Agenda item

(a)    Homeless Strategy  (Lead Executive Member - Cllr Bastone)

 

(b)   Devon Home Choice and Allocations Policy (Lead Executive Member - Cllr Bastone)

 

 

Note: If any Member seeks further clarity, or wishes to raise issues regarding any future Executive agenda item, please contact Member Services before 5.00pm on Monday 21 November 2016 to ensure that the lead Executive Member(s) and lead officer(s) are aware of this request in advance of the meeting.

O&S.51/16     

The Panel was presented with the most recently published Executive Forward Plan. 

 

In the general discussion on the Plan and, in accordance with Procedure Rules, a Member had given notice of his wish to ask why those Members who did not serve on the Local Authority Controlled Company (LACC) Joint Steering Group (JSG) had been refused access to the draft legal advice from Bevan Brittan.

 

Having previously been made aware of this request, the Chairman advised that he had sought clarity from the Monitoring Officer on the following questions:-

 

1. Do Members have an underlying right to "any" documentation held by the Authority?

(Could you quote the relevant para in the Constitution?)

 

2. Is it within the jurisdiction of the LACC JSG to decline to issue documents requested by Members. Or is it within your remit to consider the appropriateness of requests as Monitoring Officer.

 

3. Were you consulted on this issue and if so what was your advice?

 

4. If a request was made under FOI would the Bevan Brittan report be able to be issued?

 

5. Would it be treated as Exempt and if so on what grounds?

 

The Chairman had received a response from the Monitoring Officer to his questions, which he proceeded to read (and agreed to circulate to the wider membership).  The statement read as follows:

 

“Constitution-wise, the starting point is the Protocol on Member / Officer Relations which covers the issues surrounding ‘Access to Information’ (please see paragraphs 24 – 32 in the Protocol on the Council’s website (http://shdcweb.swdevon.lan/article/1815/Our-Constitution).

 

The general principles are that the Council wishes to conduct its business as openly as possible and to give Councillors maximum access to information in order to enable them to discharge their role as Councillors and information is provided to Members on what is commonly known as a ‘need to know’ basis.  Under FOI, we would not release the Bevan Brittan advice note, as it legal advice provided to the Council to enable it to make an informed decision on the LACC and the argument of legal privilege would apply.

 

In short, I was at the JSG meeting on 14 November when this was discussed, and I had previously been consulted for my views. These were reflected in the JSG’s response on the question of releasing the BB advice note at this point.

 

It is not the case that Members will not see the Bevan Brittan advice (which will be ultimately available as an exempt item) but that it is not appropriate to circulate it at this point in time. The reason that it is a timing issue, is that the Advice Note has been commissioned by the JSG in order to enable it to make informed recommendations to the Council on whether it should go ahead with the LACC and to provide responses to the issues of concern raised by Council in July 2016. The Advice Note is therefore very much a working document with currently unresolved issues (the JSG does not yet have the complete picture itself) and it is very much a question of timing rather than saying that Members are not entitled to see it at all. I do consider that the JSG is entitled to make this decision (which was unanimous across the parties at the meeting).”

 

In citing the relevance of all Members receiving this advice prior to a number of upcoming Member workshops on the LACC, the following motion was then PROPOSED and SECONDED:-

 

‘That the Bevan Brittan legal advice on the LACC be disclosed immediately to all Members.’

 

When put to the vote, this motion was declared LOST.

 

Specifically regarding the Reserved Matters workshop on 1 December 2016, it was requested that the latest proposals relating to a Board Structure and Governance arrangements be presented to this session

 

At this point, the meeting proceeded to consider the remaining items on the Executive Forward Plan for which advanced notice had been given.

 

(a)   Homeless Strategy 2017-2022 – Public Consultation

 

A report was considered that asked the Panel to consider the draft South Hams & West Devon Homeless Strategy 2017-2022 in order that it could be published for consultation with a view to Council approval and adoption from 1 April 2017.

 

In the ensuing discussion, reference was made to:-

 

(i)     praise being extended to lead officers and the Task and Finish Group.  A number of Members wished to put on record their gratitude for the production of such an extensive (and excellent) Strategy document.  In addition, Members also paid tribute to the Council’s housing officers, who they considered to do a fantastic job in often incredibly difficult circumstances;

 

(ii)    central government grant funding.  The Panel was advised that the Council received a grant of £83,594 towards homelessness prevention.  In citing some examples, officers advised that the monies had been used to progress some creative ways of preventing persons from becoming homeless.  Members noted that the ‘Homelessness Prevention Bill’ was likely to become statutory legislation imminently.  The Bill was likely to have resource implications for the Council and it was hoped that funding would be made available by central government accordingly;

 

(iii)  the limitations of short-term tenancies.  It was widely acknowledged that short-term tenancies were a problem and it was hoped that the announcements made in the Government’s recent Autumn Statement would help in this regard;

 

 

(iv)  homeless numbers being on the increase.  A Member highlighted the national upward trend on homeless numbers and called on the Council to give consideration to increasing the provision of social and genuinely affordable housing;

 

(v)    the recent rough sleepers count.  Whilst accepting that the recent snapshot exercise had its limitations, it was noted that the Council was working pro-actively in this respect.  Unfortunately, Members accepted that it was a fact that some rough sleepers simply did not want to be housed and officers were working hard to best support these individuals;

 

(vi)  the working relationship with Shelter.  It was confirmed that working relations between the Council and Shelter were excellent and there was a very good rapport between the officers of both organisations.

 

It was then:

 

RESOLVED

 

1.    That the content of the draft Homeless Strategy 2017-22 be noted; and

 

 

 

(b)   Allocations Policy and Devon Home Choice Policy Review

 

The Panel considered a report that sought a recommendation to the Executive to make no changes to the Devon Home Choice Policy at this time.

 

In discussion, the following points were raised:-

 

(a)  A number of Members expressed their deep reservations regarding the Devon Home Choice (DHC) partnership.  Particular concerns highlighted included: the whole arrangement being overly bureaucratic; the belief that policy rules were not being correctly applied and the perceived lack of transparency.

 

Such was the extent of these concerns that some Members wished for a firm steer to be given in the proposed comprehensive review whereby alternative options to leave the partnership should be actively pursued and that work should commence as soon as was practically possible.  In addition, the Council had traditionally been swayed from leaving the Partnership by the potential cost implications, however it was felt that the Review should not be unduly influenced by this argument.

 

Similar concerns were also raised by Members in relation to the Choice Based Lettings Scheme and it was recognised that some local authorities had already opted to move away from this approach of allocating housing.

 

Assuming that the Executive was supportive of the Panel’s recommendations, it was felt that the comprehensive review was likely to be an ideal piece of work for a Task and Finish Group to undertake and officers were encouraged to complete a Scrutiny Proposal Form for future consideration;

 

(b)  A Member felt that there was apparent duplication in the policy regarding armed forces personnel.  In reply, the lead Executive Member gave an assurance that everything possible was done for armed forces personnel and the policy did not place them at a disadvantage;

 

(c)  The Panel was advised that the annual review of the housing list had been delayed this year due to a delay in the providers’ renewal software.  Officers had been given assurances that this would be undertaken in January 2017.

It was then:

 

RESOLVED

 

1.     That the content of the report be noted;