Agenda item

Report by the Executive Director Adults and Health regarding Housing Related Support contracts.

31.1   The Committee considered a report by the Executive Director Adults and Health which was introduced by Amanda Jupp, Cabinet Member for Adults and Health and Mark Dow, Head of Strategic Housing.

31.2 Amanda Jupp told the Committee that: -

·         A lot of hard work had been done with the coalition of providers and district and borough councils through a task & finish group (TFG) to improve things for the homeless

·         After the decision to reduce funding for housing related support, Crawley Open House had attracted funding from Homes England to move its resource and day centre to a separate building from the hostel which would be residential only

·         The County Council had attracted funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government and from Public Health England specifically for Turning Tides, Worthing

·         Special thanks go to Mark Dow for his hard work in this area

31.3   Mark Dow highlighted the following: -

·         The County Council was decommissioning red contracts (providers such as social landlords were now supplying these services) and recommissioning green contracts whilst three amber contracts had secured funding from the district/borough councils for co-commissioning and procuring with the County Council –
ACTION: Mark Dow to provide the Committee with a list of organisations that still received housing related support

·         Procurement of new contracts would begin in January reflecting local needs with soft market testing establishing that the £750k available per year would be sufficient

31.4   Summary of responses to the Committee’s comments and

questions: -

·         The coalition of providers and district/borough councils were aware this update report was being produced but did not ask to contribute to it

·         The Vice Chairman in his capacity of Leader of Arun District Council repoirted that Arun District Council had made an extra £1m available for helping the homeless as a result of the County Council’s reduction in funding for housing related support, including purchasing accommodation, and that Turning Tides had opened an extra winter shelter in Littlehampton

·         The TFG would continue to meet to monitor the situation and look at other areas of homelessness such as the increasing need for temporary accommodation

·         Pressures on housing authorities came from duties as a result of the Homelessness Reduction Act and the affordability of public and private rents

·         Public Health England had granted Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust £387k for homeless people presenting at A&E

·         Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust had appointed clinical discharge co-ordinators to work with district/borough councils’ housing officers to establish the best pathways for mental health patients being discharged from hospital – housing providers and social care teams also needed to be involved to help those with complex needs find the right type of accommodation

·         A housing strategy was needed for all vulnerable groups

·         The County Council helped young homeless people through ‘Move On’ accommodation

31.5   Resolved – that the Committee asks that: -

1. Its business planning group considers how this issue should be monitored by the Committee going forward
2. That an update from the task & finish group including evidence from the district/borough councils and coalition of providers is circulated to the Committee