Agenda item

N Beresford presented the Homelessness Strategy and asked Committee for questions.

Cllr Durrant queried if there is a hotel in Dacorum that is being used for asylum seekers.  N Beresford advised that is correct, we have been working with the Home Office to ensure that they are effectively managed and there have been no issues reported.  The Home Office are paying.

Cllr England wanted to say congratulations on running an excellent service and mentioned the two grant funding amounts of £7.5K which we have received and whether the actual amount of £49k that has been spent will be reimbursed.  N Beresford confirmed that it wouldn’t automatically be reimbursed.  The first £7.5k funding was for the rough sleeper snapshot and street outreach workers, which reduced the number from 23 to below 10 and was based on six rough sleepers at that time.  Then there was a further ability to claim additional funds and we have claimed the maximum funds available.  The Council has had additional funding for its Covid response, but this will offset against the overall bottom line and pressures on overall budgets. Additionally funding has been allocated to County (26million) and we can attempt to claim costs from Herts County Council, we have had a successful claim for DENS for £40k due to their additional support provided to us during this time.

Cllr England said about the domestic abuse figures are up due to Covid.  N Beresford said yes, the figures provided on Friday show a significant increase and they are reflective of what we are seeing in the service, not only in Dacorum but other parts of the County.

Cllr England mentioned that on page 145 the table refers to 1,568 cases and two thirds of these have been closed but give no reason, he suggested that the data could be changed to successful outcomes, inconclusive outcomes and not successful outcomes.  N Beresford agreed that the data can raise more questions, but that it’s H-CLIC government data that is a proforma put directly into our system so we do not have the ability to change it, it has been an issue for some time, some districts are manually counting, we are having a systems update in October and it is hoped that will enable us to manipulate the drop downs to provide more accurate data reporting.

Cllr Bassadone said she was very sad to hear that we were using bed and breakfast and asked how many non-DBC people do we have staying in accommodation plus how much is the additional cost to DBC.  N Beresford confirmed it was disappointing but we have to be aware of the wider picture, we are very lucky, our colleagues in Stevenage have 100 in bed and breakfast, Watford and Broxbourne are very similar.  Whilst we do have some in bed and breakfast we are in a much more favourable position, with 5 households in bed and breakfast currently (no families or young children).  All our clients in temporary accommodation are all known to us and have been in the Borough for some time, we have 2 clients who have no recourse to public funds and this has cost us approximately £9k, which we are working to reclaim from Herts County Council.

Cllr Bassadone asked if some of the costs will fall on residents who are tax-payers.  N Beresford said it would as not all costs will be fully met and it will have an impact on the budget.  Cllr Bassadone added that Natasha and her team do a fantastic job and thanked them for everything they do.

Cllr Mahmood said that this was a very good policy which included good outcomes and thanked Natasha.  Cllr Mahmood asked if sheltered housing could be adapted for the homeless.  N Beresford replied that as part of the Service Plan the Team Leader from Supported Housing has undertaken a review and looked at the schemes and a number of properties across the borough have been decommissioned and vice versa.  There is a commitment from Team Leaders to look at ways to review what we offer ensuring that sites that are fit for purpose.  N Beresford also advised that sheltered is being used for emergency accommodation in the current pandemic.

Cllr Johnson welcomed the five commitments and asked queried the high proportion of vulnerability does not translate into assistance.  N Beresford advised that as part of the recovery she was one of the Leads on the Accommodation and Recovery Cell which is reviewing all the date of complex needs, which shows there may be a need for additional support.  The funding received to establish the Housing First project for rough sleepers undertook a count two weeks ago and identified no rough sleepers.  The service was successful for a further tranche of Rough Sleeper Initiative funding and were awarded a further £115k, which will be used to recruit a drug and alcohol worker and further extension to the Housing First scheme.

Cllr England queried why the Homelessness Forum was no longer being chaired by DENS, it was now Hightown, but he felt that DENS was more appropriate.  N Beresford clarified that the Chair was Wendy Lewington of DENS and it was time for re-election and the Head of Housing at Hightown was elected as Chair supported by Wendy as Vice Chair, plus Wendy Chairs the sub group on mental health/drugs & alcohol, which is where Wendy has explicit knowledge, this change has been very constructive and has forged stronger working relationships between two organisations.

Cllr Griffiths supported the actions the Council has taken and was very happy with the report.

The Chairman thanked the team for their work.