A presentation will be provided.
Minutes:
The Board received a verbal update on the Council’s new Housing Allocations Policy and a report that would be considered by the Council’s Cabinet on July was also tabled.
Subject to Cabinet’s approval a three month consultation period would commence on ? with a view to formally adopting the strategy in January/February 2011.
The Board was advised that there were approximately twenty thousand households on the register at present and it was unlikely that around 85% of these would ever be re housed. Therefore the work required to form the new Allocations Policy was extensive.
The present Allocations Policy operated on a points based system with forty-eight different categories, which was complicated and difficult for people to understand. In addition, under the current policy, the highest priority cases were often not properly prioritised. The new policy would be fairer and more transparent with the flexibility to allow the Council to assist people find cross tenure solutions rather than relying solely on Local Authority housing.
In terms of the methodology used to assess cases the new policy would use a banding system consisting of five bandings rated A to E.
Cases eligible for Band A would be prioritised according to the length of time they had waited and in order to be categorised as a Band A case a Director or Assistant Director would need to sign them off. There would be certain circumstances in which a case could be moved up into Band A; where people living under occupied properties were prepared to move into smaller accommodation there would be provision to move them into Band A in order to create capacity in the system. Similarly, this approach would be taken with respect to Supported Housing in order to help the Council make best use of the properties available.
Band B would include those in serious medical need or people classified as living in overcrowded accommodation. Again cases in this banding would be prioritised according to the length of time they had been on the waiting list.
To put this in context the Board was advised that approximately five thousand households would be placed in Band A and B. The remainder of the of the cases on the waiting list would be categorised into Bands C, D and E.
One of the key drivers behind establishing a new policy was to make it clearer that there was a limited level of social housing available and how this would be allocated. Housing Services staff would work with people, where appropriate, to help them find other forms of housing and it was anticipated the this approach would free up housing in the sector that could be more appropriately used.
It was noted that Councillors had been supportive of the new bandings approach as it made the system simpler to explain.
In response to a query the Board was advised that it was anticipated that households placed in Band A would be re housed in six to twelve months. It was hoped that this would drop as the new policy and approach became embedded.
The Board was advised that