Agenda item

To consider the report of the Assistant Director Customer Access.

The Assistant Director Customer Access presented the report on the findings and recommendations of the Task and Finish Group convened in 2014 to review the Council’s allocation of social housing and the subsequent public consultation. The Task and Finish Group and the consultation had highlighted a desire for the allocation system to be clearer for those in housing need and to cut out waste within the system. The consultation had run for seven weeks with 240 responses received.

In the absence of the Portfolio Holder for Customer Access, the Portfolio Holder for the Housing Revenue Account remarked that, in the absence of the ability to build additional Council houses, it was important to work to meeting the needs of those in actual Housing Need and the Task and Finish Group had drawn on examples of good practice elsewhere. Where tenants had particular needs such as disability, language barriers and employment, the officer capacity was needed to assess these circumstances which, it was hoped, would be better achieved with the proposed removal of Band E which would allow greater officer capacity to work with individuals and families on their circumstances.

The following responses were given to Members’ queries:-

• the implementation of the recommendations would allow the officers involved in managing the applications more time to provide advice and assistance to those in housing need and clarity in housing options for those deemed not to be in housing need;
• Band E included those with a housing need but who had an income or savings above a certain level, or, in some cases, did not have a housing need but were on the list as security;

·         only a very small proportion of homes in Exeter had been let to applicants in Band E;

• although administrative officers inputted data independently of advising applicants for housing, there was no conflict in advice from housing officers in terms of the Devon Home Choice system which governed the allocation of social housing in Exeter; and
• the Government had introduced the “Right to Move” which allows tenants in social housing additional priority to move to the area if they have secured a settled job here. As this is a mandatory change, the Devon Home Choice policy has already been amended.

Scrutiny Committee - Community noted and supported the report and requested Executive to amend the allocation policy for Exeter City Council in the following ways:-

(a)        to restrict eligibility for housing to those with an evidenced housing need within the policy and thereby removing Band E;

(b)        to remove applications where people do not bid for 12 months or refuse three properties deemed suitable for their needs; and

(c)        to give additional priority for working households to bid for properties in areas where there are high levels of unemployment.

To not implement the following recommendations of the Task and Finish Group:-

(a)        to give additional priority to those who contribute to the local community; and

(b)        to implement a specific local connection criteria to Devon/Exeter.