AGENDA ITEM NO. 10 REMOVAL AND STORAGE RECHARGING POLICY. Jo Brooks, Principal Housing Officer, Housing Services [N186]

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1 TITLE: Committee: AGENDA ITEM NO. 10 REMOVAL AND STORAGE RECHARGING POLICY Development and Transport Committee Date: 14 th January 2014 Author: Jo Brooks, Principal Housing Officer, Housing Services [N186] 1.0 ISSUE 1.1 The Council has already adopted a Recharging Policy for clients who have had their belongings protected by the Council (e.g. removal and storage costs). Under the current Policy clients are asked to make a contribution towards the cost of their removal and storage which is based on their household income. 2.0 RECOMMENDATION(S) 2.1 Members are requested to agree to amending the existing Recharging Policy amount for removal and storage to 100% which would increase the Council s income and make it a fairer Policy for all clients. 3.0 BACKGROUND/OPTIONS 3.1 Where a housing authority has become subject to a duty to a homeless applicant (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homeless Act 2002) and it has reason to believe: 1. There is a danger of loss of, or damage to, the applicant s personal property because the applicant is unable to protect it or deal with it, and, 2. No other suitable arrangements have been made, Then it must take reasonable steps to prevent the loss of, or damage to, any personal property of the applicant. The specific provisions are: S. 188 (interim duty to accommodate) S. 190, S. 193 or S. 195 (duties to persons found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness); or S. 200 (duties to applicants whose case is considered for referral or referred) 3.2 Whilst it is the Council s duty to protect the personal property of an applicant it can pass this cost onto the homeless household. From April 2012 to March Agenda Item 10 - page 1

2 2013 the Council spent approx. 51,000 on removal and storage with no client contribution. A Recharging Policy was introduced earlier this year but the clients contribution is based on blanket income thresholds rather than tailoring the amount and term of the repayment plan to the client s individual income and expenditure amounts. The introduction of this Policy has enabled the Council to collect 426 from client contributions compared with an overall spend of 5, To determine the repayment amount under this new Policy, Housing Officers would complete an income and expenditure sheet. 20% of the applicants income would be used to repay their debt to the Council (this is accepted as a reasonable percentage amongst many Local Authorities and debt advice organisations such as the CAB). This means that we would collect 100% of the debt but at a rate and term tailor made to the customer which ensures that we are not putting clients into a poverty trap. 4.0 ARGUMENTS/CONCLUSIONS 4.1 Increasing removal and storage costs have now made a 100% recharging policy essential in order to offset further income against expenditure. 4.2 Recharging at 100% will ensure households get used to making payments towards household bills prior to establishing their own home. 4.3 Carrying out individual affordability tests ensures that we are not setting people up to fail because they can t keep up with their repayments. 4.4 If the clients circumstances change (i.e. they secure employment or are made redundant) Housing Officers will review their repayment amount based on their new income. 4.5 The new Policy will ensure that it is equal and fair for all and promotes the Governments it pays to be in work ethos. For example, clients in receipt of full state benefits are required to pay 10% of the overall cost and remove and store their belongings compared with a full recharge from those working but are just above the housing benefit threshold. However some households in receipt of full state benefits will have more disposable income available to them than some employed households. 5.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS/EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT 5.1 Along with working procedures which have been produced (including monitoring spreadsheets between housing and finance, approval for removal and storage now required from Principal Housing Officer, introduction of spreadsheet to manage payments received) this Policy will reduce the amount the Council spends on removal and storage in the future because it will enable them to recoup their costs fully. Agenda Item 10 - page 2

3 5.2 Equality Impact Assessment (INRA) completed and attached. The Policy does not have a differential impact on different groups nor does it disadvantage or discriminate against anyone. 6.0 APPENDICES 6.1 Appendix A - Current Removals and Storage Policy 6.2 Appendix B Impact and Needs/Requirement Assessment Background Documents Homelessness Strategy Location Room 13 The Grange, Ely Contact Officer Jo Brooks Principal Housing Officer (01353) jo.brooks@eastcambs.gov.uk Agenda Item 10 - page 3

4 Removals & Storage Policy APPENDIX A 1 Background 1.1 Where a housing authority has become subject to a duty to a homeless applicant (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) and it has reason to believe: i) There is a danger of loss of, or damage to, the applicant s personal property because the applicant is unable to protect it or deal with it, and ii) no other suitable arrangements have been made, then it must take reasonable steps to prevent the loss of, or damage to, any personal property of the applicant. The specified provisions are: s.188 (interim duty to accommodate); s.190, s.193 or s.195 (duties to persons found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness); or s.200 (duties to applicant whose case is considered for referral or referred). 1.2 In all other circumstances, housing authorities do not have a duty but do have a power to take any steps they consider reasonable to protect in the same ways an applicant s personal property (s.211(3)). 1.3 In practice reasonable steps to prevent loss or damage means storing the personal property, or moving it to a safe location of the applicant s choice 1.4 Despite the provision of government guidance the interpretation of the guidance varies between Local Authorities. The intention of this policy is to set down clearly the circumstances in which East Cambridgeshire District Council will protect the personal property of homeless applicants, and how they will be recharged for this service. 2 Key Objectives 2.1 To set out how the Council will discharge its duties under the legislation 2.2 To ensure all homeless applicants are treated fairly and consistently 2.3 To protect personal property in the most economic way, having regard to the requirement for the Council to exercise reasonable care to keep it safe Agenda Item 10 page 4

5 3 Procedure 3.1 Removals 3.1 Where the Council has a duty it will normally allow removals as follows: Hire of a van the hiring of a van will be considered in the first instance. Applicants will be expected to move their own personal property themselves or with the help of family/friends. An amount of between 50 and 75 will be paid Hire of a man and van - this option will only be considered where the applicant is unable to move their own personal property and they have no family/friends to assist. An amount of between 75 and 110 will be paid Removal firm this will only be considered in exceptional circumstances and only when use of a man and a van is totally inappropriate. 3.2 Storage Where the Council has a duty it will normally allow storage as follows: Secure storage the use of secure, containerised and traditional depository storage units will be used Self storage the Council will consider other storage options if the applicant so wishes (i.e. garage rental) provided that it is satisfied that the storage is secure and fully protects the property. 3.3 Charging Policy An applicant will be required to pay costs incurred by the Council for providing removal and storage services for their possessions according to the following bands: Band Circumstances Charges Removals Storage A Income Support, JSA (IB) Pension Flat rates for hire: 10% of cost Credit 10 Hire of van 20 Hire of man & van 10% of total cost B Working but in receipt of partial 25% of cost 25% of cost benefits/working Tax Credit C Working (joint earnings up to 25,000 50% of cost 50% of cost but not in receipt of IB benefits) D Working (joint earnings over 25,000) Full recharge Full recharge Agenda Item 10 page 5

6 3.3.2 Applicants will be required to make all the necessary arrangements for their removals and storage themselves but this should be agreed with an appropriate officer of the Council in the first instance Applicants will be required to provide 2 quotes and the appropriate officer of the Council will then approve the cheapest quote. Applicants will be directed to cheaper companies. The Council will not cover the cost of packing Where an applicant is unable to arrange for his/her property to be moved/stored due to illness, but can afford to pay charges in full, then the Council will arrange the work and re-charge the full costs accordingly The cost of removing individual items from storage, throughout the storage period, will be paid by the applicant in full, unless the client is being asked to move to a different form of temporary accommodation and requires extra belongings If an applicant arranges their own storage and/or removals without the Council s prior consent, the Council will not pay the costs incurred. In these circumstances the applicant will have to make arrangements to pay the full cost themselves 3.4 Recovery of Charges Applicants will be informed of the charges at the outset and will be required to sign an agreement accepting responsibility to pay the same Payment of removals charges will be payable prior to the removal unless in cases of exceptional circumstances Payment of storage charges will be invoiced quarterly Payments will be closely monitored and debt recovery procedures followed for any unpaid amounts. 3.5 Ending of Duty to Protect Property The Council s duty to protect the personal property ends when the Council believes that there is no longer any serious risk of loss or damage to the property, i.e. when the applicant has accommodation where the property can be kept Accordingly the Council will write to the client requesting that the property be moved to their new accommodation as soon as it becomes available Agenda Item 10 page 6

7 3.5.3 Should an applicant refuse to arrange for their personal property to be removed from storage the Council will give 14 calendar days written notice to the storage company confirming that they will no longer pay for this storage The applicant will be advised that if the property is not removed from the store within the 14 days, the Council will discontinue paying all further payments and arrangements will be between the applicant and the storage company If on completion of enquiries into a homeless application it is found that no duty is owed or that the applicant is intentionally homeless a written notice will be sent to the applicant giving them 14 calendar days to contact the storage company and arrange for the removal of items from storage. If the property is not removed, at the end of this period a second notice will be sent advising the applicant that if the property is not removed within a further 14 calendar days the Council will discontinue any further payments to the storage company It will be made clear to the applicant at the outset that if they do not keep in touch with the Council or fail to notify the Council of a change to their contact details the Council reserves the right to discontinue any further payments to the storage company In those cases where an applicant subsequently loses contact or changes their contact details without informing the Council, attempts will be made to trace the applicant (e.g. by contacting partner agencies if appropriate) Where this proves unsuccessful the Council will write to the last known address to advise that unless they make contact within 14 days we will discontinue payments to the removal and storage company. 4 Review 4.1 The policy will be reviewed annually, therefore next due November Agenda Item 10 page 7

8 Impact and Needs/Requirements Assessment (INRA) Initial Screening East Cambridgeshire District Council APPENDIX B Initial screening needs to take place for all new/revised Council policies. Policy needs to be understood broadly to include all Council policies, strategies, services, functions, activities and decisions. This stage must be completed at the earliest opportunity to determine whether it is necessary to undertake an INRA for this activity. Name of Policy: Lead Officer (responsible for assessment): Department: Others Involved in the Assessment (i.e. peer review, external challenge): Date Initial Screening Completed: Removal and Storage Re-charging Policy Jo Brooks, Principal Housing Officer Housing Services N/A (a) What is the policy trying to achieve? i.e. What is the aim/purpose of the policy? Is it affected by external drivers for change? What outcomes do we want to achieve from the policy? How will the policy be put into practice? The Council has already adopted a Re-charging Policy for Removal and Storage. However the Policy only requires homeless households to make a contribution towards these costs, depending on their income. Currently homeless households who cannot protect their possessions because they are homeless seek assistance from the Local Authority who have a duty to assist. This usually takes the form of removing their belongings from their existing accommodation and storing them until such time as the household can take care of them. The Authority pays for the removal and storage but can pass the cost onto the household. The Council does not currently ask for full payment. Instead it asks for a contribution based on the households income. This new Policy recommends that households be re-charged for the full cost. (b) Who are its main beneficiaries? i.e. who will be affected by the policy? Homeless households to whom the Authority has a duty to protect their belongings. Agenda Item 10 page 8

9 East Cambridgeshire District Council (c) Is this assessment informed by any information or background data? i.e. consultations, complaints, applications received, allocations/take-up, satisfaction rates, performance indicators, access audits, census data, benchmarking, workforce profile etc. The Council needs to ensure that it maximises its income streams. From April 2012 to March 2013 the Council spent 50,779 on removal and storage with no client contribution. Due to tighter procedures and requirement for Senior Management to agree requests for removal and storage the cost of removal and storage between April and October 2013 has been 5,188. The introduction of the Recharging Policy has enabled the Council to collect 416 from homeless households. National guidance is that an applicant can spend 20% of their income towards their housing costs. Many other Authorities will re-charge the customer 100% of the total cost. Agenda Item 10 page 9

10 East Cambridgeshire District Council (d) Does this policy have the potential to cause an impact (positive, negative or neutral) on different groups in the community, on the grounds of (please tick all that apply): Ethnicity Gender Disability Age Religion and Belief Sexual Orientation Please explain any impact identified (positive, negative or neutral): i.e. What do you already know about equality impact or need? Is there any evidence that there is a higher or lower take-up by particular groups? Have there been any demographic changes or trends locally? Are there any barriers to accessing the policy or service? An affordability test will be calculated for each household whom we have a duty to protect their possessions. 20% of their income. This will inform us of the clients weekly repayment and the length of time it will take to repay the debt. There is no discrimination towards any groups within the community. Clients will a larger income will invariably take less time to repay the cost of the removals and storage than a household who is fully reliant on state benefits, however, re charging everyone 100% means that it is a fairer system for all and does not penalise those who are in work. This Policy change is supported by Anglia Revenues Partnership. (e) Does the policy affect service users or the wider community? (f) Does the policy have a significant effect on how services are delivered? (g) Will it have a significant effect on how other organisations operate? (h) Does it involve a significant commitment of resources? (i) Does it relate to an area where there are known inequalities, e.g. disabled people s access to public transport etc? YES NO NO /NO NO If you have answered YES to any of the questions above, then it is necessary to proceed with a full equality impact assessment. If the answer is NO, then this judgement and your response to the above questions will need to be countersigned by your Head of Service and then referred to the Council s Equal Opportunities Working Group (EOWG) for scrutiny and verification. Please forward completed and signed forms to Nicole Pema, Principal HR Officer. Signatures: Completing Officer: Head of Service: Date: Date: Agenda Item 10 page 10

11 East Cambridgeshire District Council Impact and Needs/Requirements Assessment (INRA) Name of Policy: Lead Officer (responsible for assessment): Department: Others Involved in the Assessment (i.e. peer review, external challenge): Date INRA Completed: Storage and Removal Re-charging Policy Jo Brooks Housing Services Anglia Revenues Partnership 17 th December 2013 Policy needs to be understood broadly to include all Council policies, strategies, services, functions, activities and decisions. (a) What is the policy trying to achieve? i.e. What is the aim/purpose of the policy? Is it affected by external drivers for change? What outcomes do we want to achieve from the policy? How will the policy be put into practice? The Council has already adopted a Re-charging Policy for Removal and Storage. However the Policy only requires homeless households to make a contribution towards these costs, depending on their income. Currently homeless households who cannot protect their possessions because they are homeless seek assistance from the Local Authority who have a duty to assist. This usually takes the form of removing their belongings from their existing accommodation and storing them until such time as the household can take care of them. The Authority pays for the removal and storage but can pass the cost onto the household. The Council does not currently ask for full payment. Instead it asks for a contribution based on the households income. This new Policy recommends that households be re-charged for the full cost. (b) Who are its main beneficiaries? i.e. who will be affected by the policy? Homeless households to whom the Authority has a duty to protect their belongings. Agenda Item 10 page 11 May 2011

12 East Cambridgeshire District Council (c) Is the INRA informed by any information or background data (quantitative or qualitative)? i.e. consultations, complaints, applications received, allocations/take-up, satisfaction rates, performance indicators, access audits, census data, benchmarking, workforce profile etc. The Council needs to ensure that it maximises its income streams. From April 2012 to March 2013 the Council spent 50,779 on removal and storage with no client contribution. Due to tighter procedures and requirement for Senior Management to agree requests for removal and storage the cost of removal and storage between April and October 2013 has been 5,188. The introduction of the Re-charging Policy has enabled the Council to collect 416 from homeless households. National guidance is that an applicant can spend 20% of their income towards their housing costs. Many other Authorities will re-charge the customer 100% of the total cost. (d) Does this policy have the potential to cause an impact (positive, negative or neutral) on different groups in the community, on the grounds of (please tick all that apply): Ethnicity Gender Disability Age Religion and Belief Sexual Orientation Please explain any impact identified (positive, negative or neutral): i.e. What do you already know about equality impact or need? Is there any evidence that there is a higher or lower take-up by particular groups? Have there been any demographic changes or trends locally? Are there any barriers to accessing the policy or service? An affordability test will be calculated for each household whom we have a duty to protect their possessions. 20% of their income. This will inform us of the clients weekly repayment and the length of time it will take to repay the debt. There is no discrimination towards any groups within the community. Clients will a larger income will invariably take less time to repay the cost of the removals and storage than a household who is fully reliant on state benefits, however, re charging everyone 100% means that it is a fairer system for all and does not penalise those who are in work. This Policy change is supported by Anglia Revenues Partnership. Agenda Item 10 page 12 May 2011

13 East Cambridgeshire District Council (e) Does the policy have a differential impact on different groups? (f) Is the impact adverse (i.e. less favourable) on one or more groups? (g) Does it have the potential to disadvantage or discriminate unfairly against any of the groups in a way that is unlawful? NO NO NO (h) What additional information is needed to provide a clear picture of how the activity is impacting on different communities and how will you collect this information, i.e. expert groups, further research, consultation* etc? Where there are major gaps in information that cannot be addressed immediately, these should be highlighted in your recommendations and objectives at the end of the INRA. N/A * The Consultation Register is available to assist staff in consulting with the Council s stakeholders. If you are consulting on a new or revised policy contact the Principal HR Officer. (i) Do you envisage any problems with these methods of information collection? i.e. not accessible to all, timescale not long enough to obtain all of the necessary information, translation facilities not available, insufficient resources etc. N/A (j) If it has been possible to collect this additional information, summarise the findings of your research and/or consultation (please use a separate sheet if necessary). Agenda Item 10 page 13 May 2011

14 East Cambridgeshire District Council N/A (k) What are the risks associated with the policy in relation to differential impact and unmet needs/requirements? i.e. reputation, financial, breach of legislation, service exclusion, lack of resources, lack of cooperation, insufficient budget etc. Staff time because they will be: 1. Carrying out an affordability test with the client and determining repayment amount 2. Raising invoices 3. Monitoring payments received 4. Contacting clients who have not made any payments/have fallen behind However this is mitigated by the fact that the Council will not incur any financial losses because of its obligations to protect homeless households property. (l) Use the information gathered in the earlier stages of your INRA to make a judgement on whether there is the potential for the policy to result in unlawful discrimination or a less favourable impact on any group in the community, and what changes (if any) need to be made to the policy. Option 1: No major changes, the evidence shows no potential for discrimination. x Option 2: Option 3: Adjust the policy to remove barriers or to better promote equality. Continue the policy despite potential for adverse impact or missed opportunity to promote equality. Agenda Item 10 page 14 May 2011

15 East Cambridgeshire District Council Option 4: Stop and remove the policy if the policy shows actual or potential unlawful discrimination it must be stopped and removed or changed. (m) Where you have identified the potential for adverse impact, what action can be taken to remove or mitigate against the potential for the policy to unlawfully discriminate or impact less favourably on one or more communities in a way that cannot be justified? Include key activities that are likely to have the greatest impact (max. 6). Identified actions should be specified in detail for the first year but there may be further longer term actions which need to be considered. To ensure that your actions are more than just a list of good intentions, include for each: the person responsible for its completion, a timescale for completion, any cost implications and how these will be addressed. It is essential that you incorporate these actions into your service plans. N/A This completed INRA will need to be countersigned by your Head of Service. completed and signed forms to Nicole Pema, Principal HR Officer. Please forward All completed INRAs will need to scrutinised and verified by the Council s Equal Opportunities Working Group (EOWG) and published on the Council s Intranet to demonstrate to local people that the Council is actively engaged in tackling potential discrimination and improving its practices in relation to equalities. Please be aware that you will be asked to attend a half-an-hour session to summarise the findings of the INRA to the EOWG Verification panel. Signatures: Completing Officer: Head of Service: Date: Date: Agenda Item 10 page 15 May 2011