Agenda item - Public Involvement

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

(a)       Petitions: to receive any petitions presented to the full council or at the meeting itself;

(b)       Written Questions: to receive any questions submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 7 March 2019 (copy attached).

(c)   Deputations: to receive any deputations submitted by the due date of 12 noon on the 7 March 2019.

(a)  Petitions        

68.1     There were no petitions.

(b)  Questions

68.2     Sam Zubaidi asked the following question:

“Objection Plans for Hollingbury Library Site

“What consideration has been given to the fact that the home will be built next to a pub, and within 100 metres of a primary school, and what plans are in place to mitigate issues that may arise as a consequence? And can I please have data which shows drug and alcohol related crime statistics in areas that have homeless housing?”

68.3     The Chair replied as follows: 

“Thank you for your question.

Our report on proposals for a Homeless Move On scheme on the former Hollingbury Library site seeks permission to commence extensive neighbourhood consultation before any planning application is made. This will include consultation on the proposed use of the building as well as the building itself.  We are very clear that feedback from neighbours is vital and our proposed development will be informed by the results of this consultation.

The proposed scheme will not be suitable for those with high level complex support needs.  The proposed service will be a small medium needs service for people are who are recovering from homelessness and are able to manage their accommodation with a lower level of support.  Prospective residents will be assessed via an Allocation Panel as able to live independently with medium support.  Resident compatibility for the service is considered as a key part of the referral process. 

Specific support will be commissioned to meet residents’ needs. This will be mindful of supporting them to live positively in the community.  Adult Social Care will commission a service provider who will manage the support package. It is proposed that the service will be staffed during office hours and will offer an on call service over night for emergencies.

We would be happy to share information on drug and alcohol-related crime statistics across the city. That could be broken down in a number of ways.  However, this will not necessarily relate back to areas that have ‘homeless housing’ because of the wide range of homeless housing needs we meet from families who we house requiring no support to those with high level complex support needs who may require 24 hour support.”

68.4     As a supplementary question Mr Zubaidi asked if there was anyone on the Committee who lived near a shelter similar to the one that was being proposed and if so, what their experience had been of living near to something like this.

68.5     The Chair replied that that was not a question she could answer, but she did know that within her ward there were a number of supported housing schemes of various types and she had not necessarily as a Ward Councillor come to know about them because of any issues that had arisen. Sometimes she found out about them by accident. The Chair did not think it was necessarily inevitable that a supported scheme of this type caused problems for the local neighbourhood. However, the consultation with residents would be a very important part of the proposals, and the Council was very keen to discuss with residents what their concerns were and to ensure that the scheme was managed in such a way that their concerns were taken into account.

68.6     RESOLVED- That the Public Question be noted.

68.7     Max Scott asked the following question:

“The Brighton & Hove City Council Housing Allocations Scheme currently offers 10% of all lets to Council Interest Queue nominations, i.e. households nominated by Family Children & Learning, and Health and Adult and Social care. In 2017/2018 what was the actual percentage allocation to this group of all lets?

68.8     The Chair replied as follows: 

            “The percentage lets to the council’s interest queue during the period January 2017 to March 2018 was 6%. The Council’s interest queue was currently performing to the expected 10% of properties being let to that group. 

68.9     As a supplementary question Mr Scott asked that if it was currently 10% allocated in full, would the Committee consider allocating an additional 1% to the Housing First model.     

68.10  The Chair replied that the council were committed to expanding Housing First and would like to expand it by another 10 units. It was currently working through the options for the expansion of Housing First, working through sourcing where these 10 units might come from. The queue was used for a variety of different reasons such as moving applicants out of supported accommodation, and move-on for Care leavers. There was constantly pressure on accommodation but Housing First was something the council was committed to expanding and it was actively working on achieving that at the moment.

68.11  RESOLVED- That the Public question be noted.

(c)  Deputations

There were no deputations.