Agenda item

(Director of Communities) To consider the attached report.

The Chairman allowed this report to be heard first at the meeting. The Panel received a report regarding a Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Consultation Paper entitled “Right to Move” from the Assistant Director (Housing Operations). The Consultation Paper was issued on 10 September 2014 with a closing date of 22 October 2014.

The Consultation Paper explained that the Government expected local authorities to ensure that their Housing Allocations Schemes, residency requirements enabled social tenants to move across local authority boundaries for work related reasons so as not to impede labour mobility. The proposed regulations would remove the residency requirement for local authorities or housing association tenants who sought to transfer from another local authority district in England in order to be closer to their work or take up job offers, apprenticeships or work related training opportunities in order to avoid financial hardship.

The Government further proposed to ensure that authorities set aside a proportion of lets for tenants who needed to move for this purpose with a minimum expectation of 1% of lettings.

The Panel was asked to consider two questions:

(a)          Should the contents of the paper be taken into account when framing the Council’s revised Housing Allocations Scheme?

The Panel was advised that under the Council’s current Housing Allocations Scheme, any Home seeker needing to move, including existing tenants with a good tenancy record, to be nearer their place of work or related issue, were placed in Band C. This provision did not meet with the Government’s expectations as a person would need to meet with the Council’s 3 year Residency Criteria to be included.

Officers suggested a further exception to the Residency Criteria be made and  a paragraph be added at 14.3 (f) in the scheme as follows:

“Are in or have secured either permanent employment comprising of a minimum of 24 hours each week, or an apprenticeship or full time work related training and currently live either in excess of 50 miles from their current or intended place of work. Journey distances will be based upon Internet based Journey Planners.”

It was suggested that the existing Band C (i) should be amended as follows, complying with the above:

“All Home seekers (in accordance with paragraph 14.3 (f) of this Housing Allocations Scheme) who need to move to be nearer to their place of work or to take up an offer of permanent employment, an apprenticeship or full time work related training.”

(b)          Does the Council wish to respond to the consultation paper?

It was suggested that the Council respond to the consultation paper setting out the following:

(i)    The Council would welcome the Government’s proposal to “spell out” in more detail the circumstances in which they would expect local authorities to apply the addition to the “hardship” reasonable preference category for those needing to move for work or work related training.

(ii)   The Council asked that it was clarified whether such preference would only apply to those in financial hardship and how such hardship was measured, particularly as there were no legal powers available to require applicants to declare their income.

(iii)  The Council has concerns about setting aside a proportion of lets for this purpose and the difficulties with publishing information on the demand and lettings on any right to move quota.

(iv)  There were a number of difficulties with giving priority to existing tenants for a “community contribution” in order to assist them to move within their own local authority area.

RESOLVED:

That the Panel’s response to the DCLG Consultation Paper “Right to Move” be returned to the Government.