Agenda item

Housing Portfolio

To consider report SHAP/81 of the Head of Strategic Housing Services, which was referred to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission held on 28 June 2021.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet:

a)         delegates authority to the Head of Strategic Housing Services, following discussion with any relevant Ward Councillors and in consultation with, and agreement in-principle from the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Housing to identify suitable sites.  (Generic Delegation 7 will be used to enact this recommendation)

b)         delegates authority to the Head of Strategic Housing Services to progress with procurement to address the need for temporary accommodation.  (Generic Delegation 7 will be used to enact this recommendation).

c)         delegates authority to the Leader of the Council in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, Head of Strategic Housing Services, Head of Legal, Governance and HR to approve the award of the contract following an appropriate procurement process.

d)         delegates the negotiation, approval and completion of all relevant legal documentation, following the awarding of the contracts to the Head of Strategic Housing Services, Head of Legal, Governance and HR, Head of Corporate Finance, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Housing.  (Generic Delegations 2 & 3 will be used to enact this recommendation)

Reasons for the Recommendations

The Council currently has 265 households in temporary accommodation, with 97 of these presently in nightly paid accommodation, including 26 out of borough placements. This represents the highest level of need and demand for temporary accommodation across the County. These levels will inevitably rise significantly with the lifting of the ban on evictions.

The average cost of nightly paid accommodation to the council per household per week is £211.50 equating to £21,154.00 per week for current numbers (rent arrears and ineligibility for benefits not included in this figure). There are also the additional costs and burdens on Housing Benefit to process and pay the associated claims.

Nightly paid temporary accommodation is the most expensive and least desirable form of accommodation, particularly where there are children in the household and as a result, such households can only be placed into this type of accommodation in an emergency, and then only for a maximum period of six weeks.

A raft of measures are being progressed both locally and at a county-wide level to reduce the pressure on nightly paid accommodation. This report is focused on one of these work strands, namely the modular housing solution with its rapid pace of delivery.

The Council has recently secured £600k capital funding from the Government towards the provision of 10 additional units as part of a temporary housing pathway to support the prevention of homelessness and rough sleeping. Linked to this capital grant is a further £240k in revenue funding that has been awarded over a 3-year period to provide wrap around support services. The grant conditions require these units to be delivered within the current financial year or this funding will be lost.

Due to the volumetric design concept of modular housing, it is necessary to first select the particular modular provider. The scheme is then designed in accordance with their volumetric design, and progressed through the planning process while gearing up the off-site construction. A short period of on-site works then follows to complete the development. The delegated authority being requested will enable Officers to progress this procurement, and for the Leader (in consultation with those mentioned in 2.2c) to award any contracts that will allow this initiative to derive the full benefits of fast-track housing delivery that modular housing offers.

The selection of any particular modular housing provider will be procurement compliant, and the site selection and planning application will follow the usual internal and external consultation, and will be fully policy compliant, including meeting national space standards. It will be delivered in accordance with an approved planning application, and to the high levels of efficiency and sustainability as is expected for Council housing.

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented report SHAP/81 of the Head of Strategic Housing Services.  The report requested that the Cabinet approves the delegated authority for officers to progress with the procurement of a modular housing solution for the provision of urgently needed temporary accommodation, to negotiate and complete all relevant legal documentation, and for the appropriate delegation required for the Leader to enter into the necessary contracts.

Councillor T Belben presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission’s comments on the report to the Cabinet following consideration of the matter at its meeting on 28 June 2021, which included:

·         Further explanation provided on the structure, standard and assembly of the modular units.

·         Confirmation provided that the scheme and sites would require planning permission and need to abide by the usual planning considerations.  There was support for the consultation with relevant ward members.

·         Recognition that sites had not been yet been identified but consultation with ward members would take place at an appropriate stage of the site identification process.  It was noted that the sites and locations should aim to create a space to improve physical and mental wellbeing.

Councillor C Mullins spoke as part of the discussion on the report including commenting that he had been with Councillor Irvine to a site visit to see some examples of the proposed modular housing solution, and commented that the products were impressive and allayed any concerns he might have had over the quality of the proposed temporary accommodation solution.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet:

a)         delegates authority to the Head of Strategic Housing Services, following discussion with any relevant Ward Councillors and in consultation with, and agreement in-principle from the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Housing to identify suitable sites.  (Generic Delegation 7 will be used to enact this recommendation)

b)         delegates authority to the Head of Strategic Housing Services to progress with procurement to address the need for temporary accommodation.  (Generic Delegation 7 will be used to enact this recommendation).

c)         delegates authority to the Leader of the Council in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, Head of Strategic Housing Services, Head of Legal, Governance and HR to approve the award of the contract following an appropriate procurement process.

d)         delegates the negotiation, approval and completion of all relevant legal documentation, following the awarding of the contracts to the Head of Strategic Housing Services, Head of Legal, Governance and HR, Head of Corporate Finance, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Housing.  (Generic Delegations 2 & 3 will be used to enact this recommendation)

Reasons for the Recommendations

The Council currently has 265 households in temporary accommodation, with 97 of these presently in nightly paid accommodation, including 26 out of borough placements.  This represents the highest level of need and demand for temporary accommodation across the County.  These levels will inevitably rise significantly with the lifting of the ban on evictions.

The average cost of nightly paid accommodation to the council per household per week is £211.50 equating to £21,154.00 per week for current numbers (rent arrears and ineligibility for benefits not included in this figure).  There are also the additional costs and burdens on Housing Benefit to process and pay the associated claims.

Nightly paid temporary accommodation is the most expensive and least desirable form of accommodation, particularly where there are children in the household and as a result, such households can only be placed into this type of accommodation in an emergency, and then only for a maximum period of six weeks.

A raft of measures are being progressed both locally and at a county-wide level to reduce the pressure on nightly paid accommodation.  This report is focused on one of these work strands, namely the modular housing solution with its rapid pace of delivery.

The Council has recently secured £600k capital funding from the Government towards the provision of 10 additional units as part of a temporary housing pathway to support the prevention of homelessness and rough sleeping. Linked to this capital grant is a further £240k in revenue funding that has been awarded over a 3-year period to provide wrap around support services.  The grant conditions require these units to be delivered within the current financial year or this funding will be lost.

Due to the volumetric design concept of modular housing, it is necessary to first select the particular modular provider.  The scheme is then designed in accordance with their volumetric design, and progressed through the planning process while gearing up the off-site construction.  A short period of on-site works then follows to complete the development.  The delegated authority being requested will enable Officers to progress this procurement, and for the Leader (in consultation with those mentioned in 2.2c) to award any contracts that will allow this initiative to derive the full benefits of fast-track housing delivery that modular housing offers.

The selection of any particular modular housing provider will be procurement compliant, and the site selection and planning application will follow the usual internal and external consultation, and will be fully policy compliant, including meeting national space standards.  It will be delivered in accordance with an approved planning application, and to the high levels of efficiency and sustainability as is expected for Council housing.