District council will work with Orbit on pledge to house 37 immigrant families by 2025 after failing to find private accommodation
SOCIAL housing will be used for the first time to help find homes for Afghan families and others with the right to settle here, after it was revealed Stratford was failing to play its part in helping the national effort.
The district council cabinet agreed on Monday, that after being unable to find enough private rented accommodation to meet the pledges it made in 2021 to house 37 families by 2025, it would work with Orbit to source social housing to help it meet its current shortfall of 19.
The pledges relate to established resettlement schemes set up by the government and are completely separate from the high-profile debates about asylum seekers and the policies on accommodation offered to them.
But though the council said that figure of 19 represents only a small share of the homes allocated each year - in 2023-24 the total of allocations was 775 - councillors from across the political spectrum recognised the decision to use social housing and taking on units that would otherwise be available for people on the waiting list was a sensitive issue.
Cllr Liz Coles (Lib Dem, Stratford Hathaway), the housing and customer services portfolio holder, set out the background to the pledges made under the previous Conservative administration: “Bringing these families to the UK and helping them start their new lives is a moral obligation, given all they did to aid British efforts in Afghanistan.
“The current programme is a national call for action, and we need to continue to offer our support.
“By fulfilling our obligation, we are playing our part in the county and assisting nationally.
“We are undoubtedly enabling some very vulnerable households to begin a new life in settled accommodation in the UK.”
But she recognised the need to also explain the impact of switching to using social housing.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult, however, to meet our obligations using privately-rented accommodation alone, which is why we have turned to our own resources,” she added.
“Nevertheless, I would like to reassure local residents that what we propose to offer is no more than approximately 2 per cent of all our total housing allocations annually, which is a tiny fraction of the families we house every year.
“One of our council plan priorities is ‘we will strive to deliver affordable well built and maintained homes’ and we will continue to work for this, making representations to Government for their support and the funding needed to increase the percentage of affordable homes for all our residents.”
Cllr Andrew Crump (Con, Southam East, Central and Stockton) attended the cabinet on Monday to add feedback from the overview and scrutiny committee he chairs.
He told the Herald afterwards he backed the decision but added: “This has to be handled sensitively and properly explained or it could be perceived by people in not a positive way.”
The report to the meeting highlighted that because of restrictions arising from the way newer social homes had been funded by the likes of section 106 funding, the council and Orbit would look to use older homes when they became available that were free of a requirement for local affiliation.
Cllr Crump said this aspect also had to be properly explained so people understood that the use of older homes for the resettlement was a purposeful decision due to the limitations in place - and not a case of the council not offering the newer homes.
He also pointed out, as mentioned in the report, that, in the balance, the council has received funding that has allowed it to add eight new homes to the social housing total.
In terms of working with Orbit, the report said similar action had been taken elsewhere in the county.
And it added: “We have agreement from Orbit Housing for their cooperation with us to identify properties which can be direct matched to assist in meeting our pledge.
“This would use the older Orbit stock which is not subject to s106 local occupancy restrictions. Such properties would be allocated via Home Choice Plus but with applicants direct matched to them, as permitted by the policy.
“Following a direct match, in addition to landlord support from Orbit, experienced volunteers from the charity Welcome Here who focus on resettlement and community integration, would engage with the household to provide ongoing support.”
A spokesperson for the council made clear that the properties would only be considered as they became available: “No one would ever be moved out to facilitate this proposal.
“Properties would be identified as existing tenants move out and then reviewed in terms of suitability.”
They added that there while there are currently 5,997 households on the waiting list, not all are in priority need, with 1,638 in the highest bands, from priority to silver, under the Home Choice Plus system.
