Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Bobby Feeley, Lead Member for Well-being and Independence (copy enclosed) presenting the draft Denbighshire Supporting People/Homelessness Prevention Commissioning Plan 2019 – 22 for approval prior to submission to the Regional Collaborative Committee and Welsh Government.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       approves the draft Denbighshire Supporting People/Homelessness Prevention Commissioning Plan 2019-22, prior to its submission to the Regional Collaborative Committee and Welsh Government in January 2019, and

(c)        confirms it has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment attached at Appendix2 to the report as part of their consideration.

Councillor Bobby Feeley presented the report seeking Cabinet approval of the Denbighshire Supporting People/Homelessness Prevention Commissioning Plan 2019 – 22 prior to its submission to the Regional Collaborative Committee and Welsh Government.

The Council was required to submit a 3 yearly Commissioning Plan/annual update to the Regional Collaborative Committee in January of each year.  The Commissioning Plan provided an overview of plans and priorities for 2019 – 22, primarily relating to Supporting People commissioned service development.  The Plan was a key part of delivering against the Homelessness Strategy with a focus on commissioned service development and five broad priorities.  Commissioning was an important part of the plan and contracts would be continually remodelled and developed to make them more flexible and tailored to need with a focus on prevention.  Full details of the Supporting People funded development had been included within the Plan.  The Plan had been developed following extensive consultation and had been considered at Partnerships Scrutiny Committee when it had been recommended for approval.

During debate the need for sufficient social housing was raised and examples of housing/homelessness cases were highlighted to illustrate points and problems faced in that regard.  In responding to the issues raised and further questions arising from the report Councillor Bobby Feeley and officers advised that –

·        the Council had a robust housing enforcement regime and powers to deal with issues in the private rented sector and any concerns in that regard should be directed to the Head of Planning and Public Protection for his team to deal with

·        the Homeless Prevention Team worked with Housing Enforcement to ensure only registered landlords were used and to report issues of concern; links between Supporting People commissioned projects and Housing Enforcement were also being fostered to ensure properties were of a good standard

·        elaborated upon initiatives and ongoing work to engage with reputable private sector landlords in order to support them to provide homes for those requiring emergency, temporary and permanent accommodation

·        homelessness was a corporate issue and there were many council services involved to help tackle the issue in addition to the Homeless Prevention Team

·        recognised the impact of national policies such as Welfare Reform and reported on measures to mitigate those impacts together with initiatives receiving Welsh Government support such as the Denbighshire/Conwy Housing First Project.  Cymorth Cymru represented the sector and campaigned on their behalf

·        assurances had been provided that next year’s funding allocation would not be cut with a slight caveat that if savings could be achieved they should be made however there was a potential issue about changes to the grant distribution in future years and the subsequent impact on the various regions

·        the Housing Revenue Account was ring-fenced from wider council funds to be spent around provision of service for tenants.  A project was currently underway to direct some of that funding into a service provision for emergency temporary accommodation owned and managed by the Council to assist the wider homelessness issue.  In addition the Homeless Prevention Team was leasing a number of properties from Community Housing to house those presenting as homeless who could not currently be accommodated in the private sector

·        provided assurances that in addition to a specific section on mental health issues it was a common theme threaded through the Plan; support for people with mental health issues had been identified as a priority area over the next two years and would be a consideration throughout all service developments

·        acknowledged that it was far more challenging to source emergency temporary accommodation in rural areas and often those presenting as homeless had the option of bed and breakfast accommodation near to their community or more suitable accommodation elsewhere – for those families supported housing could be an option or stepping stone back into independent accommodation and much work had been ongoing to broaden the supported housing offer for families, particularly in the south of the county.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       approves the draft Denbighshire Supporting People/Homelessness Prevention Commissioning Plan 2019-22, prior to its submission to the Regional Collaborative Committee and Welsh Government in January 2019, and

(c)        confirms it has read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment attached at Appendix2 to the report as part of their consideration.