Agenda item

Members discussed the Local Authority Housing Support Fund and were advised that the Government had recently announced details of a national £500 million scheme to enable local authorities to purchase properties in their area to accommodate both Ukrainian and Afghan refugee households for an initial period of three years.The resettlement of refugees from both Ukraine and Afghanistan had in many ways, lacked the central focus that would provide good support. Adequate funding needed to have been given to Councils with statutory housing obligations to provide for refugees in a way that could provide reliable housing and support those who had experienced war and disruption. This was more so especially in the case of the resettlement schemes linked to Afghanistan where those who provided support to British forces need our support now.

This lack of a foundational approach proved difficult for many Councils to manage, as it had resulted in complex homelessness cases and the use of accommodation that could be considered to be unsuitable to provide for individuals and families whilst they are under the care of the Home Office. The national £500 million scheme would go some way towards remedying this situation. The funding allocation was offered to 182 local authorities in England. Any properties acquired would form part of the Council’s housing stock, with the income and expenditure managed within the Housing Revenue Account. The homes could subsequently be used to accommodate households from the Council’s housing waiting list. Providing a new and permanent supply of accommodation would help to address local housing and homelessness pressures.

Thanet District Council (TDC) was one of these local authorities, and central government is funding 35 - 40% of the cost of providing 9 properties for this purpose. A Memorandum of Understanding was returned to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) in March 2023 which registered the council’s interest in the scheme. In order to utilise the grant it would be necessary to match fund the acquisitions with £1.996m of additional borrowing within the HRA capital programme. Members were advised that the properties had to be purchased by 30th November 2023. Any properties acquired would form part of the Council’s housing stock, with the income and expenditure managed within the Housing Revenue Account. The fund also supported the growth of the council’s housing portfolio in general, which would allow TDC to support more residents in the long term as the homes would subsequently be used to accommodate households from the Council’s housing waiting list. This would provide a new and permanent supply of accommodation would also help to address local housing and homelessness pressures.

As a Council, and as a community, the district had a moral duty to do its best to house those who were most vulnerable and Cabinet would do its best to discharge that duty. Currently the Council had 3,470 properties within its housing portfolio, all general needs housing, all used by residents who had been on the housing list. What was being proposed in this report, relating to the very specific requirements of a particular governmental fund, was the purchase of nine homes, all of which would eventually become general needs housing. However initially this accommodation would be for the current usage of refugees from both the Ukraine and Afghanistan, who had arrived in the UK as part of the following government led schemes:

?  The Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme (including eligible British Nationals under this scheme) (ACRS);

?  The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP); 

?  The Ukraine Family Scheme (UFS); 

?  Homes for Ukraine (HFU); 

?  Ukraine Extension Scheme (UES).

The Council was expected to match fund the balance of acquisitions costs through its own resources. It was proposed that the Council should utilise additional housing revenue account borrowing to match fund the additional homes. The Council had been allocated a provisional grant sum of £1.19 million to facilitate the purchase of nine homes in the district. At least two of these homes were required to have 4 bedrooms. The remaining, up to seven homes were required to be 2 or 3 bedroom homes.

Discussions had taken place with a local housing developer to purchase 6 x 3 bed units and 3 x 4 bed units. The units would be an ‘off the shelf’ purchase with no refurbishments or adaptations needed. They were nearing completion and would be ready by the end of June 2023. The mix of units met the requirements of the grant, as at least two were four bedroom homes.

Councillor Bayford spoke under Council Procedure Rule 20.1.

Councillor Whitehead proposed, Councillor Yates seconded and Cabinet agreed:

1. To recommend to the Full Council that the £1.19m of grant and £1,996m HRA match funding is included in the HRA capital programme;

2. To receive a further report to approve the expenditure and the acquisition of 9 homes.

POST MEETING NOTE: Please note that Recommendation 1 in the report has a clerical error. It should read “To recommend to the Full Council that the £1.19m of grant and £1,996m HRA match funding is included in the HRA capital programme” and NOT “To recommend to the Full Council that the £1.119m of grant and £1,996m HRA match funding is included in the HRA capital programme.”