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Housing and Supported Living

Housing Strategy 2002-2011 (continued)

5. Needs Analysis

Strategic planning in housing must take into account the needs and aspirations of all communities in the area. In order to do this, prior to the Strategy Review Day on 29 April, a short paper was prepared, pulling together all available information on housing need in the Bath & North East Somerset area. It was used as a starting-point for discussion on the day. It is attached as Appendix A.

The main points were:

There is a growing gap between need and supply of affordable housing in the area
Affordability is a major problem, particularly for people on low incomes, both in the statutory and service sectors.
Some of the sheltered housing no longer meet the needs and aspirations of older people and need reviewing on a scheme-by-scheme basis.
More extra-care housing is needed, particularly in light of the Council’s review of Elderly Persons Homes (See Chapter 8 – Key Issues for Further Development)
To meet the principles outlined in Valuing People, a strategy for increasing supported living options for people with learning difficulties is needed.
A range of options for people with poor mental health is needed
Whilst the numbers of people presenting as homeless showed a small decrease, acceptances increased.
The need for temporary accommodation has increased steadily and is set to increase further

In line with good practice the Council is in the process of commissioning a local housing condition survey. This survey which will cover the entire housing stock, regardless of tenure, with give us a better appreciation and understanding of the condition of housing within the district. This information will then inform and support the development of effective private sector renewal strategies including future grant policies.

6. Resources

Within this Strategy, resources are not interpreted narrowly as only finances, but take into account all of the assets within Bath & North East Somerset.

Land

Bath and North East Somerset Council owns land, some of which is suitable for housing development. However current Council policy is to sell any surplus assets at market value. This means that our RSL partners in the JCP have to compete with commercial developers in any negotiations. In such a strong market, the not-for-profit sector has difficulty competing. For this reason, development opportunities do not arise as often as needed. This is an issue that requires member-level consideration if we are to address the problem of supply.

Empty and Surplus Properties

Similarly any buildings in the Property Services portfolio that might be suitable for housing if offered to an RSL would still usually have to be negotiated at market levels. Development of such properties is also not always viable, as planning requirements and renovation costs can make such schemes unworkable and/or financially impractical. However, properties from the Property Services portfolio have been provided at significantly lower than market rent for use as temporary accommodation for homeless households. It is anticipated that further properties from the portfolio will be used in this way.

Funding from Housing Transfer

Following the Council resolution in October 1998 to transfer its housing stock to Somer Community Housing Trust, the Council received a substantial capital receipt. From this, around £18m was identified to be spent on the provision of new affordable social housing and will be targeted to meet the needs of local communities

Bath and North East Somerset has been selected by the Housing Corporation to undertake Joint Commissioning, a concept aimed at taking a more strategic approach to social housing development based on a 6-year development programme, with the objective of delivering affordable housing more effectively and efficiently.

The partners have committed themselves to provide development resources, both human and financial to Bath and North East Somerset, identifying and pursuing new development opportunities and developing good quality, affordable homes. Through joint working, the partners bring a refreshing new approach to meeting housing needs in the district. The Council’s investment strategy has been subject to annual review since 1999. A review of the Joint Commissioning partnership is due to take place during summer 2002 prior to the Housing Corporations bidding round in October. The review will consider the contributions of all partners (including the Council) rather than the principles of Joint Commissioning and will consider the balance and abilities of partners as well as past performance. As the £18m investment programme draws to an end, the review will ensure we have the partnership in good shape for further future investment.

Approved Development Programme (Investment Programme)

The Approved Development Programme(ADP) is a system of grants made available to Local Authorities for housing development from the Housing Corporation. Through the ADP (Investment Programme) 311 units of affordable housing had been completed by the end of 2001/2 and a further 74 have been identified to the end of 2002/3. By the end of the Programme in 2004/5 a total of 600 units will have been delivered.

In the longer term, regeneration of large mixed development sites already identified will produce affordable housing over the next ten to fifteen years. These include Southgate, Foxhill, Western Riverside Development, Norton Radstock SRB. The timing and numbers of units provided is difficult to predict at present but may be in the region of 500 from these three projects over the full fifteen years.

Affordable housing is produced through the Joint Commissioning Partnership (JCP) where the Council works with five RSLs each of whom bring their own human resources and capital investment into our housing programme.

Recent Capital Spending

Financial Year	No of Units	LASHG
identified	completed	Approved bids	spent
1999/2000	143	60	3,624,381	742,411
2000/2001	65	142	2,874,000	4,178,159
2001/2002	97	109	3,713,634	3,920,835
2002/2003	80		2,541,212
Sub Total	385	311	12,753,227	8,841,405
			Proposed bids
2003/2004	140		5,001,000
2004/2005	75		539,000
Total	600		18,292,227
Future	185

Funding Sources

Currently, the two funding sources are from the Housing Transfer and Housing Corporation Social Housing Grant. The latter is secured through a bidding process on specific housing projects on an annual basis. The amount of Housing Corporation funding has varied in the past according to the type of project but in the current and future years will match LASHG. The Executive Member for Community Safety & Housing has requested that a report be prepared by the relevant officers by the end of August 2002, detailing options for progress on future funding.

Affordable Housing through the planning process

We work with Planning Services to secure affordable housing through section 106 agreements on suitable sites. Through this process 9 units of affordable housing were completed in 2001/02 and the projection is 27 in 2002/03 and 4 in 2003/04. The new Draft Bath & North East Somerset Local Plan and other existing local plans set out the planning policy basis for seeking affordable homes on allocated housing or sites coming forward as windfalls. The new Local Plan sets out lower site size thresholds than previous plans on which affordable homes will be sought and the proportion of affordable homes (30%) that will be sought. Supporting Supplementary Planning Guidance prepared jointly between Planning and Housing Services, and recently published for consultation purposes, sets out in more detail guidance on how these policies will be implemented. It includes provisions to achieve subsidy-free affordable housing. When approved it will be an important component in delivering affordable housing.

Changes in Funding

The current investment programme (agreed by Housing & Public Protection Committee in March 1999) finishes in 2004/5 and we anticipate that after this we will have to bid for capital funding for LASHG at local level. We assume that HCSHG funding will continue in some form after that date.

Estimate of Future Funding

To mirror the current programme, which provides 100 affordable homes a year, a total of £5,000,000 SHG would be required. This would be partly funded by the Housing Corporation, where we are seeking a 50% Housing Corporation SHG contribution. A more realistic anticipated percentage would be 30%, which leaves the Council with a contribution of £3,500,000 LASGH in future years.

Capital Expenditure and Local Authority Social Housing Grant

In March 1999 Housing and Public Protection Committee approved the investment of £18 million in Local Authority Social Housing Grant (LASHG) to provide 600 affordable homes over 6 years. The table above (page 19) shows the total expenditure of LASHG. A more detailed breakdown of schemes and its associated expenditure is attached as Appendix 5.

The Housing Survey 2000 identified a future need for affordable housing in Bath & North East Somerset.

Housing 2000 Summary of Conclusions

Suitability of Homes:

11.25% of all surveyed felt that their accommodation was not adequate for their needs
25% of those who thought the property inadequate said that it needed improvement or repair, (representing about 4,033 properties in all); over 25% (4,099) that it was too small; 12% (1,966) that it was too costly to heat
14% of households in the area contain someone with a special need, suggesting about 9,400 households in all
914 households contain someone who is a wheelchair user, but only around 46% of households affected live in an adapted dwelling

Concealed Households:

Around 2,295 households are living within another household ("concealed households")
48% of these concealed households would like to become owner occupiers but 1,776 (60%) have annual incomes below £17,500 and could not afford even the cheapest property in the district, even where a reasonable supply is available
83% of concealed households expressed a preference for one or two bedroom property with 57% looking for a flat and 20% a terraced property

Existing Households Moving:

2,234 households want to move but cannot do so - 2,175 households are unable to afford a move and 1,069 cannot find a suitable property
5,550 households plan to move away from the district, 935 because of lack of affordable housing. The majority (2,687) are leaving because of employment reasons

The Housing Need Survey has established that approximately 1800 adults have an average annual income of below £17,000. Currently, a first time buyer needs an average income of £45,000 a year to be able to afford to buy property in the district. Early indications show that more and more people will look to the private sector market, pushing up market rents. This in turn means that people who could previously afford market rents will now need to look towards renting a home from a Registered Social Landlord, who, through public subsidy can keep rents at an affordable level.

Future Need

The Housing survey 2000 established that the affordable housing need at 2006 will be 2667 dwellings (this includes 935 households planning to leave the area due to a lack of affordable homes.). It is prudent to anticipate that with rising house prices, this figure will increase. By 2005, the Council - through its investment programme - will have provided additional 540 homes (year 2000 - 2005). Despite this effort, the shortfall remains at 2127 homes.

Future investment is needed to provide good quality affordable accommodation for rent, to avoid families and single people becoming homeless, being caught in the poverty trap or leaving the district altogether. This would greatly affect the future of a balanced, inclusive, sustainable community within Bath and North East Somerset. In addition, there is an acute need for housing suitable for people with specific needs, as detailed in the Needs Paper (Appendix A)

Capital Investment and the Decision Making Process

The overall vision of Bath and North East Somerset is “Making Bath and North East Somerset a better place to live, work and visit”. In order to work towards this vision the Council has adopted a set of strategic objectives, each with a set of specific performance targets.

These Strategic Objectives are:

To deliver quality and accessible services
To promote a thriving economic community and combat poverty
To build a healthier and safer community
To improve quality of life and the environment
To encourage and support life long learning

In order to work towards its Strategic Objectives and Targets, the Council agreed an integrated three-year Financial Plan in 2000 that covers both revenue and capital funding. This is reviewed and rolled forward annually. The Plan identifies six key themes and also recognises “invest to save” as a basis for spending in order to reduce future costs or increase income. Available resources (including target asset sales) normally set the size of the capital programme. If a funding gap due to additional needs is forecast, the choice from the use of reserves, additional asset sales and borrowing is built into the financial plan.

Each Council service must present an annual plan to Members and Directors. This includes proposals for changes to the existing financial plan and items for the additional year.

Management Board then considers future financial prospects and commitments in a financial planning and risk mitigation exercise for the whole Council. This identifies potential risks and capital requirements, often including invest to save projects, for the next ten years. The Board evaluates potential expenditure against contributions to strategic objectives, revenue savings, and risks in order to plan the likely scale and timing of the future capital programme. Specific proposals, including appropriate options for service delivery, are considered by the Executive Member responsible for the area of work before being taken to the whole Executive and Council.

As detailed earlier, the Financial Plan commits £18 million of the capital receipt from stock transfer for investment in new affordable housing in the period 1999-2005. Officers and the Executive Member for Housing & Community Safety are currently working to establish the need for capital investment in new affordable housing for the period 2005-2011 in order to inform the decision making process set out above.

7. Priorities for Action

One of the key reasons for putting together a strategy is the need to identify priorities. With restricted resources and growing need, it is especially important that strategic partners act together to maximise our capabilities. To this end, at the Strategy Review Day in April 2002, priorities were identified and agreed. They have been drawn up into the following SMART objectives:

Target	Specific	Measurable	Achievable	Realistic	Time-bound
Short-term
Reduce the numbers of people needing to move due to lack of space for carers.	All RSLs to adopt a more flexible approach to letting two-bedroomed properties to single people	More flexible lettings policies that enable RSLs to prepare for changing needs. Feedback from residents.	Given a new approach to lettings and effective partnership working	RSLs have the authority to change policies, in consultation with enabling Local Authority	By March 2003
Maximise use of existing stock. Reduce under-occupation.	Encourage tenants to move from under-occupied properties through use of Tenants’ Incentive Schemes(TIS)	Reduction in under-occupation. More 2/3 bed properties available. RSLs to monitor take-up and longer-term viability	Somer already running TIS. To be reviewed. Other RSLs have powers to establish new schemes	Long-established practice in all regions	By March 2003
Reduced void numbers in sheltered stock. Increased temporary accommodation/ general stock/land for development	Review use of all sheltered schemes. Redesignate/ dispose of unpopular difficult to let properties	Reduced numbers of voids in sheltered stock. Increased temporary accommodation /land for development/ disposal	Unacceptable levels of voids in sheltered properties cannot be sustained	RSLs have powers to redesignate stock, in consultation with enabling Local Authority	Review to start by Autumn 2002, completed by March 2004
Comply with the Homelessness Act 2002 requirements to ensure no families are in B&B by March 2004	No homeless families in B&B by March 2003, other than in emergencies	Agree a protocol with Children & Family Services around supporting families at risk of homelessness. Increased units of non-B&B temporary accommodation	Achievable with effective partnership between RSLs and B&NES	Legal requirement	By March 2004

Medium-term
Develop a strategy to make better use of s106 and Council assets	Council to commit 25% of all Housing Capital Receipts to reinvestment in affordable housing	Increased financial resources available for investment in affordable housing	Achievable if given corporate priority	With corporate support	By 2004/05
Increase the range and type of supported accommodation for both long and short-term needs	Develop ‘stepping stone’ and core & cluster schemes	Increased availability of flexible supported housing for a wide range of people	Targets to be agreed between Local Authority and RSLs	With effective partnership working	By March 2004
To ensure best use of and access to adapted RSL properties for applicants on the Specific Needs Register	Prevent removal of adaptations from RSL properties. Provide suitable homes for people on the Specific Needs Register. Reduce the need for grants to adapt properties.	Reduction in waiting times for applicants with specific needs. Reduction in void periods. Reduction in resources required for adaptation of properties.	Achievable with corporate support and partnership working	Specific Needs Register in development. Void information supplied for Choice-based Lettings will give property information.	By July 2003
Encourage and enable sustainability in local services and the economy generally	Identify key workers and develop accommodation options. Increase employers awareness of housing issues and encourage/ enable their involvement in identifying solutions.	Identifiable schemes open to key workers. Reduced recruitment/ retention issues for employers	Two schemes already approved. Need to work with partners to co-ordinate existing provision and to develop new schemes.	Other areas already operating Key Worker Schemes. Identified as a priority by Central Government.	By March 2004
To provide a local focus for strategic housing issues	Establish, promote and co-ordinate a Strategic Housing Partnership	Regular meetings held. Partners fully involved in developing strategic responses to local housing issues	Achievable with commitment from Council and partners	Extension of existing partnerships (Joint Commissioning Partnership, Single Homelessness Partnership etc)	First meeting to be held by March 2003
Long-term
Ensuring all B&NES strategies link up and that housing is central to the Council’s agenda	A coherent and consistent approach to provision of services that acknowledges the role of housing in the local economy	All stakeholders will have identified and signed up to shared strategic priorities and objectives by March 2011	With corporate and political commitment from B&NES and higher-level organisational commitment from partners. Also, allocation of resources by B&NES and partners	Some work already started on this with the Local Strategic Partnership	Strategic priorities and objectives to be signed up to by March 2011

Short-term =within 1-2 years Medium-term =within 3-5 years Long-term =within 6-11 years

The following milestones will assist in tracking progress on the priorities identified:

Target	1st Milestone	Review date	2nd Milestone	Achieved by
Reduce numbers of people needing to move due to lack of space for carers	Consultation with RSLs by September 2002	November 2002	Draft lettings policies to Bath & North East Somerset Council by January 2003	Pilot scheme to be operative by March 2003
Maximise use of existing stock. Reduce under-occupation.	Joint Commissioning Partnership to identify potential take-up of TIS. Action-plan by October 2002	January 2003		March 2003
Reduce void numbers in sheltered stock. Increase temporary accommodation/ general stock/land for development.	Following publication of Somer CHT’s report on the Review of Sheltered Housing (September 2002), form strategic working group. By October 2002	January 2003		Review completed by March 2004
Comply with the Homelessness Act 2002 requirements to ensure no families are in B&B by March 2004	May 2002 31 families in B&B. Housing Options & Advice Service (HOAS) Manager to produce action-plan by September 2002	September 2002	May 2003 – 50% reduction achieved?	March 2004 – no families in B&B
Develop a strategy to make better use of s106 and Council assets	Housing, Planning and portfolio-holder to meet by September 2002. Identify issues and formulate an action-plan for cross-departmental working.	Priorities and protocols agreed by September 2003.	Consult with RSLs, builders, developers, private landlords(?) by January 2004	By 2004/05
Increase the range and type of supported accommodation available for both long and short term needs	Final SHMG bid to reflect the priorities identified by basic needs-mapping and comparison with DTLR Typical Supply Profile for Bath & North East Somerset Council. By October 2002	Outcome of SHMG bids in Jan/Feb 2003	Comprehensive Supporting People needs-mapping to be undertaken in 2003 and to be linked with capital bids in Autumn 2003	Supporting People scheme reviews to provide continuous information on local needs. To inform the commissioning process.

To ensure access to and best use of adapted RSL properties for applicants on the Specific Needs Register	Review and revise the information on void properties received by Bath & North East Somerset Council by January 2003	Develop the existing Specific Needs Register to ensure it is regularly up-dated and linked to the Homeseekers database by January 2003	Review progress and effectiveness. April 2003	July 2003
Encourage and enable sustainability in local services and the economy generally	Scheme for 10 Starter Home Initiative grants for teachers approved in May 2002.	Set up meeting with local employers and RSLs by November 2002. Identify retention/ recruitment issues, raise awareness, identify key-worker posts.	Identify level of need and formulate proposals for provision by March 2003	30 units of key-worker accommodation by March 2004
To provide a local focus for strategic housing issues	First meeting of Strategic Housing Partnership in September 2002	Strategy Review meeting at end of October 2002. Up-date on progress from Bath & North East Somerset Council, RSLs and service-providers	‘Desktop’ review by Planning & Partnership Officer in November 2002	Full Strategy review by all partners in March 2003
Ensuring all Bath & North East Somerset Council strategies link up and that housing is central to the Community Strategy and the work of the Local Strategic Partnership	Create a direct link from the Strategic Housing Partnership to the Local Strategic Partnership and the Community Strategy by October 2002	Ensure the Community Strategy identifies and prioritises housing issues by April 2003

8. Key Issues for Future Development

Bath and North East Somerset Council is aware that there are key issues that we either are currently developing or need to address that do not feature in this strategy. They are flagged up here with the aim of generating discussion and instigating further partnership working.

Resources

Bath & North East Somerset Council’s current policy is to sell surplus assets at market value. The Council will review its options for future funding including the disposal of assets.

Land Use, Planning & Housing

Planning has an important role to play in meeting the needs and aspirations of Bath & North East Somerset’s residents. The Council recognises that there is a need to continue to develop existing working practices and strengthen the links between teams. In this context joint working will be developed during the preparation of the Local Plan including the Public Local Inquiry scheduled to start in 2003. This will particularly focus on affordable housing issues. In addition Strategic Housing Services will continue to make an important contribution to the planning application and Development Team processes.

Affordable Homes for Low-Income Households

The problem of affordability is particularly difficult in Bath & North East Somerset. Over 80% of those in full-time employment are working in the service sector, where wage levels are usually very low. Residents working in the statutory sector, earning a wage that in other parts of the country (or indeed, region) would be sufficient to cover their housing costs, find that they are unable to afford suitable housing and are forced to leave the area. This has implications for the sustainability of local services and communities. In the short term, a target of 30 Starter Homes for teachers and health workers has been has been set (further details are given in the SMART targets included above). During the time allotted for achieving this target, a longer-term strategy will be drawn up with partners to address the needs of key workers and other low-paid workers.

Elderly Persons Homes Re-Provision

In order to meet the new building thresholds for Residential Care Homes required by the Care Standards Act 2000 the Council, in October 2001: "authorised officers to commence the detailed planning for a programme of redevelopment and rebuilding of the Council's existing residential care service for older people".

On July 12th 2002, the Council Executive considered options for the re-provision of the Council's Elderly Persons Homes (EPH). The Executive decided that the preferred model of care for consultation with residents, their families, staff and Trades Unions was the provision of three Elderly Persons Homes providing a total of 105 beds and 75 Extracare Units. Following consultation on this model of care, a decision on the overall EPH re-provision programme is due to be made in October 2002. It is likely that the Housing Strategy will need to be reviewed and revised in light of this decision.

Choice-Based Lettings

As one of 27 Local Authorities to receive funding to pilot a Choice-Based Lettings system, Bath and North East Somerset Council have agreed with local providers that Homeseekers Register will work towards the following aims:

To provide informed choice about housing options to applicants
To encourage applicants to take a greater stake in satisfying their long term housing needs
To contribute to the development of sustainable communities by addressing the needs of communities in addition to the needs of individuals
To provide equality of access and choice for all, including those who are homeless and/or vulnerable
To make better use of the housing stock, particularly in pockets of low demand
To reduce social exclusion by empowering applicants and therefore reducing dependency
To enable applicants to access appropriate housing before their needs become acute, thereby preventing homelessness
To provide a transparent service which is easy to understand and easy to justify to applicants and their advocates

In order to monitor delivery and performance on the Homeseekers Register, the following targets have been set:

To establish a framework for operating the rotational nomination scheme
To establish a process for managing exceptions to the rotational nomination scheme
To assist the Council in meeting its statutory obligations towards homeless households and other households in housing need
To assist the Council in fulfilling its strategic enabling role
To ensure a high quality, customer focussed service
To establish effective procedures for monitoring and regular review
To follow the principles of inclusion and choice that form the objectives of the Homeseekers Register

The following mechanisms are either already in place or will be put in place to meet the aims outlined above:

The Partnership Group (BNES and RSL strategic level) will meet quarterly to review information about these areas.
The Project Implementation Group (BNES and RSLs operational staff) will meet bi-monthly and will be picking up on operational issues
A new internal review mechanism is to be set up to look at the policy and areas that may need to be changed as the pilot progresses
The reporting for this will be sourced from the iworld housing software system, quarterly returns from RSLs, and reports specially commissioned from the CORE lettings recording system.

During the pilot stage, the role of the two groups will focus more upon monitoring and review.

After the pilot periods, assessments will be made of the efficiency, effectiveness and value of the Homeseekers Register, leading to full evaluation and review.

Planning for the Housing Needs of People with Learning Difficulties

As part of the standards set out in ‘Valuing People’, Bath and North East Somerset Local Implementation Group for Learning Difficulties (LIG) is required to produce a Housing & Support Strategy by Winter 2002/03. The aim of the strategy is to increase supported living options for people with learning difficulties and reduce long-term use of residential accommodation. A multi-agency working group will be brought together in September 2002 tasked with identifying issues, mapping current service provision and needs and exploring options for development. The information already gathered under Supporting People will be an important tool in assessing existing need and identifying gaps in services. The Strategy will be built around information gained during consultation with service-users, their carers and service-providers/RSLs.

Achieving the Decent Homes Standard

Somer Community Housing Trust, the majority social housing provider in the district, has responded positively to requirements of the ‘Decent Homes Standard’. The Trust is currently part way through a £120 million stock investment programme which will result in all of the Trust’s properties meeting the requirements.

An assessment against the standard indicates that 45% of the Trust’s properties will meet the requirements by the end of the current financial year. Annual targets have then been set which will see the Trust’s properties compliant by 2008.

Student Accommodation

Bath has a high student population and the need for accommodation can have a significant impact on delivery of the targets outlined in this Strategy. Bath and North East Somerset Council needs to ensure that the need for growing numbers of properties for students is balanced against the needs of the permanent population. We will be planning to enable dialogue between the university and colleges and the providers of housing, private landlords and ourselves in the near future.

The Housing Options And Advice Service Development

Following a service review in 2001, the Homelessness, Housing Advice and Housing Needs teams were brought together as a generic service operating from Lewis House in Manvers Street, Bath. During 2002/03, staff in the Housing & Regeneration team giving advice on grants for home repairs and disabled facilities will move to Lewis House to become part of the Housing Options & Advice Service. This will further expand the role of the team, which will focus on the prevention of homelessness, protection of residents’ housing rights and improvement of housing conditions across all tenures.

The service was launched in April 2002, following a period of team familiarisation and preparatory training in aspects of housing law. Staff also spent some time familarising themselves with a new IT system put in place to operate the Homeseekers pilot project. The team principally operates from its city centre base in Lewis House, Bath. Within the service 17 full and part time staff offer advice and Homeless Reception Services for the people of Bath And North East Somerset.

Underpinning the vision for the generic service was the need to reach out to people beyond Bath city. For a range of different reasons, a significant number of Bath & North East Somerset residents are either unable to access the service in Bath or do not consider Bath their principle centre of activity. From September 2002 the Housing Options & Advice Service will be launching outreach pilots in the other major towns in Bath and North East Somerset. During this pilot period, information will be gathered on where users would be most likely to access the service and permanent outreach services set up. To enable maximum take-up of the service, home-visits will be offered to anyone who, due to mobility or transport problems, cannot attend the Bath office or one of the outreach services. This is already available on request, ahead of the piloting of outreach surgeries. The service will also be introducing a free Housing Options and Advice Line, an additional option, running alongside the Homeseekers free-phone service for applicants who wish to express an interest in a vacant property.

A varied programme of publicity is planned, to ensure that as wide a section of the community as possible is kept informed of the service. Procedure Notes are being prepared, as are a wide range of new information and advice leaflets.

Housing & Regeneration Developments

The Housing & Regeneration Team aims to improve housing conditions across all tenures, enable the development of new affordable housing and encourage empty properties back into use.

The team has recently taken a number of steps to improve the strategic direction and delivery of their private sector housing services. In particular, the quality of information and support available to landlords has been increased. Central to this is the voluntary Accreditation Scheme, which has proved to be highly successful. By March 2003, the number of bedspaces accredited is expected to reach 2000. The scheme is supported by small, cost-effective grants for basic fire precautions and energy-efficiency improvements. In the near future, the team will be working on a similar scheme for larger-scale landlords, such as RSLs and providers of mass student accommodation. Where encouragement and persuasion fail, the team will use their enforcement powers to protect tenants. A risk-rating scheme for all HMO’s has been introduced to enable the team to focus resources where they will be most productive.