Issue - meetings

A report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) that details current arrangements in relation to key elements of temporary accommodation provision and to present options to ensure the Council has adequate access to accommodation for homeless households.

This item was withdrawn, as this relates to a procurement exercise agreed by the Cabinet - and not the detailed performance related to temporary accommodation that we were expecting  - and the Chair noted having been assured that officers will be bringing forward a report on TA performance for the Board to scrutinise.

A report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) that details current arrangements in relation to key elements of temporary accommodation provision and to present options to ensure the Council has adequate access to accommodation for homeless households.

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Communities which advised that the Council has a statutory duty to house homeless households under the Housing Act 1996, as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. Where prevention was not possible, and permanent housing couldn’t be found in sufficient time, the Council was obliged to provide temporary accommodation, until households could be accommodated permanently.

The current arrangements in relation to key elements of temporary accommodation provision in Oldham were due to expire in the coming year, and required re-procuring, to ensure that the Council had adequate access to accommodation for homeless households.

Options/Alternatives considered:

Option 1: That a robust, transparent procurement and commissioning process is undertaken to procure the following:

a.             A new framework for nightly-paid temporary accommodation

b.             The provision of short-term emergency provision for temporary accommodation, via a dynamic market notice.

That framework and contract-award decision making responsibilities are delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), ensuring that the exercise and contract award are carried out in a timely fashion, in order to ensure that we have sufficient provision in place to meet our obligations around homelessness.

Option 2: That some or all of the above procurement exercises are not agreed. This would mean that the Council would have less access to appropriate short-term and temporary accommodation and may struggle to meet our statutory obligations.

Option 1 was the preferred Option.

Resolved that:

1.             That a robust, transparent procurement and commissioning process is undertaken to procure the following:

a.             A new framework for nightly-paid temporary accommodation

b.             The provision of short-term emergency provision for temporary accommodation, via a dynamic market notice

2.             That framework and contract-award decision making responsibilities are delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive (Place).