Agenda item

Councillor Eleanor Jackson has registered to make a statement to the Panel.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson addressed the Panel, a summary of her statement is set out below.

She informed them that Youth Connect South West were seeking an increase in their grant from Westfield Parish Council to provide services for the Westfield Youth Club. She added that she was also seeking to escalate a matter with Property Services on their behalf to enable them to establish a lease agreement for the Youth Centre in Radstock that they use.

She explained that a previous Liberal Democrat administration in 2014 had promised to carry out renovations on the premises and that she now wanted to attempt to progress this issue.

She said that she felt there was also a B&NES wide problem of parents parking their vehicles too near to schools and across the driveways of local residents. She said that she would welcome any plans for local walking to school programmes.

She stated that she was also concerned about the incoming parking charges within Radstock and the Somer Valley.

The Chair asked for the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services to respond to the matter relating to Property Services.

Councillor Robin Moss commented that the Corporate Scrutiny Panel were assessing the Council’s Commercial Estate and getting value for money from their premises, including support for use by the not-for-profit sector.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked how much local businesses will be affected by the new parking charges in Radstock & Midsomer Norton.

Councillor Jackson replied that she had been told that it was likely to have an adverse impact on a number of them and the Susan Hill School of Dance in particular.

The Chair suggested discussing the issue of walking routes to school with Councillor Jess David as she was aware that she had worked on a similar matter with Widcombe School.

Jeremy Palmer addressed the Panel and made a statement in support of Burlington Street Supported Housing and Detox. A copy of the statement will be appended to these minutes as an online appendix, a summary is set out below.

Before I found DHI, I spent a lifetime battling addiction to class-A drugs, struggling with alcohol problems, in and out of prison, and by the time I was released, I was homeless as well.

In 2012, I decided enough was enough. I was bailed on license after a three-year prison sentence, and I wanted to get clean. As part of my bail and license conditions, I had to engage with DHI’s criminal justice team, and the sessions I had there really turned my life around.

DHI helped me become more independent. After completing my detox, I moved into Barton Buildings, which DHI also ran. They provided drop-in visits to make sure I was doing well but gave me the freedom to ensure I was prepared for an independent future. I took cooking classes, started the HAP – or Home Achievement Programme – which significantly contributed to my long-term recovery and became ready to re-enter society as a new, better man and a productive member of society. All of that was possible because of what DHI did for me.

DHI gave me my life back. And when I was ready, I wanted to give back a little bit back to them, so became a Peer mentor to help other people who might be in a similar situation to myself. This was very rewarding because others could see the change in me.

Now, I live in my own home, have full custody of my two beautiful children and have done for over nine years, and have been employed by DHI within the Reach Service for the last decade!  I regularly support others facing issues with drugs, alcohol, and homelessness and know the value of the support…. not just for me, but for my children.

Councillor Joanna Wright asked what the impact would be to DHI if the proposed cuts within the budget were made.

Jeremy Palmer replied that believed that they would have negative impact to what services could be provided, especially in terms of housing. He added that this would likely lead to additional homelessness, crime and drug & alcohol abuse that would cost the Council more in the long run.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if they knew the total amount of cuts being proposed directly to them.

Rosie Phillips, CEO of DHI replied that within the proposed 21% cut from the VCSE (Voluntary, Community or Social Enterprise), a disproportionate amount of that is proposed to come out of housing and housing related support services (34%) and that this would have a massive impact on their work.

Councillor Robin Moss commented that to obtain certain levels of grant funding there has previously needed to be an agreed amount of matched funding and so these organisations do need to know the true extent of these proposals.

Rosie Phillips replied that this was the case and that they need some assurances to be in place.

Alison Millar addressed the Panel and made a statement on behalf of DHI and Reach. A copy of the statement will be appended to these minutes as an online appendix, a summary is set out below.

Zahra (not her real name) and her family were at significant risk of becoming homeless when she was referred to Reach.  Reach is the DHI service which provides practical and emotional support to help people live independently and develop useful life skills.  Zahra’s landlord wanted to take back their home to sell, issuing a Section 21 no fault eviction notice.

REACH advisors were able to quickly assess the situation, promptly setting Zahra up on BANES’ Homesearch site, where she was awarded a B Banding. The banding did not reflect the urgency and severity of Zahra’s family situation and the REACH team advocated an A banding due to the close eviction date.

With the assistance of the team, Zahra was able to secure a new home before being evicted.  With a high degree of legal housing knowledge and expertise, the team also applied successfully to court for an extension at her existing property while some essential repairs were made to her new accommodation.

Reach’s support meant that the family were able to avoid having to move to temporary accommodation. This resulted in a significant financial saving to the council and minimised disruption to family life including schooling. The cost of temporary accommodation ranges from approximately £600 per week in Dartmouth Avenue (the local authority temporary accommodation) to approximately £1200 a week for a hotel if Dartmouth Avenue was full, which it generally is.

None of this begins to touch on the long term costs which would have been incurred by society had the family been evicted. The REACH teams actions – in this and in an average of 900 cases a year - contribute to prevention of many longer-term issues, avoiding massive cost to both the individuals and to the local authority.

The UK has an unprecedented national housing emergency. Developing Health and Independence’s REACH Service is working hard to address this so that nobody must face homelessness.  It has itself restructured and remodelled using charitable funding over the past few years in order to be as efficient as possible. 

It would be very difficult for the council to apply for additional funding, for example for clients in rent arrears or needing resettlement packages or to develop services from the range of charitable trusts available to DHI, since many that fund DHI, Reach or its clients, do not allow statutory services to apply for funds. 

Councillor Joanna Wright asked what percentage of their budget is given to DHI from the Council.

The Head of Housing replied that the Council in previous years had given £400,000 for the Reach project, that it is around 10%.

Councillor Robin Moss asked if there were any benchmark figures for the amounts given to similar organisations from other Local Authorities.

The Head of Housing replied that they do not have such figures in place. He added that the use of temporary accommodation within B&NES was low and that this was normally a good indicator.

Councillor Robin Moss commented that a potential under application for Lottery funding, £1m in 10 years, might also reflect on the grant potential.

Councillor Wright asked for the benchmarking figures mentioned to be supplied to a future Panel meeting.

Kate Morton, CEO, Bath Mind added that as an organisation they were also looking at similar work as their contracts had not been given any uplift over the previous number of years. 

Rosie Phillips, CEO of Developing Health & Independence (DHI) addressed the Panel. A copy of the statement will be appended to these minutes as an online appendix, a summary is set out below.

We recognise and understand the difficult position the Council find itself in and DHI are committed to work with council colleagues to manage and mitigate the impact of cuts. Indeed, we have been remodelling services for years to ensure we can manage in the financial climate we have been faced with since Covid. 

The VCSE on the face of it appears to be bearing a disproportionate amount of the cuts.  I understand, in part, this is due to the Council discharging its statutory duties – however, the VCSE brings much added value, and plays a major role in preventing people from needing costly statutory provision.

Having worked for over the 30 years to promote social inclusion among vulnerable and marginalised groups, I know that a safe place to live is a prerequisite to achieving effective outcomes for those with a drug or alcohol problem, those suffering from mental ill health, fleeing domestic violence, for ex-offenders, not to mention hard working families on low incomes and their children. It is an essential foundation for any other intervention to succeed.

Children brought up in temporary accommodation are much more likely to experience all kind of negative outcomes and we know the trauma brings lifelong effects. They are more likely to be excluded from school, be a victim of knife crime, use drugs problematically, be exposed to exploitation by adults, and inducted into a criminal lifestyle…thus perpetuating the cycle.

I urge the Council to delay the cut, giving time for recommissioning and a sensible planned approach to managing reduced resources. In difficult times such as these I can see the temptation for the Council to focus on supply rather than demand..  However, prevention is not a luxury, you can afford to do without for 12 months.  It is the rational approach to managing demand so statutory services can cope.

However, if a delay and recommissioning is really not an option, I urge the Council to rethink the current proposal that puts the biggest burden on housing and housing related support, to find a better balance, and to prioritise services that prevent more families and individuals falling into homelessness.

Councillor Paul Crossley commented that he was aware of other Councils, including Cardiff, that were putting in place modular units to tackle their housing needs. He asked if B&NES had considered such an approach.

Roanne Wooten, Julian House replied that they have approached officers from the Council regarding this and have been told that there is no land available. She added that they were awaiting a decision from the Government for a bid to fund a site within a car park in Somerset.

Councillor Crossley asked if they had been able to identify any potential land / sites themselves.

Roanne Wooten replied that they had approached a landlord about a specific piece of land, but unfortunately, he pulled out at a late stage in the process.

Councillor Crossley asked if they were looking at potential sites across B&NES.

Roanne Wooten replied that they were as people were now not expecting to stay in central locations as long as an access to services remains in place.

Councillor Crossley asked how they were going to be able to use the car park site within Somerset.

Roanne Wooten replied that the car park itself was quite underused and was next to a community hall which had access to local shops and services. She added that she had heard good feedback from modular units being used in Cornwall and Oxford.

Councillor Wright asked given the health implications of the potential cuts, how much has the Public Health team been involved in this process.

The Director of Public Health & Prevention replied that the team had worked closely with other departments in the preparation of the budget reports.

The Chair, on behalf of the Panel, thanked all concerned for their statements and for submitting their questions prior to the meeting. She explained that the questions and answers document had been circulated and would be taken into account as part of the discussion relating to the Draft Budget.