Agenda item

This paper seeks feedback from the Place Scrutiny Panel on the draft Kirklees Preventing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2024 – 2029, and also seeks feedback on the refreshed Kirklees Council – Housing Solutions Service Temporary Accommodation (TA) Placement Policy 2024.

Contact: Sarah Holmes, Housing Services Strategic Manager, Tel: 01484 221000

Cllr Moses Crook, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Transport, introduced the item, informing the Panel that the information being presented is a pre-adoption review of the updated Kirklees Preventing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, which will run until 2029 and the Temporary Accommodation Placement Policy. Strategic update is a periodic and statutory requirement every five years; however, it is of critical strategic importance to Kirklees.

Housing, and having a safe secure and decent home is a pre-requisite for a healthy and productive life. Health, education and training opportunities, economic inclusion, is all supported through this basic necessity. In addition, the significant direct cost of insecure housing to those individuals needing support, the national housing crisis, which is not unique to Kirklees, imposes significant direct and indirect pressure on the council finances. By way of illustration, last year the temporary accommodation spend on hotel provision was £7.2 million, which was up from £3.1 million in 2022, which is a significant increase. The indirect costs are also significant, better health and education outcomes which are supported by better and more stable and available housing.  This allows people to contribute to collective productivity, and reduce the impact on health and other service demands. Housing policy and strategy is essential for those suffering from insecure and non-existent provision,  for the collective as well as those individuals future prosperity and to save on immediate and future financial cost to services.

Cllr Crook explained that to briefly illustrate the pressure currently on housing, there are 22,000 council homes plus approximately 6000 available through other registered providers, including housing associations, against a current waiting list of 18,500. Each year 1,800 homes are allocated, the total turnover of housing in council housing stock and other registered providers. Last year 1,926, homelessness assessments were conducted, even without the 18,500 already waiting for housing. The presentations of homeless households significantly exceed the total number of housing that becomes available each year.

In this context, it is clear that the new housing solutions Temporary Accommodation Placement Policy for 2024, needs to navigate a difficult task as to manage demand, and ensure that those in need are supported as well as possible within the national constraints. The policy rightly places emphasis on provision of warm, safe and decent accommodation and also on helping people to remain within Kirklees as close to their support networks as is possible. It rightly places emphasis on the impact of housing insecurity on children and also on early interventions to reduce the number of households ultimately presenting as homeless. This is a very difficult area of service delivery, and officers should be thanked for the hard work that has gone into developing this strategy and the diligence with which they support vulnerable residents in need, against a significant resource deficit.

Sarah Holmes,  Housing Services Strategic Manager, directed the Panel to the summary page of the Preventing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy which outlined the vision and objectives. The Panel was informed that the vision is as follows:

“Our vision is for Kirklees to be a place where we work collaboratively to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping, where those most in need are able to access the right help, in the right place, at the right time.” 

In order to deliver on this vision, the four key objectives set out in the strategy are as follows:

1.     Strengthen partnership working to address homelessness and secure the right accommodation

2.     Rapid early help and intervention to prevent homelessness from occurring

3.     Access to long term, settled homes and temporary accommodation, which is safe and decent, accessible and affordable

4.     Tackle rough sleeping to ensure that it is rare, brief, and not recurring

Under each of the objective there are a summary of the key actions that will be undertaken over the five year period of the strategy. The intention is to work with partners on the Kirklees Homelessness Forum to refine the action plan. The progress against the objectives will be measured through a number of key performance indicators. The overall success of the strategy will be measurable through a positive direction of travel in these areas:

-        More positive homeless prevention outcomes

-        Greater use of private rented sector accommodation

-        Less reliance on bed and breakfast for temporary accommodation

-        Reduced length of stay in all types of temporary accommodation; and

-        Reduction in rough sleeping

The Panel was informed that the Temporary Accommodation Placement Policy, sets out the key principles and factors that the council will consider when making its temporary accommodation placements; and it confirms the council’s commitment to offering temporary accommodation wherever possible within the Kirklees district. The policy also sets out the key principles and factors that will be considered when making temporary accommodation placements.

The Panel was directed to a section of the report which stated that the average length of time a household spends in all forms of temporary accommodation can be up to 24 months. This was highlighted as an error, and the wording will be corrected to read “that 2% of the residents that are in temporary accommodation are still awaiting a home after 24 months”. The Panel was advised that it is a small number that are waiting in temporary accommodation for 24 months or more.

In response to the information presented, the Panel made comment and asked questions including some of the following:-

-        The figures contained within the report does not include the numbers of rough sleepers who are ex-service personnel. In future when the figures are being compiled, can it include those who are ex-service personnel?

-        Can the council liaise with forces organisations and charities to assess the broader picture with regard to ex-service personnel, particularly in relation to PTSD as it would be good to get a handle on this?

-        Its seems to be aspirational only in terms of finding long term permanent accommodation, is that the top priority and has the council considered crowd funding as some authorities have set up partnerships to crowdfund?

-        What is the percentage of young single people needing housing units compared to families seeking council housing units?

-        There seems to be an issue where people are evicted through no fault evictions from private accommodation, and are seeking council accommodation and are advised to make a counterclaim against their landlord. The council policy does not seem to  be favourable in terms of people issuing legal claims against their former landlords. Is there dialogue between the council and housing charities?

-        How are the figures with regard to rough sleepers calculated?

-        Support to asylum seekers once they have received leave to remain, what support do they receive?

RESOLVED:

-        That Cllr Moses Crook and Sarah Holmes be thanked for providing an update on the Kirklees Preventing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2024- 2029 and the Temporary Accommodation Placement Policy.

-        That  a breakdown of the number of young single people on the housing register be provided to the Panel.