Agenda item

In May 2021, Cabinet approved the further development of a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to better address the health needs of individuals who are homeless. 

Cabinet also approved the acquisition of St Stephens Church Hall, Bournemouth, to be used as a Homeless Inclusion Health Centre (‘Health Hub’) within an approved budget.

Programme governance has been established for this work, the MDT is developing well with various partners engaged, and conveyancing and the required due diligence continues in relation to the acquisition of St Stephens Church Hall.

Options are set out in the confidential Appendix A for the acquisition, refurbishment and management of the building which could bring additional investment requirements for the Council and therefore need further due consideration.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

(a)     Delegates authority to the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for People and Homes and the Chair of the Health and Adult Social Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee to implement a competitive selection process to appoint an operator of a Health Hub service from St Stephen’s Church Hall; and

(b)    Conditional upon the appointment of an operator as set out in Recommendation (a) above, approves the acquisition of the St Stephen’s Church Hall and delegates authority to the Corporate Property Officer function (retained by the Chief Executive for the purpose of this acquisition), the s151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer to agree the specific terms of the acquisition of St Stephens Church Hall.

(c)     Approves an increase in the capital budget for the purchase and refurbishment of the property for the purposes of delivering a Health Hub service to a maximum sum of £800,000.

Reason

The recommendations ensured a robust approach in taking the Health Hub Forward.

Recommendation (a) The approval of the use of St Stephens Church Hall for the Health Hub would ensure a solid basis to move forward and the competitive selection process to appoint an operational partner would ensure that the best operator for the project was appointed.

Recommendation (b) The approval ensures that services would be delivered in the most appropriate location and would ensure that the options were considered by the appropriate officers.

Recommendation (c) The approval ensures financial responsibility in setting a limit on the capital budget for the project and provides an assurance for partners on the financial envelope for the project.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: People and Homes

The Portfolio Holder for People and Homes presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'C' to these Minutes in the Minute Book. The Lead Member for Homelessness introduced the item.

Cabinet was advised that in May 2021, Cabinet approved the further development of a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to better address the health needs of individuals who are homeless. 

Cabinet was further advised that approval had also been granted for the acquisition of St Stephens Church Hall, Bournemouth, to be used as a Homeless Inclusion Health Centre (‘Health Hub’) within an approved budget.

In relation to this Cabinet was informed that the programme governance has been established for this work, the MDT is developing well with various partners engaged, and conveyancing and the required due diligence continues in relation to the acquisition of St Stephens Church Hall.

Cabinet was advised that options were set out in the confidential Appendix A for the acquisition, refurbishment and management of the building which could bring additional investment requirements for the Council and therefore needed further due consideration.

In order to discuss the recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Board, the Cabinet:

RESOLVED that:

Under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act and that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs such interest in disclosing the information.

The meeting then moved into exempt session. The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board then addressed the Cabinet advising of some of the issues raised by members of the Overview and Scrutiny Board regarding the options outlined in the Cabinet report.

The meeting moved back into public session.

Cabinet members spoke in support of the report. The Leader advised that he considered that the physical location of the facility and the opportunity to conduct outreach from the location was vital. The Cabinet was advised that working with a partner on this would provide the best value for money option. There were also no other properties in the Town Centre which would fulfil the requirements for the hub. The Portfolio Holder proposed a number of recommendations and advised that it was important to not have any delay with delivering this service.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

(a)     Delegates authority to the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for People and Homes and the Chair of the Health and Adult Social Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee to implement a competitive selection process to appoint an operator of a Health Hub service from St Stephen’s Church Hall; and

(b)    Conditional upon the appointment of an operator as set out in Recommendation (a) above, approves the acquisition of the St Stephen’s Church Hall and delegates authority to the Corporate Property Officer function (retained by the Chief Executive for the purpose of this acquisition), the s151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer to agree the specific terms of the acquisition of St Stephens Church Hall.

(c)     Approves an increase in the capital budget for the purchase and refurbishment of the property for the purposes of delivering a Health Hub service to a maximum sum of £800,000.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: People and Homes

Councillor H Allen declared an interest in this item and remained present.