Agenda and minutes

Resolved: the Committee agreed the minutes of the last meeting as true record.

·         Councillor Slater is a member of the board of Phoenix Community Housing.

Kplom Lotsu (SGM Capital Programmes) introduced the report. The following key points were noted:

·         The officers’ report is intended to provide an update on the two housing zones in Lewisham (New Bermondsey and Catford) as well as a broad overview of what housing zones are.

·         Housing zones are intended to boost housing supply in London by unlocking and accelerating housing delivery through a range of planning and financial measures. The Government and GLA made £400m available for an initial twenty zones. Half of this money was for loans to private sector organisations only. The other half was available in different funding forms, including grants.

·         Prospective housing zones must demonstrate how they meet a number of eligibility criteria. This includes that it must have a minimum of 750 housing units; the majority must be on brownfield land; it must refer to how good design will be achieved; and it must demonstrate an expeditious delivery of housing.

·         The New Bermondsey housing zone has been allocated in principle funding of £20m. The GLA has also agreed to make a grant of £12m to fund a new overground station at Surrey Canal Road. The idea is that this would allow any money that was previously going to be spent on the station to be spent on more affordable housing within the scheme. The exact levels of affordable housing are currently being negotiated as part of a revised s106 agreement for the scheme

·         The Catford housing zone has been allocated £30m – £27.2m for affordable housing, £1.3m to improve rail station arrival space, and £1.5m for flood alleviation work. 

·         The next stage for Catford is for the council to enter into an Overarching Borough Agreement with the GLA. This is a formal acceptance of the general principles of the housing zone grant. It does not, however, set out anything on the levels of affordable housing. The stage after that will be for the council and GLA to enter into individual Borough Intervention Agreements on each part of the scheme. These will set out levels of affordable housing, but this could take a while as they are dependent on planning applications going through first.

·         In the meantime, the GLA and the council have identified a number of projects that can be carried out as soon as possible. This includes work to improve the arrival spaces of the Catford stations and work to reduce the risk of flooding in Catford town centre.

Kplom Lotsu (SGM Capital Programmes) and Emma Talbot (Head of Planning) answered questions from the Committee. The following key points were noted: 

·         The council owns most of the land that makes up the Catford housing zone. But as some housing will be built on land that isn’t council-owned, officers are not yet certain of the total build cost of the proposed 2,500 houses. Officers stated, however, that the council is not bound to providing this number of homes. This was an indicative number used when applying for funding. More certain numbers will emerge as the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Sonia Bernard (L&Q), Moira Griffiths (Family Mosaic), Martin Pearce (Family Mosaic), Phil James (Phoenix Community Housing) and Annabel Davidson (Phoenix Community Housing) introduced themselves and spoke about their work. The following key points were noted:

·         L&Q provide a range of services for residents struggling with a range of issues. This includes a tenancy sustainment service, which provides up to six months of support to people whose tenancies are at risk. L&Q also offer services to help tenants manage their money better.

·         L&Q said that mental health problems are often one of the reasons someone might be struggling to maintain their tenancy. Issues with anti-social behaviour are also often found to relate to mental ill health.

·         Family Mosaic said low-level mental health issues are becoming increasingly common. There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence of increasing numbers of vulnerable people in general needs housing – people with multiple needs, who don’t quite reach the level for statutory intervention but are struggling to maintain their tenancies.

·         With welfare reform, Family Mosaic recognise that they have a role in their tenants’ health and wellbeing. It’s now part of their mission statement and they’re trying to shape their interventions so that they’re targeted at people they recognise as vulnerable.

·         Family Mosaic are paying increasingly close attention to the first year of a tenancy. As well as assessing affordability, they’re trying to better understand people’s wider needs and provide more targeted interventions. They said, however, that much of this relies on further income.

·         Family Mosaic noted that while low-level mental health issues are affecting all housing providers, at the moment, it is too often allowed to escalate to crisis point. They agreed that more prevention and early intervention work is needed. 

·         Phoenix Community Housing are also seeing high numbers of vulnerable tenants with mental health issues of various levels. They find it particularly difficult to get the right support for those with low-level mental health needs.

Witnesses answered questions from the Committee. The following key points were noted: 

·         Family Mosaic provide all frontline housing managers with mental health training – looking at pathways, possible trigger points, signs and symptoms, and making the right referrals.

·         L&Q frontline housing officers receive introductory mental health training. Tenancy sustainment officers receive more intensive training. Organisations such as Mind have also come to team meetings in the past.

·         Phoenix staff are trained on a range of issues from hoarding to domestic violence – sometimes by external people and sometimes by e-learning. Staff also get training on having challenging conversations, to give them the skills to deal with a variety of difficult and sensitive situations.

·         Phoenix Community Housing carry out a vulnerability assessment at the start of a tenancy, consisting of a number of questions about physical and mental health, including whether they have a support or social worker. There are then at least three home visits during first year – one at six weeks to make sure the tenant’s settled in, and again at three and eight  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Genevieve Macklin (Head of Strategic Housing) introduced the report and the Committee made a number of comments. The following key points were noted:

·         The Chair explained that officers have agreed to present this item in full at the next committee meeting so that there is enough time to cover such an important issue in enough depth. In the meantime, at this meeting, officers have agreed to provide an update on homeless numbers. 

·         Across London, there are 52,000 people in temporary accommodation (8% more than last year) and 19,000 in nightly-paid accommodation (an 18% increase). Councils are increasingly using nightly paid accommodation as temporary accommodation. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find temporary accommodation in the private sector at local housing allowance rates.

·         In Lewisham, there were 1,768 people in temporary accommodation in September 2016 – this compares to 1,750 in March 2016. There were also 509 people in nightly-paid accommodation – which is down from 608 in March 2015. A number of projects have helped stabilise numbers in Lewisham, including: the creation of pop-up housing units in Ladywell, the conversion of Hamilton Lodge to extra hostel units, and the property acquisition programme with Lewisham Homes.   

Resolved: the Committee noted the update and agreed to hear the full update at its next meeting.

Genevieve Macklin (Head of Strategic Housing) introduced the report and the Committee made a number of comments. The following key points were noted:

·         The committee has seen the additional licensing scheme before, but it is having to go back to Mayor and Cabinet as there was a small mistake in the wording of the previous report. The previous report to Mayor and Cabinet stated that the licensing scheme would apply to HMOs above and below commercial premises, but it should have only said above.

·         Officers mentioned that the government is consulting on the introduction of a statutory licence for all flats above shops and changing the definition of HMO. 

Resolved: the Committee noted the report.

Resolved: the Committee agreed the work programme.  

Resolved: the Committee agreed to refer its views on housing action zones to Mayor and Cabinet.