Agenda and minutes

To agree the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 22 June 2006 (attached).

            RESOLVED:

            That the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 22 June 2006 be taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(Head of Research and Democratic Services) To report the attendance of any substitute members for the meeting.

It was noted that Councillor Mrs A Cooper was substituting for Councillor Mrs P Smith and that Councillor T Farr was substituting for Councillor Mrs P Richardson.

To declare interests in any item on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made pursuant to the Council's Code of Member Conduct.

Exclusion: To consider whether, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press should be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on grounds that they will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) or are confidential under Section 100(A)(2):

The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, which came into effect on 1 March 2006, requires the Council to consider whether maintaining the exemption listed above outweighs the potential public interest in disclosing the information. Any member who considers that this test should be applied to any currently exempted matter on this agenda should contact the proper officer at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Confidential Items Commencement: Paragraph 9 of the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Constitution require:

(1)        All business of the Council requiring to be transacted in the presence of the press and public to be completed by 10.00 p.m. at the latest.

(2)        At the time appointed under (1) above, the Chairman shall permit the completion of debate on any item still under consideration, and at his or her discretion, any other remaining business whereupon the Council shall proceed to exclude the public and press.

(3)        Any public business remaining to be dealt with shall be deferred until after the completion of the private part of the meeting, including items submitted for report rather than decision.

Background Papers:  Paragraph 8 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules of the Constitution define background papers as being documents relating to the subject matter of the report which in the Proper Officer's opinion:

(a)            disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based;  and

(b)        have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report and does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information (as defined in Rule 10) and in respect of executive reports, the advice of any political advisor.

Inspection of background papers may be arranged by contacting the officer responsible for the item.

            RESOLVED:

            That, in accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below as they would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act indicated and the exemption is considered to outweigh the potential public interest in disclosing the information:

            Agenda Item            Subject            Exempt Information

            Number            Paragraph Number

            6            Appeal No 6/2006            1 and 2

            7            Appeal No 7/2006            1 and 2

To consider a restricted report.

The Panel considered an application for a review of a decision of the Housing Needs Manager acting under delegated authority that the applicant had become intentionally homeless.  The applicant attended the meeting to present his case accompanied by his mother.  Mr R Wallace (Housing Needs Manager) attended the meeting to present his case.  Mr J Hunt (Assistant Housing Needs Manager) was also in attendance.  Mr A Hall (Head of Housing Services) attended the meeting to advise the Panel as required on details of the national and local housing policies relative to the application.  The Chairman introduced the members of the Panel and officers present to the applicant and outlined the procedures to be followed in order to ensure that proper consideration was given to the application for a review.

The Panel had before them the following documents, which were taken into consideration:

(a)        a summary of the application together with the facts of the case forming part of the agenda for the meeting;

(b)        a copy of a note of a telephone conversation between a Housing Officer and the applicant's mother dated 18 May 2006;

(c)        a copy of a letter dated 27 June 2006 from the Housing Needs Manager to the applicant;

(d)        a copy of a letter dated 12 June 2006 from the Housing Needs Manager to the applicant;

(e)            representations made by Shelter on behalf of the applicant dated 29 August 2006 including copies of three letters;  and

(f)         a copy of the application to the Housing Appeals and Review Panel by the applicant dated 24 July 2006.

The Panel considered the following submissions in support of the applicant's case:

(a)        the Council had failed to make adequate enquiries into the applicant's situation;  if the authority had made sufficient enquiries it would have established that the applicant had experienced a series of traumatic events in recent years;  the applicant had suffered a great deal of emotional distress;  consequently, the applicant had been unable to cope and the trauma had impacted severely on the applicant's behaviour;

(b)        the applicant was of a young age and should not be expected to cope with such events alone;  the applicant had not received the support he needed to assist him in dealing with these traumatic events;

(c)        the applicant's mother had evicted him from the family home on 8 May 2006 due to his difficult behaviour;  the applicant had stolen his mother's credit card, withdrawn some money and then lost the card;  the credit card had then been used fraudulently by an unspecified person;

(d)        the applicant had made a homelessness application with the Council on 8 May 2006;  the Council had placed the applicant in interim accommodation pending enquiries;

(e)        the Council had issued an intentionally homeless decision on 27 June 2006;  the applicant remained in the interim accommodation pending the outcome of the review;

(f)            account should be had to the following parts of the Code of Guidance: paragraph 3.12, which placed an obligation on the housing authority to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To consider a restricted report.

The Panel gave consideration to an application for a review of a decision of the Housing Needs Manager acting under delegated authority that the Council had discharged its homelessness duty.  The applicant attended the meeting to present her case accompanied by a friend.  Mr R Wallace (Housing Needs Manager) attended the meeting to present his case.  Mr J Hunt (Assistant Housing Needs Manager) was also in attendance.  Mr A Hall (Head of Housing Services) attended the meeting to advise the Panel as required on details of the national and local housing policies relative to the appeal.  The Chairman introduced the members of the Panel and officers present.  The Chairman stated that the Council had received a telephone call from the Citizens' Advice Bureau who had been approached by the applicant for assistance but had not received sufficient notice of this meeting to be able to attend.  Accordingly, the Citizens' Advice Bureau had indicated that the applicant would be seeking deferment of the consideration of this case.

 However, the applicant stated at the meeting that she wished to proceed with the review at this time without the assistance of the Citizens' Advice Bureau.  Accordingly, the Chairman outlined the procedures to be followed in order to ensure that proper consideration was given to the application. 

The Panel had before them the following documents which were taken into consideration:

(a)        a summary of the application together with the facts of the case forming part of the agenda for the meeting;

(b)        a copy of a letter dated 18 May 2006 from the Housing Needs Manager to the applicant;

(c)        a copy of a placement form signed by the applicant on 2 June 2006;

(d)        a copy of a note dated 5 June 2006 and of a telephone conversation between a Housing Officer and the Council's Housing Welfare Officer;

(e)        a copy of a letter dated 5 June 2006 from the Housing Needs Manager to the applicant;

(f)         a copy of a file note dated 7 June 2006 of an interview of the applicant by a Housing Officer;

(g)        a copy of a letter dated 13 July 2006 from the North Essex Mental Health Partnership to the Council;

(h)        a copy of the application to the Panel by the applicant (undated) together with a copy of a form regarding Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit;  and

(i)         further representations made on behalf of the applicant by her friend (tabled at the meeting).

The Panel considered the following submissions in support of the applicant's case:

(a)        the applicant had been homeless for at least 10 years;  she had never had her own property nor a chance to build her own life;  she was sleeping rough at present and was totally reliant on friends to provide food and shelter at night;  this was both unreliable and stressful;

(b)        the applicant had a five-year old son who had been in foster care since birth;  the son occasionally visited the applicant's mother at weekends;  on those occasions, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.