Agenda and minutes

There were no items on the agenda.

There were no declarations made.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 3^rd March 2021, be agreed as a correct record.

There were no public statements made.

The Panel was presented with a report relating to homelessness and outlined the duty to provide temporary accommodation to certain prescribed groups, namely those with dependent children or deemed to be vulnerable.

Members were reminded of the increasing demand for temporary accommodation, which were twofold: 

Firstly the additional duties for local authorities following the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act;  and

Secondly the ‘Everyone In’ programme as a result of the Corona Virus Pandemic ensuring all rough sleepers, including individuals who would not normally be owed a duty, to be provided temporary accommodation.

During discussion, the following areas were addressed by the Panel:

Good practice during the pandemic – it was stressed there was already a lot of good practice in Doncaster pre the pandemic through partnership working and the complex lives alliance.  This had provided a positive position at the beginning of the pandemic.  The following areas were discussed.

·         The partnership was able to utilise hotels within the borough.  This was an area the partnership wished to develop as part of the supporting pathway model; 

·         The Tenancy Sustainment Team supported residents early with financial support to ensure they retained their tenancies and moving forward wished to continue supporting people early when in temporary accommodation, ensuring they were tenancy ready;

·         Guaranteed rent schemes, was an area of possible investigation with the private sector;

·         With regard to customer experience the number of people visiting the Civic Office with housing enquiries had reduced dramatically during the pandemic with telephone call activity increasing, and follow up responses on-line and email.  It was hoped this would continue;

·         Ex-prisoner housing – prior to the pandemic a South Yorkshire Offenders pathway had been developed where officers undertook housing assessments in prison as part of release and homing plans, but this was paused during lockdown with some assessments being undertaken by video call.  There were some benefits to the video calls, for example officer efficiency, however the level of engagement with the customer had reduced;  and

·         The Partnership’s focus on people with early prevention avoiding homelessness as much as practicable.

Funding - success had been achieved in the areas detailed below however, it was noted that sustainability with regard to resources and long term support was difficult.  Short term funding was continually being sought and the bureaucracy it created was noted.  Having longer term funding would provide a more stable strategic approach.

·         Rough Sleeper initiative – attracting substantial funding for rounds 3 and 4.

·         Short term support with the Next Steps accommodation fund / Protect Plus. 

·         Accommodation for ex-offenders achieved through the partnership approach.  This ensured that no one left prison without a fixed abode, providing 12 weeks to secure a permanent home through accommodation schemes.

Homelessness enquiries received by St Leger Homes during Covid – it was noted that pre-pandemic there were approximately 500 enquiries per month but these were now averaging 2000 per month.

The reasons for homelessness during the pandemic were set out in paragraph 29 of the report, people presenting themselves  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Senior Governance Officer presented the Work Plan and Forward Plan for Key Decisions to the Panel for its consideration.

RESOLVED:  that the Work Plan and Forward Plan of key decisions, be noted.