APPENDIX 1

Policy Commission for Care, Health and Housing

Housing Services structure within other local authorities

The following information was received by other local authorities:

1. Hart District Council

In Hart the private sector housing function is with Environmental Health, and covers the same functions as the Isle of Wight Council’s (IWC) Housing Renewal Team.

Hart’s housing stock was transferred to a Registered Social Landlord in 1994 and they are currently in the process of bringing back in house the housing register, advice and homelessness services. From the end January 2006 their housing service will have 2 teams:

Housing Needs

This is as per the IWC’s Housing Needs team (provision of housing advice (Law Centre), prevention of homelessness, homelessness investigations, and provision of temporary accommodation and administration of housing register).

Housing Strategy & Development

This is as per the IWC’s Housing Development (monitoring and payments of Housing Capital Expenditure, Coordinating bids submissions to the Housing Corporation and liaison with Housing Associations on development projects, negotiating and liaising with developers and planning on section 106 agreements, commissioning new affordable housing projects and providing housing research and statistics) plus housing strategy and innovation, and involvement at district level in Supporting People.

2. Rushmoor District Council

Housing Options Team

This covers: housing advice & options, prevention of homelessness, homelessness, arranging temporary accommodation & storage, tenancy relations function, housing register & choice in lettings.

Housing Strategy & Enabling Team

This covers: empty property, grant allocations & payments to RSLs, RSL & Housing Corporation liaison including coordination of bids, negotiating and liaising with developers on section 106 agreements including working with the Planning & Legal Services, production of the Housing Strategy and monitoring, sub-regional joint working & commissioning of research such as the Housing Needs Survey & Housing Market Assessment.

The Service also includes a seconded Supporting People Coordinator & a Tenancy Support worker.

3. Test Valley Borough Council

Housing functions are split as follows under the Head of Housing and Community Services as follows:

Housing Needs/Options

This team has the responsibility for the housing register, choice based-lettings, homelessness, housing advice/homelessness prevention and ‘community care planning’ which includes Supporting People.

Housing Initiatives

This team is responsible for Development, policy and research, strategy, community development, voluntary sector grants

Community Safety

This team is responsible for community safety policy and strategy, neighbourhood wardens and anti-social behaviour,

4. Winchester City Council

The make-up of the Housing Department is as follows: