The Head of Housing Services has submitted a report seeking the City Executive Board’s  approval to  the allocation of homelessness prevention funds with the purpose of helping meet the objectives of the Homelessness Strategy.

Recommendations:That the City Executive Board  resolves to:

1.         Approve the allocation of Homelessness Prevention funds to commission homelessness services in 2018/19 as outlined in paragraph 34 of the report;

2.         Recommend to City Executive Board and the Chief Finance Officer that any savings from 2017/18 budget allocations for Homelessness Prevention activities are considered to be carried forward at the end of the financial year in order to fund necessary services in 2018/19 and 2019/20 as outlined at paragraphs 27-29 of the report; and

3.         Delegate to the Head of Housing in consultation with the portfolio holder the discretion to revise the intended programme if required.

The Head of Housing Services had submitted a report seeking the City Executive Board’s approval to  the allocation of homelessness prevention funds with the purpose of helping meet the objectives of the Homelessness Strategy.

Cllr Rowley, Board Member for Housing, introduced the report, noting the intention of ensuring that the probable savings from the 2018/19 are carried forward for use in support of homelessness services and so continuing to meet the challenges faced by those who are homeless or rough sleepers. He was pleased to be able to highlight an increase of £300k for supported accommodation and that the City’s, current, assessed need is  for 150 beds and that in 2018/19 and 2019/20  there will be provision for 170 and 167 respectively.

The Rough Sleeping and Single Homelessness Manager drew attention to the £150k made available to facilitate work the ongoing City Conversation on Rough Sleeping and flowing from the inauguration event on 28 November. This had initiated a programme of work involving collaboration between a wide range of organisations and individuals who have a role to play in helping to address the issues of homelessness and rough sleeping.   An interim steering group has been set up to take this programme of work forward which has met twice.  The group will be chaired by Jane Cranston, currently High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, and convened and coordinated by the Oxfordshire  Community Foundation.

Details about how this additional resource would be used were still being worked up but some funds had already been committed to employing an additional member of staff. This role will focus on communication; ensuring effective co-ordination between the many parts of the Council which provide services which touch upon the lives of those who are homeless or rough sleeping; and assembling and making available high quality data about the issue and related matters (it was hoped that the first quarter of 2018/19 would see the first batch of these data).   The impact of the work being done by the Council, commissioned services and other local homelessness organisations was not always visible, with some 300 successful interventions having been made by the Oxford SPOT, the Council’s commissioned outreach team, over the last year and an effective Severe Weather Emergency Programme which had provided nearly 800 nights of accommodation to vulnerable people and given shelter to around 130 people so far over the winter.

She went on to note that rough sleeping had been all but eradicated nationally in 2008 and there is every reason why, with the support of partners, we should hope to achieve this eradicated again.  At the same time, it was recognised by all present that the underlying causes of homelessness were, for the most part, a consequence of recent government policies over which the Council had no control and which had a particularly profound effect on the most vulnerable members of the community.

The Housing Strategy and Needs Manager spoke briefly about the Council’s Trailblazer project, as one of just 20 authorities which had received such funding in recognition of the City’s good track record in tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.

It was agreed that the City’s reputation as a good provider of services for those who are homeless and rough sleeping was well deserved. Assembling meaningful comparative data was however difficult. Establishing links with other cities which experienced similar levels of homelessness would be beneficial as well as assembling the data referred to above so as to have a better understanding of the reasons for people presenting as homeless in the Oxford. The attraction of Oxford, given the quality of its provision, as compared with neighbouring authorities was noted. At the same time it was noted that some of those who were homeless or rough sleepers and in the City were reluctant to engage with the provision available.

Cllr Rowley concluded the discussion by noting the significant number of successful interventions every year and support offered which had a positive impact via, for example the Welfare Reform Team and Advice Centres. There were three principal ways in which the Council could address this complex issue: through direct provision of services provided by the Council; the facilitation of provision by others (via the City Conversation); and lobbying central government. A sustainable solution would only be achievable with the cessation of those current policies which drove people onto the street.

The Chair thanked all those involved who worked to support this important area of work, including Council officers, commissioned service providers, local homelessness organisations and volunteers

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1.         Approve the allocation of Homelessness Prevention funds to commission homelessness services in 2018/19 as outlined in paragraph 41 and Appendix C  of the report;

2.         Recommend to City Executive Board and the Chief Finance Officer that any savings from 2017/18 budget allocations for Homelessness Prevention activities are considered to be carried forward at the end of the financial year in order to fund necessary services in 2018/19 and 2019/20 as outlined at paragraphs 28-30 of the report; and

3.         Delegate to the Head of Housing in consultation with the portfolio holder the discretion to revise the intended programme if required.