Agenda

Including any notices of motion and any other items of business submitted as urgent for consideration at the meeting.

Members should declare any financial and non-financial interests they have in the items of business for consideration, identifying the relevant agenda item and the nature of their interest.

If any.

Minute of the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee of 14 May 2024 – submitted for approval as a correct record

Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee Rolling Actions Log

Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee Business Bulletin

Internal Audit Update Report: Quarter 4 2023/24 - referral from the Governance, Risk and Best Value Committee

By Councillor Parker - Expanding Edinburgh's Successful Student Housing Co-op

“1)      Notes commitment in the Council’s Housing Emergency Action Plan to “investigate models of housing co-operatives, including for different characteristics; the funding models and advantages available and the possibility of introducing these in Edinburgh.”.

2)       Notes the success of the Edinburgh Student Housing Co-op which has been operating successfully in the city for over 10 years and is the biggest student housing co-op in the UK according to the UK Federation for Student Housing Co-ops.

3)       Notes the desire of students to expand the co-operative given high demand and welcomes their ongoing work to explore funding and delivery models to achieve this, including with the University and other 3^rd parties.

4)       Given 1), and the Council’s previous concerns expressed about the crisis in student homelessness in the city, notes that there might be a role for the Council in supporting 3).

Therefore:

5)       Agrees a report in 2 cycles to summarise:

a)       What work has taken place to explore housing co-operative models as part of the Housing Emergency Action Plan to date;

b)       Ideas about how the Council could support the Student Housing Co-operative with its expansion plans. This might include:

i)        offering the Student Housing Co-op first refusal on Council properties which are being disposed of, including from the Council’s corporate estate where re-development / conversion might be possible;

ii)        investigating options for the Student Housing Co-op to take on long-term void properties from the Council which are in a state of disrepair;

iii)       investigating options for development of “gap sites” on Council land (where available), for example through conversion of redundant outbuildings such as garages;

iv)       acting as a financial guarantor, offering loan funding and/or developing lease agreements;

v)       what are the (perceived) barriers to the expansion of the Student Housing Co-op within the city;

vi)       what learning can be taken from examples of the development of student housing co-ops abroad, including best practices on how to scale the model.

6)       Agrees that officers engage with the Student Housing Co-op, and other relevant stakeholders, when writing this report.”

By Councillor Parker - Accessible Housing Summit and Council Adaptations Process

“1)        Notes commitment in the Council’s Housing Emergency Action Plan to strengthen partnership working between health and social care partners and housing and homelessness services, as well as commitments to “review the suitability and accessibility of housing for households with multiple disabilities.”.

2)         Additionally, notes work to review the Council’s allocation processes, including reviewing what support is available to disabled people to access suitable housing.

3)         Recognises that the success of 1) and 2) depends on accurate data being kept against housing stock, and strong partnership working between health and social care partners and the housing and homelessness service in order to explore how homes could be adapted to be made suitable for prospective tenants.

4)         Notes that there is currently a lack of accurate information about the accessibility of housing stock across the city, as described in the findings of the Council’s Accessible Housing Study published in 2022.

5)         Notes that the Scottish Government has consulted on Part 1 of the Housing for Varying Needs Design Guide and introduction of a Scottish Accessible Homes Standard which relates to new build homes, which could help identify existing homes that are accessible, and appropriate design guidance for adapting existing homes.

6)         Notes that Home 2 Fit is an online register of accessible homes created by Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living to advertise accessible properties, cross-tenure (including ownership), across Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen, and regrets that the planned wider roll-out of the website across Scotland has been stalled.

Additionally:

7)         Notes that in response to Written Questions submitted to the Full Council meeting on 27^th June 2024, it was stated that the Council’s adaptations process has not been reviewed “for a number of years” and that “the Accessible Housing Sounding Board identified [the adaptations process] as a key area of work that would benefit from a review.”

Therefore

8)         Requests a report in 2 cycles to outline what work is taking place to strengthen partnership working between health and social care partners and the housing and homelessness service, with a particular focus on the adaptations process, agreeing that the report should cover:

a)         The governance processes for adaptations, and how these could be strengthened and improved.

b)         What consideration is given to completing preventative adaptations (as opposed to reactive adaptations), and how this could be strengthened and improved, including information about what factors are considered when determining “accessibility.”

c)         The funding arrangements for adaptations work, and whether these are fair and appropriate.

9)         Further agrees that the report should cover:

a)         Progress against actions from the Accessible Housing Study in 2022, for example work to improve data around Council housing stock, as well as information about any barriers to delivery of these actions, for example resourcing and/or budget constraints, and how these could be circumvented.

Additionally:

10)       Agrees to host an Accessible Housing summit with organisations across the city to discuss how a similar register to Home 2 Fit could  ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.2

The Committee, is requested under Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to exclude the public from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they would involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs [xx] of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act.

Internal Audit Update Report June 2024 - referral from the Governance, Risk and Best Value Committee