The agenda for this meeting includes items on Safeguarding Adults, Housing, Fees and Charges, and the Council Tax Base and Discounts.

Housing

Two items on the agenda relate to housing: temporary accommodation and a new Housing Allocations Scheme.

The Council are requesting approval to purchase five properties for use as temporary accommodation. They argue that it is necessary because of the increase in the number of families approaching the Council in housing need.

The levels of homelessness across the City have risen driving an acute demand for Temporary Accommodation across Westminster. They add that: The Council is taking a proactive and strategic approach within a clearly defined governance structure to address the demand for TA.

This includes exploring options for purchasing groups of properties (referred to as ‘bulk purchase’) and properties that require reconfiguration or development. The five shortlisted bulk purchase opportunities that are the subject of this report include the provision of new temporary accommodation and the acquisition of properties where the Council already place temporary accommodation residents. The properties being considered are not all located in Westminster. Some are located within 30 minutes by bus travel time of the city boundary and it is said that opportunities in Greater London are being considered if necessary.

If the purchase of the five properties is approved, the Council propose to reprofile their capital programme to ensure sufficient resource is available within the financial year to cover the cost.

It is also being proposed that the Council approve a new Housing Allocations Scheme. This will set out how social housing is allocated by the Council, how groups are prioritised, how the Council discharge their duty to give ‘reasonable preference’ to certain groups set out in the Housing Act 1996, and how the Council will meet the requirements of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

The new scheme, which will go live in February 2025, has been designed in response to feedback from residents and stakeholders in the Future of Westminster Housing Commission 2023 and is said to be:

clearer, more open, and easier to navigate

It proposes to introduce new priority groups for residents with high housing needs, including those who qualify for both Medical Priority and Overcrowding Priority and residents with two or more household members who qualify for Medical Priority.

It also intends to address feedback that the current scheme:

lacked transparency on how different groups are prioritised

by creating a single priority table for allocating general needs social housing that uses bands and points to set out how the Council will prioritise between applicants.

Several policy changes are proposed, including:

• Increasing the number of applicants using Choice Based Lettings to access social housing.
• Allowing applicants who have a Registered Provider landlord to apply directly to the Council’s Housing Register.
• Allowing adult children of certain tenants on the Housing Register to join the Register where they would not otherwise qualify.
• Introducing the opportunity for residents to downsize to a home with a spare bedroom, with a reduced cash incentive.
• Introducing an option for residents to access the Private Rented Sector instead of temporary accommodation.

Safeguarding Adults

The Cabinet will also be asked to note the Annual Report of the Safeguarding Adults Executive Board (SAEB) 2023/24. The SAEB is a multi-agency board that:

provides leadership of adult safeguarding across the Bi-Borough

The Bi-Borough is made up of Westminster Council and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

The report describes the SAEB’s activities over the past year and focuses on how the SAEB has strengthened its relationships with service users, for example through the Staying Safe Project. This has involved residents from diverse communities and the SAEB’s Safeguarding Ambassadors, who are service users by experience. They have been:

delivering workshops to diverse communities on various safeguarding topics

The report also describes how the SAEB is using data to inform its future activities, for example in relation to domestic abuse and older people.

The SAEB noted that there was a small but significant rise in safeguarding referrals for domestic abuse in the year 2022-2023.

Fees and Charges

Another agenda item relates to the Council’s fees and charges. The Council intend to increase fees and charges across a range of services from January 2025. The majority of uplifts will track the annual Consumer Prices Index (CPI) increase which is currently at 1.7%. The CPI measures inflation which is the rate at which the cost of goods and services increases over time.

However, a number of above inflation increases are proposed, with the Council aiming to:

ensure that charges remain in line with increases being experienced in the cost of delivering services

This includes a 7.3% increase in charges for commercial waste, a 26.35% increase for Building Control, an 8% increase for cemeteries and a 60% increase in charges for automatic public conveniences.

Council Tax

The final item on the agenda relates to the Council’s Council Tax Base, and the discounts and premiums that will be applied in 2025/26. The Council Tax Base represents the equivalent number of Band D properties within the Council’s area.

The report proposes that the Council approve:

• The retention of the current 0% discount for second homes and empty properties.
• The continuation of the existing Long Term Empty Property Premium at the maximum level allowed for within current legislation. This means an additional charge of 100% of the normal Council Tax charge will be payable for properties that have been empty for more than 2 years but less than 5 years, with higher percentages payable for properties that have been empty for longer periods.
• The confirmation of the determination made last year to introduce a 100% Second Home Premium for the 2025/26 financial year.
• The continuation of the Council’s existing 100% Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

It is noted in the report that recent changes to national legislation have introduced new exclusions to both the Second Home Premium and the Empty Property Premium. These include properties that are actively being marketed for sale or rent or are undergoing major works. However, the report assumes that, due to the recent introduction of these exclusions:

the current volumes of empty and second home properties subject to the premiums will largely remain the same during 2025/26

This assumption has been used to calculate the Council Tax Base for 2025/26.

The meeting documents do not reveal whether the proposals will be discussed or what decisions the Cabinet will make.