Agenda item

38.1    Mr Paul Thompson, a Gloucester resident, stated that the City Mission was an officially designated place to accommodate emergency homeless people. He stated that the Mission was closed in the evenings and asked if this was acceptable.

38.2    Councillor Organ (Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning) agreed that the situation was not acceptable. He noted that the homeless service provision was under review and a report was expected in January.  He stated that homelessness was a complex issue which each case having individual circumstances. He referred to the Gloucestershire Entrenched Homeless Social Impact Bond and P3 were addressing the issues and looking at target groups on behalf of the Council.

38.3    Mr Steve Gower referred to an adult with severe mental health issues and another case where physical needs had not been met and the individuals were awaiting assessment. He asked if the support network was adequate.

38.4    Councillor Organ (Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning) stated that he could not discuss individual cases and he asked that Mr Gower provide him with details, he also asked that Mr Gower provided him with details of other cases earlier to enable the Council to take action. He noted that the support network was new and P3 were working under difficult circumstances. He could not say that the service was perfect but he assured Mr Gower that robust service arrangements were in place.

38.5    Sharon Hendry, a Gloucester resident, stated that the proposed changes to Universal Credit would force people into rent arrears and she asked what plans were in place to prevent evictions.

38.6    Councillor D. Norman (Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources) responded by stating that the changes to Universal Credit proposed in yesterday’s budget were intended to minimise the impact on recipients. He stated that the Council’s Audit and Governance Committee and Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be examining the changes closely to ensure that the Council was as well prepared for the changes as possible. He noted that Universal Credit was not due to be introduced in Gloucester until February 2018 and the Council would be talking to authorities already operating the system and the Council’s revenues and benefits partner, Civica, to ensure as few people as possible were affected.

38.7    Mr James Collett, a Gloucester resident, asked if the Council was aware that Housing Associations would become private entities and he asked if the Council had been aware of the plans at the time of the transfer of the housing stock to Gloucester City Homes.

38.8    Councillor Organ (Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning) responded that the Council had not been aware of this at the time of the transfer of the housing stock. He confirmed that he believed that there was still a place for public social housing.