Arun District Council Civic Centre Maltravers Road Littlehampton abcd West Sussex BN17 5LF
Tel: (01903) 737500 Fax: (01903) 730442 DX: 57406 Littlehampton Minicom: 01903 732765
e-mail: [email protected]
Committee Manager : Carrie O’Connor (Ext 37614) 19 th May 2011
CABINET MEETING
A meeting of the Cabinet will be held in Committee Room 1 at the Arun Civic Centre, Maltravers Road, Littlehampton, on Tuesday 31 st May 2011 at 5.00 p.m. and you are requested to attend.
Members : Councillors Mrs Brown (Chairman), Elkins (Vice-Chairman), Bower, R. Brown, Dendle, Dingemans and Wotherspoon (subject to confirmation at Annual Council on 25 th May 2011).
A G E N D A
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Members and Officers are reminded to make any declarations of personal and/or prejudicial interests that they may have in relation to items on this Agenda.
You should declare your interest by stating : a) the item you have the interest in b) whether it is a personal interest and the nature of the interest c) whether it is also a prejudicial interest d) if it is a prejudicial interest, whether you will be exercising your right to speak under Question Time
You then need to re-declare your interest and the nature of the interest at the commencement of the item or when the interest becomes apparent.
3. QUESTION TIME
a) Questions from the public (for a period of up to 15 minutes). b) Questions from Members with prejudicial interests (for a period of up to 15 minutes).
4. MINUTES
To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 7 th March 2011 (previously circulated).
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ITEMS FOR DECISION
5 START TIMES
The Cabinet is requested to confirm the start times for meetings for the remainder of 2011/12.
6 THINK FAMILY: EARLY INTERVENTION AND SUPPORT
This report explains proposals to develop a programme of early intervention and family support across West Sussex, including the development of Family Intervention Projects in the Arun, Worthing, Adur and Crawley areas of the County. There is £2M available over three years to develop Family Nursing Partnerships, Family Intervention Projects and a Shared Framework of Services.
7 ARUN WELLBEING PROGRAMME 2011/12
West Sussex Public Health will be funding Arun District Council to deliver a Prevention and Wellbeing Programme in Arun, via the establishment of a Wellbeing Hub. This is an enhancement to the Arun Wellbeing Programme first funded by NHS West Sussex in 2009. Funding is to be provided through a Section 75 agreement, from 2011/12. This report details the revised arrangements for the Arun Wellbeing Programme and requests Cabinet to approve the drawing-down of the allocated funding.
8 NEW HOMES BONUS - PROPOSALS FOR EXPENDITURE IN 2011-2012
The Council has received notification from the Department of Communities and Local Government that it will receive £508,908 under the New Homes Bonus Scheme for 2011-12. This report recommends that a number of proposals should be supported through monies from the New Homes Bonus Scheme.
9 ARUN DEVELOPER AND PARTNER CHARTER PLUS
This report seeks Cabinet support for the adoption of the Arun Developer and Partner Charter Plus.
This new initiative builds on the original objectives of the Bognor Regis Developer and Partner Charter, but will now be augmented with the dual ambitions of creating new training and apprenticeship opportunities, primarily for young people, and improving the environmental sustainability of housing and regeneration projects on Council owned land..
10 PLANNING CONSULTANCY FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT
Arun District Council and a number of other local authorities in East and West Sussex, the identity of which has yet to be confirmed, and potentially the South Downs National Park Authority have a need from time to time to use external planning consultancy services to conduct studies, appraisals and other methods of assessment on areas such as, but not limited to, housing land supply, landscape and urban design appraisals and retail studies within the locality. Arun District Council and the other interested authorities, as outlined above, therefore wish to set
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Arun District Council CABINET-31/05/2011 up a procurement framework that they can all use which will test the market for these services with the aim of improving the efficiency and reducing the cost of acquiring those services. It is proposed that Arun District Council be the lead authority for this procurement framework agreement.
11 SOCIAL HOUSING REFORM
This Report identifies key areas of Social Housing Reform being taken forward by the coalition Government and the implications for Arun District Council.
12 REVIEW OF HOUSING ALLOCATIONS SCHEME
This report summarises the responses to the consultation on the draft review of the housing allocations policy and recommends preparation for the implementation of the new policy to start in July 2011 with a launch date of January 2012.
ITEMS FOR INFORMATION
13 BETTER TOGETHER - SHARED SERVICES UPDATE
This report updates Cabinet on progress with the Better Together Programme.
14 ARUN WELLBEING AND HEALTH PARTNERSHIP - 8TH FEBRUARY 2011
To receive and note the Minutes of the meeting of the Arun Wellbeing and Health Partnershp held on 8th February 2011.
15 SAFER ARUN PARTNERSHIP - 28TH FEBRUARY 2011
To receive and note the Minutes of the meeting of the Safer Arun Partnership held on 28th February 2011.
16 EXEMPT INFORMATION
That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and accredited representatives of newspapers be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act by virtue of the paragraph specified against the items.
17 PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENT WITH HYDE HOUSING ASSOCIATION TO DELIVER PRIVATE SECTOR LEASING (EXEMPT - PARAGRAPH 3 - INFORMATION RELATING TO BUSINESS AFFAIRS)
This report provides details of a proposal to provide private sector leased properties to assist in the prevention of homelessness through a partnership arrangement with Hyde Housing Association. It seeks authority to enter into an agreement with Hyde to develop the scheme in Arun. Establishing the scheme will require contingency budget provision of £5000 to be made as a from the Homeless Prevention Fund to underwrite rent losses on the basis contained within this report.
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Arun District Council CABINET-31/05/2011 18 AWARD OF CONTACT FOR REACTIVE REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE OF COUNCIL HOUSING PROPERTIES AND CORPORATE BUILDINGS (EXEMPT - PARAGRAPH 3 - INFORMATION RELATING TO BUSINESS AFFAIRS)
To consider the attached report.
19 REVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY ALRAM SERVICE (ARUN LIFELINE) (EXEMPT - PARAGRAPH 3 - INFORMATION RELATING TO BUSINESS AFFAIRS)
To consider the attached report.
20 EXTENSION OF CORPORATE CLEANING CONTRACT
To consider the attached report.
21 LEISURE CONTRACT - REQUEST TO EXTEND (RENEW) EXISTING LEASE (EXEMPT - PARAGRAPH 3 - INFORMATION RELATING TO BUSINESS AFFAIRS)
To consider the attached report.
That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and accredited representatives of newspapers be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act by virtue of the paragraph specified against the item.
Note : *Indicates report is attached for all Members of the Council only and the press (excluding exempt items). Copies of reports can be obtained on request from the Committee Manager).
Note : Members are reminded that if they have any detailed questions would they please inform the Chairman and/or relevant Director in advance of the meeting.
Cabinet Cabinet 31st May 2011
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AGENDA ITEM NO.
ARUN DISTRICT COUNCIL
REPORT TO AND DECISION OF CABINET ON 31st May 2011
PART A : REPORT SUBJECT: Think Family: Early Intervention and Support
REPORT AUTHOR: Ian Sumnall, Chief Executive DATE: May 2011 EXTN: 37609
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This report explains proposals to develop a programme of early intervention and family support across West Sussex, including the development of Family Intervention Projects in the Arun, Worthing, Adur and Crawley areas of the County. There is £2M available over three years to develop Family Nursing Partnerships, Family Intervention Projects and a Shared Framework of Services.
RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that Cabinet welcomes the development of the Think Family programme in West Sussex and agrees to our participation because of the benefits to vulnerable residents of the Arun District.
1. BACKGROUND: Think Family: Early Intervention and Support is a programme of preventative support, focused and targeted intervention to families most at risk, and a system wide shared framework of services. It is a three-year programme with around £2M available to develop Family Intervention Projects, Family Nursing Partnerships and a Shared Framework of Services. Family Intervention Projects (FIP) The Family Intervention Project (FIP) will provide intensive parenting and family support for families with multiple problems, for example potential family breakup, long term parental illness, financial crisis, housing problems, child protection concerns or antisocial behaviour. The intention is to target 144 families in the Adur, Worthing, Arun and Crawley areas of the County, and within Arun the programme should target at least 50 families over a three year period. The targeted families will be chosen through local knowledge and will have agreed to cooperate with this programme. They will be allocated a key worker (one of three employed within Arun) who will act as an intermediary with the various agencies and give one to one intensive support to the family. District councils will be invited to top-up to provide additional resources and/or workers if required, and will be expected to realign their delivery to support discretionary housing
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payments, benefits, leisure etc. A two year pilot FIP has been running in Adur and Worthing since spring 2010. One case study gives the example of a mother with five children on child protection plans; after several months intensive work with the family the children have improved health and activity levels, housing debt is being paid off, there have been no complaints to the antisocial behaviour team or police, older children have been on work placements or at college and the younger ones doing well at school, the mother has taken up volunteering, and all the children have been taken off the child protection plans. It is proposed by the county council that the coordination of the expanded project be delegated to Adur/Worthing councils who will further delegate delivery to Arun and Crawley councils. It is anticipated that the staffing resource for Arun will be three key workers – one of whom will be at a senior level, and target families will be identified by September 2011. Family Nursing Partnerships (FNP) The Family Nursing Partnerships (FNP) scheme is an evidence-based, intensive preventive programme to be targeted at 100 vulnerable first time teenage mothers across the county (not just in the areas designated for FIPs). It is a three year programme and will enable support for children from conception and up to 2.5 years of age, by improving ante-natal health, child health and development and parental economic self-sufficiency. There are still questions in relation to both the FIPs and FNPs in relation to who will manage the key workers, and how the individuals and families will be identified. There may also be a need for Arun District Council to adapt some of its existing policies to meet the consequences of the programmes, for example discretionary housing payment. Once these issues are clarified and the full timetable is in place a further report will be prepared for Cabinet. Shared Framework of Services (countywide) To enable agencies in West Sussex to work better together to support families in providing the best start for their children’s lives, a shared framework of services is being developed. Whilst some families will be supported by the FIP and FNP projects others will be supported by universal, targeted and specialist services delivered by the voluntary, community and statutory sectors. Services commissioned to meet each type of need will join-up with each other so that there is a clear pathway of support for families in West Sussex. It is intended that this programme will enable better communication with families and between services using a common understandin g and way of talking about need; a focus on working together to support families sooner and reducing the numbers of those who go on to need help from specialist services; improve the experience of families who ask for help, reducing the times they are passed back and forward between services and improved planning and access to appropriate services for children and families at the right time with evidence of better outcomes or end results for families. Elements of this shared framework include the following: • The West Sussex Continuum of Need (see appendix 1) will provide a common way for all who support families and children to understand, and talk together about different levels of need. Each service will understand their own
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contribution to children and families across this continuum • Clear pathways of support for some of our most vulnerable groups of children and families will be marked out from prevention and early intervention through to specialist levels of support to improve access and our understanding of who does what when for these key groups. • There will be a strong focus on how children and families are passed between services at different levels of support especially those at the cusp of needing help from specialist support services • Local integrated support teams will work to strengthen the targeting and integrated support of families and children at district council level and support effective use of the Common Assessment Framework, Team Around the Child and the Lead Professional role. • Workforce training and development will be aimed at equipping all who work with families with the principles and skills needed to work effectively together to improve the outcomes for families and children’s lives.
2. PROPOSAL(S): It is proposed that Cabinet welcomes the development of the Think Family programme in West Sussex and agrees to our participation because of the benefits to vulnerable residents of the Arun District. 3. OPTIONS:
(i) to agree the proposal in section 2 ( recommended option) (ii) not to agree the proposal in section 2 4. CONSULTATION:
Has consultation been undertaken with: YES NO Relevant Town/Parish Council X Relevant District Ward Councillors X Other groups/persons (please specify) X 5. ARE THERE ANY IMPLICATIONS IN RELATION YES NO TO THE FOLLOWING COUNCIL POLICIES: (Explain in more detail at 6 below) Financial X Legal X Human Rights/Equality Impact Assessment X
Community Safety including Section 17 of Crime & Disorder Act X Sustainability X Asset Management/Property/Land X
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Technology X Other (please explain) X 6. IMPLICATIONS: Financial: There is expectation that if benefits accrue that organisations would be expected to give a commitment to help keep the Family Intervention Project going beyond year 3. Equality Impact Assessment: The programme is led by the county council and as such the responsibility for carrying out EIA is with them. Community Safety: There are clear opportunities for the promotion of better community safety. Sustainability: The FNP and FIP are currently short-term projects. There is no guarantee that further funding will be made available once the current schemes have finished, though there may be expectation on the Council and other benefiting agencies to commit further resources.
7. REASON FOR THE DECISION: To improve quality of life in a targeted, evidence-based and sustainable way for some of the most needy families in the Arun District.
8. BACKGROUND PAPERS:
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Arun District Council CABINET-31/05/2011 APPENDIX 1 to ITEM 6 Level of need / Assessment
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 No identified Low risk to Vulnerable - complex Common Assessment Common Specialist High additional needs (CAF) Considered at vulnerable Assessment Assessment this Point alongside (CAF) should be Required Common Universal support For all children. Children with an identified Identified needs are increasingly Children at risk of experiencing Targeted initiated Provided by eg. additional need that can be met by complex/ Unmet need is at risk of harm. intervention •Education a referral to a single agency. escalating. More than two agencies Acute needs that Require statutory •GP, Health Visitor Response services are Universal &/ are involved with the child/ family intensive support •Housing or Targeted. requiring a Co-ordinated/ targeted Threshold for Social care and other •Police EG. School Action;SALT,Portage, Integrated response. specialist Service met Response by •Vol & comm sector Connexions, Children & Family cen- Agency. eg Social Care Police, YJS •Local children’s centre tre. Local community project. CAF should be used but where CAMHS Health there is an escalating issue of unmet need or a question of potential risk the threshold with ‘Child in Need’ may be crossed requiring social care assessment.
Normal safeguarding procedures Should be followed in each case.
Lead professional optional Lead professional agreed
Universal Targeted services Co-ordinated Specialist services targeted services services
In house assessment Single agency assessment used. CAF Assessment initiated to Statutory assessment if required. Coordinate multi agency plan in recording & delivery partnership with family. within own agency. Statutory responsibility To fulfil lead role E.g. Social worker, YOS Information sharing between practioners
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AGENDA ITEM NO.
ARUN DISTRICT COUNCIL
REPORT TO AND DECISION OF CABINET ON 31st May 2011
PART A : REPORT SUBJECT: Arun Wellbeing Programme 2011/12
REPORT AUTHOR: Hazel Flack, Partnership Manager DATE: May 2011 EXTN: 37609
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: West Sussex Public Health will be funding Arun District Council to deliver a Prevention and Wellbeing Programme in Arun , via the establishment of a Wellbeing Hub. This is an enhancement to the Arun Wellbeing Programme first funded by NHS West Sussex in 2009. Funding is to be provided through a Section 75 agreement, from 2011/12. This report details the revised arrangements for the Arun Wellbeing Programme and requests Cabinet to approve the drawing-down of the allocated funding.
RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that Cabinet: (i) welcomes the development of the Arun Wellbeing Programme and Hub funded by the West Sussex Public Health; and (ii) approves the total spend of the Arun Wellbeing programme for 2011/12 funded via a section 75 agreement to the sum of £418,300 (exact sum to be confirmed).
1. BACKGROUND: Arun District Council has hosted a Wellbeing Programme funded by, and on behalf of. NHS West Sussex since May 2009. This programme was originally funded for three years at £200,000 per year. The funding enabled the establishment of a team and the commissioning and delivery of around 30 projects, via statutory and voluntary partners, which met the priorities of the Arun Wellbeing and Health Partnership (informed by the Arun Sustainable Community Strategy). The Arun Wellbeing and Health Partnership reports directly to the Arun Local Strategic Partnership as well as to Arun District Council’s Cabinet. Changes in national policy through the NHS White Paper and the Public Health White Paper, resulting in the decision to abolish PCTs from 2013, transfer the Public Health function to the upper tier local authority and commissioning arrangements to GP consortia, have prompted a review of the Wellbeing Programmes in West Sussex. • West Sussex Public Health (the Public Health department within NHS West Sussex currently undergoing transition to West Sussex County Council) has devised a county-wide Prevention and Wellbeing Programme for adults of all ages, based at District and Borough Council level. This programme provides for
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a hub function in each District and Borough Council area, which will serve as the source of advice and information and coordination of the programme, and include local services that can be accessed by the population who need them to meet their health and wellbeing needs. The objectives of the Programmes are: • To support behaviour change to reduce the consequences of locally agreed priority behaviours such as unhealthy eating, alcohol misuse, smoking and low levels of physical activity. • To act as a hub of information for members of the public wishing to change behaviours to improve their health. • To be a referral point for GPs and other health and social care professionals with patients / clients requiring support to change unhealthy behaviours. Each local authority in West Sussex will have its own Wellbeing Hub which will be central to the delivery of the Prevention and Wellbeing Programme. The Wellbeing Hubs will have an in-depth knowledge of local health and wellbeing opportunities. The Hubs are a universal service, to be accessible for all, but they will also be targeted to those experiencing greatest inequalities. Functions of the Wellbeing Hubs The Wellbeing Hub will provide the following functions: • To serve as the source of advice, information and coordination of local services that can be accessed by the population who need them to meet their health and wellbeing needs. • To enable partner organisations to act in a more integrated and innovative way to empower people and communities to make healthier choices in their lives. • To develop and maintain an accessible “one stop” source of information on wellbeing in each district or borough. • To provide “face to face”, telephone and online contact with the public and maintain an up to date database of local wellbeing services for adults of all ages with particular emphasis on those services that support behaviour change in people with increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and cancer. • To establish core service deliverables, for example: standard hours of access and signposting functions to the related health and wellbeing services (e.g. smoking cessation services, motivational interviewing). • Support for families with multiple problems • Suitably skilled and trained staff. • Communication and marketing of the wellbeing programme. • To enable adults, particularly those who are vulnerable, to be more linked with appropriate local services. • To increase the awareness of the importance of wellbeing to residents and professionals across the locality. • To establish a method of ensuring that voices of the most vulnerable within
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communities are heard on matters of wellbeing. • To monitor contact, in terms of needs and demographics, in order to inform future service delivery. • Using motivational interviewing and brief interventions to identify behaviours that need changing, such as smoking cessation, weight management and physical activity • Liaising with other council departments such as benefits and housing to identify target high risk/hard to reach families for signposting to access relevant services • Supporting isolated individuals to take part in more social activities • Linking to providers of NHS health checks
A total of £2,205,000 has been identified by NHS West Sussex during 2011/12 to run seven Wellbeing Hubs and to provide prevention and lifestyle services. In allocating the funding to each area factors that have been taken into account are population size, access and prevalence of risk factors. Each of the Hubs is receiving initial funding of £100,000 to establish the core service, and under the formula the additional allocation to Arun District Council for 2011/12 is anticipated to be £318,300, making a total for 2011/12 of £418,300. NHS West Sussex has committed to a two year programme ending March 2013 but is not indicating the amount of funding available for 2012/13 at this stage, though informally there are indications that it will be the same as for 2011/12. This should be clarified once the Section 75 agreement has been finalised. There is as yet no guarantee of continuation of the programme following the full incorporation of Public Health into the County Council from 1 st April 2013, and the current programme arrangements will include an exit strategy should the County Council decide not to continue with the programme. An action plan is currently being drawn up to deliver the programme in Arun, and this will also be reported to the Arun Wellbeing and Health Partnership and to the Local Strategic Partnership. 2. PROPOSAL(S): It is proposed that Arun’s Cabinet: (i) welcomes the development of the Arun Wellbeing Programme and Hub funded by the West Sussex Public Health; and (ii) approves the total spend of the Arun Wellbeing programme for 2011/12, funded via a section 75 agreement, to the sum of £418,300 (exact sum to be confirmed). 3. OPTIONS:
(i) to agree the proposals in section 2 ( recommended option) (ii) not to agree the proposals in section 2 4. CONSULTATION:
Has consultation been undertaken with: YES NO
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Relevant Town/Parish Council X Relevant District Ward Councillors X Other groups/persons (please specify) Shortly to consult with the Arun Wellbeing and Health Partnership 5. ARE THERE ANY IMPLICATIONS IN RELATION YES NO TO THE FOLLOWING COUNCIL POLICIES: (Explain in more detail at 6 below) Financial X Legal Human Rights/Equality Impact Assessment X
Community Safety including Section 17 of Crime & Disorder Act Sustainability X Asset Management/Property/Land X Technology X Other (please explain) 6. IMPLICATIONS: Financial: The programme will be reviewed after six months and Public Health may choose to recoup funds not spent within that time, to reallocate the following year. Equality Impact Assessment: Attached as appendix 1 Sustainability: Due to Public Health being absorbed within the County Council from 1st April 2013 there is no commitment to funding beyond that date Asset Management/Property: Consideration is being given to leasing or retaining premises in order to provide a physical hub function on each side of the Arun River Technology: If a decision is made to focus activities at separate premises there will be a need for broadband provision and/or computer access at these premises. 7. REASON FOR THE DECISION: To improve the wellbeing of the residents of the Arun District To satisfy the terms of the Section 75 agreement
8. BACKGROUND PAPERS: Prevention, Wellbeing and Implementation Programme - specification Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Equality Impact Assessment
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AGENDA ITEM NO.
ARUN DISTRICT COUNCIL
REPORT TO AND DECISION OF CABINET ON 31 st May 2011
PART A : REPORT SUBJECT: New Homes Bonus – Proposals for expenditure in 2011-12
REPORT AUTHOR : Karl Roberts DATE: 18 th April 2011 EXTN: 37760
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Council has received notification from the Department of Communities and Local Government that it will receive £508,908 under the New Homes Bonus Scheme for 2011-12. This report recommends that a numb er of proposals should be supported through monies from the New Homes Bonus Scheme.
RECOMMENDATIONS : It is recommended that : 1. The proposed allocation of New Homes Bonus monies for 2011-12 be allocated to the following projects; i. The sum of £17,000 is allocated to each Joint Area Advisory Committee for use in supporting locally identified needs by the JAAC’s . ii. The sum of up to £35,000 is allocated to employing a person either directly or indirectly on a 12 month contract as a ‘Neighbourhood Planner’ to facilitate with parish councils the development of Neighbourhood Plans in Arun. iii. The sum of up to £40,000 is allocated to undertaking a Leisure Strategy. iv. The sum of up to £25,000 is allocated along with other previously identified resources to provide additional support to the part time Empty Homes Officer by 12 months. v. The sum of £ 303,000 be made available for the facilitating the delivery of street scene enhancements to the Littlehampton Tidal Defence Scheme and/or to facilitate the use of Oldlands Farm as a Business Park. vi. The remainder (£54, 908 plus any underspend from ii to v) to be held in a reserve for future allocation.
1. BACKGROUND: The CLG describes the aim of the New Homes Bonus (“NHB”) thus : “The aim of the New Homes Bonus is to create a powerful, simple, transparent and permanent incentive which rewards local authorities that deliver sustainable housing development.” Recent years have seen a steady decline in national ho use building which culminated in 2009 with only 118,000 completions: the lowest peacetime annual total since 1924. The ‘top-down’ approach of managing housing provision favoured by the last government has been replaced by the Coalition government’s philosophy of locally- driven growth within a framework of powerful incentives.
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The New Homes Bonus is part of a range of incentives set out in the government’s Local Growth White Paper. This report gives a summary of how the allocation of New Homes Bonus (“NHB”) for Arun in 2011-12 should be allocated. Key features of the Scheme to note include:- • NHB will provide incentivised funding which recognises and rewards a council for increasing its housing supply, through a formula related to the national average council tax, making a payment for each new home built and each long term empty property brought back into use, with an additional amount to be paid for each new affordable home created. • The bonus is to be paid annually for each of the 6 years after that home is built /brought back into use. £200 million has been set aside for 2011/12, and £250m for each of the following three years. The real problem with the scheme, however, is that after the first year it is not fully-funded, with any shortfall coming from Formula Grant. By year six and beyond, around 80% of the money will ne ed to come from the existing settlement. This means that the cash allocations in the CSR will be reduced from 2012-13 in order to pay for the New Homes Bonus. The NHB will be paid as unringfenced grant. As a consequence of this it would appear sensible to consider the NHB on an annual basis once the Council can be clear whether it is a net beneficiary or a net loser. • The level of payment will be based on the average national band D council tax, with all other bands adjusted to a band D equivalent. • Provisi on of additional publicly owned Gypsy & Traveller caravan sites will also be rewarded. • In two tier areas the bonus is split 80:20 in favour of lower tier councils. • Councils are encouraged to consider pooling some NHB to support Local Enterprise Partnerships. This paper does not propose any such support for 2011-12. 2. PROPOSALS: The Council has been awarded the sum of £508,908 representing a net increase of 511 dwellings. Of these 74 were classified as empty homes which have been brought back into use. Due to the method of data collection the additional reward for the delivery of Affordable Homes will be paid from 2012-13. For the reasons set out above it would be unwise to make commitments against future years NHB without being clear on how much Revenue Support Grant will be clawed back in future years to fund the scheme nationally. Consequently, this report deals solely with the allocation of NHB for 2011-12. The Government has strongly urged Councils to passport some of the grant directly to local communities. For Arun this would logically take the form of passing some of the grant to Parish & Town Councils. It is considered that a reasonable sum would be 10% of that available to Arun to spend. However, as this is the first year of the scheme the sum available would be approximately £50,000. Rather than allocate this to each parish either on a pro-rata basis or equal share basis where it would individually have little impact it is suggested that the sum of £17,000 be allocated to each of the Joint Area Committee’s (£51,000 in total) to be used on projects where it supports locally identified and prioritised needs as determined and recommended by the JAAC’s.
In addition to the above it is recommended that a post of ‘Neighbourhood Planner’ should be funded for one year to support any Parish & Town Council in Arun that wishes to progress a Neighbourhood Plan (including those offered the above grant). Page 15 of 124
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This is because many Parish & Town Councils don’t currently have the relevant skills or capacity to undertake such a task. This post could be managed by the Planning service at Arun or alternatively via a voluntary organisation such as Action in Rural Sussex. Moving away from neighbourhood planning there are a number of other initiatives that the NHB could be used to support. Firstly, the Council needs to urgently update its Leisure Strategy to provide a vision for leisure provision over the next 25 years and identify what investment will be required to fulfil that vision. This work will need to be comm issioned externally due to the lack of capacity internally and therefore a working budget of up to £50,000 is suggested although it is hoped the final sum should be less. A second initiative is to continue to support the Council’s excellent work on bringin g empty homes back into use. Indeed the Council is rewarded through the final NHB allocations for any empty homes brought back into use. Equally, the Council could be penalised if the number of empty homes increases. The contract of the Council’s Empty Homes Officer comes to an end on the 31 st March 2012 and any extension will require approving by Vacancy management group. There is money available to continue with this work but on a part time basis and an additional £25K is required for to allow a graduate trainee to be employed for 12 months to assist the EH Officer. The EH Officer works 3 days on empty homes and 2 days for Arun Housing Services on strategy issues but has been seconded to Asset Management issues for over 6 months. The additional resource would allow outstanding essential work on empty homes to be moved forward. This leaves the bulk of the 2011-12 allocation (at least 303k) too be used for delivery key major regeneration infrastructure in Arun. In the ‘State of the District’ debate in November 2010 it was resolved to support key infrastructure projects in Arun. The most immediate priorities are contributing to the enhancement of the core scheme design for the East Bank Tidal Defence Regeneration project for Littlehampton led by the Environment Agency and/or to facilitate the use of Oldlands Farm as a Business Park at Bognor Regis. It is therefore recommended that this sum be held in reserve to support either or both these two projects dependant upon their respective delivery timescales and the availability of partnership contributions from other stakeholders etc. Finally, it should be noted that some of the NHB should be passported to the South Downs National Park Authority for new units created within the park boundaries. The actual numbers involved are likely to be very small. Whilst the National Park did not officially take on its powers until the 1 st April 2011 it would be in the spirit of the grant to passport on the relevant proportion to the SDNPA. However, the data that is used to calculate the grant is based on Council tax records for October 2009 to October 2010. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to identify from these records the cumulative change in the Arun part of the SDNP. Consequently to undertake the necessary calcul ations it will be necessary to use the Annual Monitoring Report prepared by Planning. However, this data is compiled on a financial year basis. Consequently, the data is currently only available to April 2010. Therefore it is suggested that any payment to the SDNPA for 2011-12 be delayed until April 2012 and taken out of next year’s allocation. 3. OPTIONS: 3.1) Agree the proposed allocations 3.2) Instruct officers to prepare an alternative set of allocations . 4. CONSULTATION: Page 16 of 124
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Has consultation been undertaken with: YES NO Relevant Town/Parish Council x Relevant District Ward Councillors x Other groups/persons (please specify) 5. ARE THERE ANY IMPLICATIONS IN RELATION TO YES NO THE FOLLOWING COUNCIL POLICIES: (Explain in more detail at 6 below) Financial x Legal x Human Rights/Equality Impact Assessment Recommendations x (i), (ii), (iii) and (v) do not require an EIA. Items (iv) and (vi) will need to be subject to an EIA as the likely content and detail is established.
Community Safety including Section 17 of Crime & Disorder Act x Sustainability x Asset Management/Property/Land x Technology x Other (please explain) x Human Resources 6. IMPLICATIONS: 6.1) Financial : Under the CLG proposals the NHB will be a major source of ongoing funding for the Council.
7. REASON FOR THE DECISION: 7.1) To allocate the New Homes Bonus allocation for 2011-12 based on what are considered to be immediate needs.
8. BACKGROUND PAPERS: Department of Communities & Local Government: Equality Impact Assessment on the Consultation Document. Arun District Council’s Empty Homes Strategy.
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AGENDA ITEM NO.
ARUN DISTRICT COUNCIL
REPORT TO AND DECISION OF CABINET ON 31 MAY 2011
REPORT SUBJECT : Arun Developer and Partner Charter Plus
REPORT AUTHOR: Andy Elder DATE: 3 May 2011 EXTN: 37714
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY :
This report seeks Cabinet support for the adoption of the Arun Developer and Partner Charter Plus.
This new initiative builds on the original objectives of the Bognor Regis Developer and Partner Charter, but will now be augmented with the dual ambitions of creating new training and apprenticeship opportunities, primarily for young people, and improving the environmental sustainability of housing and regeneration projects on Council owned land.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is RECOMMENDED that the Cabinet approve the new Arun Developer and Partner Charter Plus.
1. BACKGROUND: 1.1 On 9 June 2009 Arun District Council announced the launch of the Bognor Regis Developer and Partner Charter at the Butlins Shoreline Conference Centre. The Charter was adopted as an ‘in spirit’ agreement between developers, education, skills and training providers and local businesses to explore and support opportunities arising from the exciting and extensive developments in Bognor Regis.
1.2 It was introduced to derive additional benefits and ‘multiple dividends’ from the physical regeneration of Bognor Regis. The benefits from the Charter so far have been achieved through the commitment of individual developers, and existing businesses and regeneration partners in the Town, prior to the significant benefits which will emanate from the schemes themselves once the various projects are completed.
1.3 The original Bognor Regis Developer and Partner Charter was set around five main objectives;
• Raising average weekly wages in the area, which are currently lower than the County and Regional average; • Raising educational attainment and skill levels, which are currently lower than the County and Regional average; • Improving the competitiveness and sustainability of the diverse range of small businesses in the area which make up over 80% of our business community; • Exciting residents, visitors and potential investors with the intentions, plans, progress and outcomes of developments; • Promoting good if not best practice in safe, secure and considerate working practices. Page 19 of 124
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1.4 The creation of the Bognor Regis Developer & Partner Charter is one of the Council’s priorities (2009 - 2013) “working with major developers and educational and skills partners to see physical regeneration projects bringing about social regeneration”, this priority has been achieved and since its launch over 30 organisations have signed the Developer and Partner Charter signalling their commitment to the regeneration of Bognor Regis.
1.5 However, following the introduction of the Council’s new housing strategy, Raise the Roof, with its focus on economic growth, it is now felt to be an opportune and appropriate time to build on the principles of the existing Bognor Regis Developer and Partner Charter and extend the initiative, with some significant additional elements, to the rest of the Arun district creating a new Arun Developer and Partner Charter Plus (the ‘Charter Plus’).
1.6 Charter Plus is designed to help stimulate and generate economic growth and reduce carbon emissions from new residential housing developments in the Arun district. Charter Plus will be promoted by all Service Managers in the Council, but the primary responsibility for implementing and monitoring it will be with the Planning and Housing Strategy team.
1.7 Charter Plus specifically supports the following wider priorities of the Council;
Continue to progress the sustainable regeneration of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton; Promoting the local business community encouraging the development of new and existing businesses and the skills of their employees; To deliver more affordable homes for rent or shared ownership; Surplus or underused land disposed of or developed to help deliver more affordable housing; and A reduction in the Council’s “carbon footprint” across all our services, where this can be shown to be cost-effective
1.8 The apprentice and training outputs will be negotiated as a contractual condition for the affordable housing developed on council owned land. Charter Plus will be consistent with the Council’s priorities to invest in the area and support local businesses wherever possible. Our vision for using housing to drive economic growth in Arun, as set out in the Council’s housing strategy Raise the Roof, is about linking the construction of affordable housing to a range of other economic development outcomes – for example local labour schemes, training opportunities for young people and the redevelopment of our sheltered housing schemes.
1.8.1 The Council will also seek to provide opportunities for local companies to bid for contracts which are being awarded by developers and contractors. These will be for a broad range of different size contracts throughout the Arun district.
1.9 Although the main objectives of Charter Plus will remain as an ‘in spirit’ agreement, the Council does have the power to obligate developers and housing associations to certain elements of Charter Plus via the contracts we award and leases we grant for affordable housing, particularly on developments where we are land owners. Housing has a key role to promote and stimulate our local economy as house building and the associated construction industry forms a considerable part of Arun’s Gross Value Added (GVA). As the bulk of the industry’s supply chain is UK-based, the multiplier effect of housing investment, private and public, is high. Within the UK for every £1 million of new investment around 21 jobs are directly supported; and for every 100 jobs directly supported there are around 60 more elsewhere in the supply chain.
1.10 The Council plans to enable the delivery of new affordable housing on its owned land, initially in the Wick area of Littlehampton. The various plots of land will be a made available for development on a ‘pound a plot’ basis, however the disposed land will come with a series of conditions which are collectively designed to promote economic growth, regeneration and environmental sustainability. The Council will normally retain the freehold interest of the individual plots of land and offer a 125- year lease to enable housing associations to provide affordable homes on specific sites in perpetuity.
1.11 A further additional element of CharterPage P lus20 will of be124 a strong commitment towards improving the
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sustainability of the design and construction of affordable housing. Our target will be to ensure that all affordable homes delivered under Charter Plus will be constructed to minimum of Sustainable Code Level 3. Sustainability will increasingly form part the Council’s requirement for developers, as consumers and clients at all levels demand higher quality in sustainable design.
1.12 APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
1.12.1 Charter Plus is designed to demonstrate our commitment to boosting skills and raising the opportunities for the employability for people in the Arun district. Both central and local government are now generating a greater awareness of opportunities that Apprenticeships give businesses.
1.12.2 Under Charter Plus, Apprentices would be employed by the construction companies building the affordable homes on behalf of our housing associations partners. The Council, in collaboration with our housing association partners, would require construction companies to provide a structured training programme which an Apprentice follows – this would be a mixture of on and off job learning, referred to as a framework, which leads to nationally recognised accredited qualification.
1.12.3 Charter Plus will promote mainly construction based Apprenticeships in a range of practical professional skills including joinery, plumbing, scaffolding, plastering and painting and decorating. An Apprentice is an employee, usually but not exclusively aged between 16 and 25, who is following a structured, work-based training programme within a particular occupation area such as Horticulture, Catering or Construction.
The broad benefits of an Apprenticeship are;
Learn through practical knowledge and hand-on experience
Gain National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) at a recognised college
Receive dedicated mentoring from a practising industry professional
Excellent employment prospects at the completion of the course
Have doors opened to a diverse range of career paths
1.12.4 An Apprenticeship delivered through Charter Plus would ideally include the following components:
• A knowledge-based element commonly referred to as a Technical Certificate. This is a nationally recognised vocationally related qualification (VRQ) which provides the essential knowledge to do a job. It would be provided off the job and would lead to an award of a diploma or certificate such as those offered by BTEC or City & Guilds.
• A competency-based element commonly referred to as an NVQ (National Vocational Qualification). NVQs cover practical, work related tasks designed to develop the skills and capability to do a job effectively. They are based on national standards which specify what a competent person in a job could be expected to do; competence is assessed by comparing skills against these standards.
• A Key Skills/Functional Skills element which includes mandatory subjects such as communication and numeracy.
1.12.5 A local labour scheme is designed to support people into employment or training and could include:
• Work experience and work placement for 14 – 19 year olds;
• Work placements for those not in education, employment or training (NEETS) as part of their vocational training programme; and
• Contractors signing up to a Local Employment Partnership such as Charter Plus.
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1.12.6 Generally, Apprenticeships take between one and three years to complete, depending mostly on the skills of the Apprentice and the framework they are following. Charter Plus would therefore need to be designed to ensure an adequate rolling programme of affordable housing schemes, throughout the Arun district, to enable the construction Apprenticeships to be completed.
1.12.7 It is envisaged that discussions will take place with local agencies and providers who already have the funding and structures in place to manage such programmes. (E.g. Chichester & Northbrook FE Colleges, Job Centre Plus, the South East Apprentice Co.).
1.13 ENHANCING ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
1.13.1 Sustainability will increasingly form part of the Council’s requirement for developers, as consumers and clients at all levels demand higher quality in sustainable design. As part of Charter Plus developers and housing associations will be called upon to create a coherent proposition for residents based on offering a high-quality way of life underpinned by principles such as zero carbon and zero waste.
1.13.2 The affordable homes produced under the Charter Plus will be designed with specific attention to energy efficiency. That means good insulation, day lighting, healthy materials, passive ventilation and energy and water efficient appliances. None of these various technologies need add great cost to the new homes and can sometimes even save capital costs, for example by reducing or eliminating the need for central heating.
1.13.3 As part of Charter Plus, the Council will consider proposals for stand alone renewable energy projects on an individual site basis, and will encourage developments on our own land to incorporate on-site renewable energy sources in helping to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes and BREEAM standards.
2. PROPOSAL(S): To adopt the Arun Developer and Partner Charter Plus.
3. OPTIONS: a) To retain the existing Bognor Regis Developer and Partner Charter and not extend the concept beyond the original area of Bognor Regis. b) To retain the original objectives of the Bognor Regis Developer and Partner Charter and extend only those objectives to the rest of the Arun district. c) To add the additional objectives of the Charter Plus to the original Bognor Regis Developer and Partner Charter but restrict its geographical scope to the Bognor Regis area.
4. CONSULTATION:
Has consultation been undertaken with: YES NO Relevant Town/Parish Council Relevant District Ward Councillors Other groups/persons (please specify)
5. ARE THERE ANY IMPLICATIONS IN RELATION TO THE YES NO FOLLOWING COUNCIL POLICIES: (Explain in more detail at 6 below) Financial Legal Page 22 of 124
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Human Rights/Equality
Community Safety including Section 17 of the Crime & Disorder Act Sustainability Asset Management/Property/Land Technology Other (please explain) 6. IMPLICATIONS: Whilst Charter Plus would be adopted and developed as ‘in spirit’ agreement, all Council departments would be assessing which of their contracts could be let to include some or all of the schemes objectives. Charter Plus will be included as part of the procurement process in the tendering of the Housing Decent Homes Works Programme Contract for 2011/12. Charter Plus will continue to provide an opportunity for the Council’s Building Control Service to compete for Building Control contracts throughout the Arun district. Over the past 18-months the Council’s Building Control Service has obtained contracts at the University of Chichester Campus Bognor Regis, Butlins, Sime Darby and Site 6 North Bersted as a direct positive outcome from the original Developer and Partner Charter.
7. REASON FOR THE DECISION: To approve the new Arun Developer and Partner Charter Plus .
8. BACKGROUND PAPERS: Appendix 1 – Arun Developer and Partner Charter Plus Appendix 2 – Equality Impact Assessment
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AE/AD&PC+/2011 ARUN DEVELOPER AND PARTNER CHARTER PLUS APPENDIX 1
Objective Target 1. Raise average weekly wages in the district, which are a) Agree to pay the appropriate rate for the job and at least the agreed National currently lower than the County and Regional average. Minimum Wage to all employees during the development. b) Agree to only use workers who have a legitimate National Insurance number, or recognised and legal self employed status. c) To agree to only use sub-contractors who are prepared to conform to the points 1a and 1b. 2. Raise educational attainment and skill levels, which are a) Agree to participate in schemes providing work experience for locally based currently lower that the County and Regional average. students both on site and in ‘back office’ functions such as Quantity Surveying, Design, Sales & Marketing. b) Agree to provide apprenticeship and training opportunities and places for local young people (under 25s’) and to agree to establish Local Labour schemes.
Page 24of 124 Such schemes to be accredited to national standards (i.e. BTEC / NVQ Level 3). c) Agree to provide placement opportunities for local teachers. d) Agree to work positively with local education providers in the promotion of the value of skills and training in the disciplines associated with the development e.g. construction. e) Agree to encourage sub-contractors to participate in the same agreements particularly with regard to training and apprenticeships. 3. Improve the competitiveness and sustainability of the a) Agree generally to encourage and promote or secure involvement of suitably diverse range of small businesses in the area which make qualified and competent locally based businesses and workforce in all possible up over 80% of our business community. areas of work and contracts associated with the development. b) Agree to host seminars at appropriate intervals in the development, to promote the work and contract opportunities of the development (as a whole and as appropriate to the differing phases of the development) to locally based businesses. c) Agree to encourage nominated sub-contractors (as appropriate) to participate in the same programme of seminars. d) Agree to source materials and supplies so far as possible within the locality* with due regard to price, quality and availability of services and goods. APPENDIX 1toITEM9
*Measure of locality 1. Within Arun District 2. Within West Sussex
AE 04.04.11 Arun DistrictCouncil CABINET-31/05/2011
AE/AD&PC+/2011 ARUN DEVELOPER AND PARTNER CHARTER PLUS APPENDIX 1
4. Excite residents, visitors and potential investors with the a) Agree to provide bulletins and details of progress achieved: intentions, plans, progress and outcomes of - With relation to agreed schedule with Arun District Council developments. - As requested by Arun District Council for release to the press - As requested by the press directly b) Agree to display or integrate artist’s impressions (or similar) of the projected development into/onto any displays and hoardings associated with the development. c) Agree to display a schedule/timeline (or similar) on hoardings associated with the development which shows the projected development timetable (with key milestones) and progress achieved against each of these. d) Agree to provide references, material or links to be used in the Council’s range of communication vehicles, such as the website, promoting development in the area. Page 25of 124 e) Agree to participate in appropriate public forums to explain and promote the development. f) Agree to explore and where appropriate provide suitable viewing points (if the site is not openly viewable by the public) to enable the public to see progress. 5. Promote good (if not best) practice in safe, secure and a) Agree to work within the Terms of the Considerate Contractor Scheme. considerate working practices. 6. Ensure that developments conform to the principles of the a) Agree to deliver affordable homes to a minimum of Sustainable Code Level 3. energy hierarchy which is to reduce the need for energy, b) Agree to provide at least 25% of their energy requirements from on-site maximise energy efficiency, supply energy from renewable energy generation or demonstrate similar energy savings through renewable sources, where fossil fuels are to be used, use design measures. as efficiently as possible. c) Agree to reduce carbon emissions from new development in accordance with the latest Building Regulations. Note - (this only applies to major developments which are d) Consider incorporating Combined Heat and Power (CHP) schemes into new defined as non-domestic buildings above 1,000m 2 or 10 or major developments. more residential units) e) Agree to re-use building construction and demolition waste. f) Agree to the use or re-use of sustainable materials. APPENDIX 1toITEM9
AE 04.04.11 APPENDIX 2 to ITEM 9
EIA/AE/2011
Appendix 2
Arun District Council
Equality Impact Assessment
Our Public Sector Equality Duty To make sure that Arun District Council is meeting its legal duties in respect of The Equality Act 2010 we will undertake equality impact assessments. An equality impact assessment (EIA) is a through and systematic analysis of a policy, function or service to estimate the likely equality implications either of implementing a new policy or initiative or the operation of a current policy, function or service.
The primary function of an EIA is to determine the extent of differential impact on different equality groups and in turn whether that impact is adverse. In the light of this assessment, if we decide that the policy has an adverse impact, we must consider alternative policies that might better achieve the promotion of equality of opportunity, or measures which might be employed to mitigate an adverse impact.
Document last revised May 2011
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Name of Policy (also includes service/function) being assessed
ARUN DEVELOPER & PARTNER CHARTER PLUS
1. What are the main aims, purpose and outcomes off the policy and how do these fit in with the wider aims of the Council?
Check of questions to ask;
• What are you trying to achieve with the policy, function or service? What are the outcomes being sought? • How do these fit with the wider aims of the organisation? • Who does this policy benefit? • What do you need to know about this policy/service/function? • Who has/will have the responsibility for delivering the work? • What could prevent our communities getting the best out of it? • How will we tell people about it? • What information is needed to ensure that all perspectives are taken into account? • Are there any other policies, functions or services that are similar or impact on this policy?
The purpose for creating the new Arun Developer and Partner Charter Plus is to generate a broad range of economic and social outcomes from new developments in the Arun district. This objective supports the wider priorities of the Council which include the following;
Continue to progress the sustainable regeneration of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton; Promoting the local business community encouraging the development of new and existing businesses and the skills of their employees; To deliver more affordable homes for rent or shared ownership; Surplus or underused land disposed of or developed to help deliver more affordable housing; and A reduction in the Council’s “carbon footprint” across all our services, where this can be shown to be cost-effective
Charter Plus is designed to help stimulate and generate economic growth and reduce carbon emissions from new residential housing developments and will therefore benefit all groups in the Arun district either directly or in-directly. Charter Plus will be promoted by all Service Managers at Arun District Council, but the primary responsibility for implementing and monitoring it will be with the Planning and Housing Strategy team.
Communities groups throughout the Arun district will need to know about and understand the purpose of Charter Plus to gain from various objectives.
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Charter Plus will be promoted widely in Arun Times, through the Arun LSP, Press Releases to the local media and on specific developments as appropriate.
The other main strategies which will have an impact on Charter Plus are the Council’s housing strategy Raise the Roof and economic strategy Open for Business.
2. Consideration of available data, research and information
• What existing data/information do you have? • Do partners, other stakeholders – including voluntary and community organisations and members – have any information that might be useful? • Are you able to identify any cumulative impacts from other decisions/policies taken by other parts of ADC or other partners? • Are you using monitoring information, customer feedback and results from consultations and surveys? • Is there any other local/regional/national information both qualitative and quantitative that might be useful? • Do you need to fill in any gaps, and if so how do you propose to do this?
The Council holds data in its Planning team regarding all residential and commercial developments. Large developers and Registered Providers of Social Housing (RPs) will be encouraged to sign Charter Plus and work with the Council to deliver its objectives. It is felt unlikely that voluntary and community organisations will hold any additional information in respect of developers and RPs that would be beneficial in delivering Charter Plus.
The Council has the details of the 30+ organisations who have already signed –up to the original Bognor Regis Developer and Partner Charter.
We will identify actions from Raise the Roof (housing strategy) and Open for Business (economic strategy) which will assist with the delivery, implementation and monitoring of Charter Plus.
All developers, contractors and sub-contractors who sign-up to Charter Plus will be required to provide an annual return detailing what they have done to help implement Charter Plus in the previous year.
We will need to measure Arun’s annual Gross Value Added (GVA) for which we require assistance from other organisations and agencies.
3. Assessment of impact
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• On the basis of the information available who uses the service and how else could or should be using it? • How could different groups benefit? • Who else might be affected? • Are some people benefiting more than others? If so why? • Is there a risk of cumulative negative effect on particular users when the impact of this decision is taken alongside the impact of other decisions taking place in the local area? • Does the information show or suggest any different impacts and if so for whom?
All groups and communities in the Arun district would benefit if the Council is able to generate additional economic growth from the various objectives in Charter Plus. Jobs, training opportunities and apprenticeships would be available in a variety of different trades and professions if the council is able to secure a sufficient number of developers, contractors and sub-contractors who commit to the principles of Charter Plus.
It might not be possible for some people to take on training or apprenticeships in some of the more physical trades, but there will be a range of opportunities in different professions which may be more suitable for people with specific disabilities.
There are no identified risks of a cumulative negative effect from adopting and delivering Charter Plus.
4. Ensuring fairness
Is there anything that can be done to remove or mitigate adverse or unfair treatment? • Could access be improved for any group or communities, and if so how? • If a particular group benefits, is it clear why this has to be the case? • If the results are that one or more communities or groups appear to benefit less then is this justified? • Is there an impact on perceptions within communities that may affect relationships, and have you thought how to address this? • What are the options and how does each option affect different groups or communities? • Will the alternatives help people promote equality of opportunity, improved treatment and access? • How will people know about the new way (s) of delivering services or new policies so that they can benefit?
There is an issue around the supply of suitable affordable housing for people with disabilities, and the effectiveness of the allocations systems and the use of the existing supply are also important (e.g. wheelchair applicants have
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fewer properties to bid for in the Choice Based Lettings scheme than general needs applicants).
No one particular group is likely to benefit more than another from Charter Plus.
5. Finalise the decision and communicate what is happening
• Do you need to consult further? • Can you explain how the decision was reached including how the equality impacts were taken into account in the final decision? • Do the users, partners, stakeholders know what has been agreed? • Have consultation responses been addressed?
It will not be necessary to consult further on Charter Plus, part this is due to the extensive consultation undertaken in producing the housing strategy.
Charter Plus will be promoted to the Arun Local Strategic Partnership and local business forums as necessary.
Work has started with the local colleges to agree the systems to make the apprenticeships operate effectively for young persons.
6. Monitor and review
How will you monitor the actions you have identified and who will be responsible for this? What indicators and targets will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy/service/function? Are there more monitoring procedures already in place which will guarantee the information you need or how can they be adapted?
Charter Plus will be developed with an annual review to monitor its overall effectiveness and to measure the various outputs and outcomes from developers and contractors.
It is intended that all affordable housing developed under Charter Plus will be at Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.
7. Action Planning
The whole point of carrying out equality impact assessments is to identify better ways of delivering services so that all communities in the Arun district can benefit from them as they need to.
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Action Target Responsibility By when Promote Charter Plus to Complete All Service December the Arun LSP and local communication Managers 2011 business community of Charter Plus Ensure all Registered To have all Housing December Partners operating in preferred Strategy & 2011 Arun adopt Charter Plus partners adopt Enabling Charter Plus Manager Agree with colleges how To have system Planning & June 2012 to operate the agreed and Housing educational aspects of operational Strategy team the apprenticeships Complete an annual Annual review Housing Annually from review of Charter Plus to completed Strategy & December assess the outputs and Enabling 2012 outcomes Manager
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AGENDA ITEM NO.
ARUN DISTRICT COUNCIL
REPORT TO AND DECISION OF CABINET ON 31 st May 2011
PART A : REPORT SUBJECT: Planning Consultancy Framework Agreement
REPORT AUTHOR: Karl Roberts- Assistant Director Planning and Housing Strategy, and Edward O’Brien- Planning Administrator DATE: 9th May 2011 EXTN: 37760 and 37441.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Arun District Council and a number of other local authorities in East and West Sussex, the identity of which has yet to be confirmed, an d potentially the South Downs National Park Authority have a need from time to time to use external planning consultancy services to conduct studies, appraisals and other methods of assessment on areas such as, but not limited to, housing land supply, landscape and urban design appraisals and retail studies within the locality. Arun District Council and the other interested authorities, as outlined above, therefore wish to set up a procurement framework that they can all use which will test the market for these services with the aim of improving the efficiency and reducing the cost of acquiring those services. It is proposed that Arun District Council be the lead authority for this procurement framework agreement.
RECOMMENDATIONS 1. That Arun District Council enter into a consortium agreement (Consortium Agreement) to achieve a joint procurement framework agreement (Joint Procurement Framework Agreement) for external planning consultancy services with all or any of the Unitary, County, District and Borough Authorities in West and East Sussex and potentially the South Downs National Park Authority (the Consortium Authorities). 2. That the Consortium Agreement sets out the obligations and responsibilities of each of the authorities comprising the Consortium Authorities including indemnities to ensure that each authority is solely responsible for the cost of any service that authority procures under the Joint Procurement Framework Agreement. 3. That Arun District Council be the lead authority for the Joint Procurement Framework Agreement and work with a core team officers from the Consortium Authorities on the procurement process. The tender will follow the Restricted Procedure where potential providers will be required to pass a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire stage before receiving an Invitation to Tender. All tender submissions will be evaluated and a suitable number of providers for each category of work will be awarded a place on the Framework Agreement. 4. That as lead authority Arun District Council enters into a Joint Procurement Framework Agreement for two (2) years with selected providers on behalf of all the
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Consortium Authorities with a provision to extend the Joint Procurement Framework Agreement for a third year and fourth year after that.
1. BACKGROUND: Local Authority Planning Services require the use of external planning consultants to perform appraisals, assessments, studies and research to provide background information, assist with LDF policies and development plans. They also require planning consultants to provide general advice and to represent the authority from time to time at hearings and negotiations. The areas of such work across the Consortium Authorities covers these broad headings, but is not limited to:
§ Agriculture § Business § Conservation § Consultation § Countryside and Environment § Design § Development Infrastructure § Economic and Employment § Energy § Environmental Assessment § Flood Protection § Housing § Marine § Minerals and Waste (subject to County Council interest) § Pollution § Retail § Strategic Planning § Tourism and Leisure § Training § Transport § Tree and Habitat Preservation § Urban Design and Regeneration § Viability Issues and Section 106 Work
Currently each of the Consortium Authorities arrange for work to be outsourced on a project by project basis. A Joint Procurement Framework Agreement will enable the costs involved to be market tested.
2. PROPOSAL(S): That the Consortium Authorities be invited to put forward a core team of officers to set up the procurement process to be followed and the evaluation process to be applied. It is proposed that the number of service providers accepted for each sub-category is set on the basis of:
§ Anticipated quantity of work
It is expected that by dividing the work into main and then sub-categories there will be interest from a large number of service providers ranging from small local providers right through to large national service providers.
Service providers will submit details of their time charges for the procurement process
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work within the sub-categories and if selected those charges will apply throughout the period of the Joint Procurement Framework Agreement subject to any adjustment for inflation. When any one of the Consortium Authorities has work to put out the authority will select one or more of the firms on the framework and ask for a case/matter plan including an estimate of time the work will take and which person(s) will carry out the work. The authority then decides who to place the work with, without the need to go through any other procedure under the authority’s contract or financial standing orders other than relating to budget provision. There is no guarantee to the service providers that work will be given to them. The allocation of work depends upon each authority’s future need to put work out.
It is intended that the use of the framework should be monitored throughout the life of the Agreement which will provide valuable data to all the Consortium Authorities for future procurement.
3. OPTIONS: 1. That Arun District Council enters into the Consortium Agreement with the other authorities mentioned within West and East Sussex and potentially the South Downs National Park Authority to form a Joint Procurement Framework Agreement as detailed in this report. Arun District Council is to take the lead on this project. (Preferred option).
2. That Arun District Council does not enter into the Consortium Agreement with the other authorities within West and East Sussex and the South Downs National Park Authority to form a Joint Procurement Framework Agreement as detailed in this report.
3. That Arun District Council enters into a Framework Agreement solely for work needed by Arun District Council.
4. CONSULTATION:
Has consultation been undertaken with: YES NO Relevant Town/Parish Council Relevant District Ward Councillors Other groups/persons (please specify) – Local Authorities in East and West Sussex and the South Downs National Park Authority. 5. ARE THERE ANY IMPLICATIONS IN RELATION TO YES NO THE FOLLOWING COUNCIL POLICIES: (Explain in more detail at 6 below) Financial Legal Human Rights/Equality Impact Assessment
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Community Safety including Section 17 of Crime & Disorder Act Sustainability Asset Management/Property/Land Technology Other (please explain) 6. IMPLICATIONS: The entering into and operation of a Sussex wide Framework Agreement offers the potential to make immediate savings, which will continue through the life of the agreement and provide valuable data to inform a future procurement process.
7. REASON FOR THE DECISION: To market test the cost of planning consultancy services. To seek cost saving based on the economy of scale and to set up a more efficient way of procuring planning consultancy services.
8. BACKGROUND PAPERS: None
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AGENDA ITEM NO.
ARUN DISTRICT COUNCIL
REPORT TO AND DECISION OF CABINET ON TUESDAY 31 ST MAY 2011
PART A : REPORT SUBJECT: SOCIAL HOUSING REFORMS
REPORT AUTHOR: Frank Hickson DATE: April 2011 EXTN: 37718
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Thi s Report identifies key areas of Social Housing Reform being taken forward by the coalition Government and the implications for Arun District Council.
RECOMMENDATIONS That the Housing & Planning Working Party be asked to undertake a review of the implications of the some of the key areas of Social Housing Reforms identified, and make recommendations to Cabinet on the action to be taken in relation to the Tenancy Strategy, Flexible Tenancies, Succession Rights for Secure Tenants, establishment of a Tenants Panel for referring complaints to the Housing Ombudsman, Tenant Scrutiny of Housing Performance, and Affordable Rented Housing Programme.
1. BACKGROUND: 1.0 The coalition Government has put forward a number of proposals for change to the Social Housing Agenda in the last 11 months. Many of the proposals are included within the Localism Bill, which sets out the legislative framework for proposals previously announced in the emergency budget in June 2010, the Comprehensive Spending Review and the government paper “Local Decision, a fairer future for social housing”, published in November 2010. Other proposals are included in the Tenants Services Authority (TSA) Regulatory Standards - introduced as from April 2010. 1.2 At the heart of the Localism Bill is the coalition Government’s stated objective to decentralise power from the centre to local government and local communities. The measures contained in the Bill have significant implications for social housing and local government across many areas as they include reform of social housing, the planning system, and council house finance. 2.0 Social Housing Reform Proposals 2.1 The proposals for Social Housing Reforms are as follows:-
Allocations - Reforms to the existing legislation on the allocation of social housing under Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996. They give local housing authorities the freedom to determine, through their allocation scheme, who should go on their Housing
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Register, with the exception of those households who must be given reasonable preference for an allocation. Local Housing Authorities can also deal with existing tenants’ requests for transfer through separate rules and criteria to those households who are not tenants. The rules on eligibility for housing generally will continue to be set by Central Government (i.e. immigration status). Implications : These issues have been considered through the Review of the Housing Allocations Policy which is the subject of a separate Report to Cabinet.
Homelessness The Local Housing Authority can discharge its main homelessness duty to secure accommodation with an offer of accommodation from a private landlord, without requiring the applicant’s agreement. The Assured Shorthold Tenancies must be for a minimum fixed term of 12 months. However, the main homelessness duty will recur, regardless of whether the applicant has a priority need for accommodation, if the applicant becomes unintentionally homeless again within 2 years of accepting a private sector offer and reapplies for accommodation. Implications : The Council will be able to discharge its duty to secure permanent accommodation for homeless households through an offer of a minimum 12 month fixed term private sector tenancy without the applicant’s agreement. The Council needs to work with private landlords to encourage more 12 month tenancies to be created.
Tenure Reform A new duty is placed on the Local Housing Authority to publish a Tenancy Strategy setting out, in high level terms, the matters to which all Registered Providers (Housing Associations) should have considered when preparing their own tenancy policies, including:- - the kind of tenancies they grant - the circumstances in which they will grant a particular tenancy - where they grant tenancies for a certain term, the lengths of the term(s) - the circumstances/grounds in which they will grant a further tenancy at the end of an existing tenancy
The Local Housing Authority must publish its Tenancy Strategy within 12 months of the enactment of this section of the localism Bill. Before adopting or modifying its Tenancy Strategy, the Local Housing Authority must consult with Registered Providers (Housing Associations) and other people prescribed by the Secretary of State. Once adopted, private Registered Providers must adhere to the Tenancy Strategy. The Secretary of State may direct the Social Housing Regulator to set a standard on tenure (as an element of the TSA Regulatory Framework). The Local Housing Authority must also have regard to its current Allocations Scheme and its Tenancy Strategy when formulating its Homelessness Strategy. Implications : This is a new requirement for the Council to prepare a Tenancy Strategy. There is currently no Standard of tenure included in the Regulatory Framework under which the Housing Department is currently preparing its Local Offer for tenants. The Homelessness Strategy is being revised in response to issues raised by the Audit Commission Inspection of Strategic Housing Services in 2009 and will need to be revised to reflect the Tenancy Strategy once this is in
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place. An amendment to this proposal has been put forward by the LGA to remove the sections relating to the Tenancy Strategy but it is not clear whether the amendment will be agreed.
Flexible Tenancies Local Housing Authorities and other Registered Providers (Housing Associations) will be able to offer flexible tenancies to new social housing tenants. A flexible tenancy is a secure tenancy of a fixed term of not less than 2 years. The Localism Bill sets out circumstances in which a new tenancy will be a flexible tenancy, and provides for the process by which a Local Authority Landlord may offer and terminate a flexible tenancy, a tenant’s right to terminate a tenancy or request a review of a Landlord’s decision to offer or terminate (the fixed term) tenancy. The Secretary of State may set down regulations about the procedure to be followed in connection with the review process. It also covers circumstances where, when an Introductory Tenancy comes to an end, it becomes a Flexible Tenancy. Implications : The Council will need to decide if it wishes to introduce Flexible Tenancies for some categories of applicants for housing and, if it does, how it will address the housing situation for these households at the end of the flexible tenancy period.
Other Provisions Relating to Tenancies of Social Housing Subject to certain conditions, existing secure and assured tenants will be able to retain a similar level of security (of tenure) when exchanging their home with another social (housing) tenant who has less secure tenancy (i.e. a flexible tenancy or an assured shorthold tenancy). The Bill proposes to remove the current right of children and close family members, other than spouses and partners, to succeed to a secure tenancy. It allows discretion for landlords to grant succession rights in addition to the statutory limit of one succession to a spouse or partner. Secure Tenancies which commenced before these clauses come into force are not affected by these changes. Implications : Any form of tenancy granted after the enactment of this element will only allow for succession of the tenancy to a spouse or partner and not close relatives, as with existing secure tenants. The Council will have to decide if it wants to offer additional succession rights to spouses and partners beyond one right to succession.
Housing Mobility The Regulator of Social Housing will have the power to set a Standard for Social Landlords to assist tenants with a mutual exchange. In essence, this would require landlords to participate in web-based mutual exchange services that enable tenants to see a wide range of available properties across all Social Landlords in England. Implications : The Council may need to invest in technology to ensure the proposed national web-based mutual exchange services can be implemented. Further information is awaited from Central Government before further work can be undertaken.
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Regulation Of Social Housing The Tenants Services Authority (TSA), the current Regulator of Social Housing, is to be abolished and the functions of the Regulator transfer to the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) through creation of a Regulation Committee. A change of role, which includes provision to ensure that the Regulator may only use its monitoring and enforcement powers if it has reasonable grounds to believe there has been serious failure affecting tenants or there is a risk there will be a failure without the intervention of the Regulator, is also included. Implications : This will limit the power of the HCA as the new regulator to impose central regulation and direction on social landlords.
Housing Ombudsman A unified service for investigating complaints about the provision of social housing will be created. Under existing arrangements, tenants of local Authorities make their complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman and tenants of Housing Associations make complaints to the Independent Housing Ombudsman. The Independent Housing Ombudsman’s remit will be extended to cover complaints about housing involving Local Authorities. The way tenants can make complaints about their social landlord to the Housing Ombudsman will change. A complaint to the Housing Ombudsman will be made in writing and by a referral from an MP, a Councillor, or a designated Tenant Panel recognised by a social landlord for the purpose of referring complaints. The Secretary of State has the power to authorise the Housing Ombudsman to apply to a Court or Tribunal for a determination against a social landlord to be made enforceable. Implications : The Council will need to review its complaints procedure in relation to complaints about housing services to include arrangements for elected Members or MPs to refer complaints to the Housing Ombudsman, and decide whether it wants to establish a designated Tenants Panel to consider and/or refer complaints to the Housing Ombudsman.
Affordable Rented Housing
The next two years will see unprecedented changes to the funding of social housing. From large scale reductions to housing benefit to big increases in rents, the coalition government has made significant alterations to the way the sector is financed. Last autumn’s comprehensive spending review saw a reduction in budget for the Homes and Community Agency (HCA). The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) saw the HCA’s budget fall from £8.4 billion in 2008/11 to £4.5 billion in 2011/15. For 2011 to 2015 there is £2.2 billion to part-fund the development of up to 150,000 affordable homes for rent and low-cost ownership, plus £2.3 billion to pay for existing commitments. The government has announced that the cash will be supplemented by extra rental income raised by Housing Association landlords being allowed to charge up to 80 per cent of the market rate for new lets of affordable housing. The decent homes programme will receive £2 billion, with a further £410 million for mortgage rescue,
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empty homes, homelessness and traveller pitch funding. Developing landlords must sign a four-year contract with the HCA to get involved. Funding for social housing – homes rented for less than 80 per cent of market rents – will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. The HCA will award the ‘minimum necessary’ grant to make developments viable. The rules also prevent landlords from spending money raised through rent rises in expensive areas on developments in other, cheaper places. In addition to announcements on grant levels details have also been released of the new ‘affordable rent’ regime. This allows social landlords to charge up to 80 per cent of the market rate on new tenancies from April this year. Housing Associations will now be able to move away from offering the current tenancies for life in favour of ‘flexible tenancies’ lasting at least two years. HCA funding for many new homes will assume 80 per cent rents will be charged and landlords will be able to convert some existing homes to the new rent levels when a new tenant moves in. This may result in some applicants being unable to consider tenancies in new affordable homes, and there may be a limited appetite for households on the Council’s housing register to bid for the new ‘affordable rent’ properties under the Choice Based Lettings scheme. Turnover rates may also drop once tenants realise they are not guaranteed a secure or assured tenancy if they move home. The Council’s preferred partners have all indicated their intention to bid for funding under the new financial regime. However, there is sector wide concern that the hazards of charging the ‘affordable rent’ (higher then social rents so bringing in extra income) may outweigh the benefits. The new rent regime will push Housing Associations to take on risk to an extent they never have before. Instead of development programmes sustained by large allocations of grant, landlords will be expected to use extra income from rents charged at up to 80 per cent of market rent to take on more risk and debt. The Council may wish to support the provision of social rent through the application of its own resources, for example by the provision of free land or from our own funding sources. The HCA will consider such cases where this results in the level of HCA funding requested offering similar value for money to that achieved for Affordable Rent offers. Implications : The Council will need to work closely with its Housing Association partners to manage the affordable housing programme. The Housing & Planning Working Party have already considered some aspects of the Affordable Housing Programme and identified that they would wish to receive further reports on this issue. Scrutiny of Housing Services The previous Government established the Tenants Services Authority (TSA) to be the regulator for all social housing landlords. The TSA Regulatory Framework, which sets down standards for all social housing landlords to adhere to across a range of elements, was implemented from 1 st April 2010. However, the coalition Government has decided to disband the TSA but its Regulatory Framework will remain in place. It will be “enforced” by the Homes & Communities Agency, but only on a basis of intervention if a major problem/failing is identified.
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To enforce the Regulatory Framework, and particularly the Tenant Local Offer and Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard, greater involvement of tenants in scrutinising the landlord’s performance is being exposed, particularly by Central Government. A number of Local Housing Authorities have established Tenant Scrutiny Panels to scrutinise housing services in this way. Some discussion took place at the Overview Select Committee and Cabinet meetings when considering the Local Offer proposals in February and March 2011. There is no prescription or statutory direction as to how Tenant Scrutiny should be developed or implemented, but much can be learnt from what other organisations have achieved. Implications : The Council should consider how it could introduce Tenant Scrutiny of Housing Services, including Best Practice established elsewhere, with a view to Tenant Cashback Scheme The Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, launched the tenants Cashback Scheme in April 2011. Tenant Cashback will allow residents to take more control of the repairs budgets for their homes by, for example, carrying out their own (minor) repairs or commission a local contractor to carry out the work and keep any savings made. There is £4 billion spent nationally each year on repair and maintenance work and the Cashback Scheme could see a boost for small local contractors who could undertake more of this work for tenants. The Cashback Scheme could be worth £1000 p.a. to tenants, the average spent per property by social landlords for repairs. The Government wants all social housing landlords to offer their tenants the chance to manage more of their repairs budgets and will consult on bringing forward changes to regulations to give all tenants the option to request it from their landlord. 3 Housing Associations are piloting the Cashback Scheme and will report on outcomes in 2012. Implications : The Council could investigate the implications of introducing a Cashback Scheme for its tenants and finalise its own scheme following the reports for the 3 Housing Association Pilot Projects. However, little detail is available as to how it might be implemented and operated. It is suggested that further work is deferred until more information is available.
2. PROPOSAL(S): To invite the Housing & Planning Working Party to undertake a review of the implications of Social Housing Reforms, covering T enancy Strategy, Flexible Tenancies, Succession Rights for Secure Tenants, establishment of a Tenants Panel for referring complaints to the Housing Ombudsman, and Tenant Scrutiny of Housing performance, and to report back to Cabinet with recommendations. 3. OPTIONS: 1. That the Housing & Planning Working Party be asked to undertake a r eview of the following Social Housing Reforms:- Tenancy Strategy, Flexible Tenancies, Succession Rights for Secure Tenants, establishment of a Tenants Panel for referring complaints to the Housing Ombudsman, and Tenant Scrutiny of Housing performance, and make recommendations to Cabinet on the action to be taken – as per recommendation. 2. Officers prepare Reports for Cabinet on these Social Housing Reforms
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following appropriate research and analysis. 3. No further action is taken until the Localism Bill becomes law. 4. CONSULTATION:
Has consultation been undertaken with: YES NO Relevant Town/Parish Council Relevant District Ward Councillors Other groups/persons (please specify) 5. ARE THERE ANY IMPLICATIONS IN RELATION TO YES NO THE FOLLOWING COUNCIL POLICIES: (Explain in more detail at 6 below) Financial Legal Human Rights/Equality Impact Assessment
Community Safety including Section 17 of Crime & Disorder Act Sustainability Asset Management/Property/Land Technology Other (please explain) 6. IMPLICATIONS: There may be financial implications in relation to the Tenant Cashback Scheme by which money may be paid annually to some tenants to carry out their own (minor) repairs. Tenants undertaking their own (minor) repairs may impact on the sustainability of the housing stock and have an impact on Contractors carrying out repair and maintenance works to Council homes. The Localism Bill needs to be enacted to give legal status to many of the Social housing Reforms.
7. REASON FOR THE DECISION: 1. To allow for further investigation and analysis of the implications of the Social Housing Reforms on the Council 2. To enable Best Practice and other available guidance to be considered in deciding how or whether to introduce some or all of the Social Housing reforms.
8. BACKGROUND PAPERS: None
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AGENDA ITEM NO.
ARUN DISTRICT COUNCIL
REPORT TO AND DECISION OF CABINET ON 31 ST MAY 2011
PART A : REPORT SUBJECT: Review of Housing Allocations Scheme
REPORT AUTHOR: Corinne Waterfield DATE: 31 May 2011 EXTN: 37740
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This report summarises the responses to the consultation on the draft review of the housing allocations policy and recommends preparation for the implementation of the new policy to start in July 2011 with a launch date of January 2012.
RECOMMENDATIONS That the Housing Allocations Scheme be approved for implementation on 1st January 2012, with the exception of Banding changes at A14, B12 and C11 which it is recommended be implemented from 1 st July 2011.
1. BACKGROUND:
1.1 The Council adopted the current allocations policy in September 2007 when it introduced the Choice Based Lettings scheme (CBL) ‘Sussex Homemove’. At the time that this scheme of allocation was adopted it was agreed that the scheme would be reviewed after two years in operation. This review has been delayed as the new Code of Guidance was anticipated.
1.2 In December 2009 the previous Government issued a new statutory Code of Guidance ‘Fair and Flexible: statutory guidance on social housing allocations for local authorities in England’. The stated aim of this new guidance was to ‘set out more clearly the freedoms and flexibilities that local authorities should use when developing allocations policies in their area’. It did also, however, reaffirm the requirement to give ‘reasonable preference’ to certain groups of households.
1.3 The guidance encourages Local Authorities to review their existing policies as soon as possible and to revise them, where appropriate, in the light of it.
1.4 At their meeting on 28 th July 2010 the Housing and Planning Working Party agreed to the review of the Housing Allocations Scheme. A small working group of Members from the Working Party was formed to carry out this work, and have now concluded their work.
1.4 The Coalition Government was formed during the period of this review. The new
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Government are now proposing further new legislation regarding the allocation of social housing which is contained within the Localism Bill.
1.5 The Allocations Scheme proposed with this Report reflects changes that can be made within the current legislative framework. They cannot take into account all of the changes that are proposed within the Localism Bill, and a further review may be required once the implementation arrangements for any proposed changes are known.
1.6 The revised Housing Allocations Scheme has previously been considered by the Housing and Planning Working Party (25 th January 2011, 15 March 2011), the Overview Select Committee (15 February 2011) and Cabinet (3 March 2011) in draft form. Comments from these meetings have been incorporated into the final draft.
1.7 It is recommended that those parts of the new Allocations Scheme which enable encourage households to work with the Housing Options service to identify solutions to their homelessness (Bands A14, B12 and C11) be implemented by 1 st July 2011. It is anticipated that this will have a positive impact on Bed and Breakfast expenditure.
2. Proposals: 2.1 The detailed revised Housing Allocations Scheme is included as Appendix A to this report. 2.2 The Policy has been altered to reflect the outcome of the consultation. The main changes in emphasis are:- • to reflect local priorities – the criteria for identifying applicants as ‘local’ has been strengthened with greater emphasis placed on meeting the housing needs of those with a local connection. (paragraph 10.10) • To reflect rural housing need – a policy position giving greater priority to applicants with a connection to one of the rural parishes in the area that they wish to live has been introduced. (paragraph 10.13) • To incentivise good behaviour and penalise bad behaviour – the policy position regarding anti-social behaviour has been clarified and strengthened and additional priority awarded to those who have conducted their tenancy satisfactorily , worked with Housing Options to improve prevent homelessness or those who are making an economic contribution to the community. (paragraph 8.3,8.4 and 10.10 and banding criteria) • To promote mobility for existing tenants – a quota of 25% of all vacancies of affordable homes has been set. (paragraph 10.13) 2.3 The new proposals also include some changes to the detail of the banding criteria which reflect the local support for rewarding applicants who have waited a long time in housing need. Where necessary we have also fur ther clarified existing working practices. 2.4 It is proposed that Registered Providers (Housing Associations) will be asked to sign up to the new allocations scheme. The scheme includes details of those who have indicated that they are willing to do so, and this will be added to as discussions take
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place.
3. IMPLEMENTATION 3.1 The implementation of these changes will require significant staff input. It will be necessary for staff to review each housing application and assess it ag ainst the new criteria. There are currently over 4000 households on the housing register, and there are 4 staff that are able to carry out the review exercise. This will have a significant impact on day to day work. 3.2 A Lean Review is currently being carried out within the Housing Allocations team to streamline processes. This should realise some capacity to reassess applications. It is also anticipated that workflow and document imaging will be introduced as part of the EDRMS system in the Autumn which should also further streamline processes. 3.3 In view of this additional workload it will not be possible to complete reassessing all the existing housing register applications until the end of 2011. It is therefore recommended that the new Housing Allocations Scheme be approved for adoption from 1 st January 2012. 3. OPTIONS: 3.1 To continue with the existing Housing Allocations P olicy. However, there are areas where the policy requires further clarification and the current policy is very generous to applicants who do not have a local connection with Arun. It also acts as an incentive to households choosing to pursue the homelessness route, which leads to expensive B&B provision. 3.2 To defer final approval of the Housing Allocations Scheme until the Localism Bill has been enacted. However there are a large number of social housing properties currently in construction. If the new policy reflecting local priorities is not adopted before these properties are completed, they will be allocated under the old policy which does not reflect the priorities that have now been identified. 4. CONSULTATION: 4.1 In November 2010 members of the WPSG group approved a questionnaire to be sent to stakeholders including all current housing applicants, council tenants, town and parish councils and partner agencies. All Arun Members also received a copy of the questionnaire for information. 1178 questionnaires were returned indicating the importance placed by local residents on the issue of housing allocations. A report is attached as Appendix B detailing the consultation methodology, profile of those returning a questionnaire and analysis of all the questionnaires received.
4.2 The questionnaire was also placed on the website to enable responses from interested parties.
4.3 The questionnaire was tailored to gauge stakeholders’ views on issues which officers and members considered might be of particular interest and in turn would assist in shaping new local priorities whilst still giving ‘reasonable preference’ to those in greatest housing need.
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4.4 Four focus groups were also held during March 2011 with volunteers that had identified themselves through the original questionnaire. This enabled issues to be explored in more detail. There was broad agreement that the proposals were a positive step, although concern was expressed that long term housing need was recognised as well as short term critical housing need. 4.5 Registered Providers (Housing Associations) have a particular interest in the Housing Allocations Scheme, as approximately 48% (3,200) of all affordable homes in the Arun District are owned and managed by RSLs. A meeting took place with RSL partners on 10 th December 2010 and their views have been reflected. Subsequently the latest draft has been circulated by e-mail and further representations have been considered. 4.6 Presentations and discussions have also been held with a range of stakeholders including the Homelessness Forum and the local Board of a large Housing Association.
Has consultation been undertaken with: YES NO Relevant Town/Parish Council Relevant District Ward Councillors Other groups/persons (please specify) Stakeholders such please see as Tenants, Applicants on the Housing Register and above statutory and voluntary agencies. 5. ARE THERE ANY IMPLICATIONS IN RELATION TO YES NO THE FOLLOWING COUNCIL POLICIES: (Explain in more detail at 6 below) Financial Legal Human Rights/Equality
Community Safety including Section 17 of Crime & Disorder Act Sustainability Asset Management/Property/Land Technology Other (please explain) 6. IMPLICATIONS: Financial – the implementation of this new scheme relies on efficiencies being produced through the Lean Review and the implementation of new IT systems. However, the number of applications to the housing register continues to increase and the extent of this is not currently known. Progress will be monitored, but it may be necessary for a request for additional resources to be identified. Legal – Counsel opinion has been sought to ensure that the Housing Allocations Scheme will stand up to challenge. This will be received 9/5/11
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Equalities – Please see detailed EIA at Appendix C Community Safety – The scheme excludes some perpetrators of Anti Social Behaviour and therefore is designed to act as a further deterrent to encourage applicants to conduct their tenancies well. Sustainablility – One of the stated objectives of the scheme is to promote sustainable communities by providing a mechanism for the allocation of social housing which allows applicants to express choice in selecting their accommodation wherever possible.
7. REASON FOR THE DECISION: The review of the Housing Allocations Scheme has been subject to considerable consultation and examination with a range of local stakeholders. The draft Housing Allocations Policy has been examined by a Barrister and adjustments made to reflect legal opinion on its contents. All applicants on the Housing Register will need to be reprioritised and advi sed of any changes to their priority.
8. BACKGROUND PAPERS: Previous Council reports – details to follow.
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Arun District Council – Allocations Scheme
1.0 Introduction
1.1 The Allocations Scheme sets out the priorities and procedures for the allocation of affordable (social) housing in the Arun District. Approximately 9% of all homes in Arun are affordable homes comprising 3,416 Council homes owned and managed by the Council and 3,386 homes owned by Registered Provider Landlords (RPs) as at 1 April 2010. The scheme applies equally to applicants applying to join the housing register for the first time (referred to as ‘home seekers’) and existing Council or RP tenants wanting to move (referred to as transfers). The provision of an Allocations Scheme is a legal requirement; Section 167 of the Housing Act 1996 refers.
1.2 The scheme has been developed in the context of the emerging 2011 Localism Bill which is expected to give local authorities greater authority to determine whether people do or do not qualify for social housing within their areas and the priority they should be given.
1.3 This scheme will come into force with effect from 1st January 2012, with the exception of the changes to priority bands at A14, B12 and C11 which will be introduced from 6th June 2011.
1.4 The Council is committed to offering an element of choice to all those seeking housing, enabling people to make well-informed decisions about their housing options referred to as ‘Choice Based Lettings’. Choice based letting will help to improve the sustainability of the affordable housing stock across Arun by encouraging residents to have a stake in their community.
1.5 The Council has joined with other local authority partners in Sussex to operate a choice based letting scheme called ‘Homemove’. Homeseekers and transfer applicants are placed in one of four bands of housing need according to their circumstances. Vacancies are advertised on the internet and applicants are able to bid for a property, in some circumstances residents may also receive a personal free information sheet Housing need, local priorities, local connection and how long an applicant has waited are considered when a home is allocated, Section10 Refers.
1.6 To meet the needs of existing affordable housing tenants and to improve the sustainability of communities and make the best use of the existing affordable housing stock, a proportion (25%) of vacancies of both new and existing homes will be offered to current tenants first providing their landlord is participating in the transfer scheme. Details of those RPs that are participating in the transfer scheme is published on the web site.
1.7 The Allocation Scheme has been agreed with the following RP partners who own and/or manage affordable homes in the Arun District as detailed below,
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those RPs also participating in the transfer scheme (TS), 1.5 above refers are also indicated.
Hyde Martlet (TS) A2 Dominion Viridian Worthing Homes (TS) Southern Housing Group (TS)
2.0 Equalities and Diversity
2.1 A fair and equitable community is a key objective of the Council’s Sustainable Community Strategy ‘Our Kind of Place’. The Allocations Scheme aims to ensure that the allocation of affordable homes and associated services is fair and that no service users are discriminated against on the grounds of their age, disability, race, colour, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, family status, transgender or transexuality.
2.2 Access to the scheme may be more difficult for people with a disability, sight or hearing impairment and for those who do not speak English as a first language. The Council is committed to helping all those who need assistance to access the scheme particularly by working closely with other agencies and supported housing providers. Section 7 also refers.
2.3 The scheme has been subject to an Equalities Impact Assessment. This is available on request and contains an action plan to ensure that the impact of the allocations policy is monitored and reported regularly.
3.0 Principles
3.1 The Allocations Scheme is based on the following key principles
1) To allocate housing fairly, consistently and carefully and to ensure that allocations decisions are transparent.
2) To provide clear and easy to understand information to allow applicants to make informed choices.
3) To enable applicants to express choice in selecting their accommodation wherever possible.
4) To provide appropriate advice to applicants whom the Council is unable to house, including accurate and timely referrals to other agencies.
5) To provide a high quality service with clear standards, provided by courteous and efficient staff ensuring that staff have the right to do their jobs without fear of personal injury, abuse or discrimination.
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6) To ensure we are clear about how we deal with most housing circumstances so that we rarely need to make decisions on individual cases.
7) To meet the requirements of Part Vl Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002) giving reasonable preference to those applicants in greatest need. The Council is required to give reasonable preference to the following categories of person:
• Those who are homeless or threatened with homelessness or to whom a duty has been accepted (within the meaning of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002).
• Those in unsanitary or overcrowded housing or otherwise living in unsatisfactory conditions.
• Those who need to move on medical or welfare grounds, including a disability.
• Those who need to be in a particular locality in the district ,where failure to meet that need would cause hardship to themselves or others.
Applicants may fall into one or more of these categories
8) To have regard to the Codes of Guidance issued by the Government from time to time and best practice.
9) To take account of the Council’s own published Housing and Homelessness Strategies and local priorities.
10) To create sustainable communities having regard for local circumstances.
11) To reduce the cost and use of temporary accommodation by providing advice and assistance to prevent homelessness and by making sure that homeless people and people threatened with homelessness are rehoused as soon as possible.
12) To make the best use of the affordable housing in the district ensuring that vacant homes are let quickly and efficiently.
13)The Allocations Scheme will be reviewed from time to time to reflect any changes in the law or Government Guidance and ensure continued improvement.
4.0 Consultation
4.1 The Council recognises the importance of involving, consulting and raising awareness with local communities about housing allocations to reach agreement about an allocation scheme that balances housing needs from both
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national and local perspectives. Engaging with stakeholders before the current scheme was agreed was therefore a priority. An overview of the consultation process is attached as Appendix 1.
5.0 Service Standards
5.1 The Council will publish service standards for the allocations scheme and will also include them with the housing service standards agreed for and with its own tenants, Appendix 2 refers. The Council will review and publicise its performance against these standards annually.
6.0 Information
6.1 The Council will provide a free summary of the Allocations Scheme known as the Scheme Users Guide to any member of the public who asks for one. The guide is also issued to all applicants upon registration. The Council will provide a full copy of the Allocations Scheme on its website and a copy can also be inspected at the Council offices. The Council will provide a full copy of the Allocations Scheme (at a reasonable cost) to any member of the public who asks for one.
6.2 Vacancies are advertised on the Sussex Homemove website, www.homemove.org.uk (11.1 refers). Details of all recently let properties are also included showing the number of bidders for each property and the Band and priority date of the successful applicant. Applicants who are in Band A or Band B and unable to access the internet will also receive a personal free information sheet. Other Band C applicants may be included in this scheme if there are special circulstances. Applicants who do not fall within these categories are able to subscribe to receive a freesheet at a moderate cost (£10 for 6 months in May 2011) by writing to:- Homemove, PO Box 340, Ruislip, HA4 4AR.
7.0 Personal Information
7.1 Applicants have the right to see the information held about them and receive a copy of the information held on computer, or on paper file. This is a ‘subject access request’ for which the Council charges a reasonable administration fee.
7.2 Personal information will be handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act and will be subject to appropriate confidentiality.
7.3 By returning an application form to join the Housing Register an applicant consents to the processing of sensitive personal data about themselves. Where an applicant’s household includes non dependent children and adults, their consent will also be obtained. The Council may disclose information contained in an application and about associated ‘bidding’ activity and
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rehousing prospects to agents and/or service providers and may also share this information with other relevant Council services as the law permits.
8. 0 Housing Register
8.1 Who can apply?
The Council will consider all applications for affordable housing from both home seekers and transfer applicants in accordance with this Allocations Scheme. The Housing Register is open to anyone who is 16 years of age or over (subject to the exclusions provisions see 8.3 below) although applicants under the age of 18 will only be offered accommodation in certain circumstances, see 8.8 below.
8.2 Joint Applications
8.2.1 Applications from partners who are cohabiting may be registered as joint applications giving both parties joint and several rights and responsibilities for any future tenancy. Partners include same sex couples.
8.2.2 In some cases one partner may be ineligible due to their immigration status; in this case the other partner will be registered as the sole applicant.
8.2.3 Joint applicants will not be accepted where either applicant, if they were to apply singularly to join the housing register, would either be excluded or deferred from the register on the grounds of previous unacceptable behaviour, rent arrears or housing debt (8.3 below refers)
8.2.4 Dependents, family members or other adults who are not partners of the applicant (such as residential carers) cannot usually be joint applicants.
8.2.5 If joint applicants wish to change to sole applications (for example due to relationship breakdown) but wish to remain registered, the application will continue in the name of a partner with residency and parenting responsibilities for children of the household. The remaining applicant may make a new application in their own name, with a new application date. Couples with no dependents may mutually agree to have an application transferred to the sole name of one of the partners. The remaining applicant may make a new application in their own name, with a new application date. However, if no agreement can be reached the original application will be cancelled and each applicant will need make a new application with a new application date. In the event of the Council being unable to contact one of the joint applicants, after a period of 3 months the application may be transferred into the sole name of the other applicant at that applicant’s request.
8.2.6 Review and Appeals – Joint Tenancies
If an applicant disagrees with the decision to change their joint application to a sole application they can request a review. If the applicant is dissatisfied with
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the review decision they have a final right of appeal to the Housing Appeals Panel, Appendix 3 refers
8.3 Exclusions or deferments from the register
8.3.1 The following persons are not eligible for entry on the Housing Register for the allocation of affordable housing;
1. Persons from abroad
By virtue of the Housing Act 1996 (section 160a), the Council cannot allocate housing to a person who is subject to immigration control within the meaning of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 unless that person falls within an exemption specified by the Secretary of State.
2. Persons guilty of unacceptable behaviour
The Council will exclude an applicant from the register where the applicant, or a member of the households, has been guilty of unacceptable behaviour, which if the applicant was a secure tenant of the council would entitle the Council to a possession order (Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1985). The Council will however not exclude an applicant on the grounds of unacceptable behaviour where the events occurred 10 or more years previously.
Unacceptable behaviour can include:-
• Serious breach of tenancy conditions including serious nuisance or annoyance to neighbours • Conviction of using the accommodation or allowing its use for immoral or illegal purposes • Allowing the property to be seriously damaged by the tenant or other residents • Conviction of an arrestable offence committed in the locality relating to violence or threats of violence • Conviction of an arrestable offence relating to violence or threats of violence against Council staff • Eviction from social housing for nuisance or harassment (racial or otherwise) where this behaviour is apparent at the time of application
8.4 Rent Arrears and Housing related debt
8.4.1 Existing tenants of the Council or registered providers of affordable housing, with rent arrears or housing related debt (e.g. rechargeable repairs, court costs or deposit bonds) will not normally be eligible to join the active housing register until the debt is cleared. Depending on the amount of outstanding debt, applications will either be refused or deferred as detailed below:-
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1. Refused Applications
Applicants with rent arrears or housing related debts including rent bonds or deposits in excess of £1,000 relating to previous affordable housing tenancies will not normally be accepted on the register. In exceptional circumstances and with the agreement of the Housing Services Manager, an application may be registered and deferred providing a firm and sustained commitment to repay the debt is in place.
2. Deferred Applications
Applicants with rent arrears or housing related debts including rent bonds or deposits totalling less than £1,000, who have made a firm commitment to repay the debt and are making sustained payments will be accepted onto the register but their application will be deferred until the debt is cleared in full. Once the debt is cleared the application will be activated and back dated to the original date of application. In exceptional circumstances and with the agreement of the Housing Services Manager, an application may be activated provided a firm and sustained commitment to repay the debt is in place.
8.4.2 If the applicant is a former tenant of a housing association and their former landlord is dissatisfied that repayments of a former debt are not being made, the application may be excluded from the register and no further application accepted until the debt is cleared. The Council will consider both the circumstances relating to any former debt and the urgency of the applicant’s request to join the housing register in reaching a decision.
8.4.3 If the applicant is a tenant of the Council or a Housing Association and the tenants current home requires repairs, cleaning, decorating and other general maintenance which, in accordance with the tenancy agreement are the tenants responsibility they will be deferred. An application will be activated when the tenant has completed the necessary work. Exceptions may be made for vulnerable applicants, older residents and where an applicant is downsizing, moving from a house to a flat.
8.5 Notification-Exclusions, Deferments
If the Council decides that an applicant should be excluded from the register or deferred as explained above, the Council will notify the applicant in writing setting out the reasons for the decision, the time period for the exclusion and their right to request a review of the decision. Such a notice, if not received by the applicant, is treated as having been given if it is available at the Council’s office for a reasonable period for collection either by the applicant or on the applicant’s behalf.
8.6 Review and Appeals – Exclusions and Deferments
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If an applicant disagrees with the decision to exclude or defer their application they can request a review. If the applicant is dissatisfied with the review decision they have a final right of appeal to the Housing Appeals Panel, Appendix 3 refers.
8.7 Applications from previously ineligible applicants
A fresh application will be considered if;-
• The applicants immigration status has changed, or • The applicant can demonstrate that the behaviour has improved for a sustained period. • The applicant has cleared rent arrears or housing debt or is sustaining regular payments (8.4 refers) • There are new and exceptional circumstances to support accepting an application
8.8 Applications from Under 18s
8.8.1 Anyone over the age of 16 can join the housing register, although we will not usually offer them accommodation until they are over 18. In the event that there is an urgent housing need, a further assessment will be carried out and we will work with the individual to find the most suitable accommodation which will only be made if we are satisfied that the young person is able to live independently, able to sustain a tenancy, and has an identified package of support available to them.
8.8.2 A person under the age of 18 however does not have the legal capacity to hold a tenancy. Therefore the Council or a RP partner will normally expect that any tenancy granted to a person who is under 18 will be held by Trustees until that person attains the age of 18.
8.8.3 If there is a joint application from a household which includes children and one or both of the applicants is under 18, a licence will be given until the youngest applicant reaches 18. The Council or RP will not unreasonably withhold granting a new joint tenancy to both parties when the youngest applicant reaches the age of 18.
8.9 Owner occupiers and people with savings/capital / sufficient income.
8.9.1 Those with a substantial amount of savings, substantial equity in a property or income that would enable them to obtain accommodation suitable to meet their needs will be given the lowest priority on the housing register and will be provided with advice and guidance on other options. Decisions will be made on a case by case basis and medical, disability, community care and other relevant needs will be taken into account.
8.9.2 Where there are medical problems, applications will be considered for a higher banding in the following circumstances:
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• Where it is not possible to adapt the current accommodation to meet the needs of the owner occupier’s medical condition • Where it is too expensive to adapt the existing accommodation to meet the needs of the owner occupier’s medical condition and they cannot afford to buy or rent suitable alternative housing • The sale of the property would not allow the owner occupier to purchase or rent an alternative property suitable to their needs • Where there is low demand for a particular type of property e.g. some Sheltered Housing Schemes
8.10 Intentionally altering circumstances
Applicants have a responsibility not to intentionally worsen their circumstances to achieve or progress to a higher band. They have the responsibility to make best use of the financial resources of their household and the accommodation they have and will be assessed as if this is the case. Should an applicant have the means to secure more suitable accommodation or give up more suitable accommodation, or where a deliberate act results in the worsening of overcrowding, without good reason, the Council may assess the application based on the applicants need in their previous accommodation, prior to the ‘intentional ‘act or on the basis that the applicant has the means to resolve or at least improve their housing circumstances. The Council will reasonably consider, on a case by case basis, the joint income and resources of an applicant and their household against the availability and affordability of suitable housing.
8.11 False Information
If an applicant intentionally provides false information or withholds information when applying to the Council for housing, we will consider taking legal action (this could include a fine of up to £5000). Under section 171 of the Housing Act 1996 it is an offence to:
• Intentionally provide false information or • Intentionally withhold information that should have been given to the Council
If the applicant has already been granted a tenancy the Council may take action to recover the property.
9.0 Registration and Assessment of Need
9.1 How to apply
All applicants requesting re-housing must complete an application form to join the housing register. Application forms are available from the Council offices or can be requested by telephone, letter or E mail. Applicants are encouraged
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to apply on line at:- https://www1.arun.gov.uk/ihousing/HousingApplication/appstart.asp Help will be provided where requested to complete an application form.
9.2 Validation and Information
Applicants will be assessed based on the information provided on the application form, whether it has been validated or not. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the form has been completed accurately and any incorrect information could mean that the priority given is altered at any stage of the process. No allocations will be made until the applicant has provided all verification requested. If this is not provided when required it may result in the applicant losing a potential offer of accommodation.
9.3 Medical Information
A self assessment medical form is available for completion if an applicant feels that their current accommodation is affecting their health or the health of a member of their family and the applicant feels that this should be taken into account when assessing the household’s priority for housing.
9.4 On the receipt of an application and any self assessment medical form, the Council may require specialist advice to determine the applicant’s housing need. Specialist advice may include referral to a medical adviser, social services or other individuals or agencies as appropriate.
9.5 If the Council considers that further medical information is required from a medical adviser a request will be made for that applicant to obtain a formal medical letter or report directly from the medical specialist concerned. The Council is not able to directly contact an applicant’s doctor, consultant or specialist, nor is the Council able to pay for such an assessment to be made. The Council may seek its own specialist advice when considering medical information as part of an application and may also seek the advice of the Occupational Therapy service concerning applications where either the applicant or a member of the applicant’s household has mobility needs.
Once all the medical advice has been received and taken into account, the Council will consider what medical priority should be awarded.
9.6 Home Visits
To assess applicants current housing circumstances it may be necessary to visit an applicant at home.
9.7 Assessment of Need
Once all the relevant information is received and checked for eligibility, an application will be registered and placed in the appropriate priority band. In addition, a local priority weighting may be granted and priority given for an established local connection with the Arun District, section 10 refers. The
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applicant will receive written confirmation of their registration date, priority status and reason for it, the bed size they can bid for and mobility group if appropriate. If an applicant disagrees with the assessment of need or local connection or priority assessment the applicant can request a review. If the applicant is dissatisfied with the review decision they have a final right of appeal to the Housing Appeals Panel, Appendix 3 refers.
9.8 Registration Date
The registration date is the date the application is received, or in the case of homeless applicants the date that the Council accepts a duty to rehouse if this is earlier.
9.9 Change of circumstances
All applicants are required to inform the Council immediately when their housing circumstances change. A change in circumstances may mean an application is moved up or down a band, or local connection or local priority is altered. If any change results in a band change the Council will write to inform the applicant of the new band, their new priority date if applicable and their right to request a review of the decision, see 9.7 above.
9.10 If an applicant is moved into a higher band then the priority date will be the date they were accepted into the higher band. If an applicant is moved to a lower band then their priority date will be their original acceptance date. If an applicant disagrees with the assessment of need the applicant can request a review. If the applicant is dissatisfied with the review decision they have a final right of appeal to the Housing Appeals Panel, Appendix 3 refers.
9.11 Adding Adults to an Application
Additional adults will not be added to an application where this results in the need for larger accommodation than the applicant’s household was originally eligible, unless an overriding need such as ill health or disability can be shown, for example, where an applicant needs to look after an elderly parent or where a new partner requires a separate bedroom. Simply wishing to be part of the household is not sufficient reason for inclusion on the application.
Adults requiring an extra bedroom will only be added to an application if they have a demonstrable need to live with the applicant and if they plan to make their sole home with the applicant on a permanent basis.
Applicants who require an additional bedroom to enable full time (24 hour) care may include this on their application. Proof of this requirement will be sought.
9.12 Renewing Applications
The Council may write to an applicant on or after the anniversary of their application to establish whether an applicant wishes to remain on the housing
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register. If no response is received within 4 weeks a final letter will be sent advising the applicant that the application will be cancelled in one week if they fail to make contact. Where possible the Council will make additional contact with applicants who have a high a level of need.
9.13 Removing or Deferring an application from the Housing Register
An application will normally be removed from the Register in the following circumstances:
• An applicant does not respond to correspondence • An applicant asks the Council to cancel their application • An applicant accepts the tenancy of a property provided by the Council or another social housing landlord • An applicant accepts the offer of home purchase by shared ownership • An applicant no longer qualifies for the Register • An applicant successfully moves under the mutual exchange scheme • An applicant is no longer eligible to be on the housing register
An application will normally be deferred if new information shows that the applicant meets the criteria given in paragraph 8.4. This will be monitored if the applicant bids successfully for a property.
When an application is removed or deferred from the register the Council will let the applicant know in writing and explain why. If an applicant disagrees with the decision to remove or defer their application from the register the applicant can request a review. If the applicant is dissatisfied with the review decision they have a final right of appeal to the Housing Appeals Panel, Appendix 3 refers
10.0 Prioritising Applications and the Banding System
10.1 There are four priority bands; Band A is the highest priority band and Band D the lowest. To prioritise between applicants within the same band the following priority criteria are applied to rank applicants :-
1. Local Priority Status
Local priority status (see 10.10 below) will be the first consideration when prioritising between applicants in the same band.
2. Local Connection Status
Local connection status (see 10.11 below) will be the second consideration when prioritising between applicants in the same band.
3. Registration date
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Registration date will be the third consideration when prioritising between applicants in the same band.
4. Highest Bid Number
In the event of a tie, where two applicants have the same status (that is Local Priority Status only or Local Connection Status only or Local Priority Status and Local Connection Status) and have both been registered on the housing register for the same length of time priority will be given to the applicant with the highest bid number . Every bid will be assigned a random number when the bid is made. This is expected to occur rarely and at the time of adopting the allocations scheme has in fact never occurred.
10.2 An applicant with Local Priority Status will always have priority over an applicant with one or more lower ranking priority criteria. Where there is a tie, i.e both have the same ranked priority (eg both have a local priority status or both have a local connection priority, the next ranked priority will be considered and so on.
10.3 Priority Bands – Band A Bidding Timescales
Band A is the highest priority band; applicants placed within this band therefore have high and urgent need. The Council is therefore keen to ensure these applicants are rehoused as soon as practically possible. Moving on homeless households placed in temporary accommodation provided by the Council is important to ensure sufficient ongoing supply of temporary accommodation and to minimise costs. The following conditions therefore apply to applicants placed in Band A :-
• Band A applicants are required to bid within 6 weeks or 12 weeks of registration in the band as indicated above (except bands A5 and A10). Applicants who fail to bid within these timescales, and fortnightly thereafter despite the availability of properties that are considered suitable, may be made a direct offer by the Council and if unreasonably refused their application may be demoted to Band B for 12 months
• Homeless households where the Council has accepted a duty placed in Band A are required to bid within 6 weeks. If an applicant fails to bid within this time scale the Council may make a direct offer and discharge its duty. One reasonable offer of accommodation will be made as discharge of the council’s rehousing duty.
• Applicants in Band A who have been placed in temporary accommodation by the Council are only permitted to bid for properties that are immediately available or undergoing minor works.
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10.4 Priority Bands - Band A
1. Homeless households owed the main duty (see below) by Arun District Council placed in bed and breakfast or short term temporary accommodation where the only prospect of meeting the households needs is in permanent accommodation. (Applicants required to bid within 6 weeks of registration)
2. Homeless households owed the main duty (see below) by Arun District Council placed in temporary accommodation where the landlord requires the property back or the property is unsuitable to meet the applicants’ needs or a member of the households needs. (Applicants required to bid within 6 weeks of registration)
3. Homeless households owed the main duty (see below) by Arun District Council making their own temporary arrangements (including securing short term housing) or suffering family split due to a genuine lack of accommodation. (Applicants required to bid within 6 weeks of registration)
(Main duty is defined as the main duty under section 193 Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homlessness Act 2002)
4. Overriding medical priority where the housing conditions are having a major adverse effect on the medical condition of the applicant or member of the household so that emergency priority is warranted. (10.8 refers below). (Applicants required to bid within 6 weeks of registration)
5. Applicants living in Council or RP accommodation within the Arun District who are under occupying family sized accommodation and qualify under the Tenants Under Occupation Scheme (for Council Tenants only, Appendix 5 refers) (Applicants with no required timescale to bid)
7. Households who are overcrowded as defined by current legislation and where rehousing is supported by the Council’s Environmental; Health departments and a prohibitions order has been served or an overcrowding notice has been served. (Applicants required to bid within 6 weeks of registration)
8. Transfer applicants needing permanent or temporary decant where the property is imminently required for essential works and the tenant cannot remain in the property. Although the Council will encourage and assist such tenants to make bids through the Homemove system, it is recognised that there will be a duty to provide suitable alternative accommodation and
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will make a reasonable offer within the necessary time scale whether a successful bid is made or not. (Applicants required to bid within 6 weeks of registration)
9. Properties where a prohibition order has been served by the Council’s Environmental Health Department and where there is an imminent risk to the tenant or it would be unreasonable for the tenant to remain in the property whilst remedial works were carried out. (Applicants required to bid within 6 weeks of registration)
10. Applicants releasing an adapted property or to make best use of adapted stock where the tenant does not require adaptations or where the existing property cannot be adapted to meet the applicants needs (Applicants with no required timescale to bid)
11.Priority transfer e.g. emergency harassment, agreed in exceptional circumstances due to significant and insurmountable problems associated with the tenant’s occupation and there is imminent personal risk to the household if they remain. (Applicants required to bid within 6 weeks of registration)
12.Severe need – exceptional circumstances and/or multiple needs, which warrant emergency priority as agreed by the Housing Services Manager (Applicants required to bid within 6 weeks of registration)
14.Applicants who prevent their own homelessness by securing accommodation including by means of a deposit or bond with advice from the Council and have occupied that accommodation for a minimum period of 12 months. Where the Council has provided the Bond or deposit the account must not be in arrears with the agreed repayment plan. (Applicants required to bid within 12 weeks of registration)
15. Applicants registered for 5 years or more threatened with homelessness within 28 days with a child or children at secondary school (Applicants required to bid within 12 weeks of registration)
16.Statutory and Non-statutory successors – where agreement has been reached to rehouse an applicant to more suitable accommodation than the affordable housing currently occupied by the applicant in the Arun District . (Applicants required to bid within 12 weeks of registration)
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10.5 Priority Bands - Band B
1. Households lacking 2 or more separate bedrooms
3. Management transfers to properties of the same size and type agreed by the Housing Services Manager.
4. Medium medical needs (see 10.8)
6. Ex-tenants returning from institutions where a commitment has been made in order to secure the relinquishment of a Council tenancy on entering the institution.
7. Applicants with dependant children lacking a bedroom and lacking a kitchen or bathroom and/or sharing a kitchen or bathroom with non family members (non family members as defined by Section113 of the Housing Act 1985.)
9. To enable fostering or adoption where an agreement has been reached with Social Services and the Housing Services Manager to provide permanent accommodation prior to any placement taking place.
10.Applicants who for at least the last two years consecutively; have been renting in the private sector and have no rent arrears and are in receipt of or eligible for Housing Benefit and in full or part time employment (16 hours) and have been on the housing register for a minimum period of two years.
11. Applicants moving on from care or supported housing as authorised by the Housing Services Manager
12. Applicants who have met the conditions of their tenancy and have a priority need in accordance with Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by Homelessness Act 2002) and are threatened with homelessness within 28 days or have received a valid notice to vacate accommodation in the private rented sector.
13.Applicants in housing need who have been registered in Band C for a minimum and immediately consecutive period of 5 years
10.6 Priority Bands - Band C
1. Households lacking one separate bedroom
4. Households identified in an Adult Social Care Plan where accommodation is required to assist in delivering a Care Plan or to relieve other social/welfare hardship as agreed between Social Services and Housing.
5. Low medical priority (see 10.8)
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8. Other unsatisfactory housing conditions as supported by the Council’s Environmental Health Department.
9. Applicants for sheltered housing need where there is no higher housing need.
10.Applicants who need to move to a particular area where failure to meet that need would cause hardship e.g. to give or receive support
11.Applicants who have met the conditions of their tenancy and are not in priority need but are threatened with homelessness within 28 days or have received a valid notice to vacate accommodation in the private rented sector.
10.7 Band D
1. Transfer applicants with no other housing need
2. Homeseekers with no other housing need
4. Applicants with a substantial amount of income and assets which would create sufficient funds to resolve their housing situation through the local housing market.
10.8 Bands for Medical Categories
Bands for those with medical needs will be awarded on the following basis:
1. Band A - High Medical priority will be recommended where one of the household has a life threatening condition which is seriously worsened by their current housing. Band A will also be given where current housing conditions and/or other circumstances are having such a major adverse effect on the medical condition of any member of the household as to warrant emergency priority.
2. Band B - Medium Medical Priority will be recommended where the current housing conditions are having a major adverse effect on the medical condition of one of the household which could affect life expectancy.
3. Band C - Low Medical Priority will be recommended where the current housing conditions are having an adverse effect on the medical condition/quality of life of one of the household which creates a particular need for them to move.
10.9 Mobility Needs
Irrespective of the band assessment, where a member or one of the household has a substantial and permanent physical disability which may
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place them in mobility groups 1 and 2 (see below), the Council will refer the applicant to an Occupational Therapist for a report on housing needs. Taking into account the recommendation of the report one of the following mobility groups will be awarded.
1. Wheelchair user indoors and outdoors. 2. People who cannot manage steps or stairs and may use a wheelchair some of the time. 3. Independent but can only manage one or two steps or stairs.
10.10 Care Needs
Irrespective of the band assessment, where a member or one of the household has a substantial and permanent care needs, the Council may refer the applicant for a health and/or social report on housing needs or call a multi agency panel with the applicants consent.
10.11 Local Priorities
The allocation of affordable housing has a significant effect on the shape and nature of local communities. Whilst the Council primarily gives preference to applicants with the greatest housing need by means of the banding system, to differentiate between applicants in the same band, priority will be given to the applicant who meets one of the Council’s local priorities. The Council is also keen to reward applicants who improve their housing circumstances or have waited a long time for housing and, where appropriate, to reduce the priority of those applicants who unreasonably refuse offers of accommodation and has reflected both these aims in the banding system. In addition some properties will be specifically ring fenced for applicants who meet a local priority.
LP1 - Economic Contribution
Applicant is under the age of 25 years and is currently in full or part time work in Arun (minimum of 16 hours) or undertaking a recognised training course and has been in work or training for the last two years.
(Also see page 20 PEC6 – Property subject to an Employment Condition)
LP2 – Supported Housing earned citizen approach
Applicants who need to move on from care or supported housing in Arun with the agreement of the Housing Services Manger are placed in Band B so have high priority. The provision of move on accommodation is considered essential to ensure that limited supported housing resources are used most effectively and as far as possible those with supported housing needs avoid facing a housing crisis. Ensuring applicants are able to take on the responsibility of living in mainstream housing is however a major consideration. The Council will therefore give further priority to applicants who have completed a pre tenancy qualification award or similar assessment. The Council will work with supported housing providers to implement suitable assessment processes.
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10.12 Local Connection
Priority will be given to applicants who have an established local connection with Arun District (see 10.1 above). Local connection is defined as follows:-
• The applicant and/or adult member of the applicant’s household are living in the Arun District and have lived in the Arun District for at least 5 years.
• The applicant and/or adult member of the applicant’s household has worked on a full or part time basis (16 hours) in the Arun District for the past 2 years and remain in employment in the Arun District.
• The applicant or adult member of the applicant’s household has a close substantive previous and evidenced residential connection with the district (10 years or more).
• The applicant or an adult member of the household has a family connection with the district (parents, adult children or brother or sister with a minimum residency of 10 years).
• The applicant or member of the applicant’s household left the Armed Forces immediately prior to making an application or will shortly be discharged from the armed forces even if they have not previously resided in the Arun District before.
• Other special circumstances that the local authority might reasonably consider constitutes a local connection as agreed with the Housing Services Manager.
10.13 Properties with specific eligibility criteria
10.14 To bid for some vacancies applicants with need to meet specific eligibility criteria as detailed below
PEC1 - Promoting Mobility for Existing Tenants
In addition to the priority extended to existing tenants of both Council and other RP housing in the Arun District, 25% or 1 in 4 of all vacancies of affordable homes (including first time lettings of new build homes) will be offered to existing tenants only providing their landlord is participating on the transfer scheme (TS), 1.4 and 1.5 refers . The Council will ensure that those properties offered to transfer applicants are a fair representation (property type and size) of all annual vacancies. This policy is intended to enable more movement within the Council’s housing stock, thus creating more vacancies for homeseekers to bid for.
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However, both the Council and RPs may suspend applications from transferring tenants where the tenant’s current home requires repairs, cleaning, decorating and other general maintenance which, in accordance with the tenancy agreement, are the tenant’s responsibility. An application will be activated when the tenant has completed the necessary work. Exceptions may be made for vulnerable applicants, older residents and where an applicant is downsizing, moving from a house to a flat.
PEC2 – Rural Housing
To sustain and support rural communities 75% of all vacancies (including first time lettings of new build homes) in the following rural parishes (as defined by the Section 17 of the Housing Act 1996 (Designated Rural Areas within the South East)will be allocated to applicants who have a substantial local connection with the parish.
Arundel, Findon, Clapham, Patching, Slindon, Madehurst, Walberton, Fontwell, Burpham, Wepham, Warningcamp, Lyminster and Crossbush, South Stoke, Climping and Ford
This will include households from the gypsy and traveller community who have established a connection with the Parish by virtue of resorting to the Parish in accordance with the local connection criteria.
The local connection criteria is as follows;-
• Applicants who have lived in the parish for at least 2 years • Applicants who have previously lived in the parish for 3 years out of the last 5 • Applicants with close relatives generally defined as parents, adult children and siblings who have lived continuously in the parish for 5 years. • People who have permanent full time employment or an offer of permanent employment which provides an important service to the local community and who need to live locally to carry out their duties.
PEC3 – Property for people aged 50+ and 60+
Property for people aged 50+ and 60+ (including sheltered housing) will be specifically advertised as such.
PEC4 - Property for people with mobility needs
Property for people with mobility needs will be advertised as suitable for applicants with the following three categories:
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1. Properties suitable for wheelchair user indoors and outdoors 2. Properties suitable for people who cannot manage steps or stairs and may use a wheelchair some of the time 3. Properties suitable for people who are independent but can only manage one or two steps
PEC5 - Property for people with care needs
Property for people with care needs will be advertised as suitable for applicants across the bands according to the type of scheme and its eligibility criteria. Applicants may then require further assessment to establish whether the accommodation will meet their particular needs.
PEC6 – Property subject to a Local Lettings Agreement
The eligibility criteria concerning properties subject to Local Lettings Agreements (section 16 refers) will be clearly advertised.
PEC7 – Property subject to an Employment Condition
1. In the absence of a Local Letting Agreement (section 16 refers) preference will be given to allocating up to 50% of all new build affordable homes to applicants (homeseekers and transfers) where at least one household member is currently in either full or part time work (minimum of 16 hours) and has been in work for the last two years.
2. The Council may restrict the allocation of affordable homes in particular locations to applicants where at least one household member is either in full or part time work (minimum of 16 hours) and has been in work for the last two years on estates where the levels of unemployment are above average when compared to other areas in the district.
11.0 How are vacant properties advertised ?
11.1 Vacant properties will be advertised on the Homemove website, there will also be a personal free sheet sent in accordance with the policy (see paragraph 6.2). The criteria by which the property will be allocated will be included in the advertisement and set the eligibility criteria for the properties such as:
• Size of household • Whether the property is suitable for children • Age limitations • The mobility group, if applicable • The level of care and support available • Whether pets are allowed or not • Whether it is available for cross boundary bids (the Council may advertise properties outside the Arun district where there is little or no demand for a particular property) • Whether it is sheltered accommodation
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• Who owns the property i.e. council or housing association • The weekly rent including any other charges • An estimate of the date the property will be ready for occupation • If a local lettings policy applies • Whether it is a rural property and a local connection criteria applies
11.2 The Council needs to ensure that all properties are used as effectively as possible therefore the Council will advertise and allocate Council owned properties subject to the following criteria:
• A bedsit for a single person or a couple • One bedroomed accommodation for a single person or a couple • Two bedroomed accommodation for households with one child, two children under the age of 7, or two children of the same sex where there is an age difference of less than 7 years, or an adult household where there is medical need and/or a live in carer. • Three bedroomed accommodation for households with two children of different sex where one or both is over the age of 7 years or where there are two children of the same sex with an age difference of more than 7 years or up to four children • Four bedroomed accommodation (including three bedroomed homes with a second downstairs reception room that can be used as a fourth bedroom) for households with four or more children.
Housing Associations have their own criteria regarding the makeup of households for their properties which may vary slightly from the criteria stated above. This will be made clear in their adverts.
11.4 In cases where households have been accepted as homeless and have been awarded the relevant band, the household may bid for accommodation that falls outside the above criteria if it has been assessed that the property is reasonable for the households needs. The offer will discharge the Councils duty under Part VII Housing Act 1996.
11.5 The Council may allocate up to one additional bedroom above this standard where there is an overriding, proven medical need to support the request.
11.6 All adapted properties will be advertised across all bands with a mobility classification as below, and notes will be made where the potential for adaptation or further adaptation exists.
1. Suitable for wheelchair user indoors and outdoors. 2. Suitable for people who cannot manage steps or stairs and may use a wheelchair some of the time. 3. Suitable for people who are independent but can only manage one or two steps.
11.7 Applicants may not bid for properties that would result in over-crowding or under occupation.
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11.8 Transfer applicants may be entitled to assistance under the Tenants Under Occupation Scheme (see Appendix 5) if they move to a smaller property.
11.9 Where an age restriction applies and there are no eligible bidders, other applicants without children may be considered.
11.10 As well as vacant properties the magazine will also include details of allocations made for properties that have been recently let, and will show the number of bidders for each property and the band and priority date of the successful applicant.
12.0 The Bidding Process
12.1 The Council will advertise empty properties and eligible applicants can make bids for properties by sending in a completed coupon, by telephone bidding, or by bidding online via the website. Full details of how to bid are set out in the Scheme User Guide which will be sent out to all applicants upon registration.
12.2 The Council is aware that some vulnerable applicants may need assistance in order to complete the registration and bidding process. The Council seeks to address this issue in the following ways;-
1. By providing regular training and awareness events for agencies who support vulnerable people to help them guide their clients through the process of registration and bidding.
2. By giving direct advice and assistance to applicants, support staff and agencies during office hours either in person or by phone and by providing information on the Council’s website.
3. By providing information in a variety of formats and languages on request.
4. Where necessary bids can be made by Council staff on behalf of applicants, proxy bidding by support staff, friends or family of a vulnerable person is also possible on request.
12.3 If an applicant in Band A does not bid within the specified timescales we will contact the applicant to check there are no difficulties in using the system and that their circumstances have not changed and the priority still applies. If the applicant still fails to bid we may bid on their behalf for suitable properties or remove the priority awarded or make a direct allocation. (10. 4 refers)
12.4 All bids for properties will be checked against the eligibility rules. Ineligible bids are excluded from consideration. Applicants who regularly bid for properties for which they are not eligible for will be contacted and advice given.
12.5 Applicants can bid for up to three properties in each fortnightly bidding cycle.
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12.6 Once an offer has been made the applicant has the choice to refuse the property. If they refuse they will be able to bid again in the following cycle. Specific advice will be given to applicants bidding in Band A (10.4 refers).
13.0 The Selection Process
13.1 Eligible bids for each property are placed in priority order. Priority is decided first by band, second by local priority, thirdly by local connection, fourthly by priority date within the band and finally by the random number. Every bid will be assigned a random number when the bid is made. This number is used to resolve a tie, the highest number gets priority.
13.2 If there are no eligible bidders for a property the Allocations team may decide to make a direct allocation or re-advertise the property on a first come first served basis.
13.3 No allocations will be made until the applicant has provided all the personal verification requested, a home visit may also be made. If verification information is not provided and/or a home visit declined when required, it may result in the applicant losing a potential offer of accommodation.
13.4 To minimise delays the Council or RPs may arrange multiple viewings for up to three applicant households per property, where this is practicable. The Allocations team will arrange accompanied viewings, advise on any non- essential repairs to be completed after the tenancy start date and give a target date for the completion of these repairs.
13.5 The Allocations Team will offer the successful applicant the option to accept the offer of a property and arrange for them to sign the tenancy agreement. Alternatively the applicant will be asked to make a decision whether to accept or not within 24 hours of viewing the property. This time scale will be strictly applied, if an applicant refuses the offer or fails to reach a decision within 24 hours the Council will immediately re-shortlist the existing bidders to allow an offer to be made to the next highest priority applicant.
13.6 Offers will normally only be made to the applicant at the top of the shortlist. However, in very exceptional circumstances a prospective RP landlord may need to reject an applicant on the top of the shortlist for a particular property if by accepting this would be a conflict with their own policies and procedures. This situation is most likely to occur where the applicant is a former tenant of the RP and there were breaches of conditions of tenancy.
13.7 Applicants will generally not be penalised for refusing offers although enquiries will be made if applicants refuse several properties. Band A applicants to whom the Council does not owe the ‘main’ homelessness duty however are required to bid within specific timescales (10.4 refers) following registration after which the Council may bid on their behalf. If an offer of accommodation is unreasonably refused the application may be demoted to Band B for 12 months.
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13.8 Homeless households where the Council has accepted the main duty and placed in Band A are required to bid within 6 weeks. If an applicant fails to bid within this time scale the Council may make a direct offer and discharge its duty. One reasonable offer of accommodation will be made as discharge of the Council’s rehousing duty.
13.9 Homeless households where the Council has accepted the main duty and are in temporary accommodation may only bid for properties that are either immediately available or undergoing minor works.
13.10 Applicants will be required to provide verification of their housing circumstances prior to an invitation to view the property. The Council will contact the applicant to request this information when required. (Appendix 4 refers).
13.11 Exceptional need
If an applicant’s housing needs are immediate as well as exceptional, the Council may agree to offer an applicant accommodation ahead of other people on the Housing Register. This however may only be done with the agreement of the members of the Appeals Panel, Appendix 3 refers.
14.0 Direct lettings
14.1 In limited circumstances the Council may allocate properties outside the Allocation Scheme as follows;-
1. Special circumstances e.g. if the Public Protection Panel recommends that an applicant with high priority should be excluded from bidding.
2. Homeless households in Band A who have failed to exercise choice through the bidding process within the timescale. The Council will make one reasonable offer of accommodation before their duty is discharged or priority lost.
3. Retiring Sheltered Housing Managers who have failed to bid successfully (and the Council owes a contractual responsibility) may be made a direct offer.
4. Existing tenants who need to be moved from suitable accommodation for a short period may be offered a temporary property, for example in the event of a fire or flood
5. Ex-Council tenants where a duty to re-house has been agreed who fail to bid within the timescales will be made one reasonable offer before the Councils duty is discharged or priority lost.
6. Non-statutory successors who fail to bid within the timescale will be made one direct offer. If refused the Council may begin possession proceedings.
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7. Priority transfers who fail to bid within the timescale will be made one direct offer. If refused Housing Management will review and may recommend priority is lost.
8. Bespoke mobility adapted properties which have been newly developed to meet the specific and serious needs of an applicant
9. Applicants for specialist supported housing schemes including some Extra Care Schemes which require a process of nomination, assessment and acceptance in order to be considered for an allocation
10. Statutory and Non-statutory successors, where agreement has been reached to rehouse an applicant to more suitable accommodation than the affordable housing currently occupied by the applicant in the Arun District, are required to bid within 12 weeks. If they fail to do so and suitable alternative accommodation has been available the Council may make one direct offer of suitable accommodation. If refused the Council may review and/or begin possession proceedings.
11.In all the above cases the Council will make a reasonable offer which as far as possible matches the size and type of property for which the applicant is eligible in the area of their choice and not in an area known to be unsafe for the household. The applicant must give their reasons for refusing. The property will not be held empty while the refusal is reviewed but will be let to another applicant.
14.2 If the offer is to a homeless household the case will be reviewed and the necessary follow-up action taken. If an offer is to other categories of applicant the Housing Services Manager will consider the reasons for refusal. If there is a clear mismatch e.g. where the applicant or property details were incorrect, the offer will be withdrawn and the applicant notified. If the offer was found to be a reasonable one the applicant will be notified of the reasons for this finding and the effect the decision has on their application.
14.3 If an applicant disagrees with the Council’s direct letting decision they can request a review. If the applicant is dissatisfied with the review decision they have a final right of appeal to the Housing Appeals Panel, Appendix 3 refers.
15.0 Ending a joint tenancy when one party to the tenancy leaves
15.1 Normally the Council or RP will grant a joint tenancy to partners applying together for housing. A joint tenancy remains in joint names until one or both joint tenants terminate the tenancy. In the case where one party to the joint tenancy has left the property and has no intention of returning, the Council or RP may agree to offer the new sole tenancy to the remaining partner should they terminate the joint tenancy. Conditions may be attached to granting a new sole tenancy, for example clearing any rent arrears relating to the current joint tenancy.
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16.0 Local Lettings Plans
16.1 A local lettings plan is an agreement between the Council or RP and local tenants and residents which restricts lettings in the area to certain households. This is done to tackle a specific issue or problem that has been identified locally at either block, street, estate or neighbourhood level, or to achieve a sustainable community on a new development.
16.2 Local lettings plans allow the council or RP to deliver better outcomes and improve life chances for current tenants and future residents.
16.3 Recommendations for local lettings plans may include;-
• Establishing and sustaining a mixed, stable and sustainable community on the development from the outset to foster a sense of ownership and community.
• Ensuring new tenants can sustain their tenancies.
• Setting a maximum or minimum age limit for certain properties
• Giving preference to tenants/applicants with a local connection or who already live or work in that area
• Preference to tenants /applicants who are giving or receiving support to or from family/extended family, voluntary work, day care, playgroups or other support from locally based organisations
• Preference to people who are employed
• Preference to other household types who would not normally be eligible under the council’s letting policy – eg this could be couples without children, where there is a high density already in the area of families with children
• Preference to people who are under occupying or who are overcrowded in their current home in the local vicinity
• Sensitivity around the letting of homes to vulnerable people
16.4 Once adopted a local lettings plan will override the Allocations Scheme. Any properties subject to a plan will be clearly labelled when advertised for lettings.
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Appendices
Appendix 1 - Consultation with Stakeholders
1.1 The review of the Council’s Allocations scheme was overseen by a group of 3 Councillors appointed by the Housing and Planning Working Group. Consultation with stakeholders included the development of a questionnaire particularly to gauge local priorities.
1.2 Approximately 6,500 questionnaires (1,200 received) were distributed to target groups and local organisations including ;-
• All households on the Council’s Housing Register • All current Council tenants • Each of the 7 libraries in the Arun District • Town & Parish Councils in the Arun District • Age Concern Activity Centres • Citizens Advice Bureaux in Bognor Regis & Littlehampton • Visitor Information Centres • Support Agencies such as Sure Start, CVS Arunwide, The Diary, Anchor Staying Put, MIND, Stonepillow, ICIS, United Response • Members of the Arun Youth Council • Job Centres in Bognor Regis & Littlehampton • Each of the main ADC Reception areas at Bognor Regis Town Hall, Civic Centre and Church Street • 55 ADC Elected Members • 3 local MPs
The questionnaire was available to download from the Council website, with links from the main Council homepage, the Housing homepage and the Housing Register page.
1.3 An initial meeting took place with Registered Providers (RPs) of affordable housing operating across Arun District, RP representatives subsequently commented on the draft scheme before effectively signing up to the final version. Some RPs have chosen not to participate in the Transfer Scheme (1.5 and 10.13 refers).
1.4 The views of stakeholders following receipt of the questionnaires were reflected in the new draft scheme which was published for formal consultation, accompanied by a summary report analysing the questionnaires received on the Council’s web site. During the consultation period a series of Focus Groups took place with residents who had returned questionnaires and expressed interest in attending a meeting. Consultation ended on 31 March 2011.
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Appendix 2 –Service Standards
Arun District Council will :-
• Register applications within 14 working days
• Process change in circumstances within 14 working days
• Reply to letters within 10 working days
• Answer phone calls within 30 seconds
• Provide advice to applicants to help them with bidding choices over the phone, by e-mail and face to face
• To wear ID at all times including when visiting
• Deal with all enquiries in a fair and sensitive manner
• Advertise vacant properties for a minimum of 5 days
• Provide reliable information on when a property will be available to let
• To advise you of your right to request a review of a decision in accordance with the details contained within Appendix 3
It is expected that the applicant will:-
• Keep the Council informed of any changes of circumstances
• Ensure that the Council have an up to date address
• Reply to requests for information as quickly as possible
• Treat Arun District Council staff with courtesy
• Give accurate information regarding your personal circumstances.
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Appendix 3 - Review and Appeal Procedures
1.1 In certain circumstances an applicant may request a review of the Council’s decision concerning their housing application. Following a decision, if an applicant remains dissatisfied, they can ask for the decision to be reviewed by the Housing Allocations Appeals Panel.
1.2 In what circumstances can a request for a review be made?
Applicants may only request a review in the following circumstances;-
Circumstances for requesting a review Scheme reference 1. Applicant disagrees with the decision to Para 8.2.6 Page 6 change their joint application to a sole application 2. Applicant disagrees with the decision to Para 8.6 Page 8 exclude or defer their application 3. Applicant disagrees with the assessment of Para 9.7 Page 11 their housing need, local priority and local connection 4. Applicant’s disagrees with the assessment of Para 9.10 Page 11 need following a change in their housing circumstances 5. Applicant disagrees with the decision to Para 9.13 Page 12 remove or defer their application from the register 6. Applicant disagrees with the Council’s direct Para 13.11 Page 27 letting decision to them
1.3 A request for a review must be made within 21 days from the day on which the applicant received notification of the Council’s decision. The Council has the discretion to extend the time limit if it considered this would be reasonable.
1.4 Requests for a review may be made verbally or in writing. Applicants will be asked to explain why they consider the Council’s decision to be unreasonable, and to provide any additional evidence required.
1.5 A Council manager senior to the officer making the original decision and who was not involved in making the decision will carry out the review.
1.6 The Council will carry out a review and respond to the applicant within 8 weeks of the review request being received. Applicants will be advised if for any reason the decision is going to be delayed.
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1.7 What happens if the applicant disagrees with the decision?
The applicant has a final right of appeal to the Housing Allocations Appeal Panel which comprises three Arun District Councillors. The panel will be supported by a senior member of staff who has not been involved in the original decision.
1.8 A request for an appeal must be made within 21 days from the day on which the applicant received notification of the Council’s review decision. The Council has the discretion to extend the time limit if it considered this would be reasonable.
1.9 Requests for an appeal may be made verbally or in writing, applicants will be asked to explain why they consider the Council’s decision to be unreasonable. Applicants may present their case to the panel in person and may be accompanied by a relative or friend but may not be formally represented by a third party.
1.10 The Council will carry out an appeal hearing and respond to the applicant within 8 weeks of the appeal request being received. Applicants will be advised if for any reason the decision is going to be delayed
1.11 If the applicant remains dissatisfied with the Council’s decision they will be advised that they have the right to refer their case to the Local Government Ombudsman service or equivalent and/or to seek specialist advice.
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Appendix 4 - Verification Checklist
No allocations will be made until the applicant has provided all the personal verification listed below if applicable.
Your identity and that of the people in your household (birth certificate, passport, driving licence or similar)
Proof of any children you are responsible for i.e. Child Benefit notification
Proof of where you live and any non-dependents wishing to be housed with you (utility bills etc.)
Proof of any income and savings
Proof of any benefits you are in receipt of
A copy of your present Tenancy Agreement
A Completion Statement if you have sold a property within the last 5 years
Proof of Right to Reside in the UK
Local Connection
Proof that the applicant or adult member of the applicant’s household are living and have lived in the Arun District for at least 5 years.
Proof that the applicant or adult member of the applicant’s household has worked on a full time or part time basis (16 hours) in the Arun District for the past 2 years and remains in employment within the Arun District
Evidence that applicant or adult member of the applicant’s household has a close substantive and evidenced residential connection with the Arun District (10 years or more)
Evidence that the applicant or adult member of the applicant’s household has a family connection (parent, adult children or brother or sister with a minimum residency of 10 years)
Rural Connection
For housing in the rural areas of Findon, Clapham, Patching, Slindon, Madehurst, Walberton, Fontwell, Burpham, Wepham, Warningcamp, Lyminster, Crossbush, South Stoke, Climping and Ford the following evidence will be required:-
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That the applicant has lived in that parish for at least 2 years
That the applicant had previously lived in the parish for 3 years out of the last 5 years
That the applicant has close relatives (parents, adult children, and siblings who have lived continuously in the parish for 5 years.
That the applicant has permanent full time employment or an offer of permanent employment which provides an important service to the local community and needs to live locally to carry our their duties
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Appendix 5 - Tenants Under Occupation Scheme
Arun District Council tenants presently under occupying a two, three or four bedroom house or maisonette and are willing to move to move a one bedroom flat or one or two bedroom bungalow are entitled to expenses up to £2000 to cover the following costs:
• removal expenses
• disconnection and reconnection charges for telephone, gas/electrical appliances, satellite dishes or similar items
• purchase of new carpets and curtains
• clearance of rubbish
• any other items as agreed.
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ARUN DISTRICT COUNCIL
REVIEW OF HOUSING ALLOCATIONS POLICY
CONSULTATION EXERCISE – PHASE 1
1. BACKGROUND
1.0 A review of Arun District Council’s Housing Allocations Policy had taken place and, as part of the review process, consultation amongst interested parties was necessary.
1.1 A questionnaire was devised and issued to the following:-
All households living in ADC housing stock All households on ADC Housing Register (except ADC transfer applicants who would receive a questionnaire as tenants)
A total of 6540 questionnaires issued to targeted groups.
1.2 Questionnaires were also issued to:-
§ each of the 7 libraries in the Arun District § Town & Parish Councils in the Arun District § Age Concern Activity Centres at Laburnum & Tamarisk Centres § Citizens Advice Bureaux in Bognor Regis & Littlehampton § each of the 3 Visitor Information Centres § Support Agencies such as Sure Start, CVS Arunwide, The Diary, Anchor Staying Put, MIND, Stonepillow, ICIS, United Response § Members of the Arun Youth Council § Job Centres in Bognor Regis & Littlehampton § Each of the main ADC Reception areas at Bognor Regis Town Hall, Civic Centre and Church Street
1.3 Questionnaires were also issued to the following, for information only, but comments were invited:-
§ 55 ADC Elected Members § 3 local MPs
1.4 The questionnaire was available to download from the ADC website, with links from the main ADC homepage, the Housing homepage and the Housing Register page.
1.5 Questionnaires were issued during the week beginning 5.12.10, with a closing date for return of Monday 3 rd January 2011.
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2. GENERAL ANALYSIS
2.1 A total of 1080 questionnaires were returned by the closing date of 3 rd January 2011.
2.2 A total of 1178 questionnaires were received by 7th January 2011.
2.3 170 questionnaires were returned by the Post Office, either because the addressees had moved away, no longer living at the address, or not known at the address. This gave the Housing Allocations Team an opportunity to update the entries on the Housing Register.
2.4 The majority of responses were from people indicating that they were a Council tenant (543) or in private rented accommodation (398)
Accommodation Type
600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Owner / Owner Occupier No specify) Living Living with Temporary Other (please Other Family/friends Private Rented Council Council Tenant accommodation Accommodation
Of those who indicated that they were a Council tenant, 225 also indicated that they believed they had ‘not applied for social housing’ or were ‘not sure’. This indicates a possible misunderstanding of the term ‘social housing’.
2.5 Respondents who indicated they were living in ‘other’ accommodation included:-
Housing Assn = 24 Mobile home/caravan = 5 Tied/staff accomm = 5 Foster Care, Shared Ownership, Live-in Carer, BHT Hostel, Approved Premises = 1 of each
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2.6 Of the respondents who indicated their ethnicity, the largest ethnic group represented in this consultation were ‘white British’ (1047)
Ethnicity
1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 Other - British White - White black white Asian Gypsy / Gypsy Chinese Traveller Any other Any Any other Any Any other Any African - Indian - Blackor African - & black & & Asian & Asianor Asianor Asianor Blackor caribbean - Pakistani - andBlack Caribbean White - Irish -White blackBritish AsianBritish AsianBritish AsianBritish Mixedwhite - MixedWhite - MixedWhite - blackbritish -
2.7 The respondents who indicated their ethnicity as being ‘other’ included:-
Polish = 16 Latvian = 4 Lithuanian = 8 German = 4 Italian = 2 Filipino = 2 Danish, Croatian, British Palestinian, Bulgarian, Australian, Portuguese, Mixed Guyanese, Ukranian = 1 each
2.8 Of the respondents who indicated their age group, the highest number of responses were from the 45-54 and the 65-74 age groups
Age Range
85+ 16-24 75-84 5% 4% 25-34 12% 11%
35-44 65-74 15% 17%
60-64 45-54 11% 17% 55-59 8%
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2.9 Of the respondents who indicated whether or not they considered themselves to have a disability, the majority indicated ‘no’
Do you consider yourself to have a disability?
Yes No
2.10 Of the respondents who indicated their gender, the majority of responses were from females (725 against 410 males)
2.11 Of the respondents who indicated their sexual orientation, the majority were heterosexual
Gender/Sexual Orientation
800
700
600
500 400
300 200
100 0
l le e e al al ual bian Ma em exua ex s Other F sexual Bis o Le eros Trans male t Trans fem He Hom
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2.12 Of the respondents who indicated their chosen religion, the majority were Christian (634), although the next largest group were those who indicated ‘no religion’ (301)
Religion
700 600
500 400
300 200
100 0 Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Judaism Islam Sikhism No Religion Other
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3.0 ANALYSIS OF RESPONSES
3.1 The questionnaire included 3 main sections.
3.2 Section 1 consisted of 8 questions:-
Have you ever applied for social housing? Are you familiar w ith ADC's current policies for allocating social housing?
12%
22%
20% Yes Yes No 49% No Not sure Not sure 68%
29%
Should preference be given to local people? Should priority be given to applicants who are homeless?
7% 10% 26%
Yes Yes No No Not sure 56% Not sure
18% 83%
Should priority be given to applicants living in Should priority be given to applicants who need to overcrowded housing or poor conditions? move on medical grounds?
17% 11%
6% Yes Yes 13% No No Not sure Not sure 70% 83%
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Should priority be given to applicants who have Should priority be given if the household includes been w aiting a long time? someone who works in the Arun District?
12% 14% 21% 7%
Yes Yes No No Not sure Not sure
81% 65%
3.3 Section 2 asked respondents to score 6 elements, indicating 1 as the highest priority and 6 as the lowest. The table below represents the number of respondents who indicated their highest and lowest priorities.
PriorityRanking Housinglocal people Housingpeople living in overcrowdedhousing or poorconditions Housinghomeless people Housingpeople who need tomove on medical groundsgiveor support Housingpeople who have waitedlong a time Housingpeople who work inArun 1 (High) 386 206 385 367 315 115 6 (Low) 112 82 134 94 89 593
Highest priority (of those who indicated a preference) is given to Housing Local People (386 votes), very closely followed by Housing Homeless People (385 votes) and Housing People Who Need to Move on Medical Grounds (367 votes). Many respondents added a caveat against the homeless option – “depends on circumstances”.
Housing People Who Work in Arun was given the lowest priority (593 votes).
These responses are supported by the responses in Section 1.
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3.4 Section 3 listed 5 additional questions:-
Priority for village homes to be given to applicants with a local connection?
1000
800
600
400
200
0 Yes No Not sure
Houses with gardens to be given to families with children under 10?
800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Yes No Not sure
Applicants who continually refuse offers to have their priority reduced?
1000
800
600
400
200
0 Yes No Not sure
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People who have not been good tenants or good neighbours to have less priority?
1000
800
600
400
200
0 Yes No Not sure
Tenants who live in homes too big for them to be encouraged to downsize?
1000
800
600
400
200
0 Yes No Not sure
3.5 Respondents were given the opportunity to add any additional comments, ideas or suggestions.
Common comments included:-
“Arun should build more houses” “Arun should give priority to local people, people born in the area, not to people from foreign countries. We wouldn’t get housed if we went to their country” “Priority should be given to people with families in the area, who can give support” “The Council should go back to the old system of giving houses to people who have been waiting the longest” “Elderly people shouldn’t have to move just because their family has grown up and left” “Its not just families with children who enjoy gardens” “The council shouldn’t give houses to people who don’t look after their properties”
3.6 Respondents were asked to indicate whether or not they would be interested in being part of a Focus Group to discuss the proposed allocations scheme. A total of 251 indicated that they would be interested in being involved.
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Appendix C
1. What are the main aims, purpose and outcomes of the policy and how do these fit in with the wider aims of the organisation?
Aims and Purpose
The Allocations Scheme describes the criteria used to prioritise housing applicants for the social housing that we allocate; homes owned by Arun DC and a proportion of homes owned by Registered Providers in the district (these allocations are known as nominations).
The Allocations Scheme is based on the following key principles:-
• To allocate housing fairly, consistently and carefully • To provide clear and easy to understand information to allow applicants to make informed choices • To enable applicants to express choice in selecting their accommodation wherever possible • To provide appropriate advice to applicants whom the Council is unable to house, including accurate and timely referrals to other agencies • To provide a high quality service with clear standards, provided by courteous and efficient staff ensuring that staff have the right to do their jobs without fear of personal injury, abuse or discrimination. • To ensure we are clear about how we deal with most housing circumstances so that we rarely need to make decisions on individual cases. • To meet the requirements of Part Vl Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002) giving reasonable preference to those categories of specified as being in the greatest need.
The policy is aimed at all housing register applicants. It is largely defined by legislation, along with local priorities following extensive consultation. Stakeholders include those on the housing register, Council tenants, Registered Providers, voluntary support organisations and the wider public. Results of what the main stakeholders want have been published on the website, and are also included in the appendix of the Allocations Scheme.
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The main points arising from the consultation were :-
• Local people should receive preference • People with medical problems should be given priority • People living in overcrowded or poor conditions should be given priority • People who have been waiting a long time should be given priority • Housing the homeless should be a high priority • Those who met the conditions of their tenancy should be treated more favourably that those who have not.
This policy most notably interfaces with the functions of the Registered Providers who allocate their properties based on the priorities that are identified through the Allocations Scheme in respect of nomination rights. It also impacts on those who provide supported housing, particularly in respect of the move through from their accommodation. The success of this policy relies on the Registered Providers working in partnership with ADC. To this end the RP’s will all be invited to sign up to the Scheme in due course. The Housing Register is available to anybody who wishes to apply to be on the register. The only groups that are excluded are those who are guilty of evidenced serious anti-social behaviour and those who do not have recourse to public funds due to their immigration status. The Scheme has been developed to ensure that decisions regarding the allocation of properties and the banding of applications require as little subjective decision making as possible to ensure that bias cannot enter the process. Where there is scope for decision making (which is necessary as a cover all for unanticipated situations) this is made by the Housing Services Manager, and documented to ensure consistent decisions are made. However by definition, the policy excludes certain categories of household, either because of legislation or in order to reflect local priorities. More information is provided on the consultation that has been carried out later in the document.
Changes in legislation could interfere with the current desired outcomes of the policy, although this is would require a review of the Allocations Scheme and EIA. There is also the potential for the desired outcomes to be distorted if the correct verification of individuals circumstances is not carried out. The other distortion that will alter households expectations of being housed is the profile of the new build stock that is produced, and the property type of the voids that occur. The profile of the new build stock is within the District Council’s gift within reason, however the void rates are not.
l What is it about the characteristics of the different equality groups, which could mean that they are discriminated/disadvantaged or excluded in the
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way the policy is implemented or the service is designed and delivered?
This is covered within the body of the EIA?
Consideration of available data, research and information What existing quantitative data is available? What existing qualitative data is available? What does the information/data/knowledge tell you about the experiences of different equality groups? What are the outcomes for customers/service users in terms of the different equality strands? What are the satisfaction rates for customers/service users in terms of the different equality strands? Are there any complaints about discriminatory practice relating to this policy/function etc? Is there any evidence that the complaint(s) are right? Identify areas where information is incomplete or where more information may be needed. How do we ensure that all perspectives are taken into account? Who should we involve in determining what information is needed? What processes are appropriate to consult effectively with key partners?
Quantitative data More work is required to gather the data. NB the data analysis that is provided here is based on the current policy that is in operation rather than the new one which is being developed. We will use some of this information as a comparison. We also need to establish:- Analysis of Arun population, Housing Register, Allocations, Council Tenants, respondents to the consultation by:- Gender, age, nationality, ethnicity, disability We do not hold information on gender reassignment, religion or sexuality but are collecting it incrementally Information available – CORE stats, Simdell,
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Qualitative Data Customer complaints / MP enquiries – not sure whether these can be analysed by characteristic Homeless Forum – feedback from project workers Need to consider what else we could do. Testing is programmed to take place in March as to the impact of the new scheme in comparison with the old one and a more detailed analysis will be available after that.
Age Feb 2011
60
50
40
On list 30 Housed
20
10
0 16-24 24-49 50-100 no data
Gender breakdown Feb 11
70
60
50
40 On list Housed
30
20
10
0 Male Female
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Ethnicity Feb 2011
80
70
60
50
40 On list Housed
30
20
10
0 White European/White Other No data
Void Property Type
Void Property by Type B/SF 1BB 1BF 2BH 2BF/M 2BB 3BH 3BF/M 4BH
Households Housed by Type
Single OAP Single Couple 1B Couple 2B Couple OAP 2+1 1+1 2+2 1+2 2+3 1+3 2+4&5 1+6 no data
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The figures above are based on the initial data that is available. This needs to be drilled down further, and to be compared with the population of ADC. We also need to record more with more accuracy around ethnicity as the categorisation has not been standard. It must be noted that the information presented represents how the existing scheme is working. The new scheme will need to be monitored once it is introduced.
3. Assessment of impact
The following questions might help you: Does the data/ information point to, or highlight, any differential impact, and if so for whom? If there is a differential impact, does it amount to unlawful discrimination, whether direct or indirect? Is it trying to provide for the needs of a community, which is already experiencing discrimination or disadvantage? If the results are that one or more community or group appears to benefit less, is there justification for this? Is there anything, which could be done to remove adverse or unfair treatment? Could access be improved for any groups or communities, and if so how? Do you need to firstly understand more about the needs of communities and how these might be met? Could anything else be done to help tackle social exclusion? Could anything else be done to improve relations between or within communities to promote cohesion? Could the policy or service do more to promote healthy lifestyles, equality and well-being?
The data that is available to date points to a differential impact in respect of age. This however is unlikely to be as a result of the scheme, but more the profile of the stock and the prevalence of sheltered and supported housing. It does however suggest that it is necessary to consider whether any of the existing stock should be considered for some of the younger age groups. It would also appear that according to the gender profile proportionally more household with a male as the ‘head of household’ are housed in comparison to the numbers on the list. This needs further investigation.
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The ethnic data needs cleaning up before any firm conclusions can be drawn from the results. However, it looks broadly in line with the information that is help. From the limited information available to date it seems unlikely that there is any discrimination or disadvantage being experienced as the result of the old Allocations Scheme. Further modelling is due to be carried out during March to establish the rehousing chances of all sectors of the community. An EIA is in place, with an associated action plan for the Sussex Homemove. This covers issues such as accessibility of the website, access to the freesheet, training for partners on mobility issues and equalities monitoring. There is also a requirement for partners to monitor those applicants that are not bidding and to make contact to ensure that they are aware of what they need to do. For further details of measures put in place to ensure no adverse or unfair treatment please see the Sussex Homemove Equalities Action Plan. One of the aims of the new Allocations Scheme is to enable cohesive communities, and to act as an incentive to encourage households to make a contribution to their community.
4. Consideration of measures that might mitigate any adverse impact as well as alternative policies that might better achieve the promotion of equality of opportunity
The following should be considered: What are the options? How does each option affect different groups or communities? Will the alternatives help promote equality of opportunity, improved treatment and access? If one option is adopted what are the implications? How will people know about the new way(s) of delivery so that they can benefit? What are the costs associated with each option and how can they be resourced?
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Does the organisation have any statutory obligations, which would be breached if any of the options were chosen and implemented? Do any of the options help promote social inclusion, community cohesion or improved health and well-being ?
Measures that might mitigate any adverse impact are already in place in respect of CBL (Sussex HomeMove). This has been included as an appendix to this document. The new Allocations Scheme prioritises applications based on an objective set if criteria. Once the detail of the banding criteria is agreed a detailed analysis of the impact of the changes that have been introduced will be included here. The main changes that are currently being suggested are:-
• Local Priority
• Some minor amendments to banding
• More stringent local connection
• Stricter criteria for rent arrears and bad behaviour
Issue 1 – Local Priority The criteria below are being introduced to determine priority based on local priority:-
LP1 - Economic Contribution 1. Applicant is under the age of 25 years and is currently in full or part time work (minimum of 20 hours) or undertaking a recognised training course and has been in work or training for the last two years.
2. In the absence of a Local Letting Agreement (section 16 refers) up to 50% of all new build affordable homes will be allocated to applicants (homeseekers and transfers) where at least one household member is currently in either full or part time work(minimum of 20 hours) and has been in work for the last two years.
3. The Council may restrict the allocation of affordable homes in particular locations to applicants where a where at least one household member is either in full or part time work (minimum of 20 hours) and has been in work for
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the last two years on estates where the levels of unemployment are above average when compared to other areas.
LP2 – Rewarding Applicants who improved their housing circumstances
The Council does not wish to penalise applicants who have prevented their own homelessness or improved their own housing circumstances by renting accommodation in the private rented sector and this is reflected in the current banding categories as follows :
1. Applicants who prevent their own homelessness by securing private rented accommodation in the private sector by means of assistance with a rent bond provided by the Council will be placed in Band A when they have occupied that accommodation for a minimum period of 6 months.
2. Applicants who have been renting in the private sector, are in receipt of Housing Benefit and in full or part time employment (20 hours) and have been on the Housing Register for a minimum period of two years will be placed in Band B.
LP3 – Supported Housing earned citizen approach
Applicants who need to move on from care or supported housing, with the agreement of the Housing Services Manger, are placed in Band A so have high priority. The provision of move on accommodation is considered essential to ensure that limited supported housing resources are used most effectively and as far as possible persons with supported housing needs avoid facing a housing crisis. Ensuring applicants are able to take on the responsibility of living in mainstream housing is however a major consideration. The Council will therefore give further priority to applicants who have completed a pre tenancy qualification award or similar assessment. The Council will work with supported housing providers to suitable assessment processes.
LP4 – Rewarding applicants in need who have waited 5 years
Applicants placed in Band C who have been registered for 5 years will be moved to Band B to ensure that applicants with genuine housing need albeit not as urgent as those applicants registered in Band B or Band A have an improved opportunity to be rehoused.
This set of criteria reward those who are working, have waited a long time or have successfully completed a stay in supported housing. This could have the effect of disadvantaging throse who are unable to work because of illness or disability. However there are other priority categories within the overall scheme which would address the housing needs of these categories of people.
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Minor Amendments to Banding
This will need to be analysed once the detail is clearer.
A table detailing the changes and who they may affect, along with mitigation will be inserted.
Local Connection
Priority will be given to applicants who have an established local connection with Arun District (see 10.1 above) . Local connection means as follows
• The applicant or member of the applicant’s household is living in the Arun District and have lived in the Arun District for at least 5 years or • The applicant or member of the applicant’s household has worked on a full or part time basis (a minimum of 20 hours) in the Arun District for the past 2 years and remain in employment in the Arun District • The applicant or member of the applicant’s household has a substantive previous and evidenced residential connection withdistrict (10 years or more) • The applicant or a member of the applicant’ household has a family connection with district (parents, adult children or brother or sister with a minimum residency of 10 years) • Other special circumstances that the local authority might reasonably consider constitutes a local connection
This set of criteria could disadvantage those who have recently moved in to the District. This could include recent entrants to the Country who do have recourse to public funds (those who do not would not be eligible for the housing register in any case). This may result in a bias towards White British households. This measure has been put in place as a result of consultation with applicants to the housing register and Council tenants. It demonstrates implementation of the ‘Localism’ agenda. The respondents to the consultation were statistically representative of the existing make up of the housing register with regard to ethnic origin.
This criteria for assessing priorities is secondary to the ‘Local Priority’ criteria. For EU immigrants to have recourse to public funds it is necessary fot them to be working, which means they would meet the ‘Local Priority’ criteria sooner.
Rent Arrears and Bad Behaviour
The criteria are as follows:-
The following persons are not eligible for entry on the Housing Register for the allocation of affordable housing;
1. Persons from abroad
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By virtue of the Housing Act 1996 (section 160a), the Council cannot allocate housing to a person who is subject to immigration control within the meaning of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 unless that person falls within an exemption specified by the Secretary of State.
2. Persons guilty of unacceptable behaviour
The Council will exclude an applicant from the Register where the applicant, or a member of the household, has been guilty of unacceptable behaviour, which if the applicant was a secure tenant of the council would entitle the Council to a Possession Order (Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1985). Unacceptable behaviour can include;- • Serious breach of tenancy conditions including serious nuisance or annoyance to neighbours • Conviction of using the accommodation or allowing its use for immoral or illegal purposes • Allowing the property to be seriously damaged by the tenant or other residents • Conviction of an arrestable offence committed in the locality relating to violence or threats of violence • Eviction from social housing for nuisance or harassment (racial or otherwise) where this behaviour is apparent at the time of application
Rent Arrears and Housing related debt
Existing tenants of the Council or registered providers of affordable housing, with rent arrears or housing related debt (eg rechargeable repairs or court costs) will not normally be eligible to join the active Housing Register until the debt is cleared. Depending on the amount of outstanding debt applications will either be refused or deferred as detailed below:-
1. Refused Applications
Applicants with rent arrears or housing related debts in excess of £1,000 relating to previous affordable housing tenancies will normally be refused and not accepted on the Register. In exceptional circumstances, and with the agreement of the Housing Services Manager, an application may be registered and deferred providing a firm and sustained commitment to repay the debt is in place.
2. Deferred Applications
Applicants with rent arrears or housing related debts totalling less than £1,000 who have made a firm commitment to repay the debt and are making sustained payments will be accepted onto the Register but their application will be deferred until the debt is cleared in full. Once the debt is cleared the
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application will be activated and the application will be back dated to the original date of application. In exceptional circumstances, and with the agreement of the Housing Services Manager, an application may be activated provided a firm and sustained commitment to repay the debt is in place.
Where an applicant’s former affordable landlord is dissatisfied that repayments of a former debt are being sustained, the application may be excluded from the Register and no further application accepted until the debt is cleared.
Notification-Exclusions, Deferments
If the Council decides that an applicant should be excluded from the Register or deferred as explained above, the Council will notify the applicant in writing setting out the reasons for the decision, the time period for the exclusion and their right to request a review of the decision. Such a notice, if not received by the applicant, is treated as having been given if it is available at the Council’s office for a reasonable period for collection either by the applicant or on the applicant’s behalf.
Appeals – Exclusions and Deferments
If an applicant disagrees with the decision to exclude or defer their application they can request a review. If the applicant is dissatisfied with the review decision they have a final right of appeal which ultimately will be heard by the Housing Appeals Panel, Appendix 3 refers.
Applications from previously ineligible applicants
A fresh application will be considered if;- The applicants immigration status has changed, or The applicant can demonstrate that the behaviour has improved The applicant’s financial circumstances have changed
The criteria to exclude, or defer applicants who have not met their tenancy conditions either through rent arrears or bad behaviour have been put in place as a result of consultation with the wider community.
This provision effects households regardless of their characteristics.
The impact will need to be monitored in respect of the characteristics of the households who are excluded as a result.
There is a right of appeal which will be heard by the Housing Review Panel. This may favour those who are articulate and have English as their first language.
Mitigation for this could be to ensure that households are aware that there is an interpreting service available on request to enable them to pursue their appeal.
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The exclusion for persons from abroad will only effect those who are subject to immigration control, however this is a statutory provision.
5. Formal consultation
The following questions may be of assistance in guiding consultation: Who is directly affected by the policy/service/function? What relevant groups have a legitimate interest in the policy/service/function? How do we ensure that they are consulted? What methods of consultation will be used and at which stages of the equality impact assessment? How will information be made available to those consulted? Will the information be accessible to minority groups? What barriers exist to effective consultation with such groups? What measures can be taken to facilitate effective consultation in light of any barriers? Have previous attempts at consultation with particular groups been unsuccessful? If so, why, and what can be done to overcome any obstacles? What resources are available to encourage full participation by marginalised groups? If meetings are to be held, where will they be held and at what time of the day?
There has been extensive consultation to date. Please see attached report. Consultation is ongoing with focus groups planned as well as consultation with other statutory agencies.
6. Making a decision in the light of data, alternatives and consultation
The following questions may help guide decision-making: Who will play a role in the decision-making process? What authority do the decision-makers hold in the public authority? What information will inform the decision-making process? How is the decision-making process to be structured? Will the process involve face-to-face meetings? How many? How will the decision-making process be recorded?
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The decision making regarding the new allocations scheme sits with Cabinet.
The policy has been developed in consultation with a small group of elected Members who have formed a working group. They have considered the results of the consultation and taken account of the priorities that have been expressed.
The analysis of the consultation questionnaire has been presented to ATLO, HPWG and is going to OSC and Cabinet. OSC and Cabinet will also be consulted this month and any comments incorporated into the final draft.
The decision making process will be recorded through Cabinet minutes.
7. Monitor for adverse impact in the future and publication of results of such monitoring
The following questions may help guide monitoring: Who will be responsible for monitoring? What has to be monitored? Are there monitoring procedures already in place, which will generate this information? What monitoring techniques and tools will be the most effective? What indicators or targets will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy/service/function? In what format will monitoring information be published? Does the monitoring information identify opportunities for greater equality of opportunity to be promoted?
The Housing Services Manager will be responsible for monitoring the impacts of the new allocations scheme.
Monitoring needs to include
The characteristics of:-
Arun District Housing Register Those being housed Those being excluded Those not bidding Those being cancelled
The length of time people wait by ethnicity and band (if possible)
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We are unable to monitor by sexuality, gender, pregnancy or religion because we do not currently hold that data.
There are some monitoring procedures in place, but these (see earlier in the report). We need to standardise the ethnicity descriptions to ensure the correct comparisons.
The most useful tool will be the Simdell system. We have not historically been good at entering all the information required on the characteristics of households in the system, but systems are now in place to address this.
Monitoring information will be provided to the Head of Housing annually. Consideration of any bias will be given, and an action plan formulated if necessary.
Indicators / Targets
That the profile of those being housed within each band reflects the characteristics of the total housing register population.
Action Planning The whole point of carrying out equality impact assessments is to identify better ways of delivering services so that all communities can benefit from them as they need to.
Action By By When Success criteria whom
Finalise the Allocations CW June 2011 Approval by Scheme Cabinet
Implement the new CW Autumn 2011 All HR Apps Scheme reassessed
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Detailed discussions with CW June 2011 Agreed annual Housing IT to establish report format what we are able to monitor
Training on new scheme IT Autumn 2011 All providers for support organisations offered training
Provide and monitor use of IT Autumn 2011 Sessions in place registration and bidding surgeries in new Reception
Annual monitoring of FH Autumn 2012 and Annual review impacts and review of ongoing and action plan action plan considered (an early review after 6 months of operation is also planned
Ensure training offered to IT End 2011 Training carried PfP staff regarding out. assisting sheltered housing tenants to apply and bid
This plan needs to be built into your functional/departmental action plan.
8. Publication of results of the impact assessment Finally, results of the impact assessment should be published and monitored with the results presented in an accessible and user-friendly way. Please complete the attached executive summary and return it (electronically) to the equalities adviser.
Results will also be placed on the website and in the tenants newsletters.
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AGENDA ITEM NO.
ARUN DISTRICT COUNCIL
REPORT TO AND DECISION OF CABINET ON 31 ST MAY 2011
PART A : REPORT SUBJECT: Better Together – Shared Services - Update
REPORT AUTHOR: Brian Pople DATE: May 2011 EXTN: 37802
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This report updates Cabinet on progress with the Better Together Programme .
RECOMMENDATIONS To note the next steps for the Better Together Programme.
1. BACKGROUND: 1.1 Since the last update report in December, progress has continued to be made on the various workstreams that make up the Better Together Work Programme. 1.2 Following consideration of a number of proposals, the West Sussex Chief Executive Group have approved a number of recommendations and these have subsequently been considered by the County Joint Leaders at their meeting in April. Details of the recommendations are contained in the update which follows. 1.2.1 Integrated Services Workstream 1.2.2 It has been agreed that this workstream would continue to champion and m anage new projects as they were agreed, but at present no new projects have come forward for consideration. 1.2.3 A workshop facilitated by the Better Together Board, is to be held on 23 rd May 2011 with leads from the partner Councils on service improvement, to both share information on working programmes and to try and identify potential initiatives. A report will be submitted to the Better Together Board on opportunities for sharing after the workshop has taken place. 1.2.4 Work is underway on a draft consultation paper regarding free school meals with further work being undertaken on a Disabled Facilities Grants pilot. Outcomes from the work will be fed back in due course.
1.3.1 Customer Workstream
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1.3.2 Customer Relationship Management Progress continues to be made with the implementation of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system across the County. Arun District Council is currently identified to start using the new version of the CRM during July 2011, although this could be subject to change, as it is the last Council to receive the product and is therefore dependent on installations at other Councils going according to plan. 1.3.3 West Sussex Customer Access Strategy A Strategy document has been put together and has subsequ ently been approved by the Better Together Board and the West Sussex Chief Executives. All West Sussex Councils have committed to the strategy which aims to “improve the customer experience whilst delivering substantial efficiency savings” by working Better Together. It has been agreed that all partner Councils must provide services that are: § Easily accessible § Simple to use § Streamlined § Convenient § Cost Effective, and § Robust Arun District has been working towards achieving such objectives over a number of years. However, the chance to share such objectives may contribute in the longer term to delivering joined up services for customers as well as delivering efficiencies and saving for partner Councils. 1.4.1 Procurement Workstream 1.4.2 The option of using a shared IT system for the delivery of Revenues and Benefits has been explored with an existing supplier who currently supports three West Sussex Councils. These discussions have amounted to nothing in terms of the opportunity to work differently and generate savings. This in part is due to timing, where an announcement has been made by the Government that the introduction of universal credit is to be made by October 2013. Such an announcement clearly has significant implications not just for Councils but for system suppliers who are aware that there will be changes to the benefits element of their software, which acts as a disincentive in looking at changes to existing arrangements with Councils. 1.4.3 A meeting is scheduled for the 19 th May with Improvement and Efficiency South East (IESE) who are coordinating a joint approach to the Revenue and Benefit software contractor which will also involve Councils from Surrey who also wish to drive down costs for existing products.
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1.4.4 Having had these difficulties, it has been suggested that the experience with the supplier can be used as a positive learning opportunity which needs to take account of changes in the market place which are externally driven. 1.4.5 The Better Together Board have proposed that the West Sussex Procurement Officers Group and the West Sussex IT Managers are asked to devise a feasible programme of market testing for software contracts that ensures value for money and maximises the opportunity for sharing wherever possible. This proposal has been supported by the West Sussex Chief Executives. 1.4.6 Wide Area Network, GCSx and Internet Provision Work is progressing with the WSCC IT contractor, in relation to providing an alternative solution for Wide Area Network, telephone lines, GCSx connection and Internet links for all partner Councils. Such services are then to be put in place under the County Council IT framework agreement and should result in significant savings across the partnership with little or no impact on existing arrangements. More importantly in the longer term such arrangements should make it easier for shared systems of service to the point in place. 1.4.7 An issue which is currently being worked on by the West Sussex Finance Officers Group is in relation to the application of a levy which the County Council will want to apply as part of the service provision for all partner Councils. It is important that there is transparency and a clear understanding of the need for the levy, if progress o n this work is not to be slowed. 1.4.8 IT Vision IT Managers and technical staff working on the CRM and IT Projects asked for clarity and steer in relation to the long term vision of how Councils will work together as this will determine exactly what and how the technology is put in place for the work going forward. A choice of three visions was presented to the Better Together Programme Board as follows: 1. The ability for any member of staff to utilise any computer and telephone at any Local Authority to access their own files, email and applications as if they were in their own authority. 2. The ability for someone to log on via their own laptop in any Local Authority location and access their own Councils’ network. 3. The ability to log onto a specifically allocated computer in a different Local Authority location. This would require allocated computers. The Board agreed to Option 1 as it was felt is was ‘best fit’ with the vision as defined by leaders in last summer’s workshops and at this stage there are not significant cost differences between the options. As the programme moves forward, this may need to be reassessed. West Sussex Chief Executives signed-off Option 1 and agreed to
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this being communicated with the appropriate teams within each Council.
1.4.9 West Sussex Core IT Strategy West Sussex IT Managers have agreed that in order to support an aligned approach, a West Sussex Core IT strategy is required and a member of the group has undertaken to write a draft for approv al. This document has been drafted and is currently being circulated for comment. 1.5.1 Shared Business Services Workstream 1.5.2 Asset Management Project The Asset Rationalisation Opportunity Workshops have now all taken place. The workshops facilitated conversations between partners on how we might use our assets in a more cost effective way by generating ideas, identifying a list of opportunities that could be progressed to Business Case stage. The workshops also provided partners with an understanding of respective organisational visions and their impact on property and existing/future schemes that are already at planning or implementation stage.
2. PROPOSAL(S): To note the various actions contained within the report. 3. OPTIONS: Work will continue with the various projects that have been endorsed by the County Joint Leadership. 4. CONSULTATION: Has consultation been undertaken with: YES NO Relevant Town/Parish Council Relevant District Ward Councillors Other groups/persons (please specify) 5. ARE THERE ANY IMPLICATIONS IN RELATION TO YES NO THE FOLLOWING COUNCIL POLICIES: (Explain in more detail at 6 below) Financial Legal Human Rights/Equality Impact Assessment
Community Safety including Section 17 of Crime & Disorder Act Sustainability Asset Management/Property/Land
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Technology Other (please explain) 6. IMPLICATIONS: Work on the Better Together Programme relating to IT procurement and Asset Management does have the potential to impact on the work of the Council. At this stage it is difficult to assess the likely impact and as such it will be kept under review and considered once the implications become clear.
7. REASON FOR THE DECISION: To ensure that the Cabinet is aware of progress with the Better Together Programme.
8. BACKGROUND PAPERS: None
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ARUN WELLBEING AND HEALTH PARTNERSHIP
Minutes of the meeting held on 8th February 2011
Members present : Acting Chairman : Kate Bailey (KB) (NHS West Sussex) David Bishop (DB), (NHS West Sussex), Tracey Chappell (TC), (Arun Wellbeing), Hazel Flack (HF), (Arun District Council), Sarwat Al-Attas (Arun Wellbeing) , Annette Wise (AW), (Anchor Staying Put), Cllr Sylvia Olliver (SO), (ADC), Andy Porter (AP), (Sussex Partnership), Sharon Westcott (SW), (CVS – Arunwide), Roger Wood (RW) (Arun District Council)
Guests: Helen Ansell (HA) (MIND) Ian Bates (IB) (Frame of Mind)
Apologies: Cllr Robin Brown, Hilary Spencer, Cllr Graham Tyler, Beverley Burrell, Vicki Reynolds, Nikki Lascelles, Jaqui Ball, Sharon Gogan, Jane Weston, Denise North.
Item 1: Welcome & Apologies : KB welcomed everyone. She is the Chairman of today’s meeting in the absence of the normal Chairman, Cllr Robin Brown and the Vice Chairman, Hilary Spencer. Apologies received were passed and a ‘round robin’ of introductions were given.
Item 2: Agree previous minutes/Report back on previous actions points The minutes of the 23 rd Nov 2010 were agreed as a correct account. Action 1: Completed. DB reported that he had investigated the PCT funding of the Cook & Eat training. No further funding will be available this year but may be funded next year. He will be contacting Carol Fullick to advise her. Action 2: Completed. Information requested has been passed by HF to SO. SO intends to remain a champion of young carer issues after her retirement and will make use of the information received. Action 3: Completed. Health Inequalities are on today’s agenda to discuss. Action 4: Ongoing. Two guest speakers are present at today’s meeting.
AWHP Business
Item 3: Brief Update on Arun Wellbeing-Funded Projects
3.1 The Be-Ok Project – Helen Ansell (MIND) Helen gave an overview of the project. The club, aimed at young people aged between 15 and 25 with mental health difficulties, is based at the 39 Club premises in Bognor Regis. Delivering a weekly three hour session it helps by supporting those affected with mental health issues; by interaction in social activities, the drawing up of personal support plans and the holding of monthly workshops, covering issues dictated by the young people themselves such as anger management, healthy eating, and finance. The support also helps the young people to continue (or restart) education, gain employment and build on social skills.
Quarter one monitoring shows targets are being met and in fact exceeded in: referral numbers (doubled), percentage of persons taking up volunteer positions (92%), and the number of attendees developing coping strategies. The project is well attended, on a regular basis and well received. KB thanked Helen for her update. Page 112 of 124 1
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3.2 Shaping the Future Project - Ian Bates (Frame of Mind CIC) Ian outlined the project, a community interest company in Bognor Regis that provides skills training in picture framing, digital printing, basic numeracy and literacy and foundation IT skills. The project aims to run activities that are beneficial within a business environment. To achieve this ceramic classes have been held since Oct 2010 and now provide goods for Weald & Downland Museum and Aldingbourne Trust and the printing of horse photography for clients has led to framing opportunities. A further new venture will be the setting up of a gardening area to teach basic gardening skills. Quarter one monitoring targets are all met however numbers of those taking part are low and need boosting. To help there will be an open month during February and Ian extended an invite to the group to visit and see the project ‘in action’. KB thanked Ian for his update and the kind invitation.
Item 4: Summary of Arun Wellbeing Team Activities since previous meeting- HF HF presented the latest report on activities carried out by the members of the Arun Wellbeing Team.
Item 5: Update on Health Inequalities Task Group - DB DB reported that the countywide strategy and our local approach to Health inequalities have been reviewed. The next step will involve setting up a local action plan, with the contribution and involvement of other groups. Volunteers for this task group are DH, HS, DN and DB and they will meet up on the 7 th March. They will feedback to this group on the outcome.
Item 6: Report back from AWHP Awayday - DB DB advised that the Awayday had been held in Bognor (Durban Hse) and was well attended and proactive. The group had looked at the purpose of the partnership, its make up and the way forward. A draft revised terms of reference and membership will be presented to the next meeting, taking into account suggestions from the awayday and the requirements of the new Prevention and Wellbeing Programme. ACTION 1: HF to produce draft ToR
Item 7: AWHP Funding & Grants: HF This paper is for information. HF advised that all funding avenues are being reviewed at present and news is awaited on what funds will be made available next year for Wellbeing.
A discussion was raised by SO on the adverse effect the cutbacks on Breakfast and After School clubs at The Arena are having on parents who wish to continue working. ACTION 2: Councillor Graham Tyler to make enquiries and respond direct to SO.
Item 8: Arun Community Hospital This item was deferred to a later meeting as Gaynor Baker was unwell and gave apologies.
Item 9: West Sussex Child Poverty Strategy – DB DB presented a power point presentation, explaining the strategy framework. The slides provided an overview of the lasting impacts of child poverty throughout a person’s life, affecting development, education, employment, living standards and health. The Government aims to work towards eradication of Child Poverty by 2020. The slides also provided information on the geographical areas affected by child poverty, the risk factors involved, the drivers and the additional impact of the recession, especially the effect on LNIA areas. There is a clear need for a structured evidence-based early intervention and prevention programme to address the problem. A fund of two million pounds has been allocated over the next three years to focus on a targeted 190 families in the County. To assist preparation of the strategy (which will form this year’s Director of Public Health Annual Report) there is currently a consultation taking place (ending 28 th February) and group members were urged to send their comments DB or direct to Catherine Scott.
AP commented that the economic development aspect should be linked into the strategy and CAMHS (Children & Adult Mental Health Services) should also be incorporated. Page 113 of 124 2
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DB confirmed that these elements will be reflected in the final strategy.
ACTION 3: TC to send to all on AWHP an email of the slide presentation. ACTION 4: ALL AWHP members to review the slides and pass questions/comments to either Catherine Scott ( [email protected] ) or DB ( [email protected]) by the 28 th Feb .
Item 10: Restructuring of Adult Community Services - AP AP reported that there is currently an overview on all plans concerning Mental Health issues across West Sussex with changes occurring over the next 18 months. Subject to HOSC approval:
Community Health Services will be improved , meaning less beds being allocated within hospitals and more emphasis on delivering services out in the community.
The service age guidelines will be altered . Adults will now be covered from age16 with no upper limit. An additional category for those over 65 who are sufferers of dementia will be created, with access to specialised dementia services.
Big structural changes to hospitals and an increase in staff resources will occur, with wards for both adults and dementia patients being on the same sites, replacing the older style wards.
The Community Services teams will be reorganised . There will be three teams in West Sussex - one will be Adur, Worthing and east Arun, the second will be Chichester and West Arun, and the third in Crawley, Horsham and Mid-Sussex.
In West Sussex the PCT have set targets of creating 35 new Primary Mental health workers by April. 29 so far have been recruited and will be linked to GP surgeries.
Capital has been commissioned to run a pilot Peer Support role within Meadowfield/Swandean (Worthing) which, if successful, is likely to be duplicated elsewhere.
Each of the three areas will have services for adults and specialised services for dementia sufferers and a ‘Make it Happen’ group to oversee the changes taking place in each area.
AP will be heading up the ‘Make it Happen’ group for the Arun area and he invited the AWHP members to make contact with him to ask any questions they may have. KB thanked AP for his update.
Item 11: Health Needs Assessments of Gypsies and Traveller: DB DB made comments on the ten to fifteen recommendations on the Executive Summary Report. There are plans to hold a separate session to discuss Offenders health. A copy of the Executive Summary Report can be emailed out to members on request to DB.
Item 12: Healthy Lives, Healthy People White Paper: DB The publication of this paper was noted. A number of organisations will be sending individual responses to the consultation. Members are reminded that they are welcome to send copies of their individual responses to the Partnership Manager to incorporate into a group response.
Standing Items
Item 13: Transition to GP Consortia commissioning Confirmed that the three GP Consortia (Cissbury, ARCH (Arun, Regis and Chichester) and Arun East which are in the Arun District will form the Coastal West Sussex Federation.
Item 14: Issues referred to or from the LSP: DB Nothing to report Page 114 of 124 3
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Item 15: Any Other Business. SW explained about the “Strictly Health and Wellbeing in West Sussex event” for invited guests only, on 23 rd March, for the purpose of bringing together voluntary and community groups, health professionals and statutory partners to look at the role of the voluntary and community sector in relation to the health and wellbeing needs of West Sussex residents.
SO advised she is to resign as Councillor in May, after 25 years service to Arun. KB thanked her for her contribution to the Partnership and wished her well for her retirement.
Item 16: Items for/carried to future agendas. Partnership would like covered at the next meeting:
Fuel Poverty: Michelle Cheeseman Integrated Offender Management: Su Leeming A representative from the Coastal West Sussex GP Federation (KB will try to arrange)
Future topics still to be covered: • Anna Barzotti, West Sussex Arts and Health Network Coordinator, update on the Arts and Health Strategy • Partners - Future funding/financial threats (all partners) • Jim Pillow, WSCC, re respite care for people with dementia • Integrated Community Transport (e.g.Bill Leith)and community transport provider • Dee Christie, Operations Manager, Occupational Therapy and Sensory Services, re Affordable Assistive Technology • Report back from social care eligibility criteria consultation • Developing day activities – redefining how centres for older people offer their services to members of the public
Item 17: Dates of future meetings. The date of the next meeting will be:
Tuesday 24 th MAY 3pm till 5pm Committee Room 1, Arun Civic Centre, LH
Thereafter: Wednesday 28 th Sept 2011, Tuesday 10 th Jan 2012, Wednesday 18 th April 2012 All meetings will be in Committee Room 1, Arun Civic Centre, Littlehampton from 3pm till 5pm
The meeting closed at 16.50pm
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Safer Arun Partnership (SAP)
28th February 2011 at 3.00 p.m.
Present: Arun District Council Councillor R Elkins Councillor L Brown Kevin Basford, Head of Environmental Amenities & Community Safety Georgina Holland, Community Safety Manager Sarah Hemsley, Partnership Support Officer
Surrey & Sussex Probation Service Su Leeming, Senior Probation Officer
Sussex Police Chief Inspector Jane Derrick
Sussex Police Authority Peter Evans (Chair)
West Sussex County Council Jo Millward, Community Safety Manager
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service Dave Benham, District Commander
West Sussex Primary Care Trust David Bishop, Health Improvement Co-ordinator
Co-Opted Members
Hilary Spencer, Chair of Community Cohesion Group, Chief Executive of CVS-Arunwide
265. Apologies for Absence
No apologies were received.
266. Minutes and actions arising of previous meeting on 22nd November 2010
The Minutes of the meeting held on 22nd November 2010 were approved by the Partnership as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
174 – Details of the designated Information Sharing Officers have been received from NHS West Sussex, Sussex Police, West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Sussex Police Authority and Surrey & Sussex Probation Service. West Sussex County Council is still outstanding. Page 116 of 124 Page 1 of 8
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ACTION: Jo Millward to forward details of WSCC Designated Information Sharing Officer to Georgina Holland.
177 - Arun Mosaic data – Action Completed.
207 – The Youth Council receive the SAP agenda and papers but as yet have provided no feedback.
223 – Reducing Reoffending summaries are still to be received from WSCC and Arun Housing.
ACTION: WSCC and ADC Housing to forward reducing reoffending summaries to Sarah Hemsley to forward onto Su Leeming.
257 – Future Priorities and working of Safer Arun discussed under agenda item 3.
258 – SAP Performance discussed under agenda item 4.
Partners are requested to feedback on the progress of their actions prior to SAP meetings.
267. Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest made.
268. Safer Arun Partnership: Priorities and structure
Home Office have allocated £696,000 to WSSCSP for the County’s Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs). Of this, £575,500 has been allocated to mainstream Community Safety, £107,700 to Young People Substance Misuse and £13,000 to Call to Action. WSSCSP will be evaluating the allocation of the Young Person Substance Misuse funding which will reflect CSP priorities and take into consideration what previous projects have and have not worked well to inform and shape future approaches. This leaves £588,000, made up of the Community Safety and Call to Action funding to be allocated.
WSSCSP have agreed to allocate the community safety funds on a needs based formula of 60% to LNIA CSPs and 40% to non-LNIA CSPs. On this basis the SAP will receive £79,388 before the Young Person Substance Misuse fund is allocated. This equates to a 50% reduction.
It was agreed at the SAP meeting held on 22nd November 2010 that:
1. The SAP Strategic Priorities for 2011 – 14 will be: Antisocial Behaviour and; Trust and Confidence. Page 117 of 124 Page 2 of 8
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2. SAP would adopt the supporting principles as recommended by PMG: a. Joint problem solving using Victim, Offender, Location and Time, with increased emphasis on real time Information and Intelligence sharing b. Focus on early intervention and prevention and building sustainable relationships c. Measurable outcome-based targets and simplified reporting structures with a focus on frontline delivery.
3. SAP will comprise of an Executive (strategic) group and a single Operational group.
An extra-ordinary SAP meeting will be held to discuss the allocation of the £79,388 to the 2 agreed strategic priorities and to sign off the terms of reference.
Extra-ordinary meeting to be held on 15th March 2011 at 12.00pm in the Amberley Room at Dove Lodge, Beach Road, Littlehampton.
The future partnership structure and chairing arrangements were discussed. The SPA chaired SAP during 2010/11 with ADC as the Vice-Chair and Chair of PMG, in place of NHS West Sussex who requested to defer due to internal structural changes.
Partners were asked whether SAP should continue with a rolling Chair and Vice-Chair in the lead up to the election of the Police Commissioner and with the structural changes currently taking place within partner agencies.
If the rolling Chair continues, ADC would take on the Chair of the SAP Executive group with NHS as Vice Chair. David Bishop advised that the NHS is still in the same situation as 2010/11. It was suggested that ADC and the Police are the most stable organisations at present and therefore in the best position to chair the SAP.
It was proposed that the principle of a SAP rolling chair continue for 2011/12 with ADC as the Chair for and Sussex Police as the Vice Chair.
This was agreed.
Partners felt it was crucial to have the right Chair on the single Operational Group and it was considered that the Sussex Police would be best suited to take this group forward in 2011/12 as the role calls for tactical response.
It was agreed that Sussex Police as the vice-chair of SAP would chair the Single Operational Group.
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269. SAP Performance: Quarterly Performance Update
i) Crime Performance data
It was noted that the Quarter 3 performance figures were generally good. However it was highlighted that shoplifting, violent crime (assault without injury) and racially /religiously aggravated offences have increased.
CI Derrick confirmed that shoplifting is a priority for the NPTs.
The reporting of assault without injury is rising. This could be due in part to an increase in public confidence following proactive police work. Op Tatra is being mainstreamed across the District to tackle violent crime.
In relation to racially / religiously aggravated offences, it was highlighted that the Expanding Communities Team (ECT) has been heavily relied on across Arun and into Chichester in the past for interventions with the non-English speaking communities. It was brought to partners’ attention that the ECT is being reduced from six full time posts to three 18 hour posts due to lack of funding. This will restrict the team activities to adherence of their Service Level Agreement requirements which currently are to support the ADC frontline services, such as Housing. There is some funding available for work around rough sleepers but the Expanding Communities resource will not be as readily available as it has been.
ii) SAP working group Action Plans
At the SAP meeting held on 24th May 2010, partners agreed that every working group commit to sending the Communications group 1 story per month to help populate and refresh the SAP website.
It was highlighted that working groups are not feeding in news stories to the Communications group, which means the SAP website is not being refreshed enough, resulting in a reduced number of hits to the site as visitors to the site will see less reason to return. The Partnership News is important for reassurance and building trust and confidence.
Partners were also encouraged to send information and case studies about voluntary groups and community projects for ‘views from the residents’. Hilary Spencer offered to forward an email request for views from the residents to the CVS Network for anyone interested in participating.
To encourage more hits to the website, the Communications group has been proactively requesting resident e-mail addresses to sign up to the newsletter on their behalf.
It was noted that Arson / Deliberate fires had a bad start to the year but inroads have been made into the deliberate fires at Westergate. In November the number of deliberate fires was reduced from 27 to 18, in December to 6 and there were 8 incidents in January. Activities by WSFRS & SAP have
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made a difference. This is on target for the 5% partnership reduction target which would see a year on year reduction.
Partners were advised that the £5,000 contribution to the Sussex Police body cams has been committed.
PMG asked SAP to consider a request from Sussex Police for £1200 to purchase Shop Watch radios. These will be given on a trial basis to stores not included in the Shop Watch scheme to enable them to see the benefits and give them the opportunity to buy into the scheme. It was also suggested that this would help reduce shoplifting.
Partners agreed to purchase the Shop Watch radios for £1,200.
It was brought to partners’ attention that JAG had requested £1,000 for the regeneration of a hopscotch area in Bersted and £500 for a parking scheme in Rose Green. There were concerns that, although these were worthwhile projects, they didn’t meet the partnership strategic priorities. It was suggested that there are other more appropriate community funding sources available for these projects such as the Clean and Safe or Joint Area Committee grants.
Partners recognised the potential of the remaining under spend to cushion the impact of the funding shortfall for 2011 / 12 and the necessity to ensure the SAP priorities are met when allocating funds.
It was suggested that more structure is needed for future funding allocations.
Partners agreed not to fund the two JAG bids for £1,500.
iii) Pevensey Neighbourhood Agreement
The Neighbourhood Agreement is a two-way contract between the Partnership and the community. The agreement has been generally welcomed in the Pevensey community and there is a clear desire from residents for the Partnership to work with them.
The PMG held a separate meeting on 31st January 2011 to discuss the commitments for the Neighbourhood Agreement. The launch has been delayed until April 2011 for partners to take stock of what can be achieved. Partners agreed there was a lot to be gained by moving this project forward.
A high level walk about with community representatives has been arranged for Friday 11th March to see what can be achieved in the short term and to use as a foundation for medium and long-term projects.
There were concerns around the Hastings Close LAT and possible duplications of work, which would need to be incorporated into the Agreement. Funding for projects taking place in proposed Neighbourhood Agreement area will be deferred until the actions and priorities for the area are agreed. Page 120 of 124 Page 5 of 8
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Partners were advised that an evaluation of the SAP strategy is being undertaken by the Clean & Safe Evaluation Officer and that all feedback is gratefully received. The deadline for responses is 18th March 2011.
270. Arun Rough Sleeper Strategy
Arun District Council Housing has received funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government to help tackle local issues of rough sleepers in Arun as the figures are very high compared to other districts in the country. Consequently, ADC Housing are leading on the Arun Rough Sleeper Strategy and have set up a multi-agency steering group (attending agencies include the ECT, Police and Community Safety etc.). The Strategy will be incorporating rough sleeper issues including anti-social behaviour and migrant communities. It also takes into account that in some situations, sleeping rough is a lifestyle choice and therefore an individualistic approach is needed. It is perceived that the majority of visible rough sleepers appear to be Eastern Europeans, although figures have shown that only 40% of all Arun’s rough sleepers are from these communities. It was thought that this is partially due to the different classifications and interpretation of the definition of homelessness.
Partners were informed that WSCC have supported an Outreach Project in Bognor Regis which consists of 2 outreach workers, of which one speaks fluent polish. Their role is to directly intervene with rough sleepers to reduce their vulnerabilities and resolve situations where anti-social behaviour and crime occurs, working with partners such as the police. Even though the project only started at the end of the January, the interventions undertaken by the outreach workers and the ECT have already encouraged identified rough sleepers to seek help. A similar project was successfully targeted in Worthing in the past, which emphasised the need for joined up working along the coast to reduce the impact of possible displacement of rough sleepers.
Partners were advised that St Martin’s Centre is closing. The rough sleeping community are unhappy about the prospect and may relocate to the nearest homeless shelter located in Chichester and provided by Stonepillow. Stonepillow have also received funding (from the DCLG allocation) to enable a resettlement link worker post which will operate from their Sands Project in Bognor to provide advice and support for the rough sleeping community in Bognor. From 1st April there will be no dedicated drop in facility for the homelessness communities in Bognor.
271. Restructure and changes within Sussex Police
Partners were advised that the Sussex Police North and West Downs Divisions will be merging as part of the strategic decision to save £52 million. This will result in changes to the policing structure.
The Arun Neighbourhood Response Team (NRT) and Response Investigation Team (RIT) will be based at Bognor Regis Police Station. Page 121 of 124 Page 6 of 8
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Concerns were raised over the extra time it will take to get across the district. It was confirmed that once the NRT have signed on for work they will be deployed to the area they are responsible for and response is also now West Sussex wide so response teams can cross the District / Borough boundaries to respond to issues.
The Neighbourhood Policing Team will be based at Bognor Regis and Littlehampton Police Stations. The Littlehampton front office will remain open. Arundel Police Station front office will be closing and the Arundel Neighbourhood Policing team will be working predominately out of Littlehampton with some space to hot desk at Arundel. The Road Policing Team will be working out of Arundel Police Station.
The NPT restructure will still be focusing on ASB, trust and confidence and partnership working. Performance plan targets for Sussex Police have also been agreed,
Sussex police have put the news out to press.
ACTION: Jane Derrick to forward details to Georgina Holland to put onto the SAP website.
272. Child Poverty Strategy
WSCC and NHS have a duty to create a Child Poverty Strategy by April 2011 as set out in the Child Poverty Act. Partners were invited to contribute to the consultation about the framework of the strategy.
The Strategy will focus on areas where poverty rates are the highest. Expected wards for Arun are LNIAs Ham, Wick and Bersted, where 1 in 3 children are affected. It was suggested that there would be an opportunity for joined up working where possible.
The Strategy sets out the approach needed to tackle problem and clarifies the local need. Criteria will be introduced for all Early Intervention projects focusing on delivery, cost effectiveness and where projects meet the criteria. Existing services will be mapped and gaps identified.
Partners were requested to submit feedback or comments to David Bishop or Catherine Scott.
273. Future Agenda Items
i) Safer Arun Partnership
Sussex Probation presentation on Integrated Offender Management
Finalise money against priorities
Sussex Police structure Page 122 of 124 Page 7 of 8
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WSCC structure with Duncan Barrett to be invited
ii) WSSCSP
Task & Finish group will be looking at funding.
WSSCSP holding position regarding structures at a strategic level in 2011/12
274. Arun Local Strategic Partnership
The Report back from the LSP Meeting held on 7th December 2010 was circulated with the agenda for information.
275. Arun Health and Wellbeing Partnership
The Report back from the Arun Health and Wellbeing meeting held on 8th February 2011 was circulated with the agenda for information.
276. Arun Community Cohesion Group
i) Report back from meeting held on 10th February 2011
Report circulated with agenda for information.
ii) Overall Assessment of District Community Tensions
Low
277. Report from SPA Meeting held on 9th December 2010
This was circulated with the agenda for information
278. Any Other Business
(The meeting concluded at 5.00 p.m.)
Next meeting takes place on 23rd May 2011 at Committee Room 1, Arun Civic Centre from 3 – 5pm.
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Actions Carried Forward 28th February 2011
Date Minute Subject Action Topic/ Issue Action by Outcome Agreed Community Cohesion 21/9/09 WSCC Designated Information Jo Millward Contingency Plan Sharing Officer to be forwarded to 174 Designated Information Georgina Holland Sharing Officers Youth Council Representation 15/02/10 The Youth Council to be requested to Kevin Basford No feedback. It was feedback or comment on issues suggested that the Youth 207 raised and discussed at SAP via Council are asked for their Hazel Flack views on the website. Reducing Reoffending 24/05/10 WSCC and Arun Housing to forward Arun Housing & reducing reoffending summaries to WSCC 223Page 124 of 124 Sarah Hemsley to forward onto Su Leeming Restructure and changes 28/02/11 Jane Derrick to forward details to Sussex Police Completed within Sussex Police Georgina Holland to put onto the SAP 271 website.
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