Issue - items at meetings - Homelessness in Enfield

Issue - meetings

Homelessness in Enfield

Meeting: 14/09/2022 - Cabinet (Item 12)

12 Homelessness in Enfield pdf icon PDF 836 KB

A report from the Executive Director of Place is attached. (Key decision – reference number 5511)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor George Savva (Cabinet Member for Social Housing) introduced the report of the Executive Director Place updating Cabinet on progress with the Council’s Homelessness Prevention Strategy and seeking approval to introduce new measures to continue to deliver the Council’s vision of making homelessness something that is rare, brief, and non-recurring. An amendment was reported to the recommendation to ‘set rents for temporary accommodation at Local Housing Allowance levels for the size of property and location effective from Monday 7 November 2022’ to add ‘or as soon as it is operationally practical’.

 

DECISION:  The Cabinet agreed to:

 

1. Increase the number of homes available for residents to rent, by approving the Council’s application to the Secretary of State to enable vacant properties on Council Housing estates awaiting regeneration to be leased to Housing Gateway Ltd on short term tenancies.

2. Increase the number of homes available for residents to rent, by approving the increased management fee paid to Housing Gateway for Enfield Let properties under the Offer to Agents.

3. Highlight the significant pressures that Enfield is facing in the current environment as part of the consultation on the future allocation of the Homelessness Prevention Grant.

4. Given the forecast pressures and costs to the council outlined in this report, set rents for temporary accommodation at Local Housing Allowance levels for the size of property and location effective from Monday 7 November 2022, or as soon as it is operationally practical, with the exception of shared accommodation, which will remain at its current rate.

5. Highlight the significant pressures that Enfield is facing on the spend of its Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) grant allocation from Government, and to prevent homelessness, allocate £1.2m council funding for DHPs from the welfare reform reserve for the remainder of 2022/23.

 

The report sets out the options considered, if any, and the reasons for the recommendation and the decision.

 

(Key decision – reference number 5511)