Meeting documents

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee received a presentation by Councillor Philip Bastiman, Chairman of the Review of Homelessness Management Task and Finish Group, which set out the recommendations of the Task and Finish Group following the review of Homelessness Management.

The inquiry was set up to review the function of assessing clients for temporary accommodation and the subsequent management of placements, including the interaction with the Benefits Service and Finance specifically looking at:-

• Process for homelessness assessment

• Process for actual placement and obligations on the client

• Process for housing benefit

• Management of placements

• Process between Housing and Finance for receiving client contributions

The Strategy and demand for temporary or affordable housing was out of scope.

Having gone through each of the recommendations in turn, Councillor Bastiman concluded by thanking, on behalf of the Task and Finish Group, all the councillors and officers who gave up their valuable time to talk to the Task and Finish Group and provide evidence.  He also personally thanked all those Members of the Task and Finish Group and Clare Gray (Scrutiny Officer) for taking the time to address the important issues raised in the review.

In the discussion which followed, the Committee requested that the following changes be made to the report before it was submitted to Cabinet:

·         Management recommendations (page 22 of the agenda) - to remove reference to Access database as Microsoft Access would soon cease to be supported and to just make reference to a database.

·         Homelessness Provision recommendations (page 26 of the agenda) -to make reference to the use of self-contained units by other local authorities e.g. Worcester

The Committee requested that the Cabinet response to the recommendations be received by the end of November and that the response be circulated to Overview and Committee Members.  Furthermore, that where recommendations are not to be implemented that a detailed written explanation be given to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee by the Cabinet on the reasons why.

In addition, the Committee requested that Cabinet be asked to agree to develop a Homelessness Strategy Action Plan to address the issue of supply and demand for temporary accommodation. In respect of the implementation of the recommendations of this report it was requested that an update on the action plan be provided to the January meeting of Overview and Scrutiny Committee, including an update from the Head of Healthy Communities on the new legislation and supply of temporary accommodation and Affordable Housing Action Plan.

The Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny thanked Members of the Task and Finish Group and all the officers involved for their help with this important piece of work.

RESOLVED that

1) Cabinet be asked to respond in writing, by the end of November, to each of the recommendations made by the Task and Finish Group;

2) where recommendations are not to be implemented that a detailed written explanation be given to Overview and Scrutiny Committee by the Cabinet on the reasons why; and

3) Cabinet be asked agree to develop a Homelessness Strategy Action Plan to manage and monitor the implementation of the recommendations of this report.