Claire Studdart, Housing Options Manager, will be in attendance to provide a presentation on the new Housing Allocation Policy and to answer any questions.
Minutes:
Claire Studdart, Housing Options Manager, was in attendance to deliver the presentation on the new Housing Allocation Policy.
The Housing Allocation Policy had been reviewed following the Localism Act 2011 and the introduction of greater freedom with regards to housing. A wide consultation had taken place with the public and numerous partners, with over 900 responses received. The policy was approved at Cabinet in November 2013 and the eight week transition period began on 9 December 2015.
The main change was the focus on providing local homes to local people. In order to apply for housing a local connection to Wiltshire would have to be demonstrated. Local connections included: close family (those who had been lived with for five or more years), employment, or a current residence. Reasons for exclusion from the register had also been introduced, these included: immigration status, rent arrears, and antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs).
The bandings had been revised into grades one to four in order to gear the policy towards the highest priority applicants. Allocations would be made in line with the bedroom standard to allow people to apply for houses matching their bedroom need.
Priority would first be given to those with a local connection in the parish or town and then the surrounding town, after which it would be opened up to the rest of Wiltshire. There were said to be exclusions to the local connection which included armed services and witness protection.
Outlining the timeline it was noted that from January to November 2014 the IT specification was developed and the new IT system built. Between January and August 2014 the staff and providers were worked with to develop the new procedures, application form, and customer leaflets.
On 11 November 2014 a two week testing of the new system had taken place. Twenty thousand households were written to, informing them of the need to reapply to the register. Work was ongoing in order to get through the reapplications as quickly as possible.
The eight week transition period from the old system to the new system began on the 9 December 2014 and would finish with the official launch on 3 February 2015. The use of both systems until then was said to be resulting in a large workload.
It was asked what the position was on those who could not afford rent, and whether they would fall under the intentionally homeless classification. The homelessness classification was explained as being separate to rent arrears. Strict tests were in place with regards to the intentionally homeless classification. For rent arrears it would be explored as to whether they had acted in good faith or not when attempting to cover rent.
The number of applicants inside each band (as of 3 February 2015) was requested.
A question was asked on people reapplying to avoid paying bedroom tax. People were allowed to reapply under band two on the grounds of financial hardship, along with band three. Figures on how many applicants would be applying as a result of this were sought, along with the number of households affected by the bedroom tax.
Decision
1. To request the number of applicants in each band as at 3 Feb when the new policy comes into action.
2. To request the number of applicants applying as a result of the bedroom tax.
3. To request the number of households affected by the bedroom tax.