Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from the following:

Danna Abbas

Neil Mawson

Pamela Pemberton

Clare Winstanley

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be considered under Item 12 below).

There were no items of Urgent Business.

Members of the Board must declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests with respect to agenda items and must not take part in any decision made with respect to those items.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 31 January 2011 as a correct record.

Matters Arising

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 31 January 2011 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Board received a report that sought views on the draft of the Overcrowding and Under Occupation strategy prior to release for public consultation.

It was proposed that the consultation period would run from May to July and this would include engagement with a wide range of groups including residents and stakeholders. In terms of the timetable following the consultation period it was intended that the strategy would be taken to Cabinet in September and brought back to the Board for approval at its October meeting.  

A presentation will be given by Rachel Orr, Campaigns Manager, Shelter London.

The Board received a presentation from Rachel Orr of Shelter on current homelessness issues (attached at Appendix 1).

Following the presentation

A presentation will be given by Margaret Allen, Assistant Director Safeguarding and Strategic Services.

A presentation was given illustrating the varying levels of need across the Borough and the impact that the withdrawal of services offered as part of the SP programme might have (attached at Appendix 1). 

There was agreement that it would be useful if the data set used within the presentation was provided to partners information.

RESOLVED:

That the presentation be noted.

The Board considered a report that provided an overview of the progress of the Homelessness Strategy 2008 – 2011 action plan.

It was noted that the action plan had been reviewed in 2009 and 2010 and that it was continuously monitored and updated to reflect changing local and national priorities.

The coalition Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) had signalled that the resources available to Local Authorities and across the Public Sector, would be significantly reduced. In addition reform to the Welfare system that would need to be addressed within the Homelessness strategy.

In terms of the timescale around the review the Board was advised that the consultation document would be drafted and brought back to the Board for sign off in July. There would be meetings of the Steering Group on a monthly basis and this would feed into the final draft of the strategy, which would be submitted to the Board in October for approval.

The Board discussed the proposals and it was recognised that housing was likely to rise up the political agenda as the impact of the cap in housing benefit and other policy changes began to felt. The cap in housing benefit was likely to impact significantly on Haringey as people displaced from inner London Boroughs sought cheaper accommodation.

It was noted that there had been discussion between Haringey, Enfield, Barnet and Camden around the development of a joint approach to agreed standard prices for the use of hostels for ?? The host Borough would retain priority with the right of first refusal.

In response to a query as to whether families were already migrating to areas where there was a high level of temporary accommodation the Board was advised until the cap in Housing Benefit was implemented it was likely that many people would be unaware of the change. It was likely that many people would be unprepared for the change and that a demand would be placed on public services for support.

In order to mitigate the impact of significant migration upon areas like Haringey officers had written to the Housing Minister requesting that provision was built into the Localism Bill to prevent Local Authorities placing vulnerable families in temporary accommodation in other Boroughs.

The Board was advised that a policy to deal with the increase in affordable rent was being developed and Housing Association representatives were asked to respond to a questionnaire that had been sent out seeking their views on this.

RESOLVED:

That progress with respect to the Homelessness Strategy 2008-11 Action Plan and the development of the next Homeless Strategy be noted.

A presentation will be given by the Assistant Director Safeguarding and Strategic Service, Haringey Council.

A report considered by the Council’s Cabinet on 22 March 2011 is attached for information.

The Board received for information a report that had been considered by the Council’s Cabinet on 22 March 2011 with respect to the redesign of the  Supporting People Programme in order to achieve the necessary financial savings.

It was noted that the recommendation contained within the report to reduce the budgetary commitment from £5m from April 2011 had been accepted. It had also been agreed that the programme should be redesigned in order to generate further savings.

An outline was provided of the consultation process that had been undertaken and it was noted that comprehensive Equality Impact Assessments were also being compiled that would inform the Cabinet’s final decision with respect to further reductions to the SP programme. 

The Board was advised that although the reduction in funding would have a huge impact on people who ceased to receive support, there would still be an sizable level of funding available. The redesign of the programme provided an opportunity to consider new ways of working and to respond in an innovative way to the personalisation agenda.

It was noted that there was a meeting of the Supporting People Provider Forum on 28 April where the redesign of the programme would be discussed.

RESOLVED:

That the presentation be noted.

A verbal update will be provided.

The Board was given a verbal update was given on the Council’s plans to restructure it’s services in the light of the significant savings it was required to make over the next three years and how this would affect the Strategic Housing Service.

The enormity of the savings that the Council was required to make over the next three period had necessitated a wholesale review of its structure and the services it offered. Under the new structure the Strategic Housing Service would sit under the Directorate for Adults, Communities and Culture.

Officers that had worked on partnerships had been absorbed within the Council’s central Policy and Performance Team and the Housing Enablement Team was now incorporated within the Directorate for Place and Sustainability.

There was agreement that details of the new structure should be circulated to the Board for reference.

RESOLVED:

That the verbal update be noted.

A verbal update will be provided.

This item was deferred to the next meeting.

The Board considered a report that provided an overview of performance against Local Area Agreement (LAA) National Performance Indicators relating to the work of the Board during the third quarter of 2010/11.

NI 154 Net additional homes provided – it was noted that the target with respect to this had been missed; however, with the completion of Hale Village next year this was likely to be exceeded.

To consider any new items of Urgent Business raised under Item 2 above.

There were no new items of Urgent Business.

To raise any items of AOB.

There were no items of AOB.

The Council’s Calendar of Meetings for 2011/12 has not been formally agreed as yet. The provisional dates for the IHB are set out below:

·        21 July 2011

·        24 October 2011

·        19 December 2011

·        20 March 2012

Once the calendar has been agreed members of the Board will be advised.

The draft dates of future meetings, as set out below, were noted: