Agenda and minutes

Councillor Calum Watt, Chair of the Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee, opened the meeting with a brief round of introductions and offered a warm welcome to external guest speakers. Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Liz Bushell and Councillor Matthew Fido. Councillor Gary Hewson was in attendance as substitute.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2023 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as an accurate record.

Councillor Chris Burke wished it be noted that he was a member of the YMCA Board of Trustees and there was a LEAP building within the ward he represented.

Councillor Gary Hewson wished it be noted that LEAP had recently opened a building within the ward in which he represented.

Daren Turner, Strategic Director of Housing and Investment offered his thanks to Joanne Smith, Safeguarding Lead for her attendance to Committee at short notice.

The Committee received a presentation from Joanne Smith, Safeguarding Lead (City of Lincoln Council). During consideration of the presentation, the following points were noted: -

• The Local Authority Statutory Duties were contained within relevant legislation, Housing Act 1996 – Part 6 and Part 7 (as amended by Homelessness Reduction Act 2017)
• Part 6 of the legislation related to allocations and  included the requirement to hold a housing register and have a suitable policy to set out allocation of accommodation
• Part 7 of legislation related to the provision for advice to be accessed free of charge, assistance to applicants to solve their housing situation and the provision of temporary accommodation for those believed to be in priority need
• Current numbers on the housing register were separated into three bands as follows:
  • Band 1 – 322
  • Band 2 – 477
  • Band 3 – 1046
• In 2018/19, the authority dealt with a total of 854 applications. Comparatively, in 2022/23, the number of applications received was 1331.
• The total number within the prevention band was 273 and were individuals that were threatened with homelessness. The authority participated in negotiations in an attempt to keep individuals living within the property or to undertake a planned move elsewhere
• Individuals could be within the prevention band for a total of 56 days. If an individual became homeless sooner, they would be moved into relief duty
• Once the time limit of 56 days had been reached, a decision with regard to the potential for priority need would be made. At this stage, consideration would be given to whether an individual had made themselves intentionally homeless and if they had a local connection to the city.
  • The local connection criteria required six of the last twelve months or three of the last five years spent within the city, family that lived within the city that were in regular contact or if an individual worked within the city.
• Any person with a main duty, had to be rehoused. The only exceptions included an individual that had declined an offer of suitable accommodation or had the provision of temporary accommodation removed due to their behaviour
• The numbers of homeless cases had increased but the reasons for homelessness had remained the same
• A total of 432 households had been placed in temporary accommodation: 132 in licence properties and 300 in Bed & Breakfast/Hotels
• There was a number of B&B’s/hotels we used across the city but there weren’t many and as such, many households ended up out of the city
• Approximately 75% of the cost of temporary accommodation was recovered through housing benefit claims
• The City of Lincoln Council resources included an allocations team, a homelessness team and a rough sleeping team

The Chair thanked Joanne Smith for the informative presentation and for her attendance to Committee at short notice.

The Committee received a collaborative presentation from guest speakers, Caroline Killeavy, (Chief Executive Officer, YMCA), Heidi Walton, (Chief Executive, LEAP Housing), Claire McGonigle, (Deputy Chief Executive, Framework, Lincolnshire) and Sandra Blow, (Operations Manager, Framework, Lincolnshire). During consideration of the presentation, the following points were noted:

• Supported accommodation included hostels, night shelters, dispersed housing, family homes, self-contained accommodation and flats
• Core funding for supported housing came from housing benefit claims
• Other sources of funding came from public contracts, grant funding, fundraising and charitable donations and self-generated income streams and public support
• Supported accommodation support was offered to all individuals that were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, some of which included victims of domestic abuse, victims of crimes, care leavers and single and young parents

Heidi Walton - Chief Executive, LEAP Housing

• LEAP Housing were a non-commissioned service further to the termination of contract with Lincolnshire County Council in 2020
• The organisation no longer supported only young people and instead, offered to support to individuals of any age which included pregnant teenagers and families
• LEAP Housing offered supported accommodation through a number of resources which included:
  • Adam Health House
  • Barlow House
  • Dispersed Housing
  • Homer House
• The ambition was to move individuals on and to prevent a dependency on the service
• Once placed in safe accommodation, individuals struggled to move on as they did not meet Band 1 or 2 criteria unless a service user was a care leaver or suffered serious mental health illness

Sandra Blow - Operations Manager, Framework, Lincolnshire

• Framework, Lincolnshire had been present in Lincoln since 2011
• The organisation offered the provision of 15 emergency self-contained flats and 44 single/shared occupancy house as part of the Lincolnshire Housing Related Support Partnership (LHRSP), commissioned by Lincoln County Council (LCC) Public Health. These were adult services and as such, there was a requirement for individuals to be aged 18+ to use the service. Additionally, individuals were required to be triaged in by the Local Authority, direct referrals were not accepted
• Additional recourses included:
  • The Corner House (Complex Needs and Somewhere Safe to Stay)
  • 15 self-contained flats for single adults. Commissioned by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) through the City of Lincoln Council (CoLC)
  • Referrals for the service needed to be triaged in by the Rough Sleeping Team, not CoLC
  • MOSS
  • A non-commissioned service, used to move individuals on or out of LHRSP accommodation. MOSS was used for those that were able to move with a lower level of support and service users were permitted to stay for up to 2 years. Priority for the service would be given to rough sleepers
  • RSAP
  • 6 self-contained flats, commissioned by Rough Sleeping Initiative through CoLC
  • Somewhere Safe to Stay Hub
  • 9 rooms within a shared house, commissioned by DLUHC through CoLC
  • Provision reduced in June 2023 and merged with the Complex Needs Service

Caroline Killeavy - Chief Executive Officer, YMCA

• YMCA had been within the City of Lincoln for 156 years and housed approximately 170 people with a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49b

Consideration was given to the Committee’s Work Programme. Further to scoping discussions, the Democratic Services Officer confirmed that the focus of the Committee’s work for the remainder of the calendar year would include an update on the Poverty Truth Commission and Youth Engagement.

It was agreed that the Poverty Truth Commission update would be brought before the Committee in November 2023. The Democratic Services Officer advised that confirmation of attendance had been received from Charlotte Brooks, Director for Local Change - LocalMotion.

It was agreed that an update on Youth Engagement would be brought before the Committee in November 2023. The Democratic Services Officer advised that confirmation of attendance had been requested from Toby Ealden, Artistic Director & CEO - Zest Theatre and Sukhy Johal MBE, Director of the Centre for Culture and Creativity - University of Lincoln.

It was agreed that Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (LPFT) be invited back before the Committee for an update on the temporary Closure of Lincolnshire's Male Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) - The Hartsholme Centre. The Democratic Services Officer confirmed that the item would be brought before the Committee during the first meeting of the new calendar year, 2024.

It was agreed, at the Chair’s request, that Development Plus and a representative from Lincolnshire County Council be invited to attend Committee in relation to Sheltering Our Citizens. The Democratic Services Officer confirmed that the item would be brought before the Committee during the first meeting of the new calendar year, 2024.

It was suggested and agreed that the Armed Forces Covenant be brought before the Committee in March 2024. The Chair tasked the Democratic Services Officer with requesting attendance from representatives of The Royal British Legion, The Royal Air Forces Association, the Army and the Navy.

Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 14 November 2023.