To receive questions from Members of the Council to the relevant Portfolio Holders for this Scrutiny Committee. The Portfolio Holders are:-
Councillor Harvey - Portfolio Holder for City Management
Councillor Ghusain - Portfolio Holder for Communities and Culture
Councillor Williams - Portfolio Holder for Supporting People
Councillor Wright - Portfolio Holder for Council Housing Development and Services
Minutes:
In accordance with Standing Order No 20 the following questions, which had been circulated in advance to Members of the Committee, had been submitted by Councillor D. Moore, Councillor Wardle and Councillor M. Mitchell respectively.
Questions from Non Committee Members
Councillor D. Moore - Please can the Portfolio Holder provide an update on the development of a community asset transfer policy and the process that will be followed to do so.
Councillor Ghusain, the Portfolio Holder for Communities and Culture, gave the following response:-
A draft Community Asset Transfer policy was due to go out to consultation earlier this year. This has been postponed as we did not want to go out to consultation at the same time that the Green Spaces consultation was open as there may be some duplication. We will be taking the feedback from the green spaces consultation with plans to go out to consultation on the Community Asset Transfer in June/July. Reports will go to Executive in October.
Supplementary question and answer.
What will be the process of the consultation and will there be in depth work with community organisations and interested community groups or just an on line consultation?
The policy and questions are being drafted for inclusion via an on line consultation. In depth discussions will be of great value and it is proposed to consult the voluntary and community sector in this way through Exeter Connect.
Councillor D. Moore The High Court recently ruled that during the coronavirus crisis councils can legally provide accommodation to people sleeping rough who aren't usually eligible for accommodation because of their immigration status. Will the Portfolio Holder oversee an urgent review of past applications and current provision, working with other local agencies as required to ensure no-one have fallen through the net?
Councillor Williams, the Portfolio Holder for Supporting People, gave the following response:-
Housing Needs is not aware of a recent High Court ruling involving a specific or general case. If Councillor D. Moore could provide a reference/case info we will of course look into it.
The most recent advice including an amendment to normal homelessness legislative practice relating to homeless people with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) came in the form of the attached Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) letter dated 24 June 2020. This notified all local housing authorities of the temporary suspension of derogation relating to European Economic Area (EEA) nationals seeking emergency housing in the UK. It basically stated that EEA NRPF nationals could be temporarily provided with accommodation for a period of up to 12 weeks maximum in any period between 24 June 2020 and 31December 2020. After that date proposed new immigration rules would be implemented. To my knowledge these have not yet materialised.
As it was, this perceived relaxation in the application of eligibility for the NRPF cohort was actually restricted in practice. It prohibited the use of statutory funding or access to welfare benefits. So it actually only meant that the NRPF cohort were permitted access to temporary housing via private or voluntary sector routes only. The issue for the former was that rent could not be paid through housing benefit and statutory funding such as Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) grant money for example could not be used to cover the cost deficit. Therefore, it did not permit a viable access route into temporary housing for the NRPF cohort.
Regardless of the above, the Housing Needs and local homelessness partners practice during lockdown periods has been to enable offers of temporary accommodation through local commercial providers to individuals with NRPF who have wanted emergency accommodation. This has been under the principle of aligning with law under lockdown and government guidance for risk and harm minimisation (sanctioned practice under Public Health England and MHCLG). The numbers in this cohort in the city are small and not all offers of accommodation have been accepted by the individuals. However subject to further ruling around immigration status this practice is anticipated to continue for the foreseeable short term. At this moment records from outreach and other local homelessness services are not identifying any verified rough sleepers with NRPF status who have not had an offer of temporary accommodation. Our records this week record three persons with NRPF status, two of whom have declined to engage to date and one who has been evicted from two local accommodations both as a result of serious anti-social behaviour.
Anyone suspected to be NRPF and not yet been in contact with the Council or other partner services should be encouraged to contact Housing Advice team on 01392 265726 housing.advice@exeter.gov.uk
Or if rough sleeping : via Outreach on 01392 284287
exeter-outreach@julianhouse.org.uk
Or via Streetlink www.streetlink.org.uk 0300 500 0914
Councillor D. Moore advised that the High Court reference number was:-
Ncube R (on the application of) v Brighton and Hove City Council [2021] EWHC 578 (Admin) Mr Justice Freedman
Questions from Committee Members
Councillor Wardle - Regarding the newly formed Exeter Harbour Board can the Portfolio Holder give details of future plans relating to encouraging use of the Exeter Ship Canal, River Exe and estuary for both boaters and wider leisure purposes?
In this regard it is very gratifying to note the recent cutting back of both trees along the Canal towpaths and weed in the Canal and the contribution this work makes to greater safe use of the canal.
Is it the intention to publish
dates of meetings and minutes of the Harbour Board or what are the
arrangements for transparency of decision making?
Councillor Harvey, the Portfolio Holder for City Management, praised the work of those Council staff who had continued their work in respect of the Canal and Waterways during the Pandemic and gave the following response:-
We continue to work with representative groups through the Exe Estuary Management Partnership, Port User Group and Canal User Group in our efforts to maintain the waterways as a safe and sustainable public asset. We encourage people to enjoy the water but need to be mindful of striking a balance across those many and diverse groups (e.g. anglers, kayaks, kite surfers, paddle-boarders, yachts and bird watchers) so as to avoid any one recreational activity becoming detrimental to others. It is true to say that the Ship Canal could attract more visiting vessels which would in turn would offer financial benefits to both the Council and local trade around the basin and quayside areas. We are looking at improving both our facilities and marketing in order to attract additional boats.
The Harbour Board will be part of the Council’s overall democratic function with agendas and minutes being published on our website similar to other Committees. The Harbour Board will report directly to the Council’s Executive who will need to agree any recommendations that might require significant new expenditure.
Supplementary question and answer.
Is it the intention to restrict navigation on the Exeter Ship Canal, a valuable asset, dating back many centuries and which other Council’s would be proud to have within their ownership?
Because of the significant costs involved and pressures on resources there are no proposals to restrictnavigation. The Council however is committed to fulfilling its duty to keep the Canal and waterways safe and, following a comprehensive survey of associated assets, is undertaking a programme of repairs and renewals. Similarly, work had already been undertaken to strengthen Topsham Lock to ensure that the Canal is watertight, although there are no funds to return it to an operational lock.
Councillor M. Mitchell - What additional resources are the Council deploying to counter the massive increase in graffiti across the city following the cut back in the service during the last six months?
Councillor Harvey, the Portfolio Holder for City Management, gave the following response:-
The Graffiti Service re-started on Monday 15 March 2021 with the help of some additional government funding related to the reopening of our highstreets. With that extra funding we are currently running a five day a week service in our City and district centres. From today, 1 April 2021 we will be using more of the same fund, to add to our budget for this financial year and increase the service to seven days a week. We will keep that running for a few weeks to help clear the backlog.
Supplementary questions and answers.
When will the backlog be cleared and, in addition to online reporting by the public, do Council officers also report incidents?
Can the community be involved through the provision, on request, of cleaning materials?
Clearance is dependent on the size and scale of the graffiti as well as the ongoing nature of these incidents. The service has been extended to seven days a week to clear the backlog and, previously, a full active team has kept on top of the problem. Whilst utility cabinets can be easily cleaned, cleaning porous materials such as brickwork can prove time consuming. Staff, including the Parks and Green Spaces Team, regularly flag up areas of graffiti.
Staff are required to wear full protective clothing because of the dangerous nature of the cleaning materials. These chemicals are the associated equipment and are not really suitable for use by community groups. Some lower strength graffiti wipes are available to use but these can only be used successfully on certain types and so their value is limited.
The Portfolio Holder referred to the valuable involvement of the public in clearing litter from parks etc., materials being made available via Belle Isle Nursery.
The Chair reminded Members that graffiti was one of the issues being considered by the Scrutiny Programme Board for a potential Task and Finish Group and asked for a steer on what particular aspect of the problem should be investigated.
Cllr M. Mitchell - Can the Portfolio Holder report on the current number of applicants on the council housing waiting list and indicate how this number has changed during the last 12 months?
Councillor Williams, the Portfolio Holder for Supporting People, gave the following response:-
Answer
The total number of households on the waiting list for Exeter is 2,772 as at 1 March 2021. This is 296 higher than the figure of 2,476 as at 3 March 2020.
Respective breakdown of waiting lists is provided below. Just over 200 of the additional demand is for 1-bed properties.
Active as at 01.03.2021
|
|
1 Bed |
2 Bed |
3 Bed |
4 Bed |
5 Bed |
6 Bed |
7 Bed |
Total |
|
Band A |
3 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
Band B |
294 |
157 |
48 |
30 |
19 |
6 |
2 |
556 |
|
Band C |
175 |
230 |
256 |
85 |
4 |
2 |
|
752 |
|
Band D |
1222 |
151 |
40 |
13 |
5 |
1 |
|
1432 |
|
Band E |
11 |
6 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
|
22 |
|
Total |
1705 |
549 |
346 |
133 |
28 |
9 |
2 |
2772 |
Active as at 01.03.2020
|
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
Total |
|
1 Bed |
2 |
238 |
164 |
1087 |
7 |
1498 |
|
2 Bed |
1 |
130 |
198 |
153 |
2 |
484 |
|
3 Bed |
1 |
66 |
225 |
50 |
|
342 |
|
4 Bed |
|
30 |
79 |
14 |
|
123 |
|
5 Bed |
|
16 |
5 |
2 |
|
23 |
|
6 Bed |
|
2 |
2 |
|
|
4 |
|
7 Bed |
|
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Total |
4 |
484 |
673 |
1306 |
9 |
2476 |
For added information purposes there were 401 lets to households on the waiting list in Exeter in the same 12 month period. The following table sets out the details of those lets.
|
No. of bedrooms |
Gen needs |
Sheltered |
Grand Total |
|
1 |
122 |
37 |
159 |
|
2 |
163 |
3 |
166 |
|
3 |
64 |
|
64 |
|
4 |
12 |
|
12 |
|
Grand Total |
361 |
40 |
401 |
Supplementary questions and answers.
Are there sufficient resources in the system to cope with a possible surge in demand for accommodation through failure to pay private and public sector rentals with associated evictions as a result of the Pandemic?
Are young people mixed with the over 55’s in accommodation identified for the latter cohort?
What is the waiting time to move into the various bands of accommodation?
Government funding helped provide additional capacity primarily for rough sleepers and the Council has supplemented this by targeting the use of Section 106 monies to provide additional affordable housing, through its social housing building programme in the medium term and its work with partners to help those who approach the Council for assistance.
There is no policy to mix young people in over 55 designated housing.
Different sources are used to provide accommodation such as the private sector, especially for priority cases, but timescales vary depending on need and the type of accommodation available. Available data will be circulated to Members.