Agenda and draft minutes

RESOLVED:  Councillor Mrs S Collop be appointed as Chair for the meeting.

RESOLVED:  Councillor A Bubb be appointed as Vice-Chair for the remainder of the Municipal Year.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors C Bower and J Rust.

To confirm as a correct record the notes from the previous meeting.

The notes of the previous meeting held on 13 April 2022 were agreed as a correct record.

There were no matters arising.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the Member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member of an item or simply observing the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chair proposes to accept as urgent under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There was no urgent business.

There was no Chair’s correspondence.

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chair of their intention to do so and on what items they wish to be heard before a decision on that item is taken.

Councillors M de Whalley and A Kemp were present under Standing Order 34.

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The Task Group received a PowerPoint presentation on General Homelessness (copy attached to the Agenda).

In response to a question from Councillor Bambridge regarding the increase on the spend on bed and breakfast accommodation and extra funding being available, the Assistant Director explained that there was recently some additional funding which would go towards meeting the costs and recognising the pressures faced by local authorities.  The Assistant Director outlined the impact on families specifically in relation to education, the cost of obtaining food and no facilities to prepare meals.

Following a further question from Councillor Bambridge relating to reasons why families were being placed in bed and breakfast accommodation, the Assistant Director explained that the reasons were due to a number of factors including being served with a Section 21 notice and highlighted the importance of people contacting the Borough Council at an early stage to seek assistance with problems being experienced.

Councillor Bubb referred to the 420 people presenting as homeless and asked if they were likely to be the same or different people.  In response, the Assistant Director advised that it was likely to be different people.

Following a further question from Councillor Bubb on the rate paid for bed and breakfast accommodation, the Assistant Director explained that this would depend on the provider who determined the cost. 

Under Standing Order 34, Councillor Kemp referred to the current number of voids (102) in relation to Freebridge Community Housing (FCH) and asked what assistance the Borough Council could offer to turn the void properties round quicker.  In response, the Assistant Director outlined the work the Borough Council were currently undertaking particularly around skills and would continue to progress in the future. 

The Assistant Director provided an overview of the opportunities with West Norfolk Property and West Norfolk Housing companies.

The Housing Strategy Manager informed the Task Group that the Borough Council were actively working with FCH and were aware of the pressures and provision of longer term accommodation.  It was noted that people were spending longer in temporary accommodation and FCH was prioritising works and agreeing a number of measures to support quicker turn round times in the immediate short term response.    It was highlighted that there longer term measures being discussed and the Council would continue to liaise with FCH to identify how the pressures could be alleviated.  The Housing Strategy Manager outlined the campaigns the Council was involved in.

In response to a question from the Chair on potentially more people presenting as homeless because of not being able to pay their mortgage, etc, the Assistant Director explained that the Council would monitor the situation closely,

Councillor Bambridge commented that early engagement with the Council seeking assistance did work and that informing residents was key to them receiving the required support.

Following comments from Councillor Bambridge relating to problems experienced by all social landlords in King’s Lynn, the Housing Strategy Manager explained that it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To be arranged.

Date to be scheduled towards the end of February 2023.