Agenda item

To consider the report of the Head of Housing Services - Report circulated.

The Chair welcomed Nikki Glassbrook of the Street Homeless Outreach Team who responded as follows to the issues raised by Members:-

·        in addition to the bi-annual street counts undertaken on behalf of the City Council using a methodology devised by central government, the team undertook early morning outreach on three mornings each week, one later morning outreach sessions twice a week and hotspot counts. Car parks were included in the counts but the team did not enter those buildings judged to be occupied by squatters because of the potential danger. Although Government requirements specified the time of the year for the counts to take place other counts were taken to provide better information on rough sleeping patterns. The team provided quarterly reports to the City Council;

·        the team also worked with discharged prisoners with no accommodation;

·        the target of no more than 9 rough sleepers set by the Government dated from 1997/98 and the criteria used - bedded down for the night between the hours of 12 midnight and 3am - had not changed. As such, beggars, Big Issue sellers and individuals moving between hostels, friends and squats would not necessarily be covered;

·        a number of rough sleepers passed through the City, sometimes on a regularly occurring basis;

·        an assertive approach was adopted to help reach out to all rough sleepers;

·        fares were provided to assist return to area of origin but only where confirmation was provided of guaranteed accommodation. Contact was also made with SHOTs in other areas;

·        some rough sleepers had complex needs and mental health issues and some, because of these problems, had been banned for certain periods from Gabriel House/Esther Community etc.;

·        there was no evidence to date of migrant workers sleeping rough as was being experienced in London with the Polish Community;

·        severe action has been taken where owners of houses in multiple occupation, sometime in collusion with “gang masters”, had provided unacceptable conditions for migrant workers;

·        whereas in previous years there had been a difficulty in identifying suitable premises for hostels, there were now problems in obtaining sufficient funding for staffing and management through the Supporting People Programme; and

·        a “dry accommodation” facility existed in the City.

The Head of Housing Services presented the report informing Members of the work undertaken by the Street Homeless Outreach Team (SHOT) to provide help, advice and assistance to rough sleepers in the City.  He undertook to ensure Members received regular updates on homelessness and rough sleeper figures.

He enlarged on that part of the report relating to general homelessess statistics, reporting that good practice advocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government had been taken on board. He responded as follows to queries raised by Members:-

·             the high number of 4,500 on the overall waiting list recently reported in the press related, in part, to the increase in the lack of affordable accommodation within the City both for sale and for rent. Many landlords were seeking to capitalize their assets and there had also been an increase in the number of parents/friends/relatives who were unwilling to accommodate children and/or relatives. There had also been an increase in private sector rents. Although graphs set out in the report showed that there had been a large increase in approaches to the service since 2002/03, the number of homeless applications taken and the number of people formally accepted had decreased over the same period;

·             232 affordable housing units had been provided in 2005/06 with a similar figure likely to be provided for 2006/07 - in excess, therefore, of the annual target of 180. However many developers were seeking to change new schemes to provide accommodation for students and this could impact on figures in future years;

·             the ending of shorthold tenancies and the reluctance of friends and families to accommodate individuals were the top two reasons for homelessness. The Council undertook considerable work in mediating with families and landlords;

·             less use was made of bed and breakfast accommodation largely as a result of increased opportunities through private sector leasing; and

·             significant efforts were also made to encourage single elderly to downsize from three and four bed properties. A grant had been made to McCarthy and Stone to facilitate the provision of 15 nominations for their new development in Heavitree.

Scrutiny Committee - Community noted the report.

(Report circulated)