Issue - meetings
Preventing Homelessness Grant Allocations
Meeting: 12/03/2014 - City Executive Board (became Cabinet on 13 May 2019) (Item 151)
151 Grant Allocation - Preventing Homelessness and Homelessness Services 
PDF 122 KB
This report outlines the proposed allocation of Homelessness Prevention funds with the purpose of meeting the objectives of the Homelessness Strategy.
The Board is asked to:-
(1) Recommend the allocation of the Homelessness Budget for 2014 – 2015 referred to in paragraph 21 of this report;
(2) Recommend delegated authority to the Head of Housing and Property in consultation with the Board Member to allocate the balance of the Preventing Homelessness Funds.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Head of Housing and Property submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) concerning the proposed allocation of Homelessness Prevention Funds, with the purpose of meeting the objectives of the Homelessness Strategy. Councillor Seamons, Board Member for Housing, presented the report to the Board and provided some background and context. He added that Oxfordshire County Council planned to cut 38% from their budget for this type of work in 2015/16 and 2016/17, and it was hard, at this stage, to say with certainty how this would impact on the quality and quantity of services for the homeless within Oxford.
Councillor Jean Fooks addressed the Board, observing that she found many good things within the report, particularly on the allocation of the budget, and she spoke also about maximising the use of Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP).
In response, Councillors Turner and Brown indicated that there was no predictability about year on year DHP funding from the Government. There was an issue too that people may not apply for DHP funding as soon as they needed it, and it was, in any case, supposed to be a temporary measure.
It was also observed that many private landlords were unwilling to accept as tenants people in receipt of benefits, and that many of them were unable to compete in the private rented sector as a result.
Resolved to:-
(1) Allocate the Homelessness Budget for 2014-2015 referred to in paragraph 21 of the report;
(2) Delegate to the Head of Housing and Property in consultation with the Board member the authority to allocate the balance of the Preventing Homelessness Funds.
Meeting: 04/04/2012 - City Executive Board (became Cabinet on 13 May 2019) (Item 97)
This report explains that the Council has been awarded in excess of £1 million Government grant for preventing homelessness, and that it has a homelessness grants budget of just under £500,000 for the same purpose. The budgets are for allocation to organisations involved in the field of homelessness prevention. The report recommends the allocation of the budget sums and the retention of a sum for future allocation.
Additional documents:
- Homelessness Grants spend, item 97
PDF 30 KB
View as XLS (97/2)
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- Homelessness Grants risk register, item 97
PDF 21 KB
View as DOC (97/3) 32 KB
Minutes:
The Head of Housing and Communities submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended).
Resolved:-
(1) To RECOMMEND Council to allocate the Communities and Local Government’s Homelessness Directorate grant and to decide in the Board’s own right to allocate the Council’s budget for the purpose of meeting the Council’s homelessness objectives as follows:-
Communities and Local Government’s Homelessness Directorate grant
(a) Street Services and Reconnection Team (Broadway Homelessness and Support) - £235,000
(b) Reconnection and Referral Co-ordinator (Under 25s) (in the process of assigning it to a provider) - £37,245
(c) Reconnection Rent (O’Hanlon House) - £512
(d) Six subsidised Beds for Under 25s (Simon House) - £4,243
(e) Six subsidised Beds for Under 25s (Lucy Faithful House) - £4,179
(f) Mental Health Practitioner at Luther Street – £25,000
(g) Two Education, Training and Employment Workers (Aspire) - £60,519
(h) One specialist Alcohol Worker (O’Hanlon House) - £8,555
(i) One Multiple Needs Hostel worker (Elmore Community Services) - £40,757
(j) Service Broker – Big Issue Foundation - £25,000
(k) Homelessness Liaison Police Officer (for two years with an operating budget of £5,000 for each year) - £90,000
(l) Elmore Team ASB Services - £8,690
(m) Additional Home Choice Gold Top-up - £20,000
(n) Continuation of Enhanced Options - £50,000
(o) Fraud Investigation - £80,000
(p) Supplementing Discretionary Housing Payments - £100,000
City Council’s Homelessness Grants budget
(a) O’Hanlon House Day Centre – homeless hostel for 25+, jointly commissioned with Supporting People - £133,432
(b) One Foot Forward – homeless hostel for 16-25 year olds, jointly commissioned with Supporting People - £42,992
(c) Elmore Community Services – Complex Needs Floating Support Service for clients in Oxford City Council temporary and permanent stock - £40,757
(d) Elmore Community Services, Anti Social Behaviour Service – £11,310
(e) The Gatehouse – café for the homeless - £9,502
(f) Steppin’ Stone – day centre providing emergency provision and meaningful activity - £55,000
(g) Simon House Hostel – provision of respite beds at an abstinence based hostel - £11,596
(h) Emmaus Oxford Furniture Store – recycling store attached to the Emmaus Community £25,000
(i) Aspire Oxfordshire – social enterprise providing work opportunities for homeless and ex-homeless people - £112,690
(2) That the Head of Housing and Communities be given delegated authority to allocate the £252,300 unallocated balance of the Communities and Local Government grant money and to make changes if necessary to the allocations of the City Council’s homelessness grants budget.