Councillor Jenny Johnson moved and Councillor Jeff Green seconded a motion submitted in accordance with Standing Order 13.

In moving the motion, Councillor Johnson confirmed she was happy to accept the amendment proposed by the Green Group, as follows:

After paragraph 4, insert 2 final paragraphs,

‘Council further recognises that, “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including housing”, as stated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Council therefore requests that Director of Regeneration brings a report to the Economy, Regeneration and Housing Committee within this municipal year providing information and making recommendations to address:

1. the needs of all people on the Wirral who are homeless, rough sleeping or in temporary accommodation;

2. availability and planned construction of new council housing and socially rented homes on Wirral with secure tenures and affordable rents; and

3. protections available to social housing stock from the right to buy and right to acquire schemes’

Councillor Paul Stuart moved and Councillor Angie Davies seconded the following amendment, submitted in accordance with Standing Order 13.3:

Remove wording in paragraph 4 ‘Council welcomes this funding as a means to protect some of our most vulnerable residents’ and insert penultimate paragraph,

‘Council also notes:

Across Wirral, 3,142 households are due to re-mortgage their homes between now and May 2024.  For those families coming off fixed term mortgages they will face an extra average monthly repayment of £220. This could lead to an increase in the number of households threatened with homelessness.

In Wirral 1,225 households are owed a prevention or relief duty with homeless relief duty owed to 218 households in December 2022, rising up to 784 in November 2023. A 260% increase.

The estimated number of deaths among homeless people has increased by 53.7% between 2013 and 2021.

Since the Government promised to ban Section 21 notices in April 2019, 419 households in Wirral have been put at risk of homelessness after being issued with a no-fault eviction.

That whilst the funding for drug and alcohol treatment programmes is welcome, it is insufficient and will not make up for cuts to services since 2010 due to central Government funding to Wirral Council falling by 24.9%’

Nationally, funding for drug and alcohol treatment across England was cut by 16% between 2013 and 2017 following funding changes brought in by the Health and Social Care Act, leading to a 23% increase in overall drug use between 2013-2020, and drug-related deaths in England and Wales increasing by 87.1% between 2012 and 2021’

Insert ‘Council’ before ‘wishes to place on record’ in paragraph 4 which now becomes the final paragraph.’

Having applied the guillotine in accordance with Standing Order 9.1, the Council did not debate the matter.

The amendment was put to the vote and was carried (43:16) (1 abstention).

The substantive motion was then put to the vote and was carried (59:0) (1 abstention). It was therefore –

Resolved – That

Council notes Wirral has recently been allocated £1.4 million as part of the Government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative.

Council understands this funding forms part of an additional £34.6 million awarded recently to 70 councils around the country, and follows the Homelessness Reduction Act in 2018, placing a duty on local councils to act.

Council further notes the £7.8 million of Government funding also allocated to Wirral for drug and alcohol treatment programmes and understands part of this funding will be used to extend the successful Wirral ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery) programme.

Council also notes:

Across Wirral, 3,142 households are due to re-mortgage their homes between now and May 2024.  For those families coming off fixed term mortgages they will face an extra average monthly repayment of £220. This could lead to an increase in the number of households threatened with homelessness [1].

In Wirral 1,225 households are owed a prevention or relief duty with homeless relief duty owed to 218 households in December 2022, rising up to 784 in November 2023. A 260% increase [2].

The estimated number of deaths among homeless people has increased by 53.7% between 2013 and 2021  [3]

Since the Government promised to ban Section 21 notices in April 2019, 419 households in Wirral have been put at risk of homelessness after being issued with a no-fault eviction.[4]

That whilst the funding for drug and alcohol treatment programmes is welcome, it is insufficient and will not make up for cuts to services since 2010 due to central Government funding to Wirral Council falling by 24.9%;[5]

Nationally, funding for drug and alcohol treatment across England was cut by 16% between 2013 and 2017 following funding changes brought in by the Health and Social Care Act, leading to a 23% increase in overall drug use between 2013-2020, and drug-related deaths in England and Wales increasing by 87.1% between 2012 and 2021 .[6]

Council wishes to place on record its gratitude to those people who work tirelessly to combat homelessness and substance abuse in our Borough including the Housing and Homelessness Team, Merseyside Police, Wirral Ways to Recovery, the YMCA, The Ark and The Whitechapel Centre.

Council further recognises that, “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including housing”, as stated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.¹

Council therefore requests that Director of Regeneration brings a report to the Economy, Regeneration and Housing Committee within this municipal year providing information and making recommendations to address:

1. the needs of all people on the Wirral who are homeless, rough sleeping or in temporary accommodation;

2. availability and planned construction of new council housing and socially rented homes on Wirral with secure tenures and affordable rents; and

3. protections available to social housing stock from the right to buy and right to acquire schemes.