The Call-in:

·         Called on the Mayor to revise his decision in Cabinet on 23rd September removing existing social tenant’s under-50 from Band 3 and reinstate all these applicants to their former position within the Common Housing Register.

·         Stated that (i) given the incorrect apportionment of lettings into sheltered accommodation within the Band 3 quota, (ii) the Mayor should instruct officers that the current 5 per cent quota should be retained and only General Needs lettings be counted towards it (iii) consideration should also be given to making good the shortfall in General Needs lettings to Band 3 applicants against the 5 per cent quota over the next two or three years.

·         Called on the Mayor to revise his decision in Cabinet on 23rd September restricting homeless households placed outside Tower Hamlets to three years on our Common Housing Register by making this period indefinite, so that they remain LBTH’s responsibility until they successfully bid for social housing or they voluntarily withdraw their housing application.

• Stated that the Mayor should instruct officers to commission an independent review of the practice of discharging LBTH’s duty to homeless families into the PRS, including speaking to those families this has been done to, and bring that review to the Housing & Regeneration Scrutiny Sub-committee within the next six months.

Call-in Members Presentation

The Call-in members the presented the reasons for call-in to the Committee and proposed alternative course of action, and added that:

·         The decision will result in removing over 1000 residents from band 3 waiting list

·         Legal challenge in Lambeth should be reflected in the decision

·         Removing people after three years is not appropriate given these people are part of LBTH community – The Call-in Members want to encourage people to stay in the Borough.

·         The consultation clearly showed the community’s views – which were not heeded by the decision.

Following the presentation by the Call-In members, the Committee then posed several questions concerning:

·         Band 3 under 50s – situations for applicants’ moving/change of situations

·         Band 3- and three-year cut-off – impact on other bands

·         Consultation responses, and community voices being heard

The Committee then received and noted the response from the Mayor that set out the context of the Cabinet Decision and reviewed the key elements of the decision, reflecting that:

·         this decision is about being realistic about people’s chances of securing housing at Band 3

·         consultation resulted in amendment to the policy: retained Band 3

·         happy to consider other ways where transfer can happen

The Committee then posed several questions concerning:

·         Removal from three-year waiting list and legality

·         Acting contrary to consultation

·         Legal advice on decision

·         Drivers for this decision/policy

After hearing from the Call-in Members and the Mayor, the Committee considered the following issues and concerns:

             I.        A better approach to communicating with housing applicants needed

            II.        The impact on more than 1000 people on register

           III.        The need to listen and respond to what the community has said, via consultation

          IV.        The legal risk as highlighted by the Lambeth case

           V.        Concern around removing hope from applicants, even if a long waiting period

          VI.        No savings/financial impact for this decision

         VII.        Rationale for the decision is not clear

       VIII.        There are several reasons why people currently on Band 3 want to move including issues such as ASB and neighbour disputes. These cost the Council and partners resources to manage and by removing this opportunity these costs will remain and possibly increase.

          IX.        Serious concerns about removing those applicants who have been placed in ‘out of borough’ PRS accommodation to prevent homelessness from the housing register after three years.

In conclusion, the Chair Moved and it was unanimously RESOLVED that:

The decision should be referred to the Mayor in Cabinet for reconsideration, including consideration of the alternative course of action with no amendments or additions.