To approve a new accommodation strategy for vulnerable young people in Herefordshire.

The cabinet member for young people and children’s wellbeing introduced the report. He stated that it was right for the council to have a specific strategy for vulnerable young people transitioning to adulthood which included young people with disabilities and Looked After Children (LAC). The cabinet member highlighted the long term vision, phased approach and clear principles which were at the heart of the strategy.

The strategic wellbeing and housing manager summarised the report. He noted that the focus of the strategy was on increasing the availability of targeted and supported housing for three groups: looked after children and care leavers including unaccompanied asylum seeking children, disabled young people transitioning to adulthood and disabled children living with their families. Each of the groups had different needs. It was noted that there was some difficulty in projecting with confidence how many individuals within each group would need targeted housing and that work was taking place to improve understanding of future need. Some consultation and engagement had already taken place but more was required and would continue during the implementation of the strategy.

The cabinet member for financial management and ICT noted that units of supported accommodation were expected to be created as a result of the council’s agreement to forego its entitlement to capital income when Herefordshire Housing Limited disposed of properties. He asked if there were a timetable for delivery of these units and whether this matched up with the potential savings set out in the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). The strategic wellbeing and housing manager confirmed that the two were aligned in general but further work was needed to map this out in detail.

Group leaders were asked for their comments.

The leader of the Herefordshire Independents group asked for clarification on the risks identified in relation to national policy changes to enhanced housing benefit.

The strategic wellbeing and housing manager explained that where a housing provider was required to provide enhanced or intensive housing management the costs were generally met through a claim for enhanced housing benefit. The Government had announced that this system would end in March 2019 to be replaced by a grant stream to the council for it to fund supported housing discretionally. The grant received would be based on an estimate of need. Details of the new scheme were awaited but there was concern that the council might not have the data required to accurately project the level of need. Work was being undertaken to improve data collection and analysis to mitigate this risk.

The group leader then asked whether having an efficient system in place would have benefits for other services. The manager responded that this was possible as the council would directly control the grant stream and have the opportunity to manage it in a complimentary way to the support and care provided at home for vulnerable people. However there was no reason to believe that the new system would lead to additional funds becoming available.

The leader of the It’s Our County group raised the following points:

·         whether the additional supported housing provided would be available in the communities of the vulnerable young people being targeted;

·         what impact there might be on the mix of young people previously supported through the Supported Housing for Young People Project (SHYPP);

·         whether the strategy would address the needs of young people and their families who had previously accessed respite services offered by 1 Ledbury Road;

·         whether the merger of Herefordshire Housing and Shropshire Housing would have any impact on the strategy;

·         whether the co-location of housing for young people with housing for older residents had been considered.

In response it was noted that:

·         there was a tendency for a disproportionate amount of development to take place in the city, partly because this was what was asked for by young people and their families in order to access required facilities, but that there would be developments elsewhere;

·         there would be situations where it would not be appropriate for young people to be housed within their original community;

·         the three SHYPP foyers in Hereford, Ross and Leominster would continue, the contract with SHYPP had been renegotiated so that about 50% of their accommodation units would focus on care leavers with moderate support needs, the remainder of the units would continue to support young people at risk of homelessness who were not care leavers;

·         the report did not include specific reference to the impact on respite care but the strategic wellbeing and housing officer would consult with officers in children’s wellbeing and provide further information;

·         in some cases disabled young people may have custom built solutions which would impact on respite need;

·         the merger of Herefordshire Housing and Shropshire Housing was expected to provide enhanced opportunities to develop supported housing, Shropshire Housing had a strong track record in supported housing and used a wider range of models than had historically been used in Herefordshire;

·         the potential to co-locate supported housing for adults and young people was known but services would need to have the breadth of skills to support all of the different needs;

·         one model which could be used was the home share model where an older person with a spare bedroom provided accommodation for a young person at a reduced rent in return for a level of support and companionship, this scheme already operated in a small way in Herefordshire and was included in the shared lives scheme.

Resolved that:

(a)  the accommodation strategy for vulnerable young people in Herefordshire at appendix 1 be approved.