Agenda item

[Report of the Director for Housing, Regeneration and Planning. Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal.]

To seek  delegation for the Assistant Director of Housing & S151 officer to sign off and agree payments to Capital Letters, a pan-London scheme to procure temporary accommodation.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal introduced the report which provided an update on Capital Letters and sought authority to make on-going payments to cover the incentives and staffing costs.

The Cabinet Member outlined the administration’s commitment to end homelessness through new generation of Council homes, helping people sleeping rough in Haringey with accommodation, and providing accommodation to 3,098 homeless households currently provided with temporary accommodation.

The Cabinet Member added that the Council had bought 200 good, local homes and let them to homeless Haringey families through the Community Benefit Society that it had established.

It was noted that since October 2019 when the Council joined Capital Letters as one of its founder members, the scheme had provided good, local homes for 132 homeless Haringey households.

The Cabinet Member outlined that, instead of boroughs competing with each other for accommodation across the capital, driving up prices and sending families to distant parts of London, Capital Letters sourced accommodation on behalf of all its member boroughs and then allocates it on a geographical basis. As a result, 132 Haringey households been able to stay within their communities and the Council had also saved £140,000.

The Capital Letters scheme showed what can be done when London boroughs cooperated. This report recommended that the Council allocate the necessary resources to remain part of that initiative.

RESOLVED

1. To approve the payment of a sum of up to [EXEMPT] to Capital Letters to fund a member of staff, for the financial year period 2020/21 in line with the service level agreement and Borough Service Plan.

2. To approve the payment of a sum of up to the maximum total of [EXEMPT] to Capital Letters for Private Sector Landlord Incentives, including related insurance and void period payments for the financial year period 2020/21 in line with the service level agreement and Borough Service Plan.

3. To approve future payments to Capital Letters for Private Sector Landlord incentives, to fund one member of staff, and to cover void and insurance cost annually for the financial year 2021/2022; and gives delegated authority to the Director of Housing, Regeneration and Planning, after consultation with the Director of Finance, to approve all such future payments to Capital Letters from 2021/22 financial year onwards in accordance with the Service Level Agreement, Borough Service Plan; and subject to continued part funding of incentives by MHCLG and government allocation of future Flexible Homelessness Support Grant (FHSG).

To notes that all these payments would be made from the Council’s FHSG allocation from Government; and that these payments will only continue as long as there is allocation of FHSG to cover the cost, and on condition that the part-funding of Capital Letters from MHCLG continues.

Reasons for decision

Recommendation 3.1 is proposed as it is a membership requirement of the Capital Letters scheme to provide four members of staff, and to date only three have been seconded from Homes for Haringey. Payment will be made on a pro-rata basis dependent on the date of appointment of the additional member of staff, and the amount will be advised prior to invoices being submitted.

Recommendation 3.2 is proposed as it is a membership requirement of the Capital Letters scheme to reimburse the costs of incentives, insurance, and void payments. The cost of the incentive per tenancy of Capital Letters sourced tenancies is partly funded by MHCLG and so are at a lower rate than those previously obtained by Homes for Haringey. The amount to be paid will depend on the number of lets entered and will be advised prior to the invoices being submitted.

Recommendation 3.3. is proposed as these payments will depend on the number of properties sourced and allocated in each period and the Council will be invoiced frequently during each financial year.

Alternative options considered

The Council could decide not to make these payments. This option was rejected because it would mean that the Council would lose the benefit of joining Capital Letters and would be a breach of the membership terms.