Agenda item - Public Involvement

To consider the following matters raised by members of the public:

(a)          Petitions:  

To receive any petitions presented by members of the public.

(b)          Written Questions:

To receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 11 October 2024

(c)          Deputations:              

To receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 10am on the 7 October 2024

(b)      Written Questions

(1)           Housing Allocations Policy

76.1      David Thomas read the following question:

The proposed abolition of the Queue system, while not a bad thing in itself, is very likely drastically to reduce the number of homeless people housed. At present 50% of available properties are reserved for them; under the new system they are in category C1 – officers have not provided any estimate of what this might mean, but it seems very likely that far fewer will be housed, with the result that people will be marooned in temporary housing for much longer, and numbers in temporary accommodation will balloon with equivalent cost to the council. My question is: What proportion of new lettings does the cabinet estimate will go to persons to whom the main duty under Housing Act 1996 section 193(2) is owed?

76.2      Councillor Williams provided the following reply:

The Allocations Policy is complex, wide ranging and has been subject to significant consultation. Removal of the allocations plan queue divisions will improve transparency and will simplify the bidding process. We are not aware of any other local authority who has this restriction in their Policy.

The existing ‘queuing system’ doesn’t result in households being in temporary accommodation for shorter periods. For example, considering data for homeless households with a 3-bedroom need who have been re-housed in the previous year, indicates an average waiting time of 8½ years.

In the current policy, households in temporary accommodation lose their ‘reasonable preference’ once they move into suitable private rented accommodation. They may feel they have no choice than waiting long periods of time in unsettled accommodation to access social housing.

In the new policy, households in Temporary Accommodation would retain their ‘reasonable preference’ on the housing register when they move into private rented accommodation and still be able to access social housing.

This change will give households more choice and in turn reduce the number of households in Temporary Accommodation and the financial impact that this type of accommodation has on the council.

(c)      Deputations

(1)           Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy

76.3      Cabinet received a deputation on the Council’s Violence against women and girls strategy

76.4      Councillor Daniel provided the following response:

First, I want to thank you so much for coming forward as a survivor. That’s incredibly brave of you to share your experiences with us. We all here acknowledge how difficult it can be to talk about personal trauma. One of the areas of work I am keen to improve in delivering our new VAWG strategy is more user experience in commissioning processes. We intend to commission national women’s sector specialists to support our commissioning and procurement of services run for survivors.

The Council would like to reaffirm its commitment to supporting those affected by sexual violence as well as the other forms of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

 We continue to support and have confidence in charities in the city that have been set up by and  led by women and we are confident they have the expertise to make safe decisions about their services. These organisations include:

-       RISE who have operated in the City for 30 years

-       Brighton Women's centre who recently celebrated their 50th year of delivery in the city.

-       Survivors Network has been operational for 34 years.

We also support Oasis who provide services to women who have multiple complex needs and acknowledge that  there are many other fantastic community groups supporting women more generally like the Network of International Women, Mothers Uncovered, Hangleton & Knoll Multicultural Womens Group.

We believe that the organisations specifically named in your deputation behave in a safe, trauma informed way.

The Council is aware that there are different views on what service provision can look like and what may be required. The Council is committed to supporting all victim/survivors by supporting providers to offer a wide range of service provision locally. This includes group work as well as individual one to one support. All endeavour to respond to a specific access requirement and remove barriers for a woman to get help and support.

These groups working with women in the city they have carefully thought our risk assessments, quality assurance frameworks  and are governed by women for women. I respect and trust their experience and commitment.

The waiting list for counselling specifically raised by you is something I will follow up on: My understanding is that service access is triaged based on a risk assessment which means that the highest risk cases are the focus and when resources are stretched this means that the other cases don’t seem to move forward for the support needed. However, I am disturbed that anyone would be waiting for two years for support, and I will explore this complaint with officers and women’s sector workers.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to come and for your courage in sharing your experiences with us today.

76.5      Resolved- That Cabinet note the deputation.

(2)           Housing Allocations Policy

76.6      Cabinet received a deputation on the Housing Allocations Policy.

76.7      Councillor Williams provided the following response:

Thank you for your Deputation. We undertook meaningful consultation on the proposed changes to the Housing Allocations Policy, which ran for 14 weeks. Members of the public gave us their views at in-person events and in writing. A record 684 households responded to the consultation; with the clear message they support the changes.

We are enhancing transparency in the Policy by removing the existing queuing system.  Direct offers will only be used in exceptional circumstances.  An annual Cabinet Member report on direct offers will be produced.

It is our priority to make best use of existing council homes.  We encourage downsizing through financial incentives which have been increased in this new Policy.  Tenants who are under occupying homes are also prioritised for new build homes through our lettings plans.

We are not reducing the housing register.  The change in policy will allow a greater number of people experiencing homelessness to qualify to join the register earlier on.

In the Housing Strategy 2024-29 we have committed to achieving at least 2,000 additional affordable homes in the city across the 5-year lifetime of the strategy.  Last year we achieved 286 council homes and are on track to achieve a target of delivering 90 additional properties via individual home purchase and larger acquisitions this year.  

The new policy meets the needs of households with non-mobility related disabilities. For example, households can be awarded an extra bedroom where there is a medical need. This can enable a household, with a family member who has a behavioural difficulty or sleep disorder to be considered for an additional room.

76.8      Resolved- That Cabinet note the deputation.