Housing & Homeless Challenges - Performance & VFM Scrutiny - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

housing homeless challenges performance vfm scrutiny
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Housing & Homeless Challenges - Performance & VFM Scrutiny - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Housing & Homeless Challenges - Performance & VFM Scrutiny Committee Dave Smith Customer First Director First Choice Homes Oldham 1. Housing Need and Demand Increase in demand - >19 000 register on 69% increase over last


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SLIDE 1

Housing & Homeless Challenges

  • Performance & VFM Scrutiny

Committee

Dave Smith Customer First Director First Choice Homes Oldham

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SLIDE 2
  • 1. Housing Need and Demand
  • Increase in demand - >19 000 register on – 69%

increase over last year

  • c6000 with statutory reasonable preference need
  • 7.5% overcrowded
  • Why?
  • Demographics/household formation
  • Net Migration
  • Affordability/welfare reform
  • Access to credit/deposits
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SLIDE 3

FCHO Responses

  • 92 New Homes and plans for >820 new homes
  • Diversifying products – market/sub-market sales

and renting, shared ownership, rent to buy to be invested

  • Over £100m to be invested
  • CAF and CBL Reviews completed
  • Central Access Point
  • New IT system - >£300k invested
  • Lets to those in need from 40% to 75%+
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SLIDE 4

FCHO Responses

  • BGreen and Holts and Lees Early Adopter lead
  • Co-funded Health, Care and Housing Offer
  • Hospital2Home – over 120 supported
  • HOOP – over 150 supported/over 30 rehoused
  • HOOP – over 150 supported/over 30 rehoused
  • A&E2Home – to prevent repeat presentations
  • 100% funded disability living support service
  • Funding 100% minor/ 50% major adaptations
  • Now considering out of town placements and

mental health needs

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SLIDE 5
  • 2. Homelessness
  • GM 60% increase decisions/40% acceptances
  • 179% increase TA/361% rough sleeping
  • Oldham 4800 homeless advice cases pa
  • 91% increase decisions/83% acceptances
  • B&B spend increased 182%
  • Preventions only increased 5.4%
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SLIDE 6

Homeless Reduction Act

  • Comes into effect April 2018
  • Focus on homeless prevention, early

intervention and support to all

  • Extended duties/personalised housing plans
  • Duties to start earlier and to more people
  • Likely to result in >50% increase in demand
  • Impact on resources and TA needs
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SLIDE 7

FCHO Responses

  • HASWAS contract with CAB – advice and

prevention

  • Improving efficiency/new IT system – c£30k
  • Increased TA - 8 units
  • 82% of all homeless lets
  • Increased staffing resources
  • Housing First - female offenders/rough sleepers
  • GMHP bid - rough sleepers social impact bond –

homes and funding

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SLIDE 8

FCHO Responses

  • Working with GM trailblazers to:
  • Sharing data, systems, resources and approaches
  • Local homeless hubs – out of hours
  • GM wide social lettings agency
  • Homeless Action Network – training and support
  • Develop more Housing First Approaches
  • Common Pathways for complex cases (MAPPA)
  • Linking Health and Homelessness
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SLIDE 9
  • 3. Affordable Housing
  • Social housing turnover reduced – c1200 pa
  • FCHO voids all time low – 70 - 80 (0.6%)
  • GM (1.5% vacancy rate)/Oldham (2%) is full
  • Need c10 000 new homes pa in GM & 700 pa

in Oldham – currently building c300 pa

  • 43% cannot afford market housing in Oldham
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SLIDE 10

FCHO Responses

  • Provide better advice and support – Disability

Living Service, Aids and Adaptations, Housing Options for Older People, Independent Living Options for Older People, Independent Living and Tenancy Support, CAB and debt

  • Diversifying our offer – market, sub-market,

affordable renting and ownership, shared

  • wnership, rent to buy, shared

accommodation, supported housing

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SLIDE 11
  • 4. Private Renting
  • Growing importance of poor quality private

rented sector to meet need – >15000

  • Low rental values, high investment need, poor

management and high turnover

  • 14% not meeting HHSRS/17% disrepair
  • 40% non decent homes/11% fuel poverty
  • 46% BME/32% lone parents
  • 49% unemployed/22% retired
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SLIDE 12

FCHO Responses

  • Tenancy Liaison Service
  • Social Lettings and Empty Homes bid to OMBC
  • 50% funded new Healthy Homes Project to help

improve health and reduce demand improve health and reduce demand

  • GM wide Social Lettings Agency
  • Acquiring properties (especially ex RTB’s)
  • Private Sector Offer made to OMBC to do more
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SLIDE 13
  • 5. Oldham Economy
  • No. of jobs reduced c9k since 2008
  • Resident employment reduced by 4k
  • Wages reduced/stagnant
  • Temporary/zero hours employment increased
  • Debt and graduate debt increased
  • Other working tax credit and family benefits

reduced/ceased

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SLIDE 14

FCHO Responses

  • New Directions Service - Employment and Skills
  • Delivering employment advice and guidance, skills training,

volunteering and work placements/apprenticeships

  • 259 helped into sustainable work
  • 193 volunteering placements provided – half helped into

employment

  • 86 work placements/18 apprentices/traineeships
  • Over £160m invested since transfer
  • c50% local spend within 10 mile radius of OL1
  • Over 85% of c400 employees with an Oldham postcode
  • Further £100m+ to be invested into new homes
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SLIDE 15
  • 6. Welfare Reform
  • Universal Credit – FCHO over 1200 live and over

700 on full digital UC

  • Full digital 75% collection rate – increasing

arrears (232%), evictions (FCHO 15) and homelessness (69 cases to date)

  • Less income to invest into new homes and

services

  • Benefit cap (£20k pa) and benefit freeze means

larger families (FCHO 111) struggling to afford rent

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SLIDE 16

Welfare Reform

  • 18-21 year old – very limited housing cost

entitlement (FCHO 16)

  • 21-35 year old – shared room rate of c£53 per

week – 3737 on housing register - will this now be scrapped?

  • Supported housing/TA – now announced it

will be exempt from LHA restrictions

  • Bedroom tax still in effect
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SLIDE 17

FCHO Responses

  • Tenancy affordability and credit checks
  • Tenancy eligibility policy and checks
  • 2 weeks advance rent/direct debits
  • Introductory and fixed term tenancies
  • Regulatory and loan requirement to protect

income streams and financial viability

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SLIDE 18

FCHO Responses

  • Offered more support through vulnerability and risk

assessments

  • Additional income collection, advice and tenancy

support services – sometimes mandatory

  • Offer basic banking and credit union services
  • Offer employment support – sometimes mandatory
  • Offer Keyring, Treshold, De Paul, Serco managed and

supported tenancies

  • Fuel Poverty work – Warm Homes Oldham
  • Shared accommodation pilot
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SLIDE 19
  • 7. FCHO Complaints
  • Service Request & Resolution Process
  • 2 day response time - reduced complaints
  • 2 stage complaints process
  • 10 working day response target
  • Total 402 – 99.5% within deadline
  • Members Enquiries -Dedicated Inbox
  • 2 working day target – 10 day promise
  • Total 428 – 97.2% within deadline
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SLIDE 20

Some actions to consider

  • Review the Oldham Housing Strategy
  • Better understand and respond to future housing

needs, affordability and new housing policies

  • Improve joint working with planning/private

developers to get more new homes built

  • Develop and deliver GM/Oldham Homeless Strategies
  • Develop and deliver a Private Sector Offer
  • Better support and respond to Welfare Reform
  • Develop better links between health, care and

housing – eg Mental Health, Step up/down accom’n