Issue details

1.  A key aim of recommendations proposed in this report is to reduce the number of applicants waiting for re-housing in Southampton.  The City Council’s waiting-list for social housing currently stands at approximately 15,000 applications.  This represents a significant growth since 2002 when legislation required the authority to move to an ‘open’ waiting-list. The number of properties available for letting every year through vacancies in the council's own stock and via partner housing associations is approximately 1,700 so only a small proportion of applicants currently on the waiting-list will ever receive an offer of housing.  Managing a waiting-list of applicants who are unlikely ever to be housed is a waste of the council's resources and raises expectations that cannot be met.

2.  The authority's policy must meet the requirements of existing legislation and government guidance in respect of allocations.  In particular, the policy must take account of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Localism Act 2011 and the statutory guidance on allocations published in June 2012  Allocation of accommodation code of guidance 2012.  This report identifies measures to ensure the authority both meets the requirements of and makes best use of the recent legislative and advisory changes.  The policy changes proposed here comprise a set of fixed rules but, as previously, officers will retain the discretion to deal with any exceptional cases which fall outside of the provisions of the policy.

3.  The authority is currently in the process of transforming the way services are delivered.  This will enable service improvements but will also require services to adapt to new methods of provision. The new processes are likely to include increased emphasis on web-enabled services and on-line access to information and application processes.  The changes to policy proposed here are crucial to enabling the authority to move more easily to new ways of working.