The Head of Housing has submitted a report to seek approval to increase the capital budget envelope for the Floyds Row project; to delegate authority to commission further capital works; and to commission the service contract to operate services from this new project to Cabinet on 3 October 2019.

Cabinet’s decision will be reported to Council.

Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Housing, will present the report.

Recommendations: Cabinet recommends that Council:

1.    revise the capital budget for this project, to take the capital envelope of the project to £1,892,300, including contingencies, as outlined in Appendix 3 Option A, increasing the budget by £1,134k. Noting grant funding already secured of £275k capital funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and £100k from Public Health England, which will reduce the funding requirement from the Council’s 2019/20 capital programme accordingly, and noting that additional external funding contributions are being progressed from a variety of sources, including the MHCLG; Oxfordshire District and County Councils; the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group and other charitable sources;

2.    make budget provision for the gross revenue costs of providing Floyds Row in the sum of £1.069 million in 2019-20 funded by grants and contributions.

Councillors Corais and Gotch arrived during this item.

Council considered a report of the Head of Housing submitted to Cabinet on 3 October 2019 seeking approval to increase the capital budget envelope for the Floyds Row project; to delegate authority to commission further capital works; and to commission the service contract to operate services from this new project.

Councillor Linda Smith, the Cabinet Member for Leisure and Housing, presented the report and answered questions. She moved the recommendations, which were agreed on being seconded and put to the vote.

Council resolved to:

1.    revise the capital budget for this project, to take the capital envelope of the project to £1,892,300, including contingencies, as outlined in Appendix 3 Option A, increasing the budget by £1,134k. (Noting grant funding already secured of £275k capital funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and £100k from Public Health England, which will reduce the funding requirement from the Council’s 2019/20 capital programme accordingly, and noting that additional external funding contributions are being progressed from a variety of sources, including the MHCLG; Oxfordshire District and County Councils; the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group and other charitable sources); and

2.    make budget provision for the gross revenue costs of providing Floyds Row in the sum of £1.069 million in 2019-20 funded by grants and contributions.

The Head of Housing has submitted a reportto seek approval to increase the capital budget envelope for the Floyds Row project; to delegate authority to commission further capital works; and to commission the service contract to operate services from this new project.

Recommendations: Cabinet is recommended to:

1.Recommend that Council revise the capital budget for this project, to take the capital envelope of the project to £1,892,300, including contingencies, as outlined in Appendix 3 Option A, increasing the budget by £1,134k.   Noting grant funding already secured of £275k capital funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and £100k from Public Health England, which will reduce the funding requirement from the Council’s 2019/20 capital programme accordingly, and noting that additional external funding  contributions are being progressed from a variety of sources, including the MHCLG; Oxfordshire District and County Councils; the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group and other charitable sources;

2.Recommend that Council make budget provision for the gross revenue costs of providing Floyds Row in the sum of £1.069 million in 2019-20 funded by grants and contributions;

3.Delegate authority to the Assistant Chief Executive, in consultation with the Head of Finance and Head of Law and Governance, to enter into contracts to complete the full capital works to convert the building (phases 1 and 2), on the basis that in the opinion of the Head of Finance, that this continues to represent best value;

4.Delegate authority to the Regeneration and Major Projects Service Manager, in consultation with the Heads of Housing and Finance, to enter into a lease of Floyds Row for a peppercorn rent, on the basis as summarised in this report;

5.Delegate authority to the Head of Housing, to enter into a Service Contract as set out in this report, for the delivery of services at Floyds Row from 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021,

6.Note that the current Street Outreach Team contract with the Council will be varied to include the interim service arrangements (worth c.£400k) up to end March 2020 within existing budget and funding envelopes;

7.Delegate authority to the Head of Housing to undertake the re-procurement of the Street Outreach and Floyds Row commissioned services during 2020/21, noting a further report will be brought to Cabinet in late 2020, to recommend the award of contract; and the annual report on rough sleeping and single homelessness commissioning spend, will be brought to Cabinet in March 2020;

8.Agree to provide the grant funding proposed in this report in order to facilitate the initial trial period of operation of the Floyds Row assessment centre; and

9.Note the progress with the development of this venue and new services, as part of a wider transformation programme.  Noting that interim Somewhere Safe to Stay and Winter Shelter services will commence from Simon House from late October 2019, with some services moving to Floyds Row in January 2020, with the current programme expecting the completion of Floyds Row by  ...  view the full agenda text for item 67

The Head of Housing had submitted a reportto seek approval to increase the capital budget envelope for the Floyds Row project; to delegate authority to commission further capital works; and to commission the service contract to operate services from this new project.

Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Housing, introduced the report. She explained that although the costs had escalated as the scale of the necessary building works became clear the project still provided best value in terms of costs per bed, and the best option for service users and the council.

Dave Scholes, Housing Strategy and Needs Manager, outlined the proposed service provision and the proposed timescale for opening phase 1 and phase 2. The Council was seeking longer term funding from MHCLG but this was not assured. One- and two- year contributions to running costs from Oxfordshire’s county and other district councils were secured.

Cabinet members discussed the build costs; the proposed services and controls on access; funding; and noted that this new model of provision was an addition to other existing services in the city. They supported the recommendations in the report and asked for update reports on the funding and operation of Floyds Row to be provided in spring 2020 and autumn 2020.

Cabinet resolved to:

1.    Recommend that Council revise the capital budget for this project, to take the capital envelope of the project to £1,892,300, including contingencies, as outlined in Appendix 3 Option A, increasing the budget by £1,134k.   Noting grant funding already secured of £275k capital funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and £100k from Public Health England, which will reduce the funding requirement from the Council’s 2019/20 capital programme accordingly, and noting that additional external funding  contributions are being progressed from a variety of sources, including the MHCLG; Oxfordshire District and County Councils; the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group and other charitable sources;

2.    Recommend that Council make budget provision for the gross revenue costs of providing Floyds Row in the sum of £1.069 million in 2019-20 funded by grants and contributions;

3.    Delegate authority to the Assistant Chief Executive, in consultation with the Head of Finance and Head of Law and Governance, to enter into contracts to complete the full capital works to convert the building (phases 1 and 2), on the basis that in the opinion of the Head of Finance, that this continues to represent best value;

4.    Delegate authority to the Regeneration and Major Projects Service Manager, in consultation with the Heads of Housing and Finance, to enter into a lease of Floyds Row for a peppercorn rent, on the basis as summarised in this report;

5.    Delegate authority to the Head of Housing, to enter into a Service Contract as set out in this report, for the delivery of services at Floyds Row from 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021;

6.    Note that the current Street Outreach Team contract with the Council will be varied to include the interim  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67

At its meeting on 03 October 2019, the Cabinet will consider a report on the Commissioning of services at Floyds Row. This item provides an opportunity for the Committee to comment on the report and make such recommendations to the Cabinet as it wishes.

The Cabinet Member for Leisure and Housing, Councillor Linda Smith, introduced the report. The Floyds Row initiative was part of the Council’s commitment  to doing all within its power to address the issues of homelessness and rough sleeping, driven by the ultimate ambition of no one having to sleep on the streets. Floyds row would, among other things, provide a new ‘gateway’ and significantly increase the amount of night shelter provision. The report drew attention to the increased costs of the project and made recommendations to the Cabinet about how best to respond to that increase. Despite the costs, she commended the project to the Committee given the contribution it would make to addressing one of the Council’s priorities.

The Housing Strategy & Needs Manager, Dave Scholes said Floyds Row was innovative  and set to be a transformative influence not just in the City but in the County. It built on national good practice and was of a significant scale, compared with facilities in other parts of the country, given the size of the City. The facility built, in part, of the outcome of the recent Scrutiny Committee No Local Connection review group and would provide a safe engagement space, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

In relation to the capital funding gap the Leader of the Council had written to the new Secretary of State at the MHCLG, outlining the costs of the scheme requesting a further contribution. While there could be no guarantees, early signs of further funding from this source were positive. The Chief Executive had also requested a funding contribution from the other local authorities and OCCG in Oxfordshire.  Oxford Direct Services (ODS) are on-site constructing  phase one of the project (working to end November 2019) and were well placed to deliver phase two with a target date for that of the end of March 2020.  The new facility was being developed in close partnership with St Mungos andthe architects, and other partners, including Turning Point, Crisis, Health, and Emmaus UK, seeking to create a homely rather than institutional feel.

The Committee was generally very supportive of this important project and went on to raise a number of detailed points. The project would doubtless have a positive effect on the demand for a number of other community services such as A&E, psychiatric and other support for those with mental health challenges.  The significant increase in project costs over a relatively short time was a matter of great concern from a project management point of view and begged questions as to why these costs had not been recognised and addressed earlier. Officers explained that the bid for the bulk of the  project’s original funding had had to be progressed in an atypically short time to meet a MHCLG  deadline. This meant that some of the preparatory work was not as thorough as it might otherwise have been, notwithstanding that it had been through the Council’s project ‘gateway’ process. It was also noted that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36