Agenda item

Part way into the following item, Councillor Cooper joined the meeting.

Mark Billings, Head of Housing Options, Homelessness and Standards, introduced the item noting that it had been a legal requirement for local authorities to have a homelessness strategy since the Homelessness Act 2002. Recent changes in legislation had made it mandatory for the strategy to include attention to Rough Sleeping. The Council’s current five-year strategy went live in 2019 and was primarily based on six priority workstreams as highlighted in the officer’s report. Individually, the workstreams highlighted key areas of up-stream homelessness prevention, access to affordable housing options and the importance of partnership working. As a whole, the six priority areas showed the Council’s intention to lead change and support the Borough’s most vulnerable residents. Further to this, officers highlighted the Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping Strategy action plan which went into further detail of the workstreams.

It was noted that the coronavirus pandemic had emphasised the importance of having an accessible and responsive service for residents. In response to the government’s ‘Everyone In’ scheme, over 250 rough sleepers had come through the Council’s service since April 2020 and a highly successful new rough sleeper hostel was opened within an extremely tight timeframe in March 2020. It was highlighted that, in the government’s annual rough sleeper report, published in February 2021, Hillingdon was highlighted as the Borough with the largest drop in rough sleepers in England over the past year. The pandemic had seen an increase in homeless approaches to the service; worryingly, a significant number of these approaches had been in relation to domestic abuse cases.

Although officers welcomed the government’s moratorium on evictions, there were concerns of an increase in homelessness when courts were scheduled to reopen at the end of May 2021. Members were informed that, although it was difficult to predict, modelling work was underway looking at potential pressures on the service, specifically assessing what could be done to increase availability of housing in both the private and public sector, and how the Council’s own housing stock is put to use.

Members commended officers on their detailed report and were encouraged by the positive reaction to the immense challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Members were also enthused to hear about the resumption of the homelessness forum and landlord’s forum which would be held online.

Members queried the report’s reference to domestic abuse advocates who were due to assist with the upskilling of staff; Members wanted to know whether the advocates had been identified. It was confirmed that two female officers from within the service had been identified to assist with offering a more specialised service for residents approaching the service from a domestic abuse setting. It was also noted that the service was pushing towards obtaining Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance accreditation.

The Committee sought reassurance from officers that work was being done to advertise the options available to residents with regard to downsizing their properties. Officers were keen to promote downsizing options and highlighted key ongoing work to increase awareness of down-sizing.

Members also requested clarification on the term ‘temporary housing’ and noted that what was deemed temporary could vary significantly. It was highlighted that when a family or household required emergency placement, they would be placed into temporary housing whilst the service conducted an assessment of their needs; subject to approval of their homelessness case, they would then be placed into a suitable and affordable housing option, however they would remain in the temporary housing until the local authority could find them a suitable option, either through social housing or a private rented property. It was noted that this process had been known to last for several years, nevertheless the term ‘temporary housing’ was used because the housing solution was not deemed a permanent settlement. Further to this it was noted that every service user had a housing plan and the service would be in semi-regular contact with them assess their circumstances; Members highlighted that service users should be informed at point of entry that the duration of their temporary housing solution could span anywhere from months to years.

Members questioned accessibility to the service and concerns were raised that rough sleepers may not have a method of accessing the Council’s website to find housing advice. Officers highlighted that there was an outreach team who were out in the Borough most nights of the week and residents could also report rough sleepers using the Street Link tool which helped to quickly notify the service of rough sleepers. It was also noted that as part of the Council’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, where most public facing services abandoned in person service interaction, the homeless reception stayed open for the majority of 2020. Officers also noted that in response to the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, an online self-service system had been developed making access to housing advice and services easier for those with some form of internet access. It was emphasised that priority six of the Homelessness Prevention Strategy played a role in having residents and potential service users be aware of how they can access the service.

With regard to the Young Person Housing Advice Service, which was currently run by P3, Members wanted some detail as to how this service was being expanded in 2021. It was highlighted that P3 were commissioned by the Council to run the service for 18 – 25 year olds, the pandemic had impacted the way in which the service had to be delivered. Nevertheless P3 maintained a very approachable service specifically for young people who may have complex needs. Discussions had taken place with the Cabinet Member for Housing, Environment and Regeneration as to how the provision could be enhanced with the intention being to delver a one stop shop for young people at risk of homelessness. Members requested information on the age ranges of rough sleepers in the Borough, officers informed Members that the information would be provided in due course.

The Committee were informed that part of the MHCLG Rough Sleeper grant allowed the Council to commission extra supported housing units over the last couple of years. A key partner in this was Trinity Homeless Projects, who brought on an additional 40 bed spaces in 2020 through houses in multiple occupancy, the homes were designed to be smaller than traditional hostel style housing which facilitated a pathway to independence for residents. Further to this it was noted that the Rough Sleeper grant was allowing for increased provision in 2021 and Trinity Homeless Projects would be supplying a further 10 bed spaces in the next year. Members were encouraged by the development of partnership working and thanked officers for the vital service they provide in the Borough.

RESOLVED That the Social Care, Housing and Public Health Policy Overview Committee noted the officer’s report and the progress made in delivering the Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2019 – 2024.