To receive responses to questions posed to officers in advance of the meeting.

The Housing Strategy and Growth Manager provided responses to the questions that had been received in advance. The Committee were informed that it was difficult for Trafford Council to be certain whether people placed within the borough by other authorities were receiving all the necessary support. However, Trafford did conduct visits to the accommodation and asked those placed what support they were receiving.  All the support that Trafford was aware of was being provided.

In response to the question on how many people were placed in the Travel lodge in Sale the Committee were told that Manchester had two people placed their as of the 23^rd September 2021. Since of 1^st of April 2021 Trafford had received ninety nine Section 208 notices with ninety eight coming from Manchester and one from Cheshire East.

The Chair noted that a recommendation had been made by the Pandemic Scrutiny Committee to improve the Section 208 notice process between Greater Manchester authorities. The Chair then asked whether any improvement had been achieved. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded that a lot of work had been done with Greater Manchester authorities to improve the timing of the Section 208 notices and there had been a marked improvement. The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services added that people could be placed in Trafford for a number of reasons other than housing which would not be picked up by the notices and he assured the Committee that the service were working to ensure that Trafford were aware of all people were placed within the borough.  

Councillor Carter asked whether Trafford was a net importer or exporter. The Housing Strategy and Growth Manager responded that Trafford were a net importer with thirty people placed with Section 208 notices compared to the ninety nine that had been received.

Councillor Dagnall asked whether there were any advantages to people being moved outside of the borough. The Housing Strategy and Growth Manager responded that there were instances when people are placed out of borough for their safety especially connected to Domestic Abuse as there aren’t any refuges in the borough.

Councillor Butt asked whether there was an even spread of placements across Greater Manchester authorities. The Housing Strategy and Growth Manager responded that lower cost placements in areas like Rochdale and Oldham were used more than Trafford due to the high rental costs in the borough.

Councillor Dagnall asked whether it was the Council’s housing stock or privately owned. CS responded Trafford is not a stock holding authority with the main provider being Trafford Housing Trust.

Councillor Procter asked about the rise seen nationally in women becoming homeless, whether this had been seen within Trafford, and whether that had started to decrease. The Housing Strategy and Growth Manager responded that Trafford hadn’t seen any particular increase with women and assured the Committee that the service would continue to monitor the numbers.

The Housing Strategy and Growth Manager informed the Committee that there was a lot of data available, which would be sent to the Committee after the meeting.

Councillor Dagnall asked about the availability of properties in Trafford. The Housing Strategy and Growth Manager responded that only five properties had become available in the last quarter and there was a large number of people who had been on the waiting list for a long time, especially those in the higher bands.

Councillor Dagnall asked how any issues identified were fed back to the Council or the Executive. The Housing Strategy and Growth Manager explained the monitoring and escalation process within the service. Councillor Dagnall then asked if any actions had been taken to resolve the issues flagged. The Housing Strategy and Growth Manager responded that some COVID funding had been received and the service had used it to hire an additional officer to improve prevention by working with people who were at risk of being evicted or becoming homeless.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the responses to the Committee’s questions be noted.

2)    That additional information be provided by email after the meeting.