Cabinet considered a report by the Empty Homes Strategy Task and Finish Group on the Empty Homes Strategy.

That the recommendations of the Task and Finish Group be approved, namely:

1.         That the Empty Homes Team continues to work in accordance with the current Empty Homes Strategy.

2.         That a data sharing agreement be produced and put in place within one month to allow the Empty Homes Officers read only access to the Council Tax system.

3.         That the Council Tax Team should, on receipt of investigation/case evidence from Empty Homes Officers that a property is empty or incorrectly registered, update property records to reflect this. This would ensure properties were correctly registered and being charged accordingly. Council Tax should inform the Empty Homes Team of the type of evidence they required in order to be able to do this.

4.         That the Empty Homes Officers be enabled to utilise appropriate enforcement action when necessary in order to return empty properties to use, either in partnership with the Planning team, or by having these powers delegated to them.

5.         That the Task & Finish Group considers that both additional funding and staff resource in the Empty Homes Team would be of significant benefit to both the Council and Shropshire communities. It is therefore recommended that a business case be produced, to be considered by Cabinet on an agreed date, detailing the level of additional funding required to deliver a more widespread and comprehensive approach to Empty Homes work.  This should include the additional staffing resource required to carry out the tasks identified in the report’s findings, and budget required to be able to effectively utilise enforcement powers, including works in default.  It should highlight the positive benefits these measures could have for the Council and Shropshire Communities.