Report of the Director of Adult Services and the Strategic Director – Development

This report provides an update on the work that is taking place to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in the City; the use of temporary accommodation within the homeless service, including the inspection regime; and an update on Manchester Move and the Social Housing Allocations Policy.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Adult Services and the Strategic Director, Development that provided an update on the work that was taking place to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in the City; the use of temporary accommodation within the homeless service, including the inspection regime; and an update on Manchester Move and the Social Housing Allocations Policy.

The Deputy Leader referred to the main points and themes within the report which included: -

·         Homeless presentations had continued to rise compared to the previous financial year, in common with the growing picture across Greater Manchester and the UK;

·         Describing the work that was taking place to support people who were sleeping rough in the city;

·         An update on the Bed for Every Night initiative and the provision from April 2019;

·         An update on the Rough Sleeping Initiative;

·         The work progressed to work with the two Coroners for Manchester in order to improve the investigation and monitoring of homeless deaths;

·         An update on dispersed temporary accommodation and the ongoing work to improve the standard of this accommodation;

·         Information on the inspection of properties and the action plan that was being progressed;

·         Describing the activities to safeguard families in dispersed accommodation;

·         The approach taken to increase the number of large homes available for rehousing homeless families;

·         An update on Bed and Breakfast Accommodation, noting there had been a significant increase in the number of single presentations occurring in January 2019;

·         Describing the work to establish a hospital discharge protocol to reduce the number of people who present as homeless upon discharge from hospital;

·         An update on Homeless Commissioned Services;

·         The joint work with Children’s Services to develop a new pathway model which will better meet the needs of all young people in the city, including care leavers and young people with complex needs;

·         The work of the Section 21 team that had been established within the Housing Solutions service to work with households who had received a valid S.21 notice but remained in occupation of that property prior to eviction through the courts system;

·         An update on the work of the Private Rented Sector team;

·         Information on the Homefinder service and how this could be used as a resource to secure accommodation for homeless households;

·         Describing the initiative to maximise Social Housing Stock;

·         An update on Manchester Move, the Manchester Housing Allocation Scheme that set out the principles and rules by which people apply for social housing, including who qualified to join the housing register and how the Council prioritises who got a home;

·         An update on Social Housing in Manchester, noting that there was currently under 68,000 social homes in Manchester; and

·         Information on the Manchester Housing Register (MHR) and choice-based lettings (CBL) noting that the allocations scheme was currently being reviewed given the rising levels of homelessness and the cost of providing temporary and supported accommodation.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were: -

·         Homelessness was an issue that was taken very seriously by the Council and despite the continued funding cuts remained committed to addressing;

·         Did the Outreach Team work outside of the city centre area;

·         What was the current case load for floating support workers;

·         A visit for Committee Members to meet the Floating Support Teams and accompany them during visits should be arranged;

·         Did people accessing services need to pay any fee and/or travel costs, as there was a conception amongst some members of the public that this was the case;

·         Was data available on the age, gender and race of people who were homeless;

·         What standards were applied when assessing temporary accommodation to ensure it was appropriate and safe for people;

·         The numbers of Section 21 notices issued (notice to quit an assured short hold tenancy) appeared to be increasing and what was being done to support people who were issued with one by their landlord;

·         What was being done to understand the lessons learnt following the death of a homeless person;

·         Further information was sought on the progress to purchase properties to accommodate larger families;

·         What support was offered to people who presented as homeless but did not have a Manchester connection;

·         What support was being offered to pay for transport costs for travel to school for those families who were temporarily accommodated out of area;

·         Were homeless people involved in the design of services and were homeless people being engaged with in the City Centre Public Space Protection Order consultation exercise;

·         Noting that people could have to wait a long time to have their homeless assessments completed when attending the Town Hall and this could be stressful and intimidating for people and what was being done to improve this;

·         What was being done to support those individuals and families who were homeless as a result of domestic violence and abuse; and

·         What was the time scale to complete the reported action plan that had been put in place to work with emergency accommodation owners to improve standards in accommodation.

The Deputy Leader stated that the A Bed for Every Night (ABEN) had been designed to provide a bed every night for people sleeping rough in Greater Manchester from early November until the end of March and that funding had been secured to extend this service to the end of April. She stated that this service had proved to be very successful and that this had created further demands on the service that presented a challenge.  She confirmed that people did not have to pay a fee to access this service and if referred, assistance with transport costs could be provided. She advised that an analysis of the people accessing this service would be undertaken and this information would be provided in future reports.

The Deputy Leader recognised the comment regarding the increased use of Section 21 notices by landlords in the Private Rented Sector. She said that a dedicated team had been established to work with people who had been served with a notice and to date 58 households had been supported. She informed the Committee that it had been established that approximately half of the notices issued were invalid and, of the ones that weren’t, officers negotiated with landlords to allow people to remain in the property whilst alternative, appropriate accommodation was secured. She stated that it was very important to refer people as early as possible for support from this service.

The Director of Housing and Residential Growth further informed the Committee that a wider review of how the Private Rented Sector could be managed and influenced would be undertaken. Members supported this and requested that they be kept informed of this work and consulted with.

The Deputy Leader informed the Committee that the service was working closely with Children’s Services to find solutions to the challenges experienced by families who were placed temporarily outside of the area, such as meeting the costs incurred with travel to school. In addition, she reported that work was ongoing with Children’s Services to develop a protocol to support young people who were leaving care to protect them from homelessness. She further commented that consideration was being given to commissioning specific housing support for victims of domestic violence and abuse.

The Deputy Leader noted the tragic deaths of homeless people in the city and commented that it was understood that there was a link nationally between deprivation and homeless deaths. She said it would be very difficult to provide analysis of deaths of homeless people by ward level, however there is a thematic Safeguarding Adults Review being undertaken to understand any lessons that could be learnt, noting that this was a very complex issue. Work was also progressing with the Coroner’s office to review future any deaths to better understand every incident.

She further informed the Committee that she was a member of The Manchester Homelessness Partnership that included people with personal experience of homelessness and Public Space Protection Order would also be discussed at that forum. She stated that the City Centre Public Space Protection Order was designed to address anti-social behaviours and not criminalise homeless people.

The Strategic Lead for Homelessness reported the case-load for floating support staff was currently 36. She said that work was being done to reduce this figure and an additional team had been established to support people moving on into affordable accommodation. She confirmed that the Floating Support Team was proactive and services were delivered in areas outside of the city centre with the same support offered. She supported the recommendation that Members of the Committee visit the Floating Support Team. In response to a request from a Member she confirmed that the Homelessness Prevention Strategy would be circulated to Members for information.  She advised the Committee that the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS),a risk-based evaluation tool to help local authorities identify and protect against potential risks and hazards to health and safety from any deficiencies identified in dwellings was used to assess properties and that information on this would be circulated. She further informed the Committee that a tender document was out for a Registered Housing Provider to take over the management of temporary accommodation, noting that this would allow for the maximum housing benefit to be awarded so the Council would be penalised for the move from the Government Temporary Management Fund to the Flexible Support Grant.

The Strategic Lead for Homelessness said that the Authority had a legal duty to provide advice and assistance to those people that did not have a local connection and that a reconnection service was offered whereby travel costs would be paid to allow people to return to their home area. In response to the comments regarding the requirement to present at the Town Hall for a homelessness assessment she acknowledged the concerns expressed by the Committee. She said that consideration was being given to identifying other appropriate locations where this service could be delivered and to simplify the process for applications as a way of better supporting people, commenting that Centrepoint provided a single point of contact for young people.   

The Director for Housing and Residential Growth said that the process for purchasing the 62 homes to accommodate larger families had taken longer than expected due to the need to agree a legal mechanism to protect the Council’s c£5m stake and legal agreements needing to be signed off by a number of Registered providers, however this was imminent. He said that it was recognised that this programme was a priority and he understood that Registered Providers had already acquired and identified for acquisition around 10 properties in anticipation of the agreement being signed. Additional properties would continue to be identified for possible purchase. He stated that Members would be kept informed of this progress and agreed to submit a written update to the next Committee meeting.

The Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration informed the Committee that a review of the allocations policy would be undertaken that would involve consultation with Members. She said that this needed to be considered in conjunction with the Affordable Housing Policy that had been agreed the previous December. She described that the provision of social housing was being reviewed across Greater Manchester and stated that the Right To Buy scheme needed to end and grant funding was required to build new social housing and replace those properties lost though Right To Buy.

Decision

The Committee;

1. Note the report and support the response to the serious issue of homelessness in the city;

2. Recommend that a visit to the Floating Support Teams be arranged for Members of the Committee;

3. Request the Homelessness Prevention Strategy be circulated to Members; and

4. Request that information on the housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) be circulated to Members.

[Councillor Azra Ali declared a personal and non prejudicial interest as she is employed by CGL Manchester and the Chair of Saheli Asian Women’s Project.]