To receive and consider the enclosed report of the Corporate Director (Business).
Decision:
Agreed
Minutes:
The Executive Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Director (Business) on a number of proposals intended to enhance the Strategic Housing Service. In particular, the report recommended acceptance of the following proposals:
? The termination of the agreement with the Citizens’ Advice Bureau for the provision of a Homelessness and Housing Advice Service and the re-investment of the Homelessness Grant into the funding of full-time Specialist Housing Advisor post within the Council’s Homelessness and Housing Advice Team. This would enable an extension of the hours of availability of the service and provide additional capacity for the Team to meet increasing demands for its services.
? The adoption of a policy to regulate the processes for applications for and the allocation of the budget provision (£5,000 in 2009/09) for the purpose of preventing homelessness.
? The variation of the Council’s Energy Grants Scheme to effect the extension of the grants scheme in order to encompass a wider category of eligible groups. The extension of the scheme would assist the promotion of the Council’s Corporate Strategy targets in energy efficiency and provide extra support and aid to householders in need.
? The approval of a draft Allocations Policy for consultation purposes. The revised policy aimed to simplify and make the allocations policy more transparent and add clarity to the introduction of a new needs based Banding system.
The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Councillor D Edgerley) confirmed that the Committee had requested the Chorley Community Housing Task Group to undertake a review of the new draft Allocations Policy, particularly in order to access the impact of the proposed choice based lettings scheme.
Decisions made:
1. That the current agreement with the Citizens’ Advice Bureau for the provision of a Homelessness and Housing Advice Service be terminated and that the annual Homelessness Grant from the Government be used to fund a full-time Specialist Housing Advisor to be employed by Chorley Council and based at the Union Street Offices.
2. That the draft Homelessness Prevention Fund Policy, as now presented, be approved and adopted.
3. That the proposals to vary the Council’s Energy Grants Scheme, as outlined in the submitted report, to reflect the priority afforded to the widening of energy efficiency schemes to include other groups, be approved and adopted for a trial period of 12 months, at the conclusion of which outputs and customer satisfaction will be reviewed.
4. That the draft Allocations Policy, as now presented, be approved for consultation with the Council’s partners (including Housing Associations).
Reasons for decisions:
1. The adjustment to the means of providing specialist housing advice will achieve better value for money by reducing the amount of on costs and maximising the front line service delivered to customers.
2. The Homelessness Prevention Pot policy will set clear guidelines for the allocation of the available monies.
3. The variation of the Energy Grant Scheme will enable a wider range of vulnerable households to be targeted and an ability to pay scheme to be introduced.
4. The revised Allocations Policy will simplify and clarify the housing allocations system.
Alternative option(s) considered and rejected:
None.