Report by Head of Environmental Health and Housing (attached).

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Environmental Health and Housing (circulated previously) regarding an update on Homelessness and the principle of purchasing of individual units of bespoke night by night temporary accommodation for rough sleepers in the form of emergency shelter pods.

The Head of Environmental Health and Housing highlighted the following:

·       On 26 March 2020, the Government had sent a letter to the Chief Executive requesting that the Council seek accommodation for all rough sleepers as a matter of urgency.

·       The Government had also advised that the Council were unable to operate our winter shelter “Safe Sleep” this year.

·       During the peak, the Council received 50 new presentations of homelessness per week.

·       The Council were required to modify the delivery of its service in a Covid safe way and needed to also provide a range of different services including the provision of food, water and medicine.

·       The procurement of accommodation pods had been identified as a potential solution for the provision of temporary accommodation.

·       The Government had recently announced additional £105 million funding available from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government for rough sleeper provision.

·       If the Council was successful in drawing down funding from the Government, approval was sought in principle for the purchase of five shelter pods.

·       Benefits of procuring shelter pods were outlined in the report and would ensure the wellbeing of extremely vulnerable individuals.

Councillor Worden expressed his appreciation to the Service Lead for Housing Vulnerable Persons and her team and the Head of Environmental Health and Housing for their work.

In response to questions, the Service Lead for Housing Vulnerable Persons and Head of Environmental Health and Housing advised the following:

·       The accommodation pods had a small slimline window to allow some light.  The pods were purely for sleeping purposes and would only be accessed at night.

·       The revenue budget for the delivery of the homelessness service would be used to pay the £500 maintenance costs for each pod.  This would also be enhanced by housing benefits.

·       Positive discussions had taken place with third parties regarding the location of the pods.  Council land may also be used to accommodate one or two pods.

·       Once potential locations had been identified a dialogue would be held with relevant stakeholders.  The specific locations of the pods would not be reported to the Committee.

·       The Service Lead had been successful in drawing down funding from Central Government for rough sleepers and had set up an inter-agency  team consisting of representatives from health, adult and social services.  This set up was unique and was a really good way of providing a holistic core service.

·       Many homeless individuals had been provided with accommodation by the Council and many had now been moved into permanent accommodation, which was a massive achievement for the team.

·       The Council received 1 – 2 cases of rough sleeper per week, which showed the pressures that many people were now under.

·       The demand for temporary accommodation had doubled during the course of the pandemic.  Previously the Council accommodated 20 households.  Due to the success in securing permanent accommodation for some households, this number had reduced to below 40.

·       There was a need for the Council to provide temporary accommodation during the winter months for individuals who were street homeless.  The procurement of 5 pods was considered appropriate in light of the other support that the Council provided.  The unit cost for each pod was £6,000.

·       It was very difficult to plan for homelessness as the Council could not predict the numbers of households that would present themselves to the Council and whether they would be individuals or families.  However, there was a need to model the forecast on an increase in demand and for an increase in the supply of temporary accommodation.

·       The Government had also recently announced further funding opportunity of £433 million for the provision of support accommodation and it was important that officers had capacity to submit bids for funding during this busy time.

Councillor Leaver declared a personal interest as a Trustee of Encompass.