COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, June 10, 2013
Headed Item No. 4d) (i)
REPORT OF THE MEETING OF THE HOUSING AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING
HELD ON THURSDAY 27th MAY, 2013
PRESENT:
Members: Council Officials:
| Cllr B. Bonner | B. Coman | Director of Services |
| Cllr M. Corr | H Hogan | Senior Executive Officer |
| Cllr M. Duff | M. Maguire | Senior Executive Officer |
| Cllr P. Kearns | E Conlon | Staff Officer |
| Cllr G. Kenny | ||
| Cllr Cathal King | ||
| Cllr B. Lawlor | ||
| Cllr D Looney | ||
| Cllr M McDonagh | ||
| Apologies | ||
| Betty Tyrrell Collard, Dept Enterprise, Tr ade & Employment, Trade Union | ||
| John Murphy, Agriculture / Farming | ||
| The meeting was chaired by Councillor M. Corr | ||
H-I(1) MINUTES
The minutes of the Housing and Social Development Strategic Policy Committee Meeting held on 25th February 2013 were proposed by Councillor M. Corr seconded by Councillor D. Looney and confirmed and approved as a true record and signed.
H-I(2) MATTERS ARISING
It was NOTED there was no business under this heading.
H-I(3) UPDATE ON HOUSING POLICY
Mr. B. Coman gave a presentation on update on Housing proposals from the Department of Environment Community and Local Government.
The National Housing Budget 2013 suggests Capital Allocation is decreasing while the Revenue Allocation is increasing, emphasising the move to the more flexible delivery of housing options such as leasing and RAS from new build. Housing Grants allocation has dramatically decreased. The Homeless allocation has remained the same. The Traveller Accommodation allocation has also been decreased.
The Housing Assistance Payment(HAP) is a new assistance payment to ultimately replace RS designed to bring all the social housing payments provided by the state into the Local Authority System. South Dublin County Council will be a pilot for the Scheme. Two conditions are considered necessary before taking on this scheme; (1) Direct deduction at source, (2) it cannot create a cash-flow situation for the Council.
The Housing Bill 2013 is expected to be introduced in the near future. This will make provision for HAP. It will also introduce a new Tenant Purchase Scheme introducing the incremental purchase scheme.
The new Homeless Strategy is to be presented in October. The Traveller Accommodation Programme is also to be presented in October. The new proposed Differential Rents Scheme will be brought before the Council in 2013 also. These three items will be discussed at the next meeting of the Housing and Social SPC in September 2013.
Following a discussion to which Councillors C. King D Looney and M. Corr contributed Mr. B. Coman responded to queries raised.
The report was NOTED.
H-I(4) UPDATE ON HOUSING GRANT SCHEMES
The following report which had been circulated was NOTED:
'The Council operates three Housing Grant Schemes for older people and those who are disabled as follows:
· The Housing Adaptation Grant Scheme for People with a Disability (HAGS)
· The Mobility Aids Grant Scheme (MAGS)
· The Housing Aid for Older People Scheme (HOPS)
These grants are available in respect of owner occupied dwellings and certain rented dwellings (subject to written permission being provided by the Landlord). The schemes provide that grants may be awarded by South Dublin County Council to qualified applicants subject to the criteria set out in the regulations - Housing (Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability) Regulations 2007 - and associated guidance documents issued by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (DoECLG).
The Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability relates primarily to the recoupment of a proportion of local authority expenditure on the payment of individual grants. These schemes, introduced in November 2007, are funded by 80% recoupment available from the Department of the Environment Community and Local Government together with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority.
The Council was notified by letter dated 1st March 2013 of its 2013 *Combined Capital Allocation for the payment of the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability Schemes in the sum of €1,213,986.05. This allocation represented a 40% reduction (nationally) on the 2012 spend on these grants.
The Council made a submission to the DoECLG outlining the position of the Council in relation to the funding and asked that favourable consideration be given to potentially source additional funding for these vital Housing Grant Schemes for South Dublin County Council.
A motion passed at the April 2013 Council Meeting was also submitted to the Minister.
Following the submissions to the DoECLG notification of Supplementary Funding for Private House Grants 2013 was received dated 22nd April 2013. This notification advised that the Department had agreed to release funds identified from a contingency reserve to the Local Authorities that had written requesting supplementary funding and that an additional €100,889 has been added bringing the combined exchequer and LA funding to €1,340,098.
10 Local Authorities who made submissions benefited from an additional allocation.
While this additional approval is very welcome the table hereunder in relation to 2013 activity reflects the ongoing need to administer the scheme by applying an effective and easy to understand scheme of prioritisation on the basis of the medical needs of the applicant. The three levels of medical priority advised to this Council by DoECLG are as follows:
1. Priority 1: Terminally ill or mainly dependent on family or a carer, or where alterations/adaptations would facilitate the discharge from hospital or alleviate hospitalisation in the future.
2. Priority 2: Mobile, but needs assistance in accessing facilities, or where, without the adaptation the disabled person's ability to function independently would be hindered.
3. Priorty 3: The applicant is independent, but requires special facilities to improve their quality of life, e.g. separate bedroom or living space.
2013 ACTIVITY
Applications PAID from 01/01/2013 - 30/4/2013:
| Scheme | No of applications | Paid 1st Jan â€' 30th April 2013 |
| HAGS | 43 | 461,866.10 |
| MAGS | 32 | 143,677.30 |
| HOPS | 14 | 62,760.60 |
| Total | 668,304.00 |
Applications Approved WAITING PAYMENT from 01/01/2013 - 30/4/2013:
| Scheme | No of applications | Amounts |
| HAGS | 49 | 557,904.75 |
| MAGS | 21 | 93,290.19 |
| HOPS | 6 | 26,056.01 |
| Total | 677,250.95 |
* Combined Allocation refers to the overall Approved Allocation which is 80% funded from exchequer (€1,072,078) and 20% funded from the Council's own revenue resources (€268,020).
The situation is continuing to be monitored on a weekly basis and a review of the financing for the Grant Schemes has been initiated by the various stakeholders including the Local Government Management Agency, The City & County Managers Association and The DOECLG. South Dublin County Council will represent The Local Authority Sector on the Review Committee. The Council will be meeting senior officials of the Department at a Housing Action Plan meeting on 28th May 2013 and this matter is on the Agenda.'
Ms M. Maguire summarised the report. Despite the reduction in the grant allocation from the Department South Dublin County Council will continue to evaluate the situation. As the item is listed on the agenda for the Housing Action Plan meeting South Dublin County Council will make a strong application for extra allocation should it become available, and any decision on surplus / contingency finding from the Department of Environment Community & Local Government will likely be made when the 2014 budgets and 2013 outturn is being examined in October 2013. At that time unspent allocations by other Local Authorities will be put back into the Grants budget and reallocated. In the interim South Dublin County Council will continue to receive and assess new applications, but approval will be strictly on a priority 1 basis.
Following a discussion to which Councillors D. Looney, C. King and P. Kearns contributed Ms M. Maguire and Mr. B. Coman responded to queries raised.
The report was NOTED.
H-I(5) SOCIAL HOUSING ENERGY SCHEMES
Mr. H. Hogan gave a presentation.
Past models have concentrated on bringing voids back into stock and including energy improvements in them. The Council has undertaken a number of new and innovative opportunities to improve its stock. There are four schemes in place:
Fabric Improvement, Better Energy Warmer Homes Deansrath, Better Energy Warmer Homes Kiltalown, Better Energy Communities Programme 2013. Phase 3 of the Refurbishment Programme is completed. It is hoped there will be a Phase 4.
Following a discussion to which Councillors D. Looney and C. King contributed Mr. H. Hogan and Mr B. Coman responded to queries raised.
The report was NOTED.
H-I(6) UPDATE ON QUALITY OF LIFE STRATEGY
Mr B. Coman gave an updated presentation on the Strategy.
This included a draft of the quality of life and well-being strategy for South Dublin County
The structure of the Strategy is based on the 4 outlined themes and the implementation, monitoring and review of the strategy will take place over these themes.
The Strategy is structured in 3 sections
· Overview
· Priorities outlining their thematic context and our approach
· An implementation plan
The Quality of Life Strategy is pioneering a new Web-based system to facilitate the monitoring of the implementation of the Strategy and map activities. It will be an important management tool which will report back on the impact of the strategy programmes, projects and/or events.
The proposed Socio-Economic Committees (SEC) will replace the County Development Boards having responsibility for the planning and oversight of local/community development actions at local level, development of a 5 year community development plan and the increased responsibility for enterprise support through the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) of the local authorities. The Quality of Life Strategy will have a role in the development of the Plan.
It will help in the work we can do in coordination and participation of other statutory bodies.
Following a contribution from Councillor P. Kearns, Mr. B. Coman responded to queries raised.
The report was Agreed and Recommended for adoption.
H-I (7) ANY OTHER BUSINESS
It was NOTED there was no business under this heading.
The meeting concluded at 7.10 pm