Agenda and minutes
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Apologies for absence Minutes: An apology for absence was received from Councillor C. B. Taylor. |
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Declarations of Interest To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests. Minutes: Councillor R. D. Smith declared an other disclosable interest in respect of Minute Item no. 37/16 as a former Member of the Preventing Homelessness Task Group. Members were advised that, as detailed in the report, he had resigned from the group when he had been appointed to Cabinet and had not been involved in the group’s discussions of their final recommendations. |
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Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 7th September 2016 were submitted.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 7th September 2016 be approved as a correct record. |
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Overview and Scrutiny Board (a) To receive and note the minutes (b) To consider any recommendations contained within the minutes Minutes: The Leader welcomed the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board, Councillor L. C. R. Mallett, to the meeting.
The minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 19th September 2016 were submitted.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 19th September 2016 be noted. |
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Report of the Task Group on Preventing Homelessness in Bromsgrove Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader welcomed Councillor C. J. Bloore, Chairman of the Preventing Homelessness Task Group, to the meeting and invited him to deliver a presentation in respect of the review findings and the group’s final recommendations.
Councillor Bloore explained that the review had been launched following the Overview and Scrutiny Board’s consideration of a request from Councillor S. Shannon to investigate future changes to Burcot Lodge. Initially a Short, Sharp Review had been established to consider the levels of homelessness within Bromsgrove district but this had been extended into a Task Group investigation once it had been established that the subject was suitable for more detailed scrutiny.
During the course of the investigation Members had gathered evidence from a variety of sources. This included reviewing Council policies, interviews with Council staff and relevant Portfolio Holders, interviewing representatives of key organisations such as Bromsgrove District Housing Trust (BDHT), the CAB and Fry Housing Trust, and visiting Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) bodies that supported young people at risk of homelessness, including St Basils and the Basement Project. The group had analysed a significant amount of information about welfare changes in the country and had discussed the potential impact of these changes on local residents as well as the ways in which Council services could be adapted to best meet the needs of residents who would be affected by these changes.
At the end of the investigation the group had proposed four recommendations. The first of these recommendations, in respect of the introduction of a local authority lettings scheme, addressed the increasing reliance of many people on accommodation within the private rented sector. Cabinet was informed that whilst many residents might be able to afford the monthly rent they could struggle to raise a deposit and meet additional costs required to secure a private tenancy. In some cases residents found it difficult to secure suitable accommodation within the private rented sector due to concerns amongst landlords about their circumstances. A local authority lettings agency could help residents to address these costs and secure accommodation. The group had concluded that further investigation was required from Officers into this matter to ensure that the most appropriate model was adopted in the district.
The second recommendation proposed that the Homelessness Grant should be used for purposes of priority homelessness support. The Cabinet was advised that the grant was not ring fenced. In the past unspent funding from the grant had been returned to balances and the group was keen to avoid this in future.
The third recommendation proposed that the Council should continue to prioritise funding from the Homelessness Grant for offender rehabilitation work and emergency accommodation for young people. Members had considered suggesting that funding should be allocated to particular VCS groups but had concluded that this would not be appropriate due to the challenges facing the sector moving forward.
The final recommendation referred to use of £15,000 which had been set aside at the start of the review in case the group identified any ... view the full minutes text for item 37/15 |