Agenda item

Report of the Director of Adults and Housing

The Board received a Briefing Note providing a progress update on the Supported Housing Improvement Programme (SHIP) funding, as well as an update on progress with changes to legislation.  Exempt Supported Accommodation was previously considered by Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee at its meetings on 7 December 2023 and 8 January 2022.

Exempt accommodation was supported housing which was exempt certain Housing Benefit provisions.  It often housed more marginalised groups with support needs such as prison leavers; care leavers; those fleeing domestic violence; and homeless people with substance dependence or mental health issues.

There was an element of care, support and supervision provided and it was exempt from Local Housing Allowance (LHA) caps.  These exemptions enabled organisations providing this type of housing to charge higher rates to clients living in their properties.  Where the accommodation was provided by an organisation other than a registered provider, Local Authorities would bear the additional costs of the provision beyond the LHA rate.

Exempt accommodation clients were usually housed in Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs).  The three main types of providers in Coventry were:

• Registered Providers’ who provide supported housing eg. Citizen, St Basils
• Non-RP’s which were well established organisations eg. Salvation Army, Coventry Cyrenians, Mind
• Community Interest Companies who often had limited expertise/experience of accommodating vulnerable groups.

Following a successful bid for funding via SHIP with the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), the Council was awarded circa £350,000 funding to deliver a robust set of actions to improve the quality of SEA in the city.

Following successful recruitment to the 3 newly created roles, the SEA Team began to work towards the objectives set out in the SHIP delivery plan.  The team had successfully:

• Liaised with teams within the Council and with external stakeholders who had a known relationship with SEA providers.
• Created a Quality Assurance Tool Kit
• Created a Gateway for providers wishing to operate SEA within the city
• Developed a single access point to capture “Comments, Concerns and Complaints” relating to a provider or accommodation
• Created a virtual panel to assess new applicants

Annual figures from April 2023 to May 2024 evidencing savings made from Housing Benefit payments when a provider’s rents had been restricted and costs negotiated, had been provided in the report.

Details of costs avoided where housing benefit had refused payment to a provider or revoked the status of a provider based on information provided, suggested the provider was unable to provide Supported Exempt Accommodation which met the minimum requirement for Housing Benefit regulations, had also been provided in the report.

The team were continuing to undertake reviews of the quality of support offered and the housing conditions through inspections to assess minimum standards via the Housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) in licensed and non-HMO properties.  The team aimed to visit all supported accommodation at least once during the project length as per the project plan.  The team would continue to respond to reactive complaints via the online portal regarding poor housing conditions and the HMO licensing breaches along with the lack of support, care, and supervision.

The Supported Housing Regulatory Oversite Act 2023, was enacted in the summer of 2023 however, to date, local authorities had not been required to implement the Act.  A live consultation was currently underway which would determine how the Act was put into practice and how local authorities, including commissioning services, licensing and enforcement functions and revenue and benefits departments, would adhere to its requirements.  This would include how local authorities would identify the need and requirements for exempt accommodation provision in their areas as well as publishing a Supported Housing Strategy for the area.

It was assumed that local authorities would receive new burdens funding to support implementation of the Act however, this had not yet been confirmed and funding provided by MHCLG was only up to 31 March 2025.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Councillor N Akhtar welcomed the briefing note and the partnership working undertaken to improve exempt supported accommodation in the city for vulnerable people.

In considering the briefing note, the Board questioned officers, received responses and discussed matters as summarised below:

• Accommodation provided through the Circo government asylum scheme was not the same as exempt supported accommodation however, officers kept records of those addresses and if anti-social behaviour was experienced, encouraged residents to report it.
• As part of the SHIP programme, 200 homes had been inspected for physical condition and care provision.
• In 2022, legislation was introduced but without any regulations.  Officers were waiting for guidance from the government on the new regulations.
• Accommodation providers could operate if they were CIC or a registered provider and met housing benefit regulation.
• Most of the properties were occupied in a similar way to Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO’s).
• Officers were not aware how many under 25 care leavers were living in unregulated exempt accommodation as self-referrals and referrals from eg The Probation Service, did not require contact with council officers.
• There were no plans to reduce the 3 posts created through SHIP.
• Year on year, an increase had been seen in applications to provide exempt supported accommodation.  Last year, the number of units increased by 463 across 79 properties.  There were 34 new applications, 7 of which were now providing accommodation. 
• The council had limited control over exempt providers and the mix of residents in any property.

The Cabinet Member for Housing & Communities, Councillor N Akhtar reassured colleagues the exempt supported accommodation would continue for the most vulnerable residents and welcomed introduction of the legislation.

The Board requested the following information:

• The number of care leavers 18-25 living in commissioned supported exempt accommodation in the city.

RESOLVED that the Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board (4):

1)  Notes the current position and funding.

2)  Notes the progress and co-ordinated response to managing Supported Exempt Accommodation in the city.

3)  Requests the Cabinet Member ensures sufficient resources to enable the three posts created through the SHIP to continue beyond March 2025.

4)  Requests the Cabinet Member to consider the legal implications of making public the names of the providers referred to in the report, and any future providers who have Supported Exempt housing benefit payments stopped or refused.