Agenda item
Homelessness Task and Finish Group
To receive the final report and recommendations from the Homelessness Task and Finish Group.
Suggested time 1 hour
Minutes:
Councillor Holliday, the Chair of the Task and Finish Group, advised the committee that on 31 August 2024 there were 2,369 households on the council waiting list with 488 having the most urgent housing need with only 136 houses let. There were 53 households in temporary accommodation. The Council received a forecasted net subsidy of £6.5million for 2024/5.
Councillor Holliday stated that the Task and Finish Group (TFG) sought to find the widest possible interventions to prevent and reduce homelessness as well as solutions to relieve homelessness.
Councillor Vickers asked why the recommendation of working with the registered providers to reduce tenancy fraud had not been put forward by the TFG. Councillor Holliday stated that there was some data from Victory Homes and there a question on whether that data that it was the highest in North Norfolk correlated to what the council understood.
Councillor Fletcher asked whether the costs of the vetting of the Cornwall scheme that matched younger residents who need accommodation into a home with an older resident(s) that needed assistance would outweigh its benefits.
Councillor Holliday advised that Cornwall Council were a higher tier authority so could do the assessments needed more easily but had achieved 50 or 60 supported people through the scheme.
Councillor Shires added that it might be worth talking to Norfolk County Council on their Housing for Carers scheme.
Councillor Penfold referred to the recommendation on the potential of a pilot scheme that moves out the perpetrator in domestic abuse cases rather than the victim and asked whether it was being trailed elsewhere. Councillor Holliday confirmed that it had been.
Councillor Holliday added that the Domestic Abuse Charities had indicated that they would like to work more closely with the Council to provide greater support to victims at an earlier stage.
Councillor Hankins commented in respect of communication with Parish and Town Councils on Domestic Abuse that he felt the Councils knew of the data in their areas but were unsure what to do with it and a checklist from the council of how they could help would be useful and how to raise it with their communities.
Councillor Housden stated that homelessness and housing supply was a wider problem and there was a recommendation on empty shop buildings being converted to accommodation. Town and Parish Councils could help with long term empty properties, some landowners would be happy to take pods. Giving a portfolio of options to the Councils was needed.
Councillor Housden added that it was a matter of discussing with people and that the pressures on homelessness were going to grow and the Council needed solutions and to engage with communities to build the right message and address preconceptions that were inaccurate.
Councillor Fredericks asked Councillors to go out and talk to their local communities and spread the message on homelessness and what can be done. It is their residents who are homeless.
Councillor Holliday advised that the Campaign for Rural England had suggested Homes for Local People was a good phrase and all neighbourhood plans should include exception sites were all background to the TFG recommendations.
Councillor Heinrich advised that on planning applications that were objections on rural exception sites and Homes for Local People would be better received and may reduce objections. The Council needs to sell the idea to Parishes that it is about local people.
Councillor Heinrich added that a number of shop conversions were happening in North Walsham and the Council needed to watch the consequences of removing Section 21 notices in the private rental market. He would like to see the recommendations moved into a priority order that showed what was achievable in the short, medium and long term.
Councillor Boyle advised that the TFG had spoken to the Landlords Association and there was deep concern about the dwindling number of landlords and the landlords with one property would find it too challenging to survive.
Councillor Vickers added that the Association had offered to host a forum and the Campaign for Rural England had offered to host a conference about Local Homes for Local People at their own cost, but that recommendation had been changed. It would be a good opportunity to talk to the local communities.
Councillor Holliday commented that a Conference that had a wide range of people to give expert advice on housing would be different to a Town and Parish Council Forum. A Landlords Forum would help those people who were uncertain about what was involved and would be able to get the help they needed.
Councillor Housden stated that the Private Rental Legislation needed changing but there was an opportunity to get the right people in the room to discuss the way forward. The TFG had a basket of recommendations that were operable, and the Council needed to get on with them.
The Democratic Services (Scrutiny) Officer advised that the TFG had considered the Council’s draft Housing Strategy and Housing Allocations Policy before making its final recommendations.
Councillor Brown advised on the Government consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework on the definition of affordability that as the Planning Portfolio Holder, he would in conjunction with the Assistant Director be framing the Council’s response which would be submitted next week.
Councillor Brown stated that the Council now had six neighbourhood Plans with three more in the pipeline. However, staff had been lost in the Planning Policy team who dealt with neighbourhood planning and would need to look at resources if the Council is to encourage more of these plans.
Councillor Brown added in respect of how to increase engagement with the Town and Parish Councils on the number of long-term empty properties in their areas that could be achieved by local Councillors going to Parish Councils.
Recommendations that the Council
(A) To prevent homelessness
expands its homelessness service prevention work to undertake such work at an earlier stage along with multi agency support, on an invest to save basis, to seek to reduce the number of people going into temporary accommodation and the costs of that to the council that should include
2. increasing its communication work which should include Parish and Town Councils and should also provide support to Councillors to enable them to help signpost those people who need housing help
3. increasing the range of interventions to help people especially on benefit support and with financial viability assessments
Explores how it uses partner, charity, and voluntary organisations to create a series of outreach hubs and front-line services in North Norfolk for homelessness to create a network of advice and support including appropriate partner organisation(s)
Considers the viability of a support match scheme to match younger residents who need accommodation into a home with an older resident(s) that needs assistance in a similar way to the scheme in Cornwall SupportmatchHomeshare - Cornwall Council
2. As a medium-term solution looks at setting up an investment partnership to provide affordable local housing for local people at social, discount and market rent. We would recommend the model used by Cambridge City Council and Gravesham Borough Council who set an investment partnership with the Hill Group on a 50:50 basis
3. Explores the use of Solo Haus one bed housing where additional temporary accommodation for single people is required
(E) Increase affordable house building/supply
1. Undertakes an audit of shop fronts away from primary retail areas and empty units above and behind shops to assess their potential for conversion to residential usage or renting out rooms
2. An affordable housing conference be set up to encourage Parish and Town councils to create neighbourhood plans that include allocations for community led development for local people and encourages community land trusts to come forward with affordable schemes in rural exception sites
National Homelessness Property fund 2 | Better Society Capital
(F) Increase/sustain Private rental tenancies
1. Explores the model of using a local estate agency to set up a Council letting agency and also looks at whether homelessness prevention grant could be used to bring empty properties back into use
3. Continues to engage proactively with private landlords and considers whether setting up a Landlords Forum would be beneficial with an introductory conference type session including mortgage brokers, lenders, insurance companies as well as landlords and housing associations to explore solutions to the issues Landlords are experiencing
(G) Reducing Long Term Empty Homes
1. Continues to have an Empty Homes Officer as a permanent role
2. Considers how to increase engagement with the Town and Parish Councils on the number of long-term empty properties in their areas
3. Continues to investigate whether funding could be found to refurbish empty properties for people in housing need
2. Continues to have a strategic discussion with the registered providers on potential disposals that may occur over the next few years
3. Encourages registered providers to ensure sufficient target hardening is provided in Domestic Abuse cases
(I) Prevention of/provision for victims of Domestic Abuse
1. Explores how partner organisations can be used to help with homelessness prevention especially in domestic abuse cases that would include tenancy support by the Registered Providers and spreading awareness to Parish and Town Councils and Councillors
2. Asks the new Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner whether the offer of scoping out a pilot that moves out the perpetrator in domestic abuse cases rather than the victim is still valid
Supporting documents:
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