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DELEGATED POWERS REPORT NO.

SUBJECT: Proposals to help manage Housing Benefit reforms & other homelessnesspressures

Control sheet

All of the following actions MUST be completed at each stage of the process and

the signed and dated report MUST be passed to Governance Service for publishingAll reports

Name of GSO Andrew Charlwood1. Governance Service receive draft report

Date 19/07/11

Name of GSO Chidilim Agada2. Business Service cleared draft report as beingconstitutionally appropriate

Date 25/07/11

Name of Fin. officer Jayne Fitzgerald3. Finance clearance obtained (report author tocomplete)

Date 04/08/11

Name of Res. officer Manjit Lall4. Staff and other resources issues clearanceobtained (report author to complete)

Date 17/10/11

Name of TU rep. John Burgess5. Trade Union response received (Staffingissues only) (report author to complete) Date 13/10/11

Name of Legal officer Bob Huffam6. Legal clearance obtained from (report author tocomplete)

Date 20/07/11

Name of P&P officer Julie Pal7. Policy & Partnerships clearance obtained(report author to complete)

Date 19/07/11

Name of officer Julie Pal8. Equalities & Diversity clearance obtained(report author to complete)

Date 19/07/11

Name Andrew Milne9. The above process has been checked andverified by Director, Head of Service or Deputy(report author to complete) Date 21/07/11

Name of GSO Maria Lugangira10. Signed & dated report, scanned or hard copyreceived by Governance Service for publishing

Date 03/10/11

Name of GSO Maria Lugangira11. Report published by Governance Service towebsite

Date 17/10/11

Officer reports:

Name of GSO Maria Lugangira12. Head of Service informed report is publishedand can be implemented. Date 17/10/11

Cabinet Member reports:

13. Expiry of call-in period Date 24/10/11

Name of GSO Maria Lugangira14. Report circulated for call-in purposes toBusiness Management OSC Members &copied to Cabinet & Head of Service

Date 17/10/11

1381

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ACTION TAKEN BY CABINET MEMBER(S) UNDER DELEGATEDPOWERS (EXECUTIVE FUNCTION)

Subject Proposals to help manage HousingBenefit reforms and other homelessnesspressures.

Cabinet Member(s) Cabinet Member for Housing

Date of decision 17 October 2011

Date decision comesinto effect

24 October 2011

Summary This report seeks approval to use the grants provided byCommunities and Local Government on proposals to helpmitigate the impact of Housing Benefit reforms and othereconomic pressures.

Officer Contributors Nick Lowther, Homelessness Reduction Co-ordinator

Shaun Flook, Housing Needs Manager

Status (public or exempt) Public

Wards affected All

Enclosures CLG Memo

Homelessness Grant funding letter 2011/12

Reason for exemption fromcall-in (if appropriate) Not applicable

Contact for further information: Nick Lowther, Homelessness Reduction Co-ordinator(Housing Needs & Resources), 020 8359 6002, nick.lowther@barnet.gov.uk.

Serial No. 1381

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1. RELEVANT PREVIOUS DECISIONS

1.1 None.

2. CORPORATE PRIORITIES AND POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

2.1 Through implementing these proposed measures, the Council contributes to thecorporate priority of Sharing opportunities and sharing responsibilities through theprovision of advice and support to assist vulnerable Barnet residents to remain intheir accommodation and lead independent and active lives.

3. RISK MANAGEMENT ISSUES

3.1 If measures are not in place to manage Housing Benefit reforms and assist Barnetresidents in sustaining tenancies, there is a risk that levels of homelessness mayincrease, leading to further demand for temporary accommodation and increasedcosts for the Council.

4. EQUALITIES AND DIVERSITY ISSUES

4.1 Analysis shows that a much higher proportion of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME)households become homeless in Barnet than white households. Whilst 32% of thepopulation in Barnet is BME, 58% of those households presenting as homeless,and thus requiring assistance, are BME.

4.2 A table showing the ethnic origin of households who require 4-bed accommodationor above and are currently in temporary accommodation is provided in AppendixB. This provides an indication of the ethnicity of households likely to be affected bythe Housing Benefit reforms. Most notable is that of the 173 households who meetthis criteria, the group who would likely be most affected is Black-African whonumber 49 households (28%). The actions proposed will help to address theequalities issues posed by the HB reforms, through preventing homelessnesswhere possible.

5. USE OF RESOURCES IMPLICATIONS (Finance, Procurement, Performance &Value for Money, Staffing, IT, Property, Sustainability)

5.1 The council received a one-off grant of 400,000 from Communities and Local

Government (CLG) in 2010/11 to help manage Housing Benefit reforms introducedfrom April 2011. The balance of this and other housing grants totalling 357,739was carried forward to 2011/12 as an earmarked reserve. Excluding currentcommitments for projects relating to overcrowding work, mortgage repossessionsand evictions, and prevention of youth homelessness has left a balance of179,157 available for HB mitigation projects.

5.2 The council also received an enhanced annual homelessness grant of 700,000 for11/12. After accounting for allocations for Housing Fraud work (100,000), SubRegional homelessness work (75,000), and a sum retained by centre (26,440)this has left a balance of 498,560 being passed to Housings base budget.

5.3 The balances on the earmarked reserve and base budget provide a total availablebudget of 677,717, and the proposals listed below (8.3, 8.4, and 8.5), totalling

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646,000 will be delivered using this funding. All proposals listed are expenditurefor 2011/12 only, with the exception of the housing advice services (item 3).Expenditure plans for 2012/13 will be reviewed at the end of the financial year inlight of available funding. A table highlighting expenditure and funding sources isattached in Appendix C.

5.2 Additional posts are to be offered in the first instance as Barnet temporary contractsand available to Council redeployees. Total staffing costs are not expected toexceed 286k in 2011/12.

6. LEGAL ISSUES

6.1 None

7. CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS

7.1 The Councils Constitution in Part 3, Responsibility for Functions, paragraph 3.3

states that Cabinet Members may discharge the executive functions that fall withintheir portfolios, whether or not they are also delegated to officers, except formatters specifically reserved to Council, Cabinet or Cabinet Committee.

8. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

8.1 The possible impact of the proposed Housing Benefit reforms announced in theBudget in June 2010 were reported to Cabinet on 28th September 2010. Since thattime, the Council has received a grant from CLG to help manage these reforms.The Council also received a higher annual homelessness grant than in anyprevious year in acknowledgement that homelessness is likely to increase and thecouncil should redouble its efforts to mitigate the impacts caused by this.

8.2 Overview

A number of changes to Housing Benefits are proposed as set out in Appendix A.The most significant of these are the introduction of caps to local housingallowance (LHA) levels and a shift from calculating local housing allowance basedon the 50th percentile of rents in an area to the 30th percentile for new claims fromApril 2011.

Unfortunately the financial impact on Barnet is not fully understood. Whilst the totalbenefit shortfall is not known, not all claims will be affected at once and we do notknow how the market will react over time. Additional costs incurred by the councildepend on a number of different factors and many are unknown at present,however there are a number of steps that could be taken to reduce the likelihood oftenants being made homeless and to deal with additional demand.

Importantly, the changes only affect new claims since April 2011, and there wasnot a cliff edge situation with all claims affected at once. Existing claims (pre April2011) have their rents protected for a period of nine months after their claimanniversary. This will better enable the Council to deal with extra demand and

target households for advice and rent re-negotiation over a 21 month period.

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On top of the HB changes pressure is mounting on homelessness servicesnationally due to various factors including, lack of supply of mortgages andincreased competition for private rented accommodation from people who cannotget on the ownership ladder, as a result of which the Government has increasedhomelessness grant awards.

For Barnet to be able to respond to these changes, it is important that measuresare in place both to help prevent homelessness, and also to increase the supply ofaccommodation available for vulnerable households, resourced with the 498kgrant funding received from CLG.

As well as a reduction in the number of privately rented homes that will be availableto Barnet residents on benefits, it is also likely that Barnet will receive highernumbers of households from boroughs where renting privately is more expensive.This will further affect the Councils ability to supply homes within the borough toour own residents.

The Council will increasingly have to be able to find affordable accommodation forhomeless residents outside of the borough.

8.3 Proposed measures to help prevent and relieve homelessness

There are a number of actions that could be considered, utilising grant funding tohelp prevent homelessness for the most vulnerable households. The followingmeasures are proposed:

1. The allocation of 60k to the recruitment of additional Housing Needs Officerposts to help deal with increased demand.

2. The allocation of 70k for the Homelessness Prevention Fund, used to helpprevent homelessness where other measures will not work and one-offpayments are considered best value eg. paying off small amounts of arrearsthat were not the fault of the applicant to prevent their eviction.

3. The allocation of 50k towards funding the Councils independent housingadvice service.

4. The allocation of 3k to assist residents of Barbara Langstone House inbecoming independent, accessing education, employment, volunteering andtraining.

8.4 Possible measures to help increase supply of accommodation

In order for the Council to be in a position to manage extra demand foraccommodation following the Housing Benefit reforms, it is important that steps aretaken to secure additional supply of homes. Using the additional funding providedby the CLG, the Council should consider the following proposals:

5. The allocation of 40k to continue funding one FTE post to prioritise HousingBenefit assessment for customers housed via the Councils in-house privatesector schemes

6. The allocation of 2k to help provide training for customers being referred to

or recently housed in a private rented sector option to help customerssustain tenancies. (The North London sub region may be procuring this,which would alleviate the need to spend on this proposal).

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7. The allocation of 5k for delivery of a new website targeted at landlords whoare working with, or are thinking of working with the Council. The website willbe linked to the Councils website but looking standalone and like a privatesector website when accessed.

8. The allocation of 20k towards the development of a Private LicensedAccommodation pilot to increase supply and as a proactive response to

Housing Benefit reforms.9. The allocation of 65k (125 per letting) towards landlords insurance to

continue to provide a cheap incentive for landlords to help increase supply.10. The allocation of 22k towards the recruitment of an additional Property

Management officer post (occupancy project) to prevent housing fraud andincrease supply of TA for those in genuine need.

11. The allocation of 20k for assisting customers to move out of borough, forexample by partially or fully covering removal costs.

12. The allocation of 100k for landlord cash incentives to increase the supply ofprivate rented accommodation. Incentives will not be offered where othermeasures work, such as the insurance scheme and rent in advance. The

amount of incentives paid will be in accordance with and be no more thanamounts paid by other boroughs for units in the relevant borough, which willbe monitored by the North London sub-regional group.

13. The allocation of 44k towards the recruitment of two posts to deliver out ofborough moves and for landlord liaison.

8.5 Other measures

In order for the Council to successfully deliver schemes and prevent homelessness,the following actions are proposed:

14. The allocation of 40k to continue funding post to prioritise Housing Benefitassessment for customers placed in temporary accommodation to ensurepositive budgetary control.

15. To continue funding one FTE post (40k) dedicated to reducing the Councilsexisting Housing Association Leased scheme stock to reduce the number ofhouseholds in temporary accommodation.

16. The allocation of 25k towards developing the Councils property portfoliointo a property management tool as well as a letting tool.

17. The allocation of 40k for one FTE Regeneration Decant post to helpminimise the impact on more expensive forms of TA. At any moment the

borough has in excess of 800 homeless families living in non-secure counciltenancies due for demolition on the regeneration estates. In advance of ablock being demolished the non-secure tenants residing there must bemoved, sometimes in large numbers and at short notice. Having one officerco-ordinate these moves and work in partnership with Barnet Homes, theHousing Association and other partners has proven extremelysuccessful and there is a business need for this approach to continue, or riskslowing down the regeneration schemes.

9. LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS

9.1 Memo from Communities and Local Government.9.2 Letter from CLG

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10. DECISION OF THE CABINET MEMBER(S)

I/We authorise the following action

10.1 That funding totalling 646,000 be allocated as detailed in 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5above to help manage the impact of Housing Benefit reforms introduced fromApril 2011.

Signed Councillor Tom DaveyCabinet Member for Housing

Date 22/09/11

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APPENDIX A

Summary of Housing Benefit Changes due to be introduced from April 2011.

LHA rate caps. From April 2011, local housing allowance rates will be capped at

250 per week for a one bedroom property, 290 per week for a two bedroomproperty, 340 per week for a three bedroom property and 400 per week for fourbedrooms or more for new claims. Existing claims will be affected upon theirannual review date from January 2012.

LHA rates set at the 30 percentileth

. From April 2011, local housing allowance

rates will be set at the 30th

percentile of local rents for new claims. At present they

are set at the median (i.e. 50th

percentile) of market rents. Existing claims will beaffected upon their annual review date from January 2012.

Non-dependant deductions to increase. Deductions for non-dependants will beuprated in April 2011 on the basis of prices. This will reverse the freeze in theserates since 2001.

Entitlement to space for a carer. From April 2011, housing benefit claimants witha disability and a non-resident carer will be entitled to funding for an extra bedroom.

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APPENDIX B

Ethnic origin where known of households currently in temporary accommodation who havea 4-bed need or more

4 Bed 5 Bed 6 Bed 7 Bed Total Percentage

Ethnic Origin Nos Nos Nos Nos Nos %

Unknown 11 1 1 1 14 8.1%

Chinese 1 0 0 0 1 0.6%

Greek Or Greek Cypriot 0 0 0 0 0 0.0%

Turkish or Turkish Cypriot 0 0 0 0 0 0.0%

Asian Indian 3 0 0 0 3 1.7%

Asian Pakistani 4 0 0 0 4 2.3%

Asian Bangladeshi 2 0 0 0 2 1.2%

Black African 39 9 0 1 49 28.3%

Black Caribbean 2 0 0 0 2 1.2%

Black Other 3 0 0 0 3 1.7%

Other 25 5 1 0 31 17.9%

White British 4 1 0 0 5 2.9%

White Cypriot 0 0 0 0 0 0.0%

White Irish 2 0 0 0 2 1.2%

White Other 6 1 0 0 7 4.0%

Mixed White & Black Caribbean 3 0 0 0 3 1.7%

Mixed White &Black African 3 0 1 0 4 2.3%

Mixed White & Black Asian 1 0 0 0 1 0.6%Mixed Other 2 0 0 0 2 1.2%

Asian Other 17 0 0 0 17 9.8%

Prefer Not To Give 1 0 0 0 1 0.6%

East European 3 0 0 0 3 1.7%

Other European 0 0 0 0 0 0.0%

Russian 0 0 0 0 0 0.0%

Sri Lankian 0 0 0 0 0 0.0%

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Afghan 4 0 0 0 4 2.3%

Iranian 2 0 0 0 2 1.2%

Other Central Asian 0 0 0 0 0 0.0%

Somali 11 0 2 0 13 7.5%

Total 149 17 5 2 173 100.0%

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APPENDIX C

Homelessness Grant: Summary of Expenditure and Funding

Earmarked Reserve

Carried forward 357,739Reserve CommitmentsOvercrowding Project Work (80,082) (12.5k already spent)Mortgage Repossessions and evictions (23,500)Prevention of Youth Homelessness (75,000)Balance available 179,157

Base Budget 673,560Allocation to Sub Region (75,000)Allocated for CAFT (100,000)Balance available 498,560

Total available budget 677,717

Proposed Expenditure (11/12)Housing Needs Officer (2 x FTE Part Year) 60,000Homelessness Prevention Fund 70,000Housing Advice Service 50,000BLH Training for Residents 3,000HB Assessment (1 x FTE) 40,000

Training 2,000Website 5,000Private Licensed Accommodation Pilot 20,000Landlords Insurance 65,000Property Management Officer (1 x FTE PartYear)

22,000

Assisted Removal Costs 20,000Landlord Cash Incentives 100,000Out of Borough Moves Officer & LandlordLiaison Officers (2 x FTE Part Year)

44,000

HB Assessment Officers (2 x FTE) 40,000 (50% funded by HB)HALS Reduction Officer 40,000Database development 25,000Regeneration Decant Officer (1 x FTE) 40,000

Total Expenditure 646,000

Balance yet to be allocated 31,717