Since our public meeting with the Council's Support Exempt Accommodation team in October, we have collaborated with them to enhance the issue reporting process and with our MP to advocate for legislation. This effort led to a visit by the Minister for Homelessness Rushanara Ali, who is responsible for Exempt Accommodation legislation and Supported Housing.
Earlier this month, we met with the Exempt Accommodation team to discuss proposals aimed at simplifying the reporting process, enhancing communication throughout investigations, and improving feedback on investigation outcomes. We highlighted the importance of keeping residents informed to ensure that any actions taken are effective and sustainable. Overall, our proposals were well received, and some actions have been agreed upon. While there is still progress to be made before we have a process that fully addresses the issues raised by residents, we have made a promising start.
As you may know, the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 has been passed to regulate exempt accommodation, but several steps are required before it is implemented. We met with our MP to advocate for the inclusion of effective licensing, planning controls, and the ability to conduct unannounced inspections in the legislation. He has taken the initiative, and with input from us, our Councillors, The Supported Exempt Accommodation team, SPPOA, and Selly Park Residents Community Association, met with the Minister for Homeless on February 11th. She visited Selly Park on February 17th, where the Forum's chair led a walkabout. She observed the extent of Exempt Accommodation, and we were able to explain the issues it caused for the community, the lack of care provided to exempt accommodation residents, and what we believed was necessary to address these issues. We drew upon the experiences of residents who shared their stories with us. We expect to receive an update on the legislation soon.
We also conducted a walkabout with the Council's Cabinet Member for Housing earlier in February. The goal was to highlight the severity of the issues and draw more attention to Selly Park.
Our last walkabout is scheduled for April 5th, with our MP and journalists from the Birmingham Evening Mail expected to join.
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