Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 26 February 2018 be confirmed.

Purpose of Report

To provide the Executive with an update on progress with implementation plans for the Lincoln Community Lottery.

Decision

That the Executive:

(1)          Approves the criteria for accepting good causes into the lottery scheme, including the six mile radius coverage as per Appendices A, B and C.

(2)          Approves the polices and terms that support the effective introduction of the new Lincoln Community Lottery as per Appendices D to L.

(3)          Approves a member selection panel of two members, consisting of the Portfolio Holder for Social Inclusion and Community Cohesion and the Chair of the Audit Committee and supported by officers, which will meet to consider and agreed the good causes accepted onto the lottery.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

None.

Reason for Decision

Further to Executive approval on 8 January 2018, a project team had been set up and was operational with weekly meetings in place. The following actions had been undertaken:

·         Gatherwell had been appointed as the External Lottery Manager on a two year contract, with the contract in the process of being drawn up by the Project Manager, Procurement and Legal Services;

·         the launch event for good causes would be held on 5 June 2018;

·         the live website would be available to the public the week commencing 2 July 2018;

·         the first lottery draw would take place on 11 August 2018;

·         the application for a gambling licence had been completed, with two named responsible officer posts being the Financial Services Manager and the Legal and Democratic Services Manager having submitted their personal declarations;

·         a communications plan was in place covering inception to launch, including a new logo designed specifically for the lottery website.

Consideration was given to how the participating good causes were determined and how centred geographically they were to the city. The more purchasers the lottery attracted the larger the central fund would be which meant that more grant funding could be offered. Suggestions for good causes criteria were set out in Appendix A and had been adapted from other local authority lotteries, which had identified a high level of consistency. With regard to the boundary, options were included in the report as follows:

·         a Lincoln boundary, including only those causes operating from within a Lincoln postcode. This would be extremely restrictive and exclude many areas whose residents probably considered that they lived in Lincoln, such as North Hykeham for example;

·         a one mile boundary. This would include some of the additional settlements but would not capture all of North Hykeham, Bracebridge Heath or similar areas;

·         a six mile boundary. This would include all of the local villages.

Maps of the proposed boundaries were attached to the report at Appendices B and C.

It was considered that the six mile boundary option would provide more people with an opportunity to participate, thereby increasing the amount of money available for good causes. Clarification was provided that the six mile boundary was from the Stonebow in the centre of Lincoln, as set out in Appendix  ...  view the full minutes text for item 146.

Purpose of Report

To seek approval of the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Policy.

Decision

That the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Policy be approved.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

None.

Reason for Decision

The Data Protection Act 1988 would be replaced by the new Data Protection Act 2018 which would implement the EU General Data Protection Regulation into UK law by 25 May 2018.

Adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Policy, as appended to the report, enabled the Council to be compliant with the new legal framework.

It was intended that further training and briefings would be held for members and officers, details of which would be circulated in due course.

The General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Policy had been considered by the Policy Scrutiny Committee on 20 March 2018 and an extract from the draft minutes of that meeting was circulated.

Purpose of Report

To provide the Executive with an opportunity to consider the final draft Private Housing Health Assistance Policy 2018-2022 for consultation, which was to supersede the Private Sector Housing Assistance Policy suspended by the Executive in 2015.

Decision

That the Executive endorses the Private Housing Health Assistance Policy 2018-2022, as amended and published with the supplement to the agenda for this meeting, subject to a delegation being given to the Director of Communities and Environment and the City Solicitor to agree a process for recovery of discretionary funding if the property is disposed of.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

The following alternative options were considered and rejected:

·         to lift the suspension of the existing policy;

·         to make no financial provision for assistance.

Reason for Decision

The Housing Assistance Policy was suspended by the Executive in March 2015, with the new Private Housing Health Assistance Policy being refocussed with an emphasis on health and prevention enabling independent living by supporting those whose independence may be at risk.

In April 2015 the Government made significant changes to the funding mechanism for disabled facilities grants by making the allocation part of the Better Care Fund, a pooled budget between the NHS and upper tier councils. The aim of the fund was to provide more joined-up and customer focused services to reduce hospital and care admissions and enable people to return from hospital more quickly. Home adaptations and essential repairs for disabled and vulnerable people supported these requirements.

The revised policy explained how the Council would use its resources, where available, to assist residents in the need of support to maintain independence in the home, reduce the need for support from social care and health services and prevent further deterioration in their conditions. The assistance could be in the form of a mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant or discretionary assistance, which enabled the Council to deal with immediate health and safety concerns swiftly and appropriately. Further details of the policy aims were outlined in paragraph 4.2 of the report, together with the types of assistance available as set out in paragraphs 4.3 and 4.4 of the report.

The Private Housing Health Assistance Policy had been considered by the Policy Scrutiny Committee on 20 March 2018 and an extract from the draft minutes of that meeting was circulated. The policy had been amended as a consequence of comments raised at that meeting in respect of the following:

·         the inclusion of clear eligibility and age criteria;

·         more clarity around hospital discharge assistance;

Where the applicant had an owner’s interest in the property, it was proposed that the amount of the discretionary funding would be secured by attaching a local land charge on the adapted property. If the property was disposed of within ten years of the completion of the works, re-payment of the amount would be required. It was originally proposed that this would be reduced by 10% for each complete year, but the Policy Scrutiny Committee had recommended that this aspect of the policy  ...  view the full minutes text for item 148.

Reason for Report

To propose a new Empty Homes Strategy for Lincoln 2017-2022 to deliver the Vision 2020 and Housing Strategy objectives.

Decision

That the Executive:

(1)       Adopts the Empty Homes Strategy, as amended and published with the supplement to the agenda for this meeting, with a review of the action plan to be reported to the Executive after 18 months.

(2)       Notes that there will be additional financial resources, including a capital fund, needed for Compulsory Purchase Orders and Empty Dwelling Management Orders which will be brought back to the Executive on a case by case basis.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

None.

Reasons for Decision

The Empty Homes Strategy had been considered by the Policy Scrutiny Committee on 20 March 2018 and an extract from the draft minutes of that meeting was circulated. A revised version of the report and Empty Homes Strategy had been published to take into account comments raised at that meeting.

The new Empty Homes Strategy proposed a change in the focus of the Private Housing Team to target empty home owners much earlier, from six months empty, and to prioritise long term empty homes in the Sincil Bank area. The Strategy included ambitious actions to work across Council teams and with strategic partners to build a range of voluntary and enforcement solutions to bring many more homes back into use.

It was reported that, as of 1 January 2018, there was 419 long term empty privately owned homes in the city. 104 of these properties had been empty for two years or more. On 30 September 2017 there were 1681 households on the City of Lincoln Council housing register, with 164 of these being in Band 1 meaning that they were homeless or unable to live in the housing they had. Long term empty homes had a negative impact on communities, causing a blight to the street scene and attracting antisocial behaviour. Bringing empty homes back into use offered income opportunities to the Council, both through receipt of New Homes Bonus and the potential to acquire and develop properties for resale or letting.

The table at paragraph 3.1 provided an overview of the number of empty homes in Lincoln brought back to use through local authority intervention between 2010/11 and 2016/17, with advice being the mean reasoning as to why they had been brought back to use.

The Empty Homes Strategy identified the following main aims:

·         the Council would do all within its means to identify and return to use long term empty homes;

·         no residential property shall be empty longer than two years without a clear and defined plan to return it to use;

·         the Could would reduce the impact of empty homes on their way to re-occupation;

·         there would be effective communication with individuals and groups affected by long term empty homes.

In discussing the reasoning behind homes being empty, it was noted that there were numerous circumstances as to why homes were unoccupied in the city. A working group considered  ...  view the full minutes text for item 149.

You are asked to resolve that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items because it is likely that if members of the press or public were present, there would be disclosure to them of 'exempt information'.

In accordance with the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, notice is hereby given of items which will be considered in private, for which either 28 days' notice has been given or approval has been granted by the appropriate person specified in the Regulations. For further details please visit our website at http://www.lincoln.gov.uk or contact Democratic Services at City Hall, Beaumont Fee, Lincoln.

Item 8 is being considered in private as it is likely to disclose exempt information, as defined in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. No representations have been received in relation to the proposal to consider this item in private.

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business because it was likely that if members of the public were present there would be a disclosure to them of ‘exempt information’ as defined by Section 100I and Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

Reason for Report

To seek approval for changes in the Lincare control centre’s staffing establishment in order to deliver the new Lincolnshire County Council commissioned wellbeing service, to be known as Wellbeing Lincs.

The report also sought authority for a methodology for calculating the price of additional telecare equipment connected to the Lincare control centre.

Decision

That the recommendations contained within the exempt report be approved.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

None.

Reason for Decision

The changes, as set out in the report, were necessary to ensure delivery of the new Lincolnshire County Council commissioned wellbeing service. Further details were set out in the exempt report.