Issue - meetings

[Report of the Director for  Housing  and Growth. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Housing and  Estate Renewal.]

Report on  joining  a pan-London scheme to procure temporary accommodation.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal introduced this report which set out a proposal to join the pan-London ‘Capital Letters’ scheme which will collaboratively procure new properties to rent on behalf of London boroughs, supported by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG).

The Cabinet Member reiterated that there was a desperate shortage for housing in Haringey. With limited supply and properties often required at short notice, this also incurred significant costs to the Council.

Capital Letters was a pan-London scheme, which sought to increase the supply of temporary accommodation, reduce the cost of this accommodation, and reduce the need for households to be accommodated out of the borough. This scheme would also combat the competition between boroughs to secure emergency and temporary accommodation, which was also driving up the costs. The pan-London approach would impact on this high cost and would enable boroughs to work together on common housing issues.

It was therefore proposed to enter into partnership with other boroughs to enable a significant impact on reducing those costs.

In response to questions from Cllr Cawley- Harrison, the following information was noted:

• It was considered unlikely that MHCLG would not be funding the scheme beyond the first year. This funding could not yet be confirmed until the spending review was announced.

• If the scheme were not funded in second year, it would not mean that the scheme collapsed. It would only mean that additional funding was not available to acquire additional properties in future years. However, the funding from the first year would have been utilised to secure properties that could be used over a longer period. In the event that the scheme collapsed, this would not lead to a financial risk for the Council as set out at paragraph 6.27. Also any Assured Short Hold Tenancies would have been acquired in the first year, which would have already been paid for.

• It was clarified that the 50% of Council-secured property lets proposed to be added to the capital letters scheme part of our proposed commitment to the scheme. There was an expectation that the capital letters scheme would acquire 4500 homes in addition to what the boroughs acquired independently. It was the ultimate intention for all Council property lets to be put into the capital letters scheme but the Council would firstly consider how this arrangement works in the next three years before such a commitment was considered and any staff transferred to the scheme.

RESOLVED

1. To note the £39 million over three years potentially being made available by MHCLG for pan-London collaboration on the procurement of accommodation for homeless households.

2. To note the draft Articles of Association at Appendix A

3. To note the draft Members Agreement at Appendix B

4. To approve, in principle, for the Council to join Capital Letters London Ltd, a Company Limited by Guarantee that will be established by the London boroughs, as an ‘A member’.

5. To delegate to the Director of Housing, Regeneration and Planning, after consultation with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 98