The City Executive Board, at its meeting on 23 January, would consider the amendments made to the draft Housing and Homelessness Strategy 2018-21 following 6 weeks of public consultation, with a view to approving the amended Strategy 2018 (and its associated appendices).

The Housing Panel had commented on the pre-consultation version of the Strategy and asked for the post-consultation version to be included on the agenda for pre-decision scrutiny.

The Chair reminded the Panel of its recommendations to the City Executive Board in relation to the pre-consultation draft, all of which had been accepted.

Cllr Rowley, Board Member for Housing, introduced the report and Strategy which was returning to the Panel as a penultimate draft before submission to the CEB the following week. The revised strategy took account, among other things and  to the extent that it could, of the Homelessness Reduction Act.

The Strategy and Service Development Manager drew the Panel’s attention to Appendix 4 of the report which noted responses given to representations made during the consultation.

In relation to “local connection” as a criterion for provision of, and access to services, the Strategy and Service Development Manager said it had been the subject of particularly detailed consultation with many stakeholders, including service users. This was a matter which did not lend itself to any easy or obvious answers. The Strategy had, however, identified a workstream to consider the matter further.

The Chair noted that Government guidance in relation to the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 made frequent reference to the Local Authority’s ability to operate discretion in its application. The Strategy and Service Development Manager confirmed that there would be training on the requirements and implications of the Homelessness Reduction Act for those involved in decisions about provision, including when discretion should be applied..

There was a tangential connection between the Strategy and the use of Community Protection Notices (CPNs) but the Strategy was not an appropriate place for a detailed account of their use and operation. There would be a separate report on the CPNs to CEB in February (and prior consideration by Scrutiny Committee).

The Chair suggested that the  “City Conversation” was an important means of gaining intelligence which could usefully be fed into future iterations of the Strategy. The Strategy and Service development Manager explained that the City Conversation in November came after the consultation had closed but agreed with the Chair’s suggestion that a reference to it should be made in the executive summary. The Strategy sets out the importance of collaborative working with other agencies to address issues of homelessness and rough sleeping. The City Conversation started this and going forward, work will continue to develop partnership arrangements.

It was agreed that the Panel should receive a report on progress with the Homelessness Partnership in 6 months’ time.

In a discussion about the availability of  housing generally there was recognition of the pressures caused by high student numbers and the loss of family housing as a result of Right to Buy and subsequent sale of the properties to private landlords. The Council was working  with the County Council and also consulting, through the Local Plan 2036 review, with a number of employers in the City to look at the housing needs of staff. The Council is also working with the County Council to consider housing requirements of young care leavers. The welcome reversal of the Government’s supported housing benefit cap meant that accommodation could continue to be provided for some vulnerable people for whom it would otherwise be difficult without subsidy.

The Chair suggested that the first sentence of the Council’s vision, as set out at the beginning of the Strategy  should be expanded so as to refer to the City as a place in which to “… live, work and learn …”

The causes of homelessness were many and varied and, generally, outside the Council’s control. The causes of homelessness and early prevention were being explored further as part of the Trailblazer project. Responsibility for dealing with the consequences of homelessness did not lie solely with the Council. Many homeless people have additional needs and require wrap around support services.  Homelessness was something that had to be addressed on a collaborative partnership basis, and this was reflected  in the Strategy. Partners across Oxfordshire would need to work together to meet duties and responsibilities and to address issues of homelessness and rough sleeping.

Panel members expressed concern that when the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) had last been invoked, not all those entitled to access support had done so. The Head of Housing Services explained that some work would be done to find out why this had been the case as services were made available to those who needed it.

The work being done to support the housing needs of key workers was welcome.

The Chair noted a Panel member’s concern and it was agreed that the two elements of section 5.44 of the Strategy should be separated out to avoid the juxtaposition of a reference to loss of life alongside the perception of tourists. Also that paragraph 5.9 of the Strategy should be amended to show that vulnerable homeless people may be tempted into crime. A cross-check of the document should also be undertaken to eliminate any typographical errors and to ensure that when referring to average house prices within the Strategy document, there is consistency of how this is presented.