To consider the Housing, Leisure and Culture Cabinet Member’s report on the above.
(Copy enclosed)
Minutes:
(a) The report of the
Cabinet Member for Housing, Leisure and Culture on homelessness in Gwynedd was presented.
(b) The Senior Manager for Housing and Well-being gave the background to the report and noted that homelessness
was one of the Council’s statutory responsibilities as set
out in the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. Changes
to homelessness legislation
were welcomed and these had come into effect and allowed cases to be open for a much
longer period. However, there was more workload on officers
and although some transitional grant funding had been received this
would end on 31 March 2018 and the Government
had not committed to any subsequent grants thereafter. It was emphasised that without transitional
funding the service would not have been able to cope
with the changes or have so many
successful outcomes with homelessness prevention. In addition, it was noted that there
were changes on the horizon in the welfare benefits system that would impose a burden on the service
and following the commissioned
work, reference was made to the main findings of this research work.
(c)
The
service was facing a number of challenges as a result of legislative and benefit changes and it had identified that demand had increased and the forecast was that it would continue to grow. It was therefore crucial to consider how the service would respond
to ensure the sustainability
and ability of the service,
and how to manage future expenditure.
(ch) On a positive note, it was stated that in
2015/16 Gwynedd was the best in
Wales in terms of the percentage of homelessness prevention, however this would decrease
this year due to the loss of one member of staff.
(d) Members were given
an opportunity to ask questions and the officers responded as follows:
(i)
There had not been an increase in
the number of people referred to bed and breakfast accommodation,however, they had stayed there for
a longer time. Nevertheless, the service had managed to support them within
the budget. An assurance was given that the service tried to avoid placing families
with children in bed and breakfast accommodation. At
all times they sought to retain individuals where they were by negotiating
with the landlords. By increasing council tax on
second homes, it was trusted that the money could be re-invested in this area to supply
for the needs of the individuals.
(ii)
The
Homelessness and Housing
Support Manager was requested
to send information to the Members Manager as follows:
·
How many people were referred to bed and breakfast accommodation
·
Are they individuals / families / young people / male / female
·
The
costs of the above
(iii)
Regarding houses leased by private landlords, rent was paid at the same
rate as the local housing allowance.
(iv)
That the cases were from across
the County and included rural towns and villages.
(v)
Regarding how the Council was preparing for the changes in the benefits system, it was noted that the service was:
·
seeking to ensure that individuals were aware of the changes
·
ensuring that all property developments were suitable
·
collaborating with the Empty Homes Unit and the private
sector housing
·
giving people advice.
(vi)
In light of the fact that there was an increase in
the number of cases, it was
noted that there was additional pressure on staff to find accommodation, especially considering that only a small
stock of housing was available. with a specific time-schedule to deal with the cases. It was further noted that the main increase was single people.
(vii)
It
was ensured that the
Service collaborated closely
with jails, Probation Service, Housing Associations, however, there was a little more work to be undertaken to have a more robust structure in place
to collaborate with the
Health Board.
(viii)
That approximately 95% of
the cases were from Gwynedd citizens and not from people from
outside the County.
(ix)
In the context of young
people of 16 years old who were
in receipt of benefits, it was noted that the percentage of cases was not high and there was a specific responsibility to cooperate with Social Services. It was also noted that there
was strong cooperation with GISDA.
(dd) During the discussion regarding the proposals to address the concerns of the
Service about the significant
challenges to provide accommodation for homeless people in Gwynedd in the future, the following points were highlighted:
·
Would it be cost effective for the Council to look at its own buildings
and to adapt these as accommodation for the homeless
·
Look into building on land
that becomes available and cooperate with Housing Associations
In response to the above, it was explained that discussions were being conducted
with Housing Associations, however, it was anticipated that the difficulty with house building schemes would be the time-schedule for the houses to be ready, and only a small number
of houses were currently being built.
The Head of Adults, Health and Well-being added that the problem of a lack of provision was not unique to Gwynedd.
It was proposed to submit
a report to the Council's
Cabinet drawing attention
to the financial elements
and whilst accepting that there would
be changes afoot in the future, they had to try and be as proactive
as possible.
Resolved: (a)
To accept, note and thank the officer for the report and acknowledge that the service was facing additional pressure as a result of legislative changes and changes in the benefits system.
(b)
To request that the Head of Adults, Health and Well-being Department conveys the wish of this Scrutiny Committee
to establish a strong structure with collaboration between the Council
and the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board for people
with high needs discharged from hospital into
the community where accommodation and support resources had by now disappeared.
(c) Investigate
the possibility of getting
more suitable houses for the needs of homeless people such as:
·
Consider property in the Council's ownership to be transformed as accommodation.
·
Building new houses on land
that become available
Supporting documents: