Agenda item

To receive an update on the Housing Recovery workstream of the Gloucester Recovery Plan.

10.1    The Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods, Councillor Watkins, introduced the plan and outlined key elements. She outlined that this was the first draft of the Housing Recovery Strategy which was being developed in partnership with partner agencies and through cross-party work. For example, a workshop had been held recently which was attended by several Committee Members, and she expressed her thanks to those who were involved with this. She added that the plan was about how the City would recover from the COVID-19 pandemic specifically in relation to housing. Approximately 300 people in the City had been placed in temporary accommodation under the Emergency Protocol. As of the 1^st of July, there were approximately 100 people in temporary accommodation, 66 of whom had been placed by the City Council with Gloucester facing a particular demand as the urban core of the county of Gloucestershire. Councillor Watkins explained that the challenge going forward would be supporting these individuals to find suitable accommodation especially given the wide spectrum of accommodation and support needs.

10.2    She reiterated that the plan was a first draft and the areas highlighted in green were the aspects over which the Council had more control over. On the other hand, it was more difficult to be more specific in other areas were the Council worked in collaboration with other stakeholders. Councillor Watkins added that a more detailed update would be brought back before the Committee.  Finally, she emphasised that she welcomed the cross-party work and expressed her thanks to the housing team and particularly the hotel section for the work carried out during the peak of the pandemic.

10.3    In response to Councillor Haigh‘s concerns about a possible wave of evictions once the current tenant eviction ban was lifted, Councillor Watkins stated that she also shared this concern. However, the housing team was prepared if this happened. She outlined that the biggest issue was likely to be with people falling behind on rent as a result of facing financial difficulties as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. She added that the Council would aim to adopt a preventative approach. Discretionary Housing Payments and other related measures would be used where necessary in order to help people to remain in their tenancies. In terms of housing supply, she advised that this was a challenge even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the pandemic had exacerbated this. However, work had started prior to the pandemic to address the issue, for example, with the opening of Potters Place, and she was optimistic that these measures would help move the issue forward. She added that the Cabinet Member for Planning & Housing Strategy continued to work hard to advocate for more permanent solutions such as increased social housing. Overall, housing supply was a national issue and Gloucester City Council would continue to rise to the challenge of tackling this.

10.4    Addressing Councillor Hyman with regard to his comment about the need for more facilities such as the P3 facility in his ward and ongoing support to enable individuals leaving these facilities to acquire more permanent accommodation, Councillor Watkins highlighted that the Council was working with registered and support providers on this issue. The Complex Case Cell as outlined in the plan would look at the accommodation options and the support that is required to both get people into tenancies and to then sustain these tenancies once there. This was a particular challenge with the complex cohort who required the input of other services due to other lifestyle challenges they may face. She added that whilst progress had been in the county, nonetheless, it remained an area of focus.

10.5   Councillor Stephens outlined that he had been involved in the cross-party work to develop the strategy. For him, the strategy was comprehensive and covered a lot of the key areas. However, the challenge now was about turning the strategy into an action plan, finding the resources to deliver this and setting timeframes. In response to the questions raised by Councillor Stephens, Councillor Watkins stated that the City Council was creative with the use of resources and was one of the few councils in the country ahead of the curve with putting support in the temporary accommodation setting to start personalised plans for individuals currently in temporary accommodation.

  10.6  The Head of Communities explained that with regard to the contract end date with hotels, the City Council had been involved with block purchasing of hotels with the rest of the county and this was being reduced down each time the hotels had been procured , and it was anticipated that by the end of July 2020 they would block or spot purchase more hotel space but on a smaller scale. Beyond the pandemic, hotels were already used in day to day Council business for emergencies and the aim was to reduce the current use of hotels to these more normal levels. Work would continue to refer people to more sustainable and long-term accommodation, albeit temporary placements. The plan was then to move people who had been in temporary accommodation into permanent accommodation through registered providers. This would make available more supported accommodation for the newer COVD-19 cohort. In relation to personalised assessments, she stated that this was a key part of the process particularly for those with complex needs. A personalised assessment would help to ensure that individuals were placed in suitable accommodation and that the placement did not break down. Lastly, she stated that the majority of the people in the hotel cohort had been assessed by Officers with only the newest few not having been assessed yet. However, they would be assessed as quickly as possible.

10.7  The Chair echoed Councillor Watkins comments earlier stating that the Committee would likely revisit the housing strategy at future date as the situation emerged. They added they were also involved in the cross-party work and had been fortunate to see the strategy the previous week. They thanked Councillor Watkins for the update.

10.8    RESOLVED: - that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee NOTE the update.