Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Social Housing presented the Homelessness Strategy 2019 - 2023 which set out the Council’s plans for tackling and preventing homelessness, in accordance with the requirements of the Homelessness Act 2002 and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

The Cabinet Member advised that the level of homelessness and reliance on temporary accommodation in the Borough had increased to unprecedented levels between 2012 and 2017, mainly due to the impact of the Government’s welfare reforms and changes in the local housing market.  A number of new activities and initiatives since 2017, principally led by the Council’s new Community Solutions service and with a significant focus on early intervention, had seen a decline in the demand for temporary accommodation as well as an increase in those being found permanent housing solutions.

The Cabinet Member referred to the main aims of the new Strategy, which were to:

·  Reduce the incidence of homelessness in the borough through prevention, including new tenancy sustainment, mediation and support activities – aimed at creating an exemplar service in tackling homelessness leading to the Council achieving a Gold Standard accreditation;

·  Bring down the number of households in temporary accommodation through a combination of reductions in demand plus securing sustainable long-term housing solutions for clients from a range of sources, as well as reducing reliance on higher cost, lower quality accommodation (working towards a cost-neutral service); and

·  Eliminate rough sleeping through increased partnership working and employing a ‘No Second Night’ model of rapid assessment and rehousing.

The Council currently housed 1,767 individuals/families in temporary accommodation, the majority of which were in private sector licenced properties.  The aim was to reduce that number to 500 by 2023 by improving pathways towards permanent housing in the private rented sector and by increasing accessibility to social housing, such as that managed by Barking and Dagenham Reside.  The Cabinet was particularly pleased to note that no placements had been made in bed and breakfast accommodation in the Borough in the past year.

The Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Aspiration, who joint led the development of the new Strategy, spoke on the challenges faced by the Council with regard to homelessness and pointed to improved health outcomes, greater awareness and better employment opportunities as being some of the most important factors to the successful delivery of the Strategy.

Cabinet Members spoke in support of the new Strategy and particular reference was made to the following:

a)  The creation of a new post to support the ‘No Second Night’ project and further funding bids to the Government’s Private Rented Sector Access Fund to support the delivery of the Strategy;

b)  The success of the Council’s Prevention Fund, which was available to support those under threat of being made homeless;

c)  The dangers associated with the Government’s Universal Credit welfare reforms, which were already pushing more and more people into debt;

d)  The important role that schools would play in helping to raise awareness;

e)  The range of prevention measures that had helped almost 2,000 individuals/families remain in the home during 2017/18.  With regard to the Sanctuary Scheme which supported victims of domestic violence, the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Social Housing undertook to provide his colleagues with further details of the reduction that had occurred between 2013/14 and 2017/18;

f)  The importance of recognising the plight of the ‘hidden homeless’ and ‘sofa surfers’ when considering homelessness issues;

g)  The role of other Council services, such as the Street Cleansing and Enforcement teams, in helping to identify and engage with the homeless and point them towards the support available to them.

The Cabinet resolved to approve the Homelessness Strategy 2019-2023, setting out the Council’s strategic direction for tackling homelessness, reducing temporary accommodation and eliminating rough sleeping, as at Appendix 1 to the report.