Tameside Housing Partnership

 Notes of Meeting

Date: Friday 29 July 2011

Venue: Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Wellington Road, Ashton-Under-Lyne, Tameside, OL6 6DL

Present

• Gill Cook - Adullam Homes HA, rep Supported Housing Forum
• Lisa Gartside - Greater Manchester Probation Service
• Cllr Ann Holland - TMBC
• Cllr Lynn Travis - TMBC
• Cllr David Sweeton - TMBC
• Tony Berry - Ashton Pioneer Homes
• Angela Rafferty - Irwell Valley Housing Association
• Stefan Kukula - TMBC
• Andrew Leah - TMBC
• John Hughes - TMBC
• Ilys Cookson - TMBC
• Diane Barkley - TMBC (notes)
  

Apologies

• Ian Munro -  New Charter Housing Trust
• Tony Powell  - New Charter Housing Trust
• Lisa Lees - TMBC Community Safety
• Ruth Greenwood - TMBC Community Safety
• Simon Hopes - GM Fire and Rescue Service
• Claire Bibby - TMBC Children
• Steve Goslyn - Threshold Housing Project rep Supported Housing Forum
  

1. Introduction and apologies

Cllr Travis chaired the meeting in place of Cllr Sweeton who had to leave during the meeting for other urgent matters. Cllr Travis announced that this is to be the last meeting of the Housing Partnership, as discussed at previous meetings, the Local Strategic Partnership has re-structured under Delivery Boards, further discussion under the agenda item 8 below.

Apologies noted

 2. Conflict of interest

None declared

3. Minutes of the last meeting

11th March 2011: Agreed as a correct record

4. Matters arising

a) Housing Seminar 

• Andrew Leah advised members that an event will be held in September (provisional date 20) as part of the consultation process on the Housing SPD (see item 6 below)

b) Data on impact of HB changes

• Ilys Cookson is to check that this information has been circulated

5. David Askew, Serious Case Review

Diane Barkley tabled a paper that summarises the key recommendations from the Serious Case Review that was published last September, that are relevant for housing organisations. This had been the main topic of discussion at the last RSL Forum. The key issues identified include:

• The need for all RSLs to have an identified Safeguarding Manager, and for their contact details to be forwarded to Pam Gough the Tameside Safeguarding Adults Co-ordinator
• The need for training for front line staff on safeguarding procedures, understanding learning disability and the discrimination that people with learning disabilities may suffer
• The need for clarity on the purpose of and specification for CCTV –with regard to this issue TMBC has agreed to provide some legal guidance to RSLs on the use of CCTV.
  

The paper also identifies actions undertaken by TMBC and partners since the publication of the recommendations and provides contact details for Safeguarding Adults, the Tameside Training Consortium, information about reporting Hate Crime and the ASBRAC

There was a discussion on the implication of the findings and recommendations of the review in the light of current spending cuts, and issues relating to the location of vulnerable adults in communities

6. Housing SPD, Helen Brzozowski ARC 4

Helen Brzozowski presented some key issues on the Tameside Housing Market taken from the housing needs evidence base. ARC 4 have been commissioned by Tameside MBC to develop the Housing SPD which sits within the Unitary Development Plan and provide a basis for a future Local Development Framework Core Strategy Policy.

 The focus is on

• The support and demand of affordable housing and open market housing (inc the private rented sector) and
• Older people

Discussion covered:

• Conflicts faced by RSLs between providing affordable housing and the requirement to consult with tenants – who don’t wish to pay higher rents to enable RSls to develop new housing elsewhere
• Risk of affordable rents (80% of market value) when market goes down
• Changes relating to occupancy / under occupancy rules – force people who wish to rent 2 bed house into 1 bed
• Impact of Universal Credit
  

An event will be held in September (provisional date 20) to undertake consultation on the Housing SPD

7. Affordable Housing, Andrew Leah, TMBC gave update

The North West has gained a slightly better allocation than anticipated, 10.72% of £1.8bn. Tameside bids were submitted by New Charter and the Symphony Group. There is now a process of negotiation within the consortia regarding the distribution of the allocation. Overall Tameside is likely to gain 300 units.

8. Tameside Strategic Partnership new structure, presented by Dave Berry

The new structure includes 5 Delivery Boards:

• Prosperous Delivery Board
• Health and Wellbeing Delivery Board
• Crime and Disorder Delivery Board
• Children’s Trust Delivery Board
• Supportive Delivery Board
  

Housing issues will be addressed within the Prosperous Delivery board which will be lead initially by Suzy Blackledge and Kate O’Donnell. Each Board has a co-ordinator.

The purpose of the Delivery Boards is to focus on commissioning and allocating actions to task and finish groups. The Boards will adopt a project management approach, so that members of the task and finish groups won’t necessarily attend meetings, but will have actions to complete against a particular outcome.

Challenges of new structure

• Membership – need to be focussed and streamlined. RSLs have an interest in issues covered by each of the Boards – so under the new structure the risk is that RSLs find they belong to more not fewer groups.
• Query about where homelessness and Supporting People fit in the new structure? Should these be covered by a task and finish group that reports to one of the boards?
• Communication – via 2 annual conferences
  

9. Empty Homes Study, John Hughes tabled a written report

Background – the report is based on the outcome of an online survey with owners of empty homes in the borough carried out in June 2011.

Noted Council Tax data showed 1700 empty homes at the time of the survey, reduced from 1860 in April 2010. Ilys Cookson advised that the numbers at any one time is volatile, due to new homes becoming empty through bereavement etc.

John reported on work being undertaken with University of Salford to estimate the cost to the public purse of empty homes, eg loss of Council Tax revenue, fire risks, policing, cost of temporary accommodation for homeless families, loss of value for the owner etc.

Discussion about use of Empty Dwelling Management Order, Andrew Leah explained that the work being undertaken with APH on leasing empty homes provides an alternative. TMBC and APH are looking at a way to fund modest renovation that cost of which would be paid back via the rent.

Cllr Travis stated that this work should be given a priority for action and that Empty Homes is a potential project group for the new TSP structure.

10. Flexible Tenancy Strategy, John Hughes tabled a written report

A GM wide group is meeting to develop a Tenancy Strategy under the AGMA Housing and Planning Commission. This strategy aims to adopt a GM approach to fixed term tenancies. Registered Providers may let new tenancies at affordable rents and for a fixed term, likely to be 5 years.

11. Key Decision, Supporting People Services, Diane Barkley

Diane Barkley provided a brief explanation of the Key Decision taken on 15 June 2011 to extend contracts for SP funded services that provide short term supported housing for single homeless people, offenders, young people, people with substance misuse problems and women’s refuge, to 31 March 2013. At the end of the period a new contract will be awarded for a new, possibly lower cost service that provides flexible support packages. The consultation on the new service design will commence in late September 2011. The change will affect 198 units of supported housing, delivered by 7 organisations in 21 buildings, used by about 630 people per annum.

12. Any other business

Ilys Cookson reported that the 10 GM benefits services have been successful in securing funding of £500,000 to be spent by next March, for work that will focus on preventing homelessness among LHA tenants.

The group will appoint a co-ordinator on a seconded basis.

Ideas include the provision of mobile advice for private tenants and a call centre.