The Head of Housing Services has submitted a report to update the Panel on the Housing First programme in Oxford, including service delivery and outcomes. Ossi Mosley, Rough Sleeping and Single Homelessness Manager and Brendan Lewis, Senior Rough Sleeping and Single Homelessness Project Officer have been invited to present the report and answer questions. Representatives from St Mungo’s and A2Dominion have also been invited to attend. The Panel is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Brendan Lewis, Senior Rough Sleeping and Single Homelessness Project Officer introduced the report, which had been commissioned by the Panel to set out progress and outcomes of the Housing First programme in Oxford. He highlighted that the programme utilised funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and had been operational in Oxford since late 2021. In Oxford, 24 individuals were currently accommodated within the Housing First provision, which would rise to 26 individuals in the next week and an estimated 35 individuals by the end of March 2024. The Panel was informed that the ultimate goal of Housing First was tenancy sustainment and preventing rough sleeping, which was largely being achieved through excellent multi-agency working.

In response to questions, the Panel was advised that:

·       Fortnightly meetings took place with the Council’s Allocations Team to discuss one-bedroom void properties which may be suitable for Housing First stock.

·       Officers were fairly confident that the Council would acquire the required number of Housing First properties in order to meet its targets.

·       Housing First was a very limited resource within a large system; it operated on a Panel basis where referrals were taken which set out how individuals met the criteria for Housing First. The Council had rejected some referrals to Housing First where those individuals would be better supported by other services (e.g. if individuals did not need the intensive support element that Housing First provided; or if individuals’ support needs meant they were not best supported by a standalone tenancy via Housing First).

·       The only pre-requisites for Housing First were that individuals wanted to be accommodated in the provision and were aware of the Housing First principles and their obligations as a tenant.

·       Housing First demonstrated a real person-centred approach, where the individual and their needs were at the centre of everything. The introduction of numerous key performance indicators (KPIs) could lead to additional conditionality being placed on the service and service-users which would likely detract from the person-centred nature of the provision. Officers believed that Housing First was more effective by virtue of not leading with KPIs.

·       The key measure of Housing First’s success was tenancy sustainment, as this indicated whether the service was delivering the right support. Measures such as known hospital and/or A&E presentations, remand in custody, offence charges and incidences of rough sleeping were also monitored to understand the wider societal benefit of Housing First.

·       Evictions only occurred in very limited situations, such as if an individual was remanded in custody and expected to remain so for a prolonged period of time.

·       Individuals were supported in relation to issues around rent arrears if they arose.

·       St Mungo’s and A2Dominion had regular meetings together each week with the Council, but also separate from the Council; support workers from the two organisations worked very closely together, including problem-solving meetings, joint welfare meetings and sharing information and contacts. The two providers operated as one big team working closely together to support clients and achieve the best outcomes.

·       St Mungo’s and A2Dominion also worked closely with other organisations such as Turning Point (drug and alcohol treatment service).

During discussion, that Panel requested that:

·       Housing Services officers explore how the additional ‘societal benefit’ measures which were monitored as part of Housing First (e.g. hospital and/or A&E presentations, remand in custody etc.) could be anonymised and reported to the Panel alongside the biannual Housing Performance Monitoring.

·       A KPI relating to the demand and waiting time for Housing First be included in future Housing Performance Monitoring, including an indicator which set out the timeliness of move-in dates compared to the initial move-in date stated.

The Panel noted the contents of the report; no recommendations were agreed.

Ossi Mosley, Rough Sleeping and Single Homelessness Manager, Brendan Lewis, Senior Rough Sleeping and Single Homelessness Project Officer, Helen Denyer, Service Director for West of England, Mental Health and Substance Use (St Mungo’s), Emma Sage, Housing First Coordinator (St Mungo’s), Benn Kiley, Operations Manager (A2Dominion) and Rachael Torrance, Housing First Support Officer (A2Dominion) left the meeting and did not return.