Issue - meetings

Further to Minute 76 (22 January 2019), the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Social Housing presented a report on a review of the Council’s Housing Allocations Policy, which detailed the responses from a public consultation to a number of proposed amendments to the policy.

The Cabinet Member explained that the proposed amendments would help achieve the following objectives and support the Council in meeting its statutory obligations to those in housing need:

·  To make the best use of the scarce resources available;

·  To ensure that the Council uses its housing stock to assist in meeting the support needs of the community, including those supported by Children’s Services and Adult Social Care;

·  To ensure that the housing stock is used effectively to reduce costs; and

·  To encourage local people to engage in finding their own solutions to problems and to become independent and resilient.

Cabinet Members noted that the proposed amendments to the policy received clear support in the consultation and agreed that the amendments would promote the above objectives.

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Note the results of the Housing Allocations Policy consultation as set out in section 4 of the report;

(ii)  Approve the amended Housing Allocations Policy as attached at Appendix 1 to the report;

(iii)  Delegate authority to the Director of Inclusive Growth, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Social Housing and the Director of Community Solutions, to determine the implementation date of the policy;

(iv)  As per policy change 6 (4.11), delegate authority to the Director of Community Solutions and the Director of My Place (or nominated Heads of Service), to approve rehousing cases on the basis of exceptional circumstances or cases demanding exceptional sympathy; and

(v)  Delegate authority to the Director of Inclusive Growth to work with Reside to approve any variations to Reside policy or operations required to adhere to the allocations policy.