Agenda item

Context:

To scrutinise the progress being made with regards to homeless prevention and tackling homelessness.  The report highlighted performance and a small improvement in homeless prevention, current risks and actions being taken to improve performance. 

Key Issues:

Under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, the Council has a duty to both respond to homelessness and to prevent homelessness.  The Act provides the power to discharge related duties into the private rented sector.  Strengthening prevention activity and identifying new housing options are on-going priorities for the Council and includes engaging with private landlords to increase access to private accommodation as a key mechanism for the Council to discharge its homeless duties, minimise over reliance on social housing and the need to utilise bed & breakfast.

Preventing and tackling homelessness in Monmouthshire has and continues to be extremely challenging.  The key reasons are the volume of homeless demand is high, compared with the availability of social housing, general demand for social housing is high, accessing the private rented sector is difficult and market rents are high. The rural nature of Monmouthshire further compounds the situation.

The Council, therefore, on an on-going basis continues to identify opportunities to strengthen homeless prevention and to improve services.  The Council’s performance is broadly consistent with last year, although homeless prevention levels improved to 61% in 2017/18 from 58% the previous year. 

The following are key steps, with the support of Welsh Government funding, that have been taken to strengthen prevention and increasing housing options. 

·         Appointed a temporary accommodation assistant to increase the management capacity of temporary accommodation, which supports homeless prevention.  The post also supports private landlords and the development of Monmouthshire Lettings (MLS) as a concept and brand, to increase access to private rented accommodation.

·         Further development of MLS including distinct branding and offering landlord incentives to encourage take up such as rent guarantees.

·         Appointed a specialist Young Persons Accommodation Officer in January 2018 and subsequently acquired Supporting People funding from April 2018.  In addition, Supporting People funding has also been secured to appoint a specialist Universal Credit Support Officer.  The additional funding increases the alignment of the Supporting People programme with homeless prevention.

·         Expanded the financial inclusion support through the transfer of two part-time Benefit Advisors from Social Care into the Housing Options Team.

·         Reviewed the approach to prison leavers and established a spot purchase arrangement with Cornerstone. A previous sub-regional arrangement was ineffective.

·         The private leasing scheme has transferred back to the Council, which will help to increase budget and management control.

The following are key risks going forward: 

·         On-going lack of social housing and the difficulty accessing private rented housing.

·         Due to the level of leased accommodation and the withdrawal of the temporary accommodation management fee in April 2017, there is a projected financial pressure of approximately £148,000 by April 2019.

·         Universal Credit Full Service commenced on 27^th June 2018.  A key feature is housing costs being paid directly to claimants.  There is a risk some households may experience difficulties managing their rent, resulting in an increase in rent arrears and potential evictions.

·         The Private Leasing Scheme, managed by Melin Homes until 7^th June 2018 has declined in units significantly to 42 units.  As a result, the net stock of temporary accommodation has contracted significantly.

·         Accommodate applicants in emergency situations, which can result in B & B use.

·         There is a need for emergency hostel accommodation in the south and access to disabled accommodation is limited.

·         Accommodating households with complex needs due to the lack of suitable accommodation and the need to safeguard both the applicant and other households.

·         There is no certainty of Welsh Government funding being maintained in the future.

The Council has an action plan to help mitigate against the above risks.

The Council has a statutory duty to establish a Homeless Strategy during 2018.

This is being developed on a regional basis.  A Gwent Strategy is due to be completed by December 2018.  The expectation is that opportunities to improve the general service will emerge from the pending regional strategy and regional working, although this is unlikely to emerge until 2019.

Member Scrutiny:

·         Forms do not have to be filled in on line.  There is a telephone number on the forms whereby homeless people can request support to complete such forms.

·         With regard to the Home Search Website, the vast majority of homeless people have some form of identification which will be accepted.

·         Officers are in the process of reviewing the Home Search Website.  Officers will look into addressing the issue around providing alternative options for homeless people who do not have documentation providing details of identification.

·         Officers are able to access records from Housing Register regarding people who ‘sofa surf’ with a view to obtaining details of the number of people doing this in Monmouthshire.

·         Further work is required to develop the technology in terms of accommodation.

·         The Housing Department has two full time equivalent posts within the team that provides financial inclusion support. One of these members of staff is dedicated to the homeless prevention for financial issues. There are also two part time members of staff that provide benefits support. The financial inclusion service has been a success in recent years and there is provision to build and improve this service.

·         Telephone calls to the out of hour’s service go through to a Housing Officer.  If the general telephone numbers to the Council are used, then these calls get transferred to the Contact Centre and are directed to a Housing Officer. The Police, Social Services and hospitals also have these telephone numbers.  Appropriate accommodation would then be provided based on the circumstances.

·         Presentations are made to schools providing information on homelessness and what can be done if someone found themselves to be homeless.  Schools also know who to refer to if they suspect there is an issue of homelessness in their school.

·         GP surgeries and hospitals also have the Housing Department’s contact details.

·         Leaflets have been distributed in the past but information changes regularly.  Therefore, advice being provided is to refer to the website for the most up to date information. However, it was considered that the leaflets were essential for people who might not have easy access to the internet.  Leaflet distribution to churches, cafes, public houses and businesses should also be considered.

·         It is hoped that there will be a Gwent area of information so that all authorities are providing the same information. This will be more cost effective and cheaper to deliver.

·         In response to a question regarding funding pressures on support services, e.g., substance misuse, it was noted that it is common for applicants to be in that situation, often with mental health issues also. That support availability in Monmouthshire is critical. If this was removed it would create a detrimental impact in people’s ability to engage with the Department and will affect how people manage their own accommodation.

·         The main way that the Housing Department accesses services for clients is via Supporting People and the Housing Support Provision. However, there is an issue in getting that support aligned with homelessness which is a challenge.  There is still some work to be undertaken to bring these services into complete alignment.