The Head of Housing Services introduced the Quarter 3 Housing Performance Report. Key issues within the report were highlighted, which included:

·         The year end target for granting planning permission for new homes had been exceeded.

·         There continues to be good performance in limiting the need for temporary accommodation. In the last quarter, the number of households in temporary accommodation was 100 against a target of 120 or below.

·         A rise in rent arrears was anticipated due to the roll out of universal credit.

·         Staffing levels were back to the usual level for the Income Team.

·         There had been a rise in the number of rough sleepers recorded as part of the annual rough sleepers count. This had increased from 47 in November 2016, to 61 in November 2017.

·         The average time taken to process new benefits claims had not reached the target, in part due to staffing matters. 

In response to a question from the Panel, The Head of Housing Services clarified that the HC016 performance indicator related specifically to affordable homes for rent, whereas HC006 showed the total number of affordable homes built including those under shared ownership arrangements. The Panel requested that more detail be circulated after the meeting on why there had been delays in processing new benefits claims.

The Chair asked what method was used to collect data on the number of people rough sleeping in the City. The Housing Strategy and Needs Manager said the figure of 61 recorded rough sleepers was the number recorded as part of the annual count in November 2017. This was the figure that was submitted to Central Government as part of wider national recording.

A local estimate of 89 was also made, based on the total number of recorded rough sleepers, plus any unrecorded individuals that were presumed to be rough sleeping. Responding to further questions, The Housing Strategy and Needs Manager said the annual count was carried out between midnight and 4am, and that it extended to known rough sleeping hotspots outside the city centre.

The Housing Strategy and Needs Manager assured the Panel that a detailed and robust methodology was applied to counting rough sleepers, and explained that only those who were bedded down were counted. At the last quarterly count, which was undertaken for internal recording purposes, 40 rough sleepers were identified. Responding to a question from the Chair, it was clarified that counts were not undertaken whilst severe weather emergency protocols (SWEP) were in place.

Panel members expressed concern that 22 individuals had been rough sleeping for more than 6 months. The Housing Strategy and Needs Manager explained that efforts were made to get rough sleepers into overnight accommodation, and support networks were then placed around them. It was noted that some individuals would refuse this help. However, help would remain available to them. The Panel requested that more information be circulated to show the network of organisations that support rough sleepers in the homelessness pathway.

The Head of Housing said that there had been no significant changes since the previous performance report and that it represented a good set of results.  He highlighted the following points:

·         The use of temporary accommodation is within target but the Council was using some of its general needs stock as temporary housing.

·         The numbers of people sleeping rough were high and challenging to contain.

·         There had been delays in the delivery of new affordable housing.

·         A housing company had been established and its two-year development plan would deliver 260 new units.

The Panel questioned how many units would be delivered at Dora Carr Close as this was referenced in two indicators that had different targets.  The Head of Housing said that HP006 included other schemes but that he would provide details separately on how many new units would be delivered and when.

The Panel questioned whether social housing owned by the housing company would be subject to Right to Buy.  The Panel heard that the government would do this but the details, such as qualification periods and discounts, had not yet been announced and could be different than for social housing owned by local authorities.

The Head of Housing offered to look into an empty property case in Northway.