The Head of Housing and Communities introduced the report which provided an update on the progress of the Temporary Accommodation Purchase programme which was agreed by the Housing and Health Committee on 17 January 2023.

The Chair invited Members to make comments, and these included:

·      Congratulated officers and Members for their hard work in making the programme as successful as it had been;

·      thanked the committee for their scrutiny in making sure every stage was done properly and thoroughly;

·      it was a privilege to see the project grow and to see the Council had now owned 50 properties for families to live in;

·      if the Council did not approve purchasing additional properties what happened to the left over budget?;

·      how much did the programme save?;

·      understood that it was too early to look into the modelling and understanding the costs of the programme long term but hoped to see a report come to the committee in the future; and

·      would officers look at rolling out a phase two of the programme to purchase another large amount of properties for temporary accommodation housing stock?

The Head of Housing responded to points raised and said that any funds that were not spent on purchasing additional properties would be returned to the capital budget.

With regard to any potential savings the programme had brought to the Council, the Head of Housing and Communities said it was difficult to say so early on in the programme. However, she did say that there was an early reduction in temporary accommodation spend per unit, and there was the additional benefit of the Council owning the asset.

The Head of Housing said that if the Housing, Health and Communities Committee wanted to explore the option of phase two to the programme, it would need the approval at the annual budget. Additionally, if Members were minded to develop the programme, further thought would need to go into how the properties were managed. The Housing Team were now finding that individual needs were becoming a lot more detailed and there needed to be more work around what types of properties was needed based on the locations and needs in the borough.

Councillor Angela Harrison proposed that a vote of thanks be sent to the Housing and Legal staff who had put a lot of hard work in making this programme a success. This was seconded by Councillor Karen Watson and on being put to the vote, it was agreed.

Resolved:

(1)   That the progress of the Temporary Accommodation purchase programme and initial reporting be noted.

(2)   That the purchase of additional properties within the remaining budget be agreed.

(3)   That the extension of the contract for the consultant to work on the acquisitions of the new properties be agreed.

(4)   That a full evaluation be conducted once all the properties had been occupied for a minimum of 12 months.

(5)   That a vote of thanks be given to the Housing and Legal teams who had worked hard on implementing the Temporary Accommodation Purchase Programme.