To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 10 February 2021.

Decision

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 10 February 2021 as a correct record.

Report of the Interim Director of Homelessness

This report described that the eviction moratorium has been extended to the 31st March 2021, subject to review, and therefore evictions will not commence until the 14th April at the earliest. This report indicates that demand will increase within the 2021/22 financial year and lists the factors that will impact upon the level of demand and the timing of it.

The Committee considered a report of the Interim Director of Homelessness that described that at the time of reporting, it was too early to fully understand the demand that would impact on the homelessness directorate due to the lifting of the eviction moratorium. The eviction moratorium had been extended to the 31 March 2021, subject to review, and therefore evictions would not commence until the 14 April at the earliest. This report indicated that demand would increase within the 2021/22 financial year and listed the factors that would impact upon the level of demand.

The main points and themes within the report included: -

·         Providing an introduction and background to the Moratorium Legislation;

·         An overview of the impact of COVID-19 on the levels of homelessness experienced in Manchester;

·         A description of the demand on, and capacity of the service;

·         Data on the numbers of people in temporary accommodation;

·         Analysis of the potential levels of demand on Homeless Services and the mitigation; and

·         Information on the Debt Respite Scheme, a new statutory scheme that would commence on 4 May 2021.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were: -

·         Members expressed their appreciation to the Executive Member, officers and all partner agencies in working to support the most vulnerable residents in the city;

·         Every opportunity should be utilised in getting key messaging regarding advice and support available to homeless people or those at risk of homelessness out into local communities, including the use of digital advertising screens and banners on schools’ railings; and

·         Noting the issue of digital exclusion and the need for residents to access advice in a number of ways;

·         The need to acknowledge the issue of hidden homelessness and young people;

·         How many people were accommodated in dispersed accommodation and how was this split across Manchester and Greater Manchester; and

·         What was the approach to inspecting temporary accommodation to ensure they were of the correct standard.

The Committee heard from Andy Brown, CEO Citizens Advice Manchester, who stated that during the Covid pandemic the number of enquiries to their service regarding homelessness had risen by 12% and the number of enquiries from people in the Private Rented Sector had increased by 46%. He stated that it was anticipated that these figures would continue to increase. He advised that they had developed a proactive communications and engagement strategy to raise awareness of the changes in legislation regarding evictions, stating that this work was closely aligned to the work and campaigns by Shelter. He further stated that advice workers engaged with landlords to ensure that any tenants experiencing problems were signposted for appropriate advice at the earliest possibility, in addition the housing related legal advice was still being offered at the courts. He described that Covid had presented challenges and restrictions on how advice had been provided however they had worked to maintain a presence in local community settings, such as providing dedicated video advice kits for residents to access. He commented that as staff  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Report of the Strategic Director, Growth & Development

This report describes the work undertaken to deliver the new social housing

allocations scheme on time despite Covid-19 pressures. While noting that the new scheme has not yet been in operation long enough for impact to be assessed, the current housing register position is consistent with the new scheme working as intended.

The Committee considered a report of the Strategic Director, Growth and Development that described the work undertaken to deliver the new social housing allocations scheme on time despite Covid-19 pressures. While noting that the new scheme had not yet been in operation long enough for impact to be assessed, the current housing register position was consistent with the new scheme working as intended.

The main points and themes within the report included: -

·         Providing the context and evidence as to why the Allocations Scheme had needed to be reviewed;

·         The objectives in undertaking the review;

·         Information on revising the Manchester Move IT system, migration of applications and subsequent training;

·         An update on the approach adopted to communications; and

·         Impact of pandemic and current position.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were: -

·         Noting the issue of digital exclusion experienced by many residents was it possible for residents to nominate a person to place proxy bids for properties on their behalf;

·         Were staff engaging with local Registered Housing Providers to obtain regular feedback on the implementation and experience of the new system;

·         Could Members be provided with information on how to use and navigate the system so they could advise residents if approached on the matter; and

·         Recognising the significant amount of work that had taken place to deliver the new system and thanking the Executive Member, the Assistant Executive Member, officers and partners for delivering this project.

In response to the specific question regarding proxy bids, the Housing Access Manager stated that there was the ability to do this within Manchester Move and further information on this function would be forwarded to the Member following the meeting,

The Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration paid tribute to all staff involved with the delivery of the new system, despite the challenges presented by Covid. She advised the Committee that demand on the service remained high and it was anticipated to increase, noting the discussion on the previous agenda item. She described that there had been an increase of 1500 entries onto the register, with 900 of these applications in the highest priority banding emphasising the importance of targeting a scarce resource for the most vulnerable, commenting that the high need compared to the low turnover of available housing.

The Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration stated that in response to this Manchester was committed to delivering new affordable housing across the city and made reference to the schemes that were in development, all of which was regularly reported to the Economy Scrutiny Committee. She added that work on these projects had continued despite Covid and it was anticipated that they would exceed the target set to deliver affordable housing. She further advised that the Council would be establishing a housing company to build more much needed social and affordable housing by maximising Homes England grants and utilising council owned land.

The Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration stated that information would be recirculated to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

This is a monthly report, which includes the recommendations monitor, relevant key decisions, the Committee’s work programme and any items for information.

The report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which contained key decisions within the Committee’s remit and responses to previous recommendations was submitted for comment. Members were also invited to agree the Committee’s future work programme.

The Committee noted that this would be the last formal meeting of the Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee and that the Environment and Climate Change Scrutiny Committee would convene in May. Noting that the remit of the Committee would change, the new Committee would hold a work programming session at its first meeting planned for 27 May 2021. The Chair commented that she would speak with officers following this meeting to consider scheduling appropriate items of business for the May meeting in addition to the work programming session. Members of the Committee endorsed the Chair’s proposal.

Decision

Subject to the comments above, to note the report.