Agenda item

Report No: OAS/SE/17/020

The Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Sara Mildmay-White has been invited to the meeting to provide an annual account on her portfolio and to answer questions from the Committee.

The Committee was reminded that on 20 July 2016, it had received a presentation from the Cabinet Member for Housing, setting out her responsibilities covered under the portfolio.

At this meeting, the Cabinet Member for Housing had been invited back to provide a follow-up presentation on her portfolio.  Report No: OAS/SE/17/020 set out the focus of the follow-up presentation, which was to:

·         Outline the main challenges faced during the last two years;

·         Outline some key successes and any failures during the last two years and any lessons learned; and

·         Set out the vision for the Portfolio through to 2019, and whether on target to meet that vision.

Councillor Sara Mildmay-White opened her presentation by thanking the Committee for the invitation and for its support over the past year.  She then provided a number of examples, outlining challenges faced; successes and lessons learnt; and the vision through to 2019, such as:

• Behaving more commercially due to changes being made by Central Government (challenge)
• Bringing more empty homes back into use (challenge)
• Introduction of the Universal Credit full service goes live in Bury St Edmunds and surrounding postcodes on 18 October 2017 (future challenge)
• Barley Homes Group Limited which had now been incorporated (key success)
• Purchased two properties for temporary use (key success)
• Following a successful bid to the DCLG, the council along with Babergh/Mid Suffolk had employed a Rough Sleeper Outreach Prevention Worker (key success)
• Unable to meet the 30% affordable housing on brownfield sites (less successful)
• Delayed implementation of the data transfer to Home-link due to IT issues (less successful)
• Embedding the housing portfolio into the council in the way it delivers its commercial work (vision)
• Currently developing a Space Standards to eventually become a Supplementary Planning Document (vision)
• Barley Homes Group Limited to become an exemplar for housing standards (vision)

Members discussed the update in detail and asked questions of the Cabinet Member and officers, to which comprehensive responses were provided.

In response to particular questions raised, members were advised that:

·         A review of the Vision 2031 document would commence in the next 18 months and the council would explore ways of engaging young people in the process.

·         Delays had occurred around the negotiation of land sales to the Barley Homes Group Limited, but this should not impacted on the long-term profit margins / dividend paid to the councils.

·         Suffolk County Council in co-operation of the district and borough’s was looking again at transit sites for Gypsies and Travellers.

·         Emergency bed and breakfast accommodation: The council understood the impact on homeless families regarding school and work life, and was looking at alternative temporary accommodation options closer to Bury St Edmunds.

·         Universal Credit: two member development sessions would be held on 7 September 2017 at St Edmundsbury and 18 September 2017 at Forest Heath on Universal Credit and homeless.  The sessions would be facilitated by the Department of Work and Pensions.

·         The Barley Homes Group Limited Annual Report would be presented to the committee either in November 2017 or January 2018.

Discussions were also held on delayed discharges from hospitals; space standards; bringing empty homes back into use; domestic abuse; young people and affordable housing.

Councillor Paul Hopfensperger questioned whether there was a definitive definition of affordable housing.  Officers agreed to provide members with a written response, which was set out in the National Planning Policy Framework 2012.

The Chairman wished to thank the Cabinet Member for Housing for the update on her portfolio and the Housing Team for their hard work.

There being no decision required, the Committee noted the presentation.