Issue - meetings

To present the final report of the Housing Task & Finish Group. Members are asked to consider the recommendations within the report and recommend them to the Executive.

To provide an overview of housing issues and pressures facing residents to support discussion on areas of work that the Scrutiny Commission may wish to review.

Members were presented with a high-level overview of housing issues and pressures facing residents and housing services at the council to inform a scrutiny review of an area of housing. During discussion, the following points were raised:

·         The need to lobby government to make it easier to obtain stock

·         The problems of the right to buy scheme resulting in the council losing properties without the receipts to replace them

·         The need to lobby government to ease restrictions in order to prevent “bedroom tax”

·         The importance of supporting families to prevent breakdown of relationships

·         The number of empty homes outside of the council’s control.

It was moved by Councillor Crooks and seconded by Councillor Gibbens that the scope for the review includes those listed at 3.3 in the report, with the addition of empty homes.

RESOLVED –

(i)            The scope for the scrutiny review be agreed as:

·         Understand the pathways that people use to access housing and the barriers

·         Develop a strategy to increase the availability of private rented accommodation

·         Lobby government for more funding for affordable housing, in particular making it easier for councils to increase their own housing stock

·         Consideration of how empty homes can help with the housing shortage.

(ii)          The review take place by way of task & finish group, with group leaders being asked to nominate members.