Decision Maker: Head of Strategic Housing

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: March 26, 2025

Purpose: Applicants are awarded a banding on the housing register that reflects their level of housing need. Band A+ is for emergency and very urgent priority cases (such as threat to an applicant's life, or where there is an immediate need to move on medical or exceptional grounds). It was established as a mechanism to give overall priority to those on the housing register in the most urgent housing need. Banding category A+4 was created to prioritise and move homeless households on the housing register from banding A owed the main duty residing in nightly paid/hostel temporary accommodation for 12 months or more out of temporary accommodation. At the time it was introduced, the number of households in temporary accommodation was significantly lower, therefore it was far less common for a household to remain in those types of TA for more than 12 months and very few cases were placed into this category. Banding category A+7 was introduced as a prevention tool to prevent households at significant risk of homelessness from needing to be placed into temporary accommodation. It is available where a household (owed a homeless duty and in priority need) on the housing register in banding A (for having received a section 21 notice for no fault of their own) then receives a court order to leave their current accommodation. Increased homelessness demand has resulted in an increased volume of applicants in Band A+. An alternative method of achieving the same pace of throughput is being introduced.

Content: Introduce a minor operational change by keeping temporary accommodation and court order cases in band A and backdating their priority housing date. Also apply this retrospectively to existing temporary accommodation and court order cases in band A+.  This decision was taken using delegation 7.e of the Divisions Sub-Delegation Scheme and was taken in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing.  The amendments shall take effect from 2 May 2025.