Going for Gold - next steps

Action on Housing and Health

Our top priorities are to secure adequate affordable housing through capital funding and through the planning system; to make safe and supported housing provision for various vulnerable groups; and to improve the quality and efficiency of the running of the 8,200 homes managed by the City Council, maintaining high levels of tenant satisfaction with repairs and housing management and achieving the 'decent homes' standard by 2010.

What we've done so far

• established Care Call as a flexible modern system of giving security and independence to the older citizens of Cambridge - both those living independently and those in more sheltered accommodation
  
  
• developed a Joint Allocations Panel to improve the matching of applicants with specialised projects, particularly for 16 and 17 year olds
  
  
• improved sheltered schemes at Whitefriars and Stanton House as part of long-term modernisation of the sheltered housing stock
  
  
• helped homeless people and prevented future homelessness through the new Contact Assessment and Tenancy Sustainment Team and Safer Communities scheme
  
  
• freed up specialist accommodation through a programme of about 60 move-on units a year, helping people to live independently
  
  
• reduced the level of rent arrears from the unacceptably high level that we inherited from Labour
  
  
• reduced the time it takes for vacant homes to be re-occupied
  
  
• reduced the practice of boarding up broken windows on council housing
  
  
• made the council funded umbrella group for tenants groups more accountable by regular reporting of its performance 
  
  
• successfully teamed up with a local housing association to secure funding for shared ownership opportunities for workers in the health, education, and police services under the Government's Starter Homes Initiative
  
  
• sought (with little success) help from the the government to get access to additional capital resources to build additional affordable housing
  
  
• reversed potentially dangerous cuts in the food safety team and have now earned high praise from the Food Standards Agency.

Next Steps

Our programme includes commitments to:

• continually improve the provision for older people and shelter them, as far as possible, from the unfair rent increases imposed by government
  
  
• continue working with health services to improve the health of the community, including creation of a Healthy Living Centre at Buchan Street; extension of the GP referral scheme to include access for young people; and provision of exercise programmes for older people
  
  
• target home repairs grants to meet health improvement and warmer homes priorities.
  
  
• rebuild the scheme at Wulfstan Court in partnership with a housing association as part of the modernisation of the sheltered housing stock
  
  
• use 'Safer Communities' funding for the modernisation of the YMCA and for specialist "wet" provision for alcohol abusers
  
  
• create a formally constituted Housing Management Board, with elected tenant representatives, to consider all matters relating to the management of the council's housing
  
  
• produce a realistic programme of work needed to meet the inherited backlog of repairs and provide tenants with a schedule of replacements and improvements 
  
  
• ensure that private landlords are informed about expected standards of maintenance and enforce against those put their tenants at risk 
  
  
• increase private tenants awareness of their rights especially amongst the student populations 
  
  
• establish new schemes with access to equity loans to help residents on low incomes 
  
  
• provide more funds for fence repairs and lighting improvements on housing estates
  
  
• expand the Housing Aid team to meet added responsibilities for care leavers, prisoners on release and people leaving the armed forces
  
  
• work to provide land and funding for a purpose built centre for supporting vulnerable young people at risk of homelessness