At its meeting on 03 August 2020 the Panel requested an update on a number of items:

1)    The activity of the Lived Experience Advisory Forum and any joint working with the Council since the Housing Panel’s meeting in November 2020. Paul Wilding, Programme Manager Welfare and Benefits, will provide a verbal update and be present to answer any questions.

2)    The progress on the Champion Way community-led housing project since the Housing Panel’s meeting in November 2020. Dave Scholes, Housing Strategy and Needs Manager, will provide a verbal update and be present to answer any questions.

3)    The Council’s position regarding domestic rent arrears, particularly with a view to the end of the eviction ban. A note regarding the Council’s approach to debt recovery due to Covid-19 is attached (the relevant section is to be found under: Rent Arrears (House/Garage/ Leaseholders/OCHL/RGS). An additional note providing more detail and context around the process and support provided by the Council for those in rent arrears is also attached. Tanya Bandekar, Service Manager – Revenue and Benefits, and Phil McGaskill, Revenues Manager, will be present to answer any questions.

Further to its requests at the previous meeting, the Panel heard a number of verbal updates.

1)    Lived Experience Advisory Forum

Paul Wilding, Rough Sleeping and Single Homelessness Manager, gave a verbal update to the Panel on the activity of the Lived Experience Advisory Forum.

The Lived Experience Advisory Forum (LEAF) had been established by the Oxford Homeless movement on the basis of its belief in the importance of having people with lived experience of homelessness be able to work with and influence professionals around homelessness issues.

Activities from LEAF had been curtailed somewhat due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, two LEAF members were now part of the wider Oxford Homeless Movement’s steering group. A coordinator for the Forum had also been funded by Oxford Homeless Movement to support its work and monthly meetings for members were taking place. In terms of its work, LEAF had

-       Participated in research on how homelessness in Oxfordshire as a whole could be tackled through a housing-first approach, including training LEAF members to undertake interviews of homeless people, of which LEAF undertook 20.

-       Worked with the Blavatnik School of Government on magazine articles relating to co-production.

-       Worked with Aspire’s new housing project on governance to ensure systems were in place to allow the project to be tenant-led.

Having been newly appointed to the post of Rough Sleeping and Single Homeless Manager, Paul Wilding was keen that he would be able to work with LEAF in the development of services from the Council also.

The Panel asked questions about demographic representation on LEAF, and work with St Mungo’s on homelessness prevention. Regarding the latter, it was hoped that the new coordinator would help to raise the profile and reach of LEAF further, including on issues around services relating to homelessness prevention.

2)    Champion Way and Community Led Housing

Dave Scholes, Housing Strategy and Needs Manager, gave a verbal update to the Panel on the progress of the Champion Way Community Led Housing project and the wider Community Led Housing concept locally.

Since the Panel had received the report the previous November, the Champion Way site had received planning permission for four one-bed properties. An easement right had needed to be alterered. Heads of terms for the use of the site were being developed with the Oxfordshire Community Land Trust. Grant funding from the Oxfordshire Growth Deal was being sought, potentially with a top up from the Council via s. 106 developer contributions. On a strategic level, the Local Plan had been adopted, with a requirement for all sites of over 50 houses having to offer 5% of the space for Community Led Housing and self-build. The Council had also met with multiple Community Led Housing organisations, including the Community Land Trust, the Co-Housing group and the Collaborative Housing hub, where a protocol and shared understanding for information-sharing and taking sites forward was agreed, with one site being about two weeks away from being sufficiently progressed to be named. A report from the Growth  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13