Agenda and minutes

To receive details of any Members appointed to attend the meeting instead of a Member of the Committee.

None.

To receive any declarations of interest.

None.

To receive details of any Members appointed to attend the meeting instead of a Member of the Committee.

None.

Of the meeting held on 20^th July 2022 to be approved and signed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 20^th July 2022 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

That the Communities Committee notes the content of the Freedom Leisure Annual Report 2021/22, which is due to be presented by members of their senior management team on the evening of the above meeting.

The Committee received the Freedom Leisure Annual Report 2021/22. Rob Tyler, Freedom Leisure Contracts Manager, was in attendance and gave a presentation and responded to questions from Members.

In summary, the reporting period had focused on Business Recovery, with a return to 86% of the membership base. A return to pre-pandemic levels of participation continues to be a challenge in some instances, whilst other areas such as the Learn to Swim Programme have recovered well beyond their previous position. Issues encountered during the period include the risk of significant ongoing energy costs, the cost of living crisis, recruitment challenges and delays to the supply chain. The year had ended with a deficit of £85,503, which included a management fee to the Council of £319,248.

Rob Tyler responded to questions and comments from Committee Members. Where it was not possible to give an immediate response, Rob Tyler stated that he would reply to the points raised following the meeting.

The Chair thanked Freedom Leisure and their staff for their work towards post-pandemic recovery.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to note the content of the Freedom Leisure Annual Report 2021/22.

1.     That the Committee note the Budgets for the various services identified for 2022/23; and

2.     That the Committee note the progress made in delivering the projects included in the City Plan and City Delivery Fund that are relevant to this Committee and confirms the programme of work resourced.

The Committee considered a report on the budgets for the various services for 2023/24. The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources presented the report and summarised the main points, including with budgets for various services for 2022/23 and progress made in delivering the projects included in the City Plan and City Delivery Fund that are relevant to this Committee.

Members were invited to submit suggestions of potential service improvements and/or re-prioritisation of budgets in order to continue to achieve service objectives and to deliver the aims of the City Plan relevant to this Committee, so as to be able to feed proposals into the Committee’s consideration of the 2023/24 budget at its meeting in January.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to note:

1.   the budgets for the various services identified for 2022/23; and

2.   the progress made in delivering the projects included in the City Plan and City Delivery Fund that are relevant to this Committee and confirm the programme of work resourced.

That the Committee:

1.     Notes the contents of the report and in particular that the current Worcestershire Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy 2019 – 2022 comes to an end in December 2022;

2.     Approves a 6-week public consultation exercise to be undertaken on the Draft Worcestershire Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy 2023-2025 (Appendix 1) and the Draft Worcester City Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Action Plan 2023 – 2025 (Appendix 2);

3.     Delegates to the Head of Homes and Communities, in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of Communities Committee to determine the submission of any proposed changes to the final strategy document and any changes to the action plan, deemed necessary following the review of consultation feedback; and

4.     Notes that any final amendments to the strategy and action plan determined in accordance with 1.2 and 1.3 above be recommended to Council for adoption.

The Committee considered a report on proposals for a new Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy. The Head of Homes and Communities presented the report and explained that local authorities have a duty to publish a Strategy every five years. The current strategy expires in December 2022 and things have changed a review of homelessness in the Council’s area had been undertaken. The Covid-19 pandemic had significantly changed the nature of homelessness, the proposed new Strategy focussed on prevention, intervention and recovery, following national strategy and good practise. An Action Plan had been developed to accompany the Strategy. The Countywide action plan would not be adopted in Worcester but replaced with a Worcester City action plan to ensure that it reflects local circumstances.

The draft Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy, draft Worcester City Action Plan and example questions for consultation were appended to the report.

Subject to the outcome of the Committee’s consideration, it was proposed to go out to consultation on the countywide strategy and the Council’s own Action Plan.

Officers responded to questions from Committee members. In the ensuing discussion, it was clarified that any amendments to the Strategy following completion of the consultation exercise will be determined by Officers in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair. The amendments will not be reported back to this Committee.

A request was made for some outcome measures to be included in the Strategy. Officers agreed to take this point into consideration.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to:

1.   note the contents of the report and in particular that the current Worcestershire Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy 2019 – 2022 comes to an end in December 2022;

2.   approve a 6-week public consultation exercise to be undertaken on the Draft Worcestershire Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy 2023-2025 (Appendix 1) and the Draft Worcester City Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Action Plan 2023 – 2025 (Appendix 2);

3.   delegate to the Head of Homes and Communities, in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of Communities Committee to determine the submission of any proposed changes to the final strategy document and any changes to the action plan, deemed necessary following the review of consultation feedback; and

4.   note that any final amendments to the Strategy and action plan determined in accordance with 2 and 3 above be recommended to Council for adoption.

That the Committee:

1.    Notes the contents of the report; and

2.  Approves the action plan as set out at Appendix 1.

The Committee considered a report on a proposed action plan to provide support to private renters, in pursuance of a Notice of Motion agreed by the Council on 5^th July 2022. The Head of Homes and Communities presented the report and summarised the main points. The action plan included measures to recruit and train staff, to inform and educate Members, landlords and agents, to encourage tenants to contact the Council with issues they face, and steps to enforce minimum energy efficiency standards over time. The proposed action plan was appended to the report.

Officers responded to questions and comments from Committee Members. In response to questions, the following main points were made:

·        There are 515 properties that have a registered EPC which fall beneath the required performance standard. These figures are from the national EPC register and have yet to be analysed. Data cleansing will help to establish where the properties are and how many landlords are involved. More detailed information can be provided to Members in due course.

·        The proposed action plan is set over 2 years and will be subject to an annual review. It will not be possible to put all measures in place for Winter 2022/23.

·        This scheme applies to private rented properties, it does not include social housing providers or shared ownership.

·        The Council does not provide details of where a complaint has originated from.

Committee Members expressed support for the proposed action plan.

RESOLVED: That the Committee approves the action plan as set out at Appendix 1.

That the Committee:

1.  Approves the procurement of a 5-year contract for the single homeless and childless couples’ homeless prevention support service with a total annual contract value of £301,500;

2.  Recommends to the Policy and Resources Committee that Worcester City Council’s contribution, being £65,646 per annum for the first two years of the contract, be funded from the Homeless Prevention Grant and receive subsequent reports to identify future funding for the rest of the contract term;

3.  Delegates authority to the Corporate Director - Operations, Homes and Communities in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of Communities Committee to award the contract to the successful tenderer on behalf of Worcester City Council;

4.  Delegates authority to the Corporate Director - Operations, Homes and Communities in consultation with Chair and Vice Chair to grant an extension to the current contract of up to 2 months should it be required for mobilisation of a new provider. 

The Communities Committee considered a report on the procurement of a 5-year contract for the single homeless and childless couples’ homeless prevention support service. The Head of Homes and Communities presented the report and explained that this is a countywide service, commissioned in partnership with all Worcestershire Local Housing Authorities and Worcestershire County Council. The service was first commissioned in 2016 and in July 2022, this Committee agreed to extend the current contract until 31 March 2023 to allow a full recommissioning process to take place, to include a review of the specification and key performance indicators.

A market engagement event had taken place with stakeholders and partner councils undertook a review of the current service specification including the key performance indicators and a value for money exercise. The contract specification will incorporate the recommendations from the review and the consultation exercises.

It was proposed that a 5-year contract is tendered, with the option of break points beyond the end of year two, so that the councils can review the funding and performance of the contract. Funding from all the councils is only secured for the first two years at this stage, with Worcester City Council’s contribution being £65,646 per annum, to be funded from the Homeless Prevention Grant.

Officers responded to questions and comments from Committee Members.

With reference to the timetable set out in paragraph 2.6 of the report, it was clarified that award contract will be on 6 January 2023, and mobilisation of the contract will take place between January and March 2023.

Members expressed support for the procurement of a joint contract on the terms set out in the report.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to:

1.    approve the procurement of a 5-year contract for the single homeless and childless couples’ homeless prevention support service with a total annual contract value of £301,500;

2.   recommend to the Policy and Resources Committee that Worcester City Council’s contribution, being £65,646 per annum for the first two years of the contract, be funded from the Homeless Prevention Grant and receive subsequent reports to identify future funding for the rest of the contract term;

3.   delegate authority to the Corporate Director - Operations, Homes and Communities in consultation with the Chair and Vice- Chair of Communities Committee to award the contract to the successful tenderer on behalf of Worcester City Council;

4.   delegate authority to the Corporate Director - Operations, Homes and Communities in consultation with Chair and Vice- Chair to grant an extension to the current contract of up to 2 months should it be required for mobilisation of a new provider. 

That the Committee:

1.     Approves the procurement of a 5-year contract for the Housing First contract with a total annual contract value of £349,810;

2.     Recommends to the Policy and Resources Committee that Worcester City Council’s contribution, being £99,946 per annum for the first two years of the contract, be funded from the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DHLUC) Grant Funding and Homeless Prevention Grant and receive subsequent reports to identify future funding for the rest of the contract term; and

3.     Delegates authority to the Corporate Director - Operations, Homes and Communities in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of Communities Committee to award the contract to the successful tenderer on behalf of Worcester City Council.

The Committee considered a report on a proposal to jointly commission a new contract commencing 1 April 2023 with Bromsgrove District Council, Malvern Hills District Council and Wychavon District Council, with Worcester City remaining as contract lead. The Head of Homes and Communities presented the report and explained that Housing First is an approach which successfully supports homeless people with high needs and histories of sustained and recurrent homelessness to live in their own homes. The Worcestershire Housing First service had been contracted with St Pauls Hostel since February 2020 with the current contract running to 31 March 2023. The contract is held jointly between all six district councils with Worcester City Council as the contract lead.

An independent review by the University of Worcester of the impact of the scheme locally in Worcester had been commissioned. The final report had not yet been received, although interim reports identified multiple successes.

Funding is only secured for the first two years at this stage. It is proposed that a 5-year contract is tendered, with the option of break points beyond the end of year two, so that the councils can review the funding and performance of the contract.

Officers responded to questions and comments from Committee Members.

Members expressed support for the procurement of a joint contract on the terms set out in the report.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to:

1.    approve the procurement of a 5-year contract for the Housing First contract with a total annual contract value of £349,810;

2.    recommend to the Policy and Resources Committee that Worcester City Council’s contribution, being £99,946 per annum for the first two years of the contract, be funded from the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DHLUC) Grant Funding and Homeless Prevention Grant and receive subsequent reports to identify future funding for the rest of the contract term; and

3.    delegate authority to the Corporate Director - Operations, Homes and Communities in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of Communities Committee to award the contract to the successful tenderer on behalf of Worcester City Council.

That the Committee:

1.     Notes the contents of this report and in particular, the Government's commitment to reduce and eliminate the use of hotels for asylum seekers by moving to a full dispersal model for asylum accommodation;

2.     Instructs Officers to confirm to the West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership, the Councils preference to adopt the alternative regional dispersal model proposed by Serco;

3.     Instructs Officers to seek agreement from Serco that, within the proposed dispersal model, they will work with partners to, where possible, achieve an equitable distribution across local districts; and

4.     Instructs Officers to continue their engagement with SERCO in order to identify locations for full dispersal properties within the City, based on criteria as set out within this report.

The Committee considered a report on the Home Office’s Asylum Seeker Dispersal Programme and how this will be applied locally. The Corporate Director – Operations, Homes and Communities presented the report and explained that the West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership (WMSMP) had developed a regional model which was submitted to the Home Office during early October. This sought to distribute procured properties in each local council area across the entire region by way of a ‘Fair Shares Approach’ and was underpinned by 4 key principles.

Since then, the Home Office via Serco had developed their own model and each individual council within the West Midlands region had been asked by WMSMP to confirm which model, if any, they are willing to support, so that they can then then report back to the Home Office with the region’s overall position.

The report set out the background to both models. The preferred option recommended by Officers was to confirm to the WMSMP the Council’s preference for the Serco model, which would see 66 bed spaces procured in Worcester, equating to around 20 properties. In addition, in advance of any agreement being reached on a model, it would seem sensible for the Council to continue engaging with Serco by way of a ‘hot mapping’ exercise to identify areas across the city where it would be more appropriate for them to procure full dispersed accommodation.

The option of agreeing to the WMSMP model had been discounted as it proposed an additional 8 – 10 properties being accommodated within the City, thus having a greater impact on access to, and affordability of, the private sector housing market for those living in the city.

The option of not continuing to engage with Serco in respect of where they procure accommodation within the city had been discounted. It was considered to be important that local knowledge and intelligence provided by the Council forms part of this process and that the risk of accommodation being procured in unsuitable areas is minimised.

Officers will be meeting with Serco to try and influence where dispersed accommodation will being procured. However, the decision will be taken by Serco, not by the City Council.

Committee Members proceeded to debate the recommendations. Officers responded to questions and comments from Members. A range of views were expressed, including that the WMSMP model should be supported and a that the Council should not engage with Serco. Other Members took the view that the Council should engage with Serco in order to be able to have some level of influence.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to:

1.   note the contents of this report and in particular, the Government's commitment to reduce and eliminate the use of hotels for asylum seekers by moving to a full dispersal model for asylum accommodation;

2.   instruct Officers to confirm to the West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership, the Council’s preference to adopt the alternative regional dispersal model proposed by Serco;

3.   instruct Officers to seek agreement from Serco that, within the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

That the Communities Committee notes the Council’s quarter 2 performance for 2022/23.

The Committee considered a report on the Council’s Quarter 2 performance for Communities for 2022/23. The Corporate Director – Operations, Homes and Communities presented the report and highlighted the main points. Officers responded to questions and comments from Committee Members.

In response to a question about the total number of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) licensed as a percentage of the total number of suspected HMOs in the city, it was explained that the current value of 66% does not give a true picture of the amount of work undertaken. There are plans to address the shortfall to get back towards the target of 75%.

RESOLVED: That the Committee note the Council’s quarter 2 performance for 2022/23.

Which in the opinion of the Chair is of sufficient urgency as to warrant consideration.

None.