Agenda and minutes

(Assistant to the Chief Executive) To report the attendance of any substitute members for the meeting.

It was noted that Councillor Mrs J Lea was substituting for Councillor Ms Y Knight.

To declare interests in any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest by members of the Panel under this item.

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 item of business set out below as it would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraph 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

No.                                                                                    Paragraph No.

5                                  Application 3/2011                         1

To consider the attached restricted report.

The Panel considered a request for a review of a decision made by officers under delegated authority that the applicant was not homeless.  The applicant attended the meeting to present her case.  Mr J Hunt, Assistant Housing Options Manager (Homelessness), attended the meeting to present his case.  Mr A Hall, Director of Housing, attended the meeting to advise the Panel as required on relevant legislation and national and local housing policies relative to the application.

The Chairman introduced the members of the Panel and officers to the applicant.  Both parties agreed that they had no objection to Councillor Mrs Cochrane remaining in the meeting as an observer only.

The Chairman outlined the procedure 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)        copies of documents submitted by the applicant, namely:

(i)         her application to the Housing Appeals and Review Panel dated 23 May 2011 including a letter of that date and a schedule of reasons why the applicant considered that her present accommodation was unsuitable;

(ii)        copy of an entry from the Council’s system regarding an inspection of the applicant’s property by an Environmental Health Officer in September 2010;

(iii)       numerous photographs of the exterior and interior of the applicant’s property (tabled at the meeting);

(b)        a summary of the case including the facts of the case and an outline of the homelessness legislation;

(c)        the case of the Assistant Housing Options Manager (Homelessness);

(d)        copies of documents submitted by the Assistant Housing Options Manager (Homelessness), namely:

(i)         notes taken by a Housing Officer at an interview of the applicant on 12 April 2011;

(ii)        letter dated 4 May 2011 from the Assistant Housing Options Manager (Homelessness) to the applicant

(iii)       memorandum dated 3 June 2011 from a Council Environmental Health Officer to the Assistant Housing Options Manager (Homelessness).

Presentation of the Applicant’s Case

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

(a)        the applicant had received three months, three weeks notice from her landlord to vacate her home on 7 January 2011;

(b)        the applicant had arranged an appointment with the Council’s Homeless Prevention Section and had been advised that the Council would assist in finding alternative accommodation; the applicant had been assured that she would not be put into the Council’s Homeless Hostel as it was unsuitable for her vulnerable mother;

(c)        the applicant and her mother had submitted a joint housing application to the Council on 1 February 2011; this had been followed by a visit from an officer from the Council’s Special Needs Assessment Team;

(d)        the applicant and her mother had been advised that they would be placed on the Housing Register in Band 4;

(e)        the applicant had applied to the Council as homeless and had attended with her mother for an interview with a Housing Officer; the officer had advised of the possibility of going  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.