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Dear Mr Plant,
Thank you for your information access request: we aim to complete this
within 20 working days from 04/05/2018. Please quote your reference number
(61113) in further correspondence.
Yours sincerely,
The Customer Services Team at Dorset Councils Partnership, a partnership
between North Dorset District Council, West Dorset District Council and
Weymouth & Portland Borough Council

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Dear James Plant

Thank you for your e-mail. I'm not sure what you mean by your question as
to what action the council takes in the first instance but can inform you
that any time someone approaches the council because they are homeless
then the officers would be looking at what options they have in the first
instance to keep the customer in the property that they are presenting
from. This will be in the guise of negotiating with the landlord or
parents in cases where they have been asked to leave, helping the customer
to maximise income and benefits in cases where there are arrears, make
discretionary payments where arrears have arisen etc. If it is apparent
after contacting the relevant party i.e. landlord/parent that the
applicant will be unable to remain then assistance will be provided to
help them identify alternative accommodation. This may be anything from
supported housing, private rental or making an application to the housing
register.

Should the person who presents to the council already be homeless then of
course the first focus is to establish whether any prospect of returning
to the previous address as well as making the initial assessment as to
whether any interim accommodation duty is owed. The move on options will
be the same as those outlined above.

Again it is not clear what is meant by your question as to what steps the
council will take to act for someone who is elderly or disabled. An
applicant may be vulnerable and in priority need by virtue of old age or a
disability but it is a decision reached after an assessment so not
everyone will be regarded as such. Beyond being satisfied that someone is
in priority need and securing accommodation as required to do so I'm not
sure why the Housing Authority would be acting for someone. If it was
apparent that they had particular needs as a result of old age or
disability then the Housing Officer would refer them for an assessment
under the Care Act and if they required additional support with managing a
tenancy then they would be referred to the floating support service. Any
safeguarding concerns would be raised and referred accordingly.

Number of cases opened
Feb = 58 of which 3 were pensionable age ( ie born before 1952). Two were
closed as advice only and 1 had their homelessness prevented.
Mar = 47 of which 1 was pensionable age. This person was accepted as
homeless.
Apr = 40 of which 1 was pensionable age . This person was dealt with at
triage but closed.

Kind regards

Miriam Smith

dangos adrannau a ddyfynnir

Dear Mr Plant,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us about the following matter:
Dear West Dorset District Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of West Dorset District
Council's handling of my FOI request 'People who present as homeless.'.

Thank you for your response dated 12 July 2018. It was disappointing that
you failed to apologise for the delay in providing the information
requested on 4 May 2018.

The response you have provided is known to consist of false statements. In
the circumstances I am requesting an Internal Review.

Your claims regarding the manner in which you deal with people presenting
as homeless have no truthful basis. There was a case of a lady aged 64 and
with severe, chronic, health problems who presented as homeless in
February/March 2018. She was denied a meeting, or interview, to discuss
her situation. The Housing Officer, Stephanie Dunford Madders, refused the
request to make a homeless application. Stephanie Dunford Madders was the
Housing Officer she spoke to. Madders spoke to her in an abusive manner,
told her she would have to return to Scotland and said she could catch the
train at 06.00am to return there, a journey of some 10 hours which was
impossible in view of the health situation of the lady. This lady received
her State Pension, so that, plus the fact she had severe health problems,
should have required assistance from the Council Housing Department.
Madders declined to assist in any of the ways you claim Dorset District
Council does in the case of an older, vulnerable person. No assessment was
undertaken, nor was there a referral under the Care Act.

Prima facie, Dorset District Council acted unlawfully in relation to this
case, probably more cases in addition to this.

The approach taken towards this lady was unhelpful and unlawful. Please
explain how such a failure occurred which is not represented in the
response you have given?

You are incorrect when you state pensionable age in February 2018 would be
born before 1952. People born later than that were entitled to a state
pension in February 2018, this lady being one of them. What is the basis
of your contentions here?

Given the appalling attitude and conduct of Stephanie Dunford Madders, has
she been disciplined in any way for the manner in which treats people who
want to make a homeless application?

This lady remains homeless and is seeking legal advice on action against
West Dorset District Council.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[1]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...

Yours faithfully,

James Plant

Your complaint is now at the assessment stage where a member of the
customer services team will review it and refer it to the most appropriate
officer to deal with the matter in line with our complaints procedure. You
can view a copy of our Complaints Handling Procedure at
[2]www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/complaints/dorset-councils-partnership. The
assessment stage takes up to 3 working days from 09/08/2018.
Please quote your reference number (35871) in further correspondence.
Yours sincerely,
The Customer Services Team at Dorset Councils Partnership, a partnership
between North Dorset District Council, West Dorset District Council and
Weymouth & Portland Borough Council

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Dear Mr James Plant
Your Complaint regarding Housing Business Support Team has been assigned
to Stephanie Rogers.
We aim to resolve your feedback or complaint within 10 working days from
09/08/2018.
If you need to contact us about your feedback please quote your reference
number 35871.
Yours sincerely,
The Customer Services Team at the partnership between North Dorset, West
Dorset and Weymouth & Portland Councils

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Dear Mr James Plant
Your Feedback/Complaint regarding Housing Business Support Team has been
reallocated to Miriam Smith.

If you need to contact us about your feedback please quote your reference
number 35871.
Yours sincerely,
The Customer Services Team at the partnership between North Dorset, West
Dorset and Weymouth & Portland Councils

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Dear Mr James Plant
Your Feedback/Complaint regarding Housing Business Support Team has been
reallocated to Sarah How.

If you need to contact us about your feedback please quote your reference
number 35871.
Yours sincerely,
The Customer Services Team at the partnership between North Dorset, West
Dorset and Weymouth & Portland Councils

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Dear Mr James Plant

With reference to your complaint submitted on 9 August 2018 we cannot
respond to this as we do not know whom you are referring to not do we know
if we have permission to respond from the lady in question.

If the lady concerned would like to make a complaint then she must contact
us herself or give us permission to respond.

Regards

Lisa Camp

Customer Services Support Officer

[1]www.dorsetforyou.com/contactus

Dorset Councils Partnership serving:  North Dorset District Council, West
Dorset District Council and Weymouth and Portland Borough Council

For the latest council new and information sign up to
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Twitter.com/dorsetforyou

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Mr Plant.

Herewith as requested.

This is clear and legible.

Y/F.

Roger Greene

Senior Corporate and Regulatory Lawyer and Deputy Monitoring Officer

North Dorset District Council, West Dorset District Council and Weymouth &
Portland Borough Council

Legal Services

Direct Tel: 01305 252253

E-mail: [1][email address]

To view the Legal Services Privacy Notice [2]Click Here  

From: Roger M. Greene
Sent: 13 December 2018 15:37
To: '[email address]'
Cc: Lisa Camp
Subject: FW: FOI our ref 61113 your ref FS50796684

Dear Sirs.

Mr  James Plant’s complaint and our Internal Review.

I have now concluded this internal review and provide below the amended
and more accurate response to Mr Plants original FOI in May 2018.

“Thank you for your e-mail. Your request is broad so I will endeavour to
answer it as fully as possible.

When a person approaches the council for assistance the first step would
be to establish whether the person is threatened with homelessness or
whether they are homeless. If the person is threatened with homelessness
then he approach taken by the council is to establish the reason why the
person could be losing their accommodation and what steps can be taken to
ensure that they don’t go on to lose said accommodation.

For instance if the applicant has been asked to leave by family members
then they would be contacted by an officer to ask why they have asked
their relative to leave and could anything be offered to retract the
request. So should the applicant have been asked to leave because of their
behaviour the question will be asked that should their behaviour improve
would they permit them to stay or if the reason is due to finances then
efforts will be made to see how income can be maximised and see how the
applicant can make a contribution to the household.  

In those cases where the applicant is renting privately then a similar
approach is adopted. Even where the tenant has been issued with a S21
which is the no fault ground there will be a reason as to why the notice
has been served and the officer would try to establish said reason from
the landlord. If they reason is due to arrears, late payments, nuisance of
cleanliness of the property the officers would seek to see if these could
be addressed and the notice retracted. The officers are able to offer
assistance through a prevention fund but will also assist with
applications to Housing Benefit DHP schemes if applicable.

If it is apparent in either of two examples above that the applicant is
unable then the officer will be working with the applicant to identify
alternative accommodation. This could be anything from referrals to
supported accommodation, securing accommodation in the private rented
sector or making an application to the housing register. Each case will be
assessed and the most appropriate route sourced based on a combination of
age of applicant, income available to applicant, size of applicant
household etc.

There are of course a variety of reasons as to why someone may present as
homeless or threatened with homelessness but ending of AST and
parental/family evictions are the two leading causes and therefore these
have been focused on.

In cases where the applicant presents and it is evident that they are
already homeless the council has the additional duty to assess whether the
applicant should have interim accommodation secured for them. This duty is
outlined by S188 of the Housing Act 1996 as amended and applies if the
council have reason to believe that the applicant may be homeless,
eligible for assistance and have a priority need. Not everyone meets this
threshold.

The steps offered to the applicant are in the main the same as those
offered to applicants who are threatened with homelessness. The first
course of action will be to establish whether the accommodation could be
made available again, especially in family/friend evictions but it is fair
to say that the primary focus will be on assisting them to secure
alternative accommodation as outlined above.

There are no written guidelines that the council follow should the
applicant be someone who is elderly or disabled because each case is
treated on its merits. The council need to mindful as someone who is
elderly or has a disability may be regarded as a person who is vulnerable
by virtue of their age or disability. The officers have to have regard to
the statutory Homelessness Code of Guidance ( which can be found online at
MHCLG). The code stipulates that it is an evaluative judgement whether
someone’s circumstances render them vulnerable. The code at 8.24 states
that old age alone is not sufficient to be considered vulnerable.
Disabilities are outlined at para 8.25 and state that the housing
authority should have regard to any advice from medical professionals,
social services or current providers of care and support. The authority
are also expected to take into account the following.

The nature and extent of the illness and or/disability

The relationship between the illness and/or disability and the
individual’s housing difficulties

and the relationship between the illness and/or disability and other
factors.

With regards to your final paragraph I can confirm the following

Feb 2018 = 58 cases were opened and dealt with by Housing Officers (or
Housing Assessors who may undertake some of the preliminary work). It is
not possible to report how many of these were seen in person (the officers
weren’t recording the main source of the enquiry so some case will have
been opened based on telephone and email contact) but to give an
indication there were 28 appointments held in the offices in WDDC and 4 in
a satellite office. One household was placed into emergency B&B
accommodation in February.  Of the total number of cases 3 were of
pensionable age (born before 1952) of which two were closed as advice only
and one had their homelessness prevented.

There were a variety of outcomes for the applicants with the majority of
cases being closed as advice only but 10 cases were closed as prevented or
relieved. Activities include payment of rent arrears, securing alternative
private rented accommodation and securing alternative social housing.

March 2018 = 47 cases were opened and dealt with by Housing Officers (or
Housing Assessors). 29 people were seen in person in the council offices.
4 households were placed into emergency B&B accommodation. One person was
pensionable age and they were dealt with under homelessness provisions and
a main duty accepted. The majority of cases were closed as advice only but
9 cases were closed as prevented or relieved. Activities include making
payment to cover fees for residential caravan park, supported
accommodation referral as well as private rented and social sector.

April 2018 = 40 cases opened. Please remember that new legislation came
into effect on 3 April 2018 and cases progress out of triage into
Prevention or Relief. 4 households were placed into emergency B&B
accommodation. 25 applicants were seen in person. One person was
pensionable age but the case was closed at triage. 17 of the 40 cases were
closed at Triage because the applicant either failed to provide necessary
documentation in order to progress the application or failed to respond to
requests. 9 of the Prevention/Relief cases were closed as the applicants
were assisted to maintain existing accommodation or secured alternative
accommodation.”

This concludes our internal review procedure and kindly forward the
attached to Mr Plant.

Yours Sincerely.

Roger Greene

Senior Corporate and Regulatory Lawyer and Deputy Monitoring Officer

North Dorset District Council, West Dorset District Council and Weymouth &
Portland Borough Council

Legal Services

Direct Tel: 01305 252253

E-mail: [3][email address]

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Dear Miss Turner.

Herewith detailed letter as requested prior to The 26^th April 2019.

Yours Sincerely.

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Roger Greene

Solicitor

Legal and Democratic Services

01305 252253

[email address]

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