Decision Details

Retrospective approval of a bid to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Local Authority Housing Fund, Round 2 to support purchase of accommodation for Afghan citizens and homeless families in Birmingham.

Financial – capital spend over £1m

On 17 October 2023, Cabinet:-

1. Agreed to submit a bid to DLUHC LAHF R2 and accepted capital grant funding of up to £6.996m if approved, to support the acquisition of 66 family sized properties, of which 6 are to be allocated to Afghan households currently in Bridging Accommodation and 60 to households in need of TA in Birmingham;

    

2. Authorised the Strategic Director for City Housing to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with DLUHC setting out DLUHC’s commitments and the Council’s commitments to deliver the LAHF programme, alongside the associated monitoring arrangements;

    

3. Agreed to extend Birmingham City Council’s pledge towards Government refugee resettlement schemes (namely, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme) to include any individuals accommodated by properties acquired through this funding. This cannot be specified at this stage but could be in the region of 30-50 additional individuals;

    

4. Accepted the integration funding associated with refugee resettlement at a per capita rate of £20,520 per individual minimum. The total value will depend on the number of bed spaces procured by the Bridging element of the Housing Fund but based on 30-50 individuals this would be £615,600 to £1,026,000;

    

5. Authorised the City Solicitor (or their delegate) to negotiate, agree and complete all legal documents necessary to give effect to the above decisions.

THE DEADLINE FOR CALL IN IS 1600 HOURS ON MONDAY 23 OCTOBER 2023.