Report of the Director of Housing Services.

This report covers three areas of the Homeless Service:

·         The Homeless Review and Strategy for comments.

·         The requested update on last year's cold weather provision, and the plan for this winter.

·         The data and update on equalities as requested by Members. 

The committee considered a report of the Director of Housing Services which detailed the Homeless Review and Strategy, provided an update on last year’s cold weather provision, and plans for this winter, and included data on equalities which had been previously requested by the committee.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• The development and aims of the Homeless and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2024-27;
• When severe weather was activated in 2022/23;
• The winter accommodation offer in 2022/23;
• The proposed model for winter 2023/24, including communications;
• Data around households presenting as homeless due to domestic abuse, broken down by ethnicity;
• Factors influencing why more people with a minority ethnic background than those who are white British are in homeless accommodation;
• Homelessness amongst young people; older people; those with a physical disability; those with mental health concerns, acquired brain injury, learning disabilities and autism; and the LGBTQIA+ community;
• Staffing equalities within the Homelessness Service;
• Information on the Housing Register and demand for social housing; and
• Information on wait times for properties.

The key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussion included:

• How the Council had achieved the elimination of bed and breakfast accommodation use for families;
• Whether the Housing Solutions telephone helpline was available 5 days a week;
• How many call handlers were employed in the service, and whether this would increase;
• When the service could expect to be fully staffed;
• Whether there was any particular reason for the rise in the number of Black people presenting as homeless;
• Noting the issues caused by wait times for those using Pay-As-You-Go mobile phones;
• Suggesting that the new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy included ways to support those at risk of becoming homeless;
• What prevention methods would be included in the new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, particularly for those with mental health issues and complex needs;
• Noting that the Housing Solutions Service was trialling case panels with Manchester Communication Academy to discuss a number of households who have indicated to the school that they have a housing issue and that this would be rolled out to schools in Moss Side and Wythenshawe, and expressing hope that this would be successful and could be rolled out in primary schools;
• What work was being done with landlords to encourage participation in the Sanctuary Scheme; and
• Noting that Local Housing Allowance rates had not increased and calling on the government to provide fair funding for housing.

The Deputy Leader explained that the report included information on a number of areas which the committee had requested during the previous Homelessness Update report, and she noted that it was also World Homelessness Day. She acknowledged that the Council continued to face challenges with homelessness despite the brilliant work undertaken by staff.

The Assistant Director for Homelessness explained that the Council had a legal duty to develop a Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy and the current Strategy would expire at the end of 2023. He stated that the Strategy would be framed around three principles – that homelessness would be rare; brief; and ended as quickly as possible – and would be based around the Place Called Home programme which aimed to increase prevention, reduce rough sleeping, secure more affordable and suitable accommodation and better outcomes, better lives. Work with key partners across the city would be required in the development and delivery of the new Strategy, and it was hoped that this would be approved by the end of the year.

The Strategic Lead for Homelessness acknowledged that the population of Manchester was continuing to change and become more diverse. She highlighted that the number of those identifying as homeless from an ethnic minority background was increasing and explained that this was due to several reasons, such as those who have their asylum claim approved or refugees who do not have a support network in the UK. She advised the committee that a review into the data around domestic abuse had been undertaken and this demonstrated a significant increase in the number of Black people presenting as homeless as a result of domestic abuse. This was of significant concern and work was being undertaken across the Council to understand if this was reflective in the wider population.

The Strategic Lead for Homelessness also highlighted a significant number of young people identifying as homeless, which was a direct result of the changes in welfare benefits and the Shared Room Rate. She explained that mitigation measures were in place, such as mediation with families and providing specific, suitable accommodation for young people. There were also increasing numbers of people with physical disabilities becoming homeless and often remained in homeless accommodation for longer due to difficulties in encouraging private sector landlords to make adaptations on properties and the small number of social housing properties available. Members were advised that work was ongoing with Registered Providers to improve this and that this was being reviewed through the Local Plan but there were mitigation measures in place currently, such as the hospital discharge site.

It was clarified that those with physical disabilities were housed in temporary accommodation which was suitable for their needs.

The committee was advised that work was ongoing to support LGBTQ+ homeless people, through Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme and the Council’s commissioning of the LGBT Foundation and the Albert Kennedy Trust. It was hoped that the new Homelessness Strategy would present an inclusive and open approach to LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness to encourage more people to use the service.

In response to members’ queries, the Assistant Director for Homelessness explained that some children remained in hotel accommodation in Manchester, for example asylum seekers who were under the responsibility of the Home Office. He stated that from February 2023, the number of families in bed and breakfast accommodation in Manchester who were owed a homeless duty decreased from 227 to 0. He noted that this was a precarious situation with significant demand for accommodation and stated that the number of families in bed and breakfast accommodation was increasing in almost every other local authority area nationwide. He explained that this decrease was achieved through changes to the Allocations Policy, which allowed those on the Housing Register to maintain their place if they took a private rented tenancy; by leasing more self-contained properties; managers undertaking case checks to ensure effective progress; and holding move-on panels.

The committee was informed that between 125 and 130 homelessness applications were received every week, which was more than any other local authority in the country.

The Assistant Director for Homelessness explained that there were currently 10 call handlers within the service. There was also 55 FTE Housing Support Officers, although some were undergoing the induction process and these officers performed a range of homeless assessment functions such as face-to-face interviews and in-depth telephone assessments.

The Assistant Director for Homelessness also offered to share current data on call handler capacity and call waiting times, which the committee welcomed.

The Strategic Lead for Homelessness explained that there was a triage process for telephone enquiries prior to a housing assessment taking place and that the service was looking to progress case panels to gather information earlier in the assessment process. Further information on these changes could be reported back to a future meeting.

In response to concerns regarding wait times for those using Pay-As-You-Go mobile phones, the Strategic Lead for Homelessness explained that the Council had a callback option which enabled the caller to maintain their place in the queue without needing to stay on the phone, and she encouraged people to use this.

It was also confirmed that the Homelessness Service operates 24/7 with an out-of-hours telephone number.

The Strategic Lead for Homelessness recognised the increase in the number of BAME people presenting as homeless due to domestic violence and stated that the service was looking to delve into this more deeply with partners from domestic abuse charities and organisations. It was not known whether this increase was as a result of more domestic violence cases being reported or because of a concerning increase in cases overall.

The Assistant Director of Homelessness acknowledged that there was a greater focus on helping those experiencing domestic abuse and at risk of homelessness in other cities to stay in their own homes. He stated that there was a need to provide realistic expectations on the time taken to get a social housing tenancy and that further investment in sanctuary measures was needed, noting that this was cheaper than providing temporary accommodation. He explained that the Sanctuary Scheme currently focused on lock changes and other basic security measures and that further investment would enable more families to remain in their homes, areas and schools. He stated that this was a major focus for the service.

In response to the Chair’s query regarding rolling out case panels to primary schools, the Strategic Lead for Homelessness advised that the work being undertaken with Manchester Communications Academy would help to devise the package and ensure its success. She stated that once this package was well-developed, it would be rolled out across the city and would include primary and secondary schools.

The Strategic Lead for Homelessness also confirmed that significant work was being undertaken with the Homelessness and Health Task Group to identify how the Council could work better with mental health services. She also informed the committee that additional funding had been provided to the Homeless Mental Health team who undertook assessments of those with mental health issues presenting as homeless. There was also significant work being undertaken to ensure that those with mental health issues were also placed in appropriate accommodation.

In closing the item, the Chair thanked officers for their work.

Decision:

That the committee

1. notes the report;
2. welcomes the Assistant Director of Homelessness’ offer to provide data on call handler and Housing Support Officer capacity and call waiting times within the Homelessness Service;
3. requests a further report on the Sanctuary Scheme and the work undertaken to address the increase in the number of BAME people presenting as homeless due to domestic violence.