Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

An apology for absence was submitted from Shirley Boyt. Andy Croy attended the meeting as a substitute.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2022.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 5 September 2022 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

To answer any public questions

A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of this committee.

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Committee or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

There were no public questions.

To answer any member questions.

There were no Member questions.

To consider an update on homelessness within the Borough, including ongoing measures to support individuals.

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 13 to 32, which gave an update on homelessness within the Borough and ongoing measures to support individuals.

The report outlined that reduction of homelessness remained a key priority for the Council, and homelessness levels had fluctuated over the past few years. The main reasons for homelessness continued to be the end od assured shorthold tenancies via section 21 notices, family and relationship breakdowns, with an increase in domestic abuse related cases. A number of achievements had been realised to date, including the adoption and delivery of the Council’s Rough Sleeping Strategy and new allocations policy, whilst it was planned to maximise funding opportunities via the Government’s Rough Sleeping Strategy and Homes England grant programmes.

Stephen Conway (Executive Member for Housing) and Zulfiqar Mulak (Interim Assistant Director Housing) attended the meeting to answer member queries.

During the ensuing discussions, members raised the following points and queries:

·         It was noted that additional refugees, including from Ukraine, was a situation to continue observing going forwards;

·         It was noted that there was fluctuating demand for homelessness service requests between quarters;

·         What were the key issues driving service demand? Office response – Private landlord evictions were on the increase, whilst domestic abuse and family and friends no longer willing to accommodate were also on the increase. Covid-19 had created the ‘perfect storm’ which had forced families together, whilst also creating tension within some households;

·         It was noted that officers were always searching for alternate and innovative solutions to deal with increased levels of service demand;

·         Was the target of 5 individuals living on the street a monthly, annual, or different timeframe target? Officer response – At any one time, the target was to have no more than 5 individuals on the street in the Borough. There were currently a couple of individuals who had been offered accommodation multiple times, with staff visiting them regularly each evening. In instances like these, individuals were choosing to remain on the street out of choice;

·         Who could members and the public contact to try and get support for individuals living on the street? Officer response – There was an out of office service, whilst the service could be contacted directly during office hours;

·         What local connection was required to be demonstrated for people to use the Borough’s homelessness service? Officer response – There was a 5-year local connection requirement for the housing register, with a 3-year statutory local connection for homelessness. It was confirmed that individuals would retain access to their GP whilst using the service;

·         Were homelessness service requests due to mortgage repossessions, currently at 0, a historic low? Officer response – Yes this was a historically low figure, and as these numbers were expected to increase officers were looking for solutions to help individuals and families in the future;

·         It was noted that many families required 2-3 bedroom or 4-5 bedroom properties, which were difficult to offer. Properties had to be suitable for the individuals and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

To consider the initial strategic overview for the draft Medium Term Financial Plan for 2023-26.

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 33 to 52, which set out the initial strategic overview for the draft Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for 2023-26.

The report set out the unprecedented financial challenges facing Wokingham Borough Council (WBC), both nationally by Local Government and then subsequent impact on WBC. Inflationary pressures, including within utilities, construction, pay and contracts were placing pressure on WBC’s finances, whilst Council Tax increases were presumed to be capped at 1.99%. Whilst budget managers, senior officers, the Corporate Leadership Team and Executive Members had already undertaken considerable work to provide proposals to be considered by Overview and Scrutiny, further work would be required to address the current estimated budget gap of £4m.

Clive Jones (Leader of the Council), Imogen Shepherd-DuBey (Executive Member for Finance), and Graham Ebers (Deputy Chief Executive (Director of Resources and Assets)) attended the meeting to answer member queries.

The Leader and Executive Member for Finance stated that this was to be the most difficult year for Local Authority Finances for the last 40 years, citing inflationary pressures, pressures from increasing numbers of refugees, and the looming Adult Social Care reform to name a few. Regular meetings were underway with a number of Council’s in the South of England, who were also citing concerns around these pressures. Receipt of the Local Government Finance Settlement would occur around Christmas Eve, which was not an appropriate way for Local Government to be able to set their budgets. Ministers had been written to, to ask for an earlier settlement for a period of longer than 1-year. Whilst WBC was in a much more favourable position than many other Local Authorities, it was still crucial for savings to be identified to address the current estimated budget gap of £4m.

During the ensuing discussions, members raised the following points and queries:

·         Was the budget gap cumulative? Deputy Chief Executive response – Yes, and gap which was not addressed in year one would carry over to year two. If the total revenue budget gap was addressed in year one it would place WBC in a good position going forwards. With regards to capital, part of the solution could be to passport projects to future years, find additional income to fund projects, or decide which projects were absolute priorities and which may be delayed or cut;

·         What was the long-term plan to address our financial situation, as even if internal spending was addressed this year additional pressures could arise in future. Executive Member and Deputy Chief Executive response – In frank terms, if this situation carried on then it would push WBC towards delivery of only statutory services. Some Local Authorities had declared Section 114 notices, whilst the underlying funding arrangement systems for Local Government were broken as the maximum WBC could raise Council Tax by would be 1.99%, with inflationary pressures far exceeding this. This situation required a considerable amount of work from departments to review their spending and identify potential savings, whilst this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

To consider the Committee’s Work Programme.

The Committee considered their work programme, set out in agenda pages 53 to 58.

RESOLVED That:

1)      Callum Wernham be thanked for attending the meeting;

2)      An extraordinary meeting be arranged for 17 October 2022 to consider the items of the postponed Extraordinary Committee which was scheduled for 19 September 2022, in addition to an update on the Borough’s response to the Cost of Living Crisis;

3)      A training session be arranged for the Committee during lunchtime on 1^st November 2022 in relation to Domestic Abuse, ahead of their consideration of this item at an upcoming meeting.