Agenda item
Overview and Scrutiny Report: Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 Tower Hamlets Implementation
- Meeting of Housing & Regeneration Scrutiny Sub Committee, Monday, 11th September, 2017 6.30 p.m. (Item 3.2)
- View the background to item 3.2
Minutes:
Janet Slater (Service Manager Options and Assessments) presented the report setting out the main duties of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and the additional obligations that it would place on the Council and the timescales involved.
The Committee noted that the Act, which stemmed from a CRISIS report around the experiences of single homeless people, imposed a duty to assess prevent and relieve homelessness. Specifically, the Act imposed a duty to agree a plan to secure and retain accommodation with eligible homelessness applicants. It was the intention of the Government to commence the Act in 2018. The Government would provide additional funding to local authorities to meet the new burdens with a view to announcing funding allocations in the Autumn and issuing the first payments in winter 2017/18. It was not clear at this stage what funding would be made available as the funding formulae had yet to be finalised. Consequently, a concern for Local Authorities was whether the funding levels would be sufficient given the resource implications, including the costs associated with updating the database (as required by the Act). Furthermore, due to the uncertainties around this, recruitment of additional officers or work on the database could not yet commence.
The DCLG had also been in consolation about the revised Code of Conduct and the final draft would be out for consultation in the autumn and published in the spring. The key dates and actions were set out in the report.
In response, Members expressed concern about the additional burdens this change would place on the Council given the likelihood that no additional funding would be provided for the provision of homeless accommodation. It could place additional burdens on homeless people without providing them with any actual support.
In response, Officers confirmed that the change would add a number of additional stages to the assessment process and therefore place an extra burden on the Council, particularly in terms of preparing the detailed plans. The work would be very time consuming and would necessitate the recruitment of specialist officers to carry out this work. It was also confirmed that the plans included a duty to secure accommodation but there was no indication that additional funding would be made available for accommodation. The Committee also asked questions about the proposed changes to the data collection system. It was commented that it would be helpful if the DCLG took over this function.
With the agreement of the Chair, Councillor Marc Francis addressed the Committee. He stated that he worked for a charity that supported this legislation. He spoke about the positive aspects of the Act in terms of helping single homeless people especially in the private rented sector.
In response to questions about the implementation date, it was confirmed that the Act would come into effect by April 2018. Sir Steve Bulluck, the Mayor of Lewisham had written to Marcus Jones MP asking that the implementation date be postponed to allow sufficient time to prepare for the changes given the issues.
It was also noted that there was some uncertainty about the proposed timetable as the deadlines within in it (such as ‘autumn and winter 2017) were not very specific. So this made planning for the process quite difficult. It was expected that the first payment would be issued in winter 2017 and it was anticipated that there could be a shortage of review officers that could carry out the work given the level of demand that there would be for such Officers across Authorities.
Members stressed the need to communicate these proposals widely across the Council and with partners and asked for a progress report in the new year.
RESOLVED:
1. That the contents of the report.
2. That a progress report be brought to the Committee in the new year.
Supporting documents: