The Environment and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel were scheduled to meet to discuss the plan for a review of social housing in Bracknell Forest. The meeting was also scheduled to include an evidence gathering session with the Head of Housing and the Housing Strategy and Enabling Projects Manager, relating to the first module of the social housing review.

Social Housing Review

The panel were scheduled to receive an overview of the plan for the review from Councillor Christoph Eberle, LIB DEM, Chair of the Environment and Communities Overview & Scrutiny and Councillor Mike Forster, LIB DEM, Vice-Chair.

The meeting was scheduled to then move on to consider module 1 of the review, receiving evidence from the Head of Housing and the Housing Strategy and Enabling Projects Manager.

The report pack includes several documents that are likely to be relevant to the review:

Bracknell Forest Housing Strategy 2023-2028

The [Housing Strategy 2023-28][Housing Strategy 2023-28.pdf] sets out the council's housing vision to address future housing needs and how it plans to work with partners to ensure residents have access to a range of good quality, affordable homes.

The strategy links to a number of related policy documents and plans for Bracknell Forest that include the [Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2021-2026][Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2021-26.pdf], the Ending Rough Sleeping Plan 2021, the emerging Local Plan, and the Bracknell Forest Council Plan 2019-2023. It sets out the main housing related issues faced by the council and how they will respond to these through the priorities and objectives set for the next five years.

The strategy identifies four strategic priorities:

• Prevent homelessness and increase housing options and support for households in need
• Deliver new homes in sustainable communities that meet the needs of local residents
• Make the best use of existing homes and improve housing quality
• Provide a range of housing options for people with care and support needs

The strategy notes that the Planning for the future White Paper in 2020, proposed a once in a generation reform of England's planning system and included a commitment to build 300,000 new homes a year, a quicker plan-making process, a shift to a new zone-based system and a national levy to replace the current system of developer contributions.

The strategy also refers to the [Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill][Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill] which proposes fundamental changes to local planning and infrastructure regulations, as well as measures to increase local devolution and levelling up.

The strategy states that Bracknell Forest has prepared a new Local Plan for 2020-37, which was submitted to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for independent examination on 20 December 2021. The Plan includes a vision, objectives, and strategy for the level and distribution of development in the Borough over the next fifteen years. The Local Plan sets out how, where and what new housing should be built in the local area to meet current needs and future requirements.

The strategy notes that [Bracknell Forest Council's Housing Needs Assessment][Bracknell Forest Council's Housing Needs Assessment] estimates that there is a significant need for affordable housing and that housing specifically for older people will be needed to meet the future growth in the older population.

The strategy states that the council has supported the development of 373 new affordable homes over the last 3 years, of which 64% were for affordable rent and 36% were for shared ownership.

The strategy also states that the council is aiming to expand access to good quality private rented accommodation by investing more resources in working proactively with landlords and reviewing its incentives package.

Bracknell Forest Housing Allocation Policy

The [Bracknell Forest Housing Allocation Policy][Bracknell Forest Housing Allocations Policy.pdf] describes how social housing is allocated through Bracknell Forest Council's My Choice scheme. The Policy describes how the scheme operates, how to apply to the housing register, how the register is managed, who qualifies for social housing, choice about where applicants wish to live, how applications are assessed and how properties are allocated in a fair and transparent manner.

The Policy states that Bracknell Forest Council does not have its own housing stock and therefore works closely with Registered Providers (Housing Associations). The allocations scheme applies to properties in Bracknell Forest whereby Bracknell Forest Council has the right to nominate applicants to become a tenant of a Housing Association. The scheme prioritises those people most in need of social housing and is also open to existing social housing tenants who have an identified housing need to transfer to a different property.

The Policy sets out five groups of applicants to whom the Housing Allocations Policy must give reasonable preference:

• People who are homeless (within the meaning of part 7 of the Housing Act 1996, as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002) and have been assessed by the Council as being owed a homelessness duty.
• People who are owed a duty by any housing authority under section 190(2), 193(2) or 195(2) of the 1996 Act (or under section 65(2) of the Housing Act 1985) or who are occupying accommodation secured by any housing authority under section 192 (3).
• People occupying insanitary or overcrowded housing or otherwise living in unsatisfactory housing conditions.
• People who need to move on medical or welfare grounds, including grounds relating to a disability.
• People who need to move to a particular locality in the district of the authority, where failure to meet that need would cause hardship (to themselves or to others).

The Policy also sets out qualification rules for the MyChoice scheme, including:

• The requirement to have an assessed housing need as defined in Bands A – E
• A local connection through living in Bracknell Forest for a minimum of 2 years prior to the date of application
• Circumstances where an applicant has current or former social housing rent arrears or another relevant recoverable housing related debt and has reasonable preference
• Unacceptable behaviour
• Financial resources
• Homeownership, or legal interest in homeownership
• Fraud or giving False Information

Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2021-2026

The [Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2021-2026][Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2021-26.pdf] sets out the Council's vision for tackling homelessness and how it plans to work with partners to prevent homelessness and eliminate rough sleeping.

The strategy notes that there have been significant changes in national policy since the publication of the last Homelessness Strategy 5 years ago. The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 was introduced in April 2018, with the aim of offering more assistance to single people and to improve prevention of homelessness through placing this within a statutory framework. At the same time, the Government announced a cross-Government priority to focus on ending rough sleeping by 2024.

The strategy states that the two most common causes of homelessness are 'family or friends no longer willing or able to accommodate' and the loss of accommodation due to the ending of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy in the private rented sector.

The strategy also notes that domestic abuse is the third highest cause of homelessness with the number of cases where domestic abuse was recorded as the cause rising from 38 in 2019/20 to 83 in 2020/21.

The strategy identifies groups at a higher risk of homelessness as:

• Young people aged 18 – 24
• Black people
• Lone parent households
• People on low incomes and in debt
• People experiencing family or relationship breakdown
• People experiencing domestic abuse
• People leaving prison
• People with a mental health illness

The strategy sets out five priorities:

• Prevention: Ensure everyone knows about the housing options available in Bracknell Forest, and can help themselves or know where to go for help
• Prevention: Target help at people at risk of becoming homeless
• Intervention: Help people keep or find a home
• Recovery: Help homeless people who are vulnerable and need support so they can manage a home in the future
• Move on and support: ensure a range of options for people who are at risk of homelessness or who have experienced homelessness