Issue - meetings

Report CS17055

The Care Services Portfolio Holder introduced a report providing an update on homelessness pressures during 2016/17, and the range of initiatives being undertaken to reduce rising budget pressures.  The report also requested that the Council’s Executive release £760k set aside in the central contingency to offset homelessness and welfare reform pressures.

The number of approaches to the Local Authority in relation to homelessness had been steadily increasing in recent years.  This was due to a number of factors including the rising costs of accommodation and the impact of welfare reform changes.  The majority of homelessness approaches were now from households unable to afford market rental prices and facing eviction as a result, and there was a significant gap between the demand for affordable housing and the available supply of both social housing and affordable rented accommodation which had increased the demand for temporary accommodation.  The Local Authority was keeping temporary accommodation under continuous review to meet the level of statutory need whilst achieving best value, and a range of work had been undertaken during 2016/17 to support this including securing four block-booking arrangements and the refurbishment of Manorfields residential home to provide additional temporary accommodation units. 

There were currently 1,348 households placed in temporary accommodation by Bromley (excluding those placed in supported accommodation as part of a rehousing pathway), and it was projected that there would be further increases in the demand for temporary accommodation and affordable housing into the future.  The Government had recently announced £40m additional funding to support innovative approaches to tackle and prevent homelessness and Members were requested to support the development of a bid in partnership with South East Boroughs to expand on the early intervention pilot, increasing assess to private sector accommodation and building resilience amongst those threatened with homelessness.

RESOLVED that the Council’s Executive be recommended to:

1)  Release £760k set aside in the central contingency for homelessness and welfare reform pressures;

2)  Note the current pressures being faced, mitigating actions underway and the likely budget impact going forward;

3)  Support submission of a bid to assist in preventing homelessness under the recently announced homelessness prevention trailblazer funding; and,

4)  Note and agree the procurement considerations set out in Section 8 to Report CS17055 relating to cost effective block contracts for temporary accommodation in both private sector leasing and nightly paid accommodation.