision and that a clear prioritisation system was included in the policy.

o   It was noted that the Council historically produced the priority list but officers of housing associations now did this. However, it was confirmed that the same policy was used and that a valid reason would be required not to give the property to the person on top of the list.

o   It was explained that decisions about individual applications should not be taken unless in exceptional circumstances as this was contrary to the policy.

o   It was noted that the Council was in the process of working on a computer system that would make it impossible to omit an applicant as it would not be possible to offer the property to the next person on the list.

o   In terms of accountability, it was confirmed that the Council was responsible for the register and that it received letting reports from the housing associations to be able to monitor the decisions being made.

 

-        It was explained that the Council itself did not construct social housing; it worked instead with partners and housing associations in order to construct them. It was noted that there had been an increase in available funding to construct social housing and, in terms of the process, it was explained that the housing associations identified potential schemes and then the Council assessed which ones they would prioritise.

 

-        It was confirmed that the revenue from the additional tax would be used to construct affordable homes, not social housing.

 

-        It was noted that the application form for social housing was available on the Council website and, although the form had been reduced from 20 to 12 pages, the fact that it was a long form that asked a number of questions was acknowledged. It was explained that the questions were asked for specific reasons although this was not always clear to the applicant.

 

-        It was explained that the process of ensuring that houses purchased by the Council were ready had taken longer than expected but it was hoped that they could be filled as soon as possible within the next few months.

 

-        Concern was expressed about where essential workers fitted into the policy, especially considering that it was not possible to obtain workers in some parts of Gwynedd due to a lack of accommodation for them.

o   In response, it was noted that the law noted that priority must be shown to 5 categories of people and that essential workers were not included in these.

o   Despite this, it was noted that there was an element of flexibility for the Council to review this but there was a need to wait now to see the changes associated with the White Paper.

 

-        Several questions were asked about how figures were duplicated when considering how many people were on the waiting list in different areas as some applicants were likely to be on the list in more than one area. It was also asked whether or not there was room to develop a better system of providing information about waiting lists.

o   In response, an officer confirmed that 2346 applicants were on the register but the figure changed daily. It was noted that the team received approximately 27 new applications every week and had already received 950 applications this year.

o   It was explained that there was increasing demand on the team to share the information and that it was currently much easier to report figures by area as it would become much more complicated when combining areas etc. It was noted that the team's priorities needed to be considered.

o   Attention was drawn to the fact that the number of applications was not equal to the number of people as several applications included families. It was noted that the figures were shocking and that the department understood why councillors wanted to know what happened in their wards.

 

-        It was noted that it was important that Councillors could know (with the applicant's consent) what information the department had as Councillors' intervention could often lead to providing full information to the department.

o   In response, it was noted that the law and the code of practice from the Welsh Government explained what role the Councillors could play in the process. It was accepted that there was room for them to support or advocate on behalf of their electors.

o   Officers explained that they hoped that developing the new system would facilitate the registration process for social housing which includes providing information to support the application. Although they were moving in the right direction, it was recognised that this had not yet been fully delivered.

 

-        In response to a question about the role of salary or income threshold in the policy, it was explained that it was no longer a part of the policy and the Council had moved away from using this as the market could vary between areas. It was noted that the department considered the individual circumstances of the applicant depending on the type of areas they chose and concluded whether they had the income to comfortably meet housing needs in the private sector.

 

-        Concern was expressed about houses that were difficult to let, for example, a four-bedroom house in rural areas, and how there was a risk for these to be let to people who were low on the list. It was asked whether it was possible to make better use of these houses, for example, by selling them to local people.

o   In response, it was accepted that there were problems in some areas and there may be room for the department to have conversations with its partners to find a solution.

o   It was noted that partners were proactive when trying to attract people to the properties but using social media and the internet to advertise properties increased the risk of drawing interest from outside the area. It was argued that this was where the policy stepped in and that applicants with a Gwynedd connection were prioritised and that it was fair to say that people without a connection who were given properties were exceptions.

 

-        Attention was drawn to how the population was ageing and maybe some people were not in the most suitable properties for them. As a result, it was enquired how the Housing Department collaborated with the Adults, Health and Well-being Department to ensure that people lived in properties that were suitable for them and how it monitored that there was a sufficient number of suitable housing for Gwynedd's demographic needs.

o   In response, it was noted that systems were in place by partners to identify such examples of tenants and how it was possible to release this type of property for a more appropriate use.

o   When planning new properties, it was explained that a detailed analysis of needs was carried out in an attempt to meet needs across the spectrum within the development plan.

o   In terms of collaboration between departments, it was confirmed that a close relationship between departments was essential. It was explained that there was a close relationship between care and housing services as a high percentage of matters arising in the context of care related to the suitability of houses. There was cooperation between the departments in the context of housing adaptations to ensure that people could remain in their homes.

o   The fact that challenges arose in terms of the availability of funding and resources to make adaptations to houses, was recognised. Concern was expressed that there were insufficient resources to meet the need and that there was a risk for this to lead to an increase in the time people had to wait for a suitable home.

o   It was noted that the two new departments had started to collaborate on a piece of work to examine the situation in the context of housing suitability and to try to anticipate the needs over the next 25 years to see how it could plan and prepare to meet the coming need as a result of the ageing population.

 

-        In response to a question about how a decision was made about bands, it was explained that the policy determined this.

o   There were comprehensive examples in the policy of what was considered as housing needs and what was considered as urgent housing needs. It depended on the individual's circumstances and how these were conveyed to the Housing Options Team.

o   It was explained that thresholds were clear in the policy and that the need for social housing had substantially increased and that people's needs had become more prominent and pressing since the Covid-19 period. As a result of this, it was noted that the team had had to refuse some applications in band 2.

o   It was noted again that there was a need to wait and see whether there would be any reference in the White Paper to changing the way of assessing.

 

-        It was explained that representatives from the Council, the housing associations and occupational therapists from the children and adults' side were part of the Specialist Housing Group and that the group sought to find solutions for cases where the traditional social housing stock did not meet the applicant's needs.

 

-        In response to a question asking whether anything prevented the Council from constructing more social housing, it was explained that stock had been transferred to the housing associations, but the Council would continue to lead on the work and determine where the funding would go.

 

-        It was noted that there were plans to build 700 additional houses before the end of the Development Plan and that the Council had already purchased 16 houses and that another five were in the pipeline.

 

-        In terms of the consultation following the publication of the White Paper, it was confirmed that the Council would respond formally to the consultation. It was noted that the Government had not yet published the details of the consultation and therefore it would be difficult to say whether there was a role for the committee in the consultation.

 

-        It was noted that today had been a good opportunity for the department to update the Committee of the changes to come.

 

RESOLVED

 

a)     To accept and note the report.

b)     To ask the officers to report back to the Committee in due course on any potential implications for the policy after assessing the contents of the Welsh Government's White Paper.

c)     To ask the officers to consider whether the Committee should contribute to Cyngor Gwynedd's response to the consultation following the publication of the White Paper.