Councillor's question reveals what they are doing to reduces homelessness in mid Wales

At a joint meeting of all three Powys County Councils scrutiny committees on Thursday, September 12 councillors and lay committee members discussed the authority’s performance during the first quarter of 2024/2025 from April to the end of June.

They looked at the council’s Corporate and Strategic Equality Plan Scorecard which evaluates performance against its own expectations against three council objectives.

Measures in the document show that 292 households in Powys are deemed to be legally homeless and 265 households are in temporary accommodation including Bed and Breakfast.

While the figures have dropped on the previous quarter from January to the end of March – from 309 and 300 respectively, they are still judged to be “off track.”

Councillor Roberts said: “It’s all very well having these figures, what are we doing to reduce the number of homeless households,”

Measures in the report include monitoring of the council’s house building, buying, and bringing empty properties back into use.

These measures for house building sands at zero – and explains the ambition is to build 350 houses between 2025 and 2031.

The measure for buying houses says that they council wants to “acquire” 10 homes a year to rent out, and for the quarter the figure stands at two.

The measure for bringing back empty properties into use stands at zero and there is no target.

Head of housing services Andy Thompson said: “We generally go for annual target of bringing 25 empty properties back into use as it takes an inordinate amount of time and you can be stymied at the last minute, it can be a real challenge.”

He added that the council had started building council houses five years ago, after all local authorities were stopped from doing so for nearly 40 years.

Mr Thompson “We’ve completed 122, we have 32 on site this year, and 32 out to tender.”

He added that 333 more council houses in the “pipeline.”

“There is a lot going on, we are really beavering away, but as a society have not built enough homes over the last 30 years,” said Mr Thompson.

Powys Independents Councillor Graham Breeze asked if it was possible to improve on the target of buying 10 houses?

Councillor Breeze who repents the Llanerchyddol ward in Welshpool said: “In my ward in particular there are 440 people on the waiting list for homes.

“I point out suitable homes when they become available and can councillors help you more in this by pointing you towards available properties.”

Mr Thompson explained that using the Housing Revenue Account which funds a maintenance of housing stock is a “self-financing operation.”

Mr Thompson said: “If more properties come up and pass muster in terms of viability and they are in areas we need, if they are good deals we can go for them.”

He stressed that any homes that could be bought by the council need to be advertised on the open market first so as not to “skew” the housing market.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Angela Davies who chaired the meeting said: “That’s a good overview and really explains how interlinked all of these things are.”

Conservative group leader, Councillor Aled Davies said that the discussion on buying properties had made him feel: “really uncomfortable.”

Councillor Davies said: “The council should be concentrating on building houses where a site is too difficult or not commercial to develop.

“It’s unfair competition for people who are first time buyers or want to upgrade their houses.”

The report will go in front of the council’s Liberal Democrat/Labour Cabinet at a meeting next Tuesday, September 17.