Minutes:
*O&S 13/23
The Head of Housing gave the Committee Members a verbal update on Housing KPI’s.
There were currently 16 households in temporary accommodation within West Devon, comprising 6 families and 10 single people of which 4 of those singles are care leavers. 9 of those were in bed and breakfast accommodation, whilst 7 were in self-catering accommodation.
West Devon have the lowest number of people in temporary accommodation in Devon.
The cost of temporary accommodation for the last year was £329,000, with the cost to West Devon being £247,000.
Five properties have been purchased through the local authority housing fund and had permission through the Hub Committee to purchase a further three properties for Afghan and Ukrainian refugees in the first instance and then for longer term housing need.
In 2022-23 West Devon accommodated 72 households of which 53 were single people and 19 were families.
Last year 5,916 nights there were spent in temporary accommodation, an increase on last year of 2,440. Some of this was due to the lack of private rental and less opportunity to prevent homelessness. Over the last three years homelessness was prevented in 404 instances and 967 people present at the same time. The rough sleeper count is 0, this count is done on a yearly basis.
194 guests have been welcomed from Ukraine to West Devon as their first location and a further 10 have moved in as their second location in the UK.
Temporary accommodation was only used on four occasions, which is testament to the hosts and resettlement teams in the borough. The government will need to give some security for what happens after month 24 as the host will receive no payment as it stands after this time.
The Head of Housing explained that legislation states that people cannot be in bed and breakfast accommodation for any longer than six weeks. In West Devon this has not been broken but it has come very close and they continue to remain concerned. People with poor tenancy history would be likely to remain in temporary accommodation longer as they need a package of support. Lack of four-bedroom properties through Devon Homechoice means families wanting a larger property need to look at the private sector rental.
In response to whether there was a seasonal trend to rough sleepers in the borough the Head of Housing commented that she was aware people may flee other areas due to domestic violence or being in the armed forces.
50% of housing need is for single people. Under the local housing allowances, if you are under 35 years old you are only entitled to a shared room in a house of multiple occupation. Some of the support mechanisms are not there in a rural area for the cohort of homeless in West Devon, although they work closely with County colleagues. It was reiterated that an outreach worker is available to speak to anyone that Members are aware of who are sleeping rough in their wards. In 2022-23, 348 people presented as homeless there were applications for 157 people with 191 being advice cases only, where they were able to resolve their homelessness with advice from the housing team.
The housing team that is shared with South Hams was described as a strong hard-working team. The Head of Housing will be circulating all the facts and figures in a report to Members of the Committee.