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Draft Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Strategy Delivery Plan 2022 to 2025 

Fareham Borough Council's Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Strategy sets out the aims and objectives of the Council and its partners to address homelessness.

We will achieve these aims and objectives by concentrating our efforts and resources on four priorities to ensure we deliver services which focus on early intervention and the prevention of homelessness, backed up by high quality joined up support to get people back on their feet when things do go wrong.

 

1. Meeting Demand

2. Providing Solutions 

3. Preventing Homelessness & Supporting Tenancies 

4. Ending Rough Sleeping 

 

 

Meeting Demand

 

 

What we will do

Lead Officer

When we will do it

 

Resources needed

Intended outcomes

 

1

Use local and national data and benchmarking information to determine service development and delivery.

 

Head of Housing & Benefits

April 2023

Staff time

Understanding of positive practice and policy.

 

2

Monitor demand across all sets of indicators

Head of Housing & Benefits

 

Housing Options Support Officer

 

Housing Scrutiny Panel

April 2023

Staff time

Understand the pressures and demands affecting Housing Options Team.

 

Allocate resources effectively to meet demand.

 

3

Conduct regular casework reviews to ensure consistency of decisions and compliance with legal framework and to identify potential areas for training and improvement.

 

Housing Manager (Options & Advice)

 

Housing Manager (Allocations and Accommodation)

 

Quarterly from April 2022

Staff time

All staff working consistently.

 

All staff working in a procedurally compliant way.

 

Performance issued addressed.

 

Training needs addressed.

 

4

All staff to receive training to ensure they have the skills to deliver excellent customer service.

 

Ensure staff can identify and assist customers who have specific needs and/or protected characteristics   

Housing Manager (Options & Advice)

 

Housing Manager (Allocations and Accommodation)

 

April 2022 ongoing

Staff time and training budget

Delivery of training resulting in a fully skilled Housing Options Team.

 

Officers are skilled in negotiation, confidence building, motivating, and supporting customers.

 

5

Review and improve the range and quality of online housing advice with consideration given to "off the shelf" self-help IT packages

 

Housing Options Support Officer

July 2022

Staff time

 

 

C. £5k PA for external IT package

 

Improved range and quality of online housing advice.

 

Increased 'self-serve' opportunities.

 

6

Collect and analyse statistics on hidden homelessness  

Housing Options Support Officer

October 2022

Staff time

Inform bespoke interventions to help those who are sofa surfing

 

7

Analyse quarterly, the rate of major decisions and acceptances, looking at what action was taken to prevent and/or relieve homelessness and whether anything more might have been done

 

Housing Manager (Options & Advice)

January 2023 ongoing

Staff time

Improved outcomes for customers

 

 

8

Continue to work with the Hampshire-wide Strategic Housing Officers Group (SHOG) to collaborate on performance, benchmarking and joint commissioning

 

Head of Housing & Benefits

Ongoing

Staff time

Development and continuous improvement of joint work arrangements, sharing of positive practice and policy.

 

9

Explore the reasons why we lose contact with people we are working with

 

Housing Options Support Officer

October 2022

Staff time

Fewer households lose contact with the service without any clear understanding of why they have disengaged.

 

Prevention and relief of homelessness for those customers who disengage.

 

 

 

Providing Solutions

 

 

Action

Lead Officer

Timescale

Resources

Needed

 

Intended Outcomes

 

01

Formulate and publish a Temporary Accommodation Procurement Policy and a Temporary Accommodation Allocation Policy

 

Housing Manager (Allocations & Accommodation)

January 2023

Staff time

 

 

The Council meets all requirements set out in legislation and due regard to statutory guidance

 

02

In conjunction with the Council's private sector housing service, consult with private rented sector landlords to understand what could be done to prevent the end of an assured shorthold tenancies

Housing Manager (Allocations & Accommodation)

 

Principle Environmental Health Officer

 

July 2023

Staff time

 

Consultation costs (existing budget)

Reduction in the number of people approaching the Housing Options Team for assistance as their private rented sector tenancy is ending

 

02

Use data held by the Council about occupants of TA, about household formation, needs of children and last settled address to inform future procurement of temporary accommodation

 

Housing Options Support Officer

July 2022

Staff time

A portfolio of suitable and affordable temporary accommodation that meets the needs of customers

 

03

Increase the number of households whose main duty is ended by an offer of suitable private rented housing, HMO or lodgings

 

Housing Manager (Allocations & Accommodation)

 

Benefits Assessment Manager

 

September 2024

Staff time

 

Discretionary Housing Payments

 

Further revenue expenditure £tbc to fund private sector access initiatives

 

Increased move-on from temporary accommodation into the private rented sector

05

Continue to promote the FareLets scheme and ensure it is adequately resourced

 

Housing Manager (Allocations & Accommodation)

 

Housing Options Support Officer

 

Ongoing

Staff time

 

Advertising costs (existing budget)

A successful scheme that supports both landlords and tenants.

 

Increased options for customers in the privately rented sector.

 

06

Formulate a new Tenancy Strategy

 

Head of Housing & Benefits

 

Head of Housing Delivery

 

October 2023

Existing

To support the delivery of the priorities within the Council's Allocations Policy and Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Strategy

 

07

Explore consultation opportunities to learn from people with lived experience of homelessness

Housing Manager (Options & Advice)

 

Housing Manager (Allocations & Accommodation)

 

September 2023

 

Staff time

Service users' experiences and views shape and inform policy and practice for tackling homelessness

 

 

 

Preventing Homelessness & Supporting Tenancies

 

 

Action

Lead Officer

Timescale

Resources needed

 

Intended Outcomes

 

1

Monitor annually the reasons for loss of last settled home outcomes of households

Housing Options Support Officer

April 2023

 

Staff time

Track long-term trends to inform future prevention and relief activities  

 

2

Gather intelligence on child poverty rate at a ward level

 

Housing Options Support Officer

July 2024

 

Staff time

Identify which areas might be targeted for early interventions to prevent homelessness

 

3

Continue to monitor employment circumstances of people seeking homeless assistance from the Council

Housing Options Support Officer

October 2023 ongoing

 

Staff time

Inform plans for early interventions to prevent homelessness

 

4

Review the range, effectiveness and quality of initiatives being used to prevent and relieve homelessness 

Housing Manager (Options & Advice)

 

October 2023

Staff time

Identify areas for improvement

 

5

Improve how the Council works with other public organisations to fulfil the Duty to Refer, such as:

  • Agreeing joint working protocols
  • Providing training
  • Encouraging other bodies not subject to the DtR to voluntarily comply with it
  • Distribute more widely housing advise information
  • Encouraging housing associations that have not already signed up to the commitment to refer to do so
  • Adding a DtR button on the homepage of the Council's website 

Housing Manager (Options & Advice)

 

Housing Options Support Officer

 

Hampshire Strategic Housing Officers Group/Hampshire Housing Officers Group

October 2022

Staff time

Earlier identification of people who are at risk of homelessness.

 

Instances of homelessness arising when people are discharged from institutions are absolutely minimised

 

6

Ensure there continues to be funding for independent housing rights assistance (currently provided by Citizens Advice Fareham)

 

Head of Housing & Benefits

 

Leisure & Community Manager

 

Ongoing

Existing budgets

Provision of independent and impartial advice

 

7

Improve joint working with other public bodies by adopting protocols and shared working relationships:

 

  • Prison/young offender releases
  • Care Leavers
  • Ex-service Personnel
  • Hospital discharges
  • Adult Social Care

Housing Manager (Options & Advice)

 

Housing Manager (Allocations & Accommodation)

 

Housing Options Support Officer

 

January 2023 ongoing

Staff time

 

External agency staff time and commitment

 

Positive working relationships with agencies.

 

Identification of specific professionals to maintain contact with each agency.

 

Partner agencies liaise positively to enable customers to access appropriate services.

 

8

Investigate further as to why levels of prevention activity have fallen since the introduction of the HRA17

 

Housing Options Support Officer

April 2024

Staff time

Identify areas for improvement

 

9

Adopt a pre-eviction protocol with all local housing associations

Housing Options Support Officer

 

Housing Association partners

July 2022

Staff time

 

Housing Associations time and commitment

Housing Associations are contacting the Housing Options Team at an early stage to prevent problems accumulating and enabling tenants to sustain their tenancy and prevent future evictions.

 

Reduced numbers of Housing Association tenants triggering a prevention or relief duty as a result of being served notice by their landlord.

 

Housing Association tenants know where and when to seek help to ensure their tenancies are not at risk.

  

10

Explore opportunities with the Tenancy Services Team, Private Sector Housing Team and other neighbourhood-based services, to identify at an early stage those at risk of losing their accommodation and to develop new ways to help people remain in their existing home.

 

Housing Manager (Options & Advice)

 

Neighbourhood Manager

 

Private Sector Housing Team

 

Community Safety Team

 

October 2023

Staff time

More targeted prevention work with households to prevent homelessness

11

Improve recording of main reasons for loss of settled home

 

Housing Options Support Officer

 

April 2024 ongoing

Staff time

Identify areas for improvement

 

 

12

Share data collected on support needs with key stakeholders

Housing Manager (Options & Advice)

April 2023 ongoing

Staff time

Inform discussions about future joint working arrangements and commissioning of suitable support services for those at risk of homelessness

 

 

 

Ending Rough Sleeping

 

 

Action

Lead Officer

Timescale

Resources needed

 

Intended Outcomes

 

1

Increase the parameter of matters monitored via the annual rough sleeping count carried out every November.

Housing Options Support Officer

November 2022

 

Staff time

To better understand how many people have newly flowed onto the streets, how many are stuck sleeping rough and how many are experiencing a repeat occurrence of street homelessness

 

2

Build on the existing success of tackling street homelessness through the delivery of additional move-on accommodation and, working with the Partnership Action Group, embed the Housing First model

 

 

Housing Manager (Allocations & Accommodation)

 

Housing Manager (Options & Advice)

 

Housing First Delivery Group

 

 

July 2022

Staff time

 

Rough Sleeping Initiative Funding

The most vulnerable and complex rough sleepers are brought inside and do not return to the street.

 

 

3

Work with Hampshire County Council Adult Services with regard to the commissioning of homelessness services

Head of Housing & Benefits

 

Two Saints

 

Hampshire County Council Adult Services

April 2022 ongoing

Staff time

New/revised County funded homelessness service provision and accommodation in Fareham from April 2023 (end of current contract)

 

4

Ensure there continues to be adequate Outreach and Complex Needs provision to include:

  • Access to accommodation
  • Access to primary health care
  • Access to substance misuse treatment services
  • Access to employment and training opportunities
  • Provision of personalisation budgets to address financial and material hardships
  • Coordination of and support to voluntary and faith organisations 

Housing Manager (Options & Advice)

 

Two Saints

April 2022 ongoing

Staff time

 

Homeless Prevention Grant

 

Rough Sleeping Initiative Funding

Effective pathways for rough sleepers to enable them to move from the street to independent and sustainable accommodation.

 




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