Agenda item

The Panel will receive a presentation on this matter from representatives of Curo.

Vicky Drew addressed the Panel. She stated that she was further concerned by Curo’s Passport to Housing scheme. She said that she was worried about data protection issues and that the letter she had received appeared to give no option to opt out of the scheme.

She said that the letter also talks of the need for pre-tenancy checks to take place and to take part in a 45 minute to 2 hour interview. She added that she was very surprised to have been contacted by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) to have a discussion despite no offer of new housing. She said that the CAB had also requested that she submit her financial details to them.

She asked how tenants on zero hours contracts would be affected by these measures.

She stated that the communication regarding the scheme by Curo was shoddy at the very least and called for an unpaid B&NES representative to have a place on their board.

Ben Draper addressed the Panel. He announced that he was intending to stand for Labour in the ward of Walcot in the local elections next year and that he wanted to speak about the problems the residents in that area faced.

He said that some of the residents may be stuck in low-paid work; some may have always struggled with the bills or suffer from long-term financial difficulties; some may have been forced to payday loan companies as a result of recent benefit changes.

He said that Curo had historically performed valuable work housing its most needy residents. However, recent steps taken by the group indicate a fundamental – and troubling – shift in their core principles.

He stated that Curo is currently one of the most important institutions in the area working towards housing those who most need it. He hoped that their policies would remain true to that mission. But he said he was concerned by these changes and must ask:

·  Has B&NES formulated a safeguarding measure to make sure these eligible families are housed elsewhere?

·  Has B&NES calculated how much it will cost house these residents elsewhere?

·  Does the Committee and Curo itself agree that this move represents the marketisation of social housing in this local authority?

·  At what level will this credit threshold for housing be set and by who?

·  How many families does Curo anticipate will be refused housing on the basis of bad credit?

Councillor Steve Hedges asked for the answers to Mr Draper’s questions to be circulated to the Panel when available.

Julie Evans, Sarah Segar and Louise Swain were present on behalf of Curo and gave a presentation to the Panel. A copy of the presentation will be attached as an appendix to these minutes, a summary is set out below.

Impact of Universal Credit – Tenants

·  DWP Processes – new and digital default

·  When will it happen?

·  Transition arrangements and the impact upon their income

·  Curo rent – how much and how they pay

·  Lack of access, skills and competency with IT, numeracy and budgeting – big personal hurdle for many

·  Other creditors (eg Wonga) – many are in multiple debt

However, positive feedback from tenants in receipt of UC that it helps manage income fluctuations and transition into work, so doing what it was intended to do in this respect.

Impact of Universal Credit - Curo

·  In the region of £34m Housing Benefit will be paid to customers rather than currently paid to Curo.

·  Increased costs of transactions and collections.

·  Average arrears for UC customers £1000 / Average arrears for non UC customers £360.

·  Customer debt could quadruple if we do nothing – would impact on service delivery.

Solutions Currently in Progress

·  Increased Customer Accounts Resource, including recruitment of Employment, Training & Skills Co-ordinator, Money Manager and Tenancy Sustainment Officer.

·  Information & Management System enhancements.

·  Curo migration into Keynsham & MSN One Stop Shop.

·  Introduction of pre-tenancy risk assessment (Success Plan).

·  Passport to Housing pilot until March 2015

‘The Right Home for the Right Person at the Right Time’

·  Earlier contact with applicants

·  Adverts informing of rent in advance

·  Credit checks for all applicants – All market rent lettings will ask for credit checks

·  Success Plans for new tenants to assess tenancy resilience

·  Passport to Housing pilot – Curo tenants

Success Plans

·  Risk Assessment to understand likelihood of tenancy success - Focuses on financial capability & resilience

·  A tool to keep people in their home not to prevent them from getting one

·  Responsibility of landlords to ensure people are not worse off as a result of getting a tenancy

Julie Evans stated that participation in the Passport to Housing pilot was voluntary.

The Chair thanked her for the clarification but said that that appeared to conflict with the letters that had been received by residents.

Councillor Steve Hedges commented that he felt that it looked like Curo were finding ways to refuse people. He said that he was extremely nervous regarding the data protection matters that had been raised and that he would advocate that the Council does not issue its housing list to Curo. He asked how the CAB had the information to contact residents.

Sarah Segar replied that the intention of the scheme is to help residents manage their budgets appropriately. She added that Curo pays the CAB to supply services to them and that they issue them with the information regarding residents. She stated that at the point of contact if the customer does not want to take part in the scheme then the CAB will destroy the information.

The Chair commented that she found it difficult to understand why only the CAB were being used in relation to debt management as they are not professionals within this work area.

Councillor Steve Hedges commented that he felt that Curo should gain permission from the resident before supplying the information to the CAB.

Julie Evans replied that Curo had worked with the CAB for many years, but added that if the pilot were to continue after March 2015 that service would be put out to tender.

Councillor Steve hedges asked what consultation had taken place with residents and Councillors prior to the introduction of the pilot.

Sarah Segar replied that as it was a pilot scheme a consultation as such had not taken place. She added that presentations regarding the pilot had been given to the tenant participation group.

Councillor David Veale asked how many tenancies break down.

Sarah Segar replied that around 4,000 residents will owe money to us at any one time.

Julie Evans added that Curo has a very low eviction rate though with only 11 – 15 households evicted per year as we see it as a very last resort.

Councillor David Veale commented that he shared some of the concerns raised by Councillor Hedges, but he believed that this was a necessary service that Curo were providing.

The Chair thanked the representatives for their presentation and said that she appreciated that the situation was changing for Curo as well as for their residents. She added though that the very least the letter that had been sent out should be redrafted.

The Head of Housing addressed the Panel. He said that in the current challenging times it was not appropriate for Curo to simply do nothing and credited them with looking to engage with problems as soon as possible and said that he felt the pilot was a good initiative.

Councillor Tim Ball addressed the Panel. He said that he thought the pilot could be very valuable and that the wording of the letter to residents was unfortunate. He stated that the Council would not be giving the public’s data away. He proposed that the Council should write regularly to Homesearch members to make them aware of the Curo / CAB offer and provide details of how residents could contact them.

The Chair agreed with this proposal but said that there should be a line in the letter that states that other agencies are available to provide this service.