Visitors and members of the public who are unfamiliar with the building and procedures are advised that:

(a)      The fire alarm is a continuous loud ringing. In the event that a fire drill is planned during the meeting, the Chair will advise of this.

(b)      Exit routes from the chamber are located on each side of the room, one directly to a fire escape, the other to the stairs opposite the lifts.

(c)      In the event of the alarm sounding, leave the building via the nearest safe exit and gather at the assembly point on the far side of the car park. Do not leave the assembly point or re-enter the building until advised to do so. Do not use the lifts.

(d)      Anyone unable to use the stairs should make themselves known during this agenda item.

The Chair outlined the emergency evacuation procedure.

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 1 August 2024 (Minute Nos. 147 – 153) as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 1 August 2024 (Minute Nos. 147 – 153) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Councillors should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their families or friends.

The Chair will ask Members if they have any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) or disclosable non-pecuniary interests (DNPIs) to declare in respect of items on the agenda. Members with a DPI in an item must leave the room for that item and may not participate in the debate or vote. 

Aside from disclosable interests, where a fair-minded and informed observer would think there was a real possibility that a Member might be biased or predetermined on an item, the Member should declare this and leave the room while that item is considered.

Members who are in any doubt about interests, bias or predetermination should contact the monitoring officer for advice prior to the meeting.

No interests were declared.

The Chair welcomed Simon Mitchell (Assistant Director Adult Social Care Commissioning (ASCC) and Mel Anthony (Commissioning Manager, ASCC) to the meeting.

The Assistant Director (ASCC) and Commissioning Manager (ASCC) gave a presentation based on the following themes:  What did the operational Adult Social Care Housing (ASCH) team look like in Swale?; what help was there for Swale residents? – Connect to Support; what help was there for Swale residents? Commissioned Services summary; Making a Difference Every Day – our strategy for Adult Social Care in Kent; Commissioning Intentions; Accommodation Strategy; Priority threads; and Our improvement plan ambition.

The Chair invited questions from Members, and points raised included:

·         Would Faversham have the same service as Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey?;

·         did the Community Trust Occupational Therapists (OTs) and National Health OTs communicate with each other?;

·         how would this work feed into the Local Plan process and planning applications in particular with regard to wheelchair accessibility on new developments?;

·         communication links between the Council and hospitals needed to be improved in terms of ensuring adults leaving hospitals received the necessary care in their home;

·         welcomed the provision of individual care packages;

·         were charities able to provide assistance?;

·         what communication was there with families?;

·         there should be a quicker ‘pathway’ back home from hospitals;

·         welcomed the idea of people leaving hospital and staying in their own homes if it was sensible and safe;

·         supported accommodation on the Isle of Sheppey was appalling, there was no provision;

·         how many beds would be available at Ocean Heights, Minster?;

·         private landlords were not being able to undertake the relevant heating safety checks without the relevant engineers and social workers being present, this needed to be looked at as it was adding to delays for people being discharged from hospital;

·         delays in terminating tenancies were causing backlogs to the housing register and the longer properties remained empty the quicker they fell into disrepair;

·         properties could not be adapted during the warranty period which also caused delays;

·         the relevant website page for completing Disabled Facilities Grant applications kept being moved.  It needed to be obvious and clear where and how people could access the form;

·         improved working with Housing Associations, Police etc. was needed to improve social care;

·         experienced two residents who were discharged from Medway Hospital only for the Kent Enablement Team to advise they should not have been and gone back to hospitals as failed discharges;

·         the waiting list for improvements to properties to allow residents back to their own homes was two years, that was not good enough;

·         had witnessed big failures from the home care service who did not always visit the homes themselves to carry out assessments;

·         considered that the staying-put team at Swale Borough Council (SBC) did a great job;

·         important that the direct payments system had the relevant safeguarding controls in place;

·         the loss of bungalows for the elderly was a big issue particularly on the Isle of Sheppey;

·         there were not enough suitable available properties for the elderly;

·         some  ...  view the full minutes text for item 359.

Report published 15.14 pm 22/10/24.

The Head of Housing and Communities apologised for the lateness of the report which had been tabled.  She introduced the report which provided an update on the current performance in relation to Temporary Accommodation (TA), the current budget position, and current controls in place to manage the TA budget.  She referred to the Statutory TA placements set out in paragraph 2.4 of the report.

The Chair invited questions from Members, and points raised included:

·         Important to note and thank the Housing Team for their good work;

·         why was homelessness rising?;

·         encouraged by how quickly the Council acquired properties, and wondered how much money would the Council save as a result?;

·         praised the outstanding work of the housing team to reduce homelessness across the borough;

·         how many residents could be housed at Johnson House, Sittingbourne and Bridge House, Sheerness?;

·         needed to bear in mind the impact the two-month holiday camp closures during January to February 2025 on the Isle of Sheppey would have on the homeless figures;

·         Southern Housing had advised that 68 of the 78 voids in Kent were in Swale;

·         certain that residents were thankful for the amazing work carried out by the Council’s housing team;

·         were any new housing association properties being built?; and

·         stressed the importance of registered housing providers meeting with developers prior to building properties, to ensure they were built to the high standard housing associations and others expected.

In response, the Head of Housing and Communities considered that homelessness was increasing partly due to difficulties accessing the private rented sector and also the current cost-of-living crisis.  She said it did not help that many residents requiring band A and B properties had severe medical needs to consider, which reduced their housing options.  The Head of Housing and Communities hoped that details of the savings made by the Council from acquiring their own properties would be provided in a future update report.  She reported that the final agreements for Johnson House and Bridge House were due to be signed and she would update Members on the number of residents they could take.

With regard to the holiday camp closures, the Head of Housing and Communities advised that the housing team were working with those that would be affected early to reduce the impact on the service.   She said that she was aware that Housing Associations were investing in their existing housing stock rather than new developments due to viability and capacity challenges within the construction industry. 

In concluding, the Head of Housing and Communities apologised that the baseline figures were not available for this meeting.  She referred to the Risks and Issues in paragraph 2.8 of the report and explained that it was important to be aware that 1% of people in the South-East of England were at least two payments behind with their mortgages and officers were monitoring the situation.  She also raised concern about the impact the potential loss of the Rough Sleeper Initiative (RSI) funding would have on The Quays, Sittingbourne and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 360.

The Head of Housing and Communities introduced the report as set out in the agenda papers, which provided an update on the review of the TA Policy and set out recommendations for a revised Policy, as set out at Appendix I of the report.

The Chair invited Members to ask questions, and points raised included:

·         Should victims of Domestic Abuse be included under the ‘Placements and Prioritising Households’ list on page nine of the report?;

·         aware of two residents both with serious medical conditions and the relevant health specialists said that their accommodation was not suitable, but they were refused assistance as they did not meet the two-year priority limit for living in the borough.  It was important to look at the ‘bigger picture’ in those situations; and

·         would it be worth adding the weekly TA charges for the area where Swale bordered Maidstone to the document in case the Council obtained properties in that area?

In response, the Head of Housing and Communities advised that victims of domestic abuse might not be included as they were subject to separate protocols and safety planning.  She agreed to take this away as an action to ensure it was referenced appropriately.  The Head of Housing and Communities explained that the two-year residency criteria of the Housing Allocations Policy was best practice.  With regard to the TA charges for Maidstone she said it could but included, but the criteria given for the TA purchase programme had been in the main town centres with good transport links, so it was unlikely that the Council would buy any properties in that area.

Resolved:

(1)      That the revised Temporary Accommodation Policy be adopted.

The Head of Housing and Communities introduced the report which provided an update on the Affordable Housing Emergency that was declared by Full Council on 3 April 2024.  She referred to paragraph 2.3 of the report which provided updates on the actions agreed by Members.

The Chair invited questions from Members.

In response to questions from a Member, the Head of Housing and Communities said that she had spoken to planning colleagues regarding discounts on planning fees for registered providers, and they had advised that the larger scale developments applied for by registered provided often had low fees and the Council needed to consider whether introduction of any discount would act as an incentive which it most likely would not. She said officers would look into the rural designation Right to Buy to ensure as much as possible was retained on the Isle of Sheppey.

Resolved:

(1)      That the Affordable Housing Emergency update be noted.

The Chair asked that the Adult Social Care representatives be invited to a future meeting of the Housing and Health Committee to provide a further commissioning update.

Resolved:

(1)      That the Forward Decisions Plan be noted.

The meeting was adjourned from 8.23 pm until 8.35 pm.