Agenda item - Homeless Cold Weather Planning

RESOLVED: that the Health & Wellbeing Board noted the report.

33.1      Officers introduced the report which detailed the provision of services to support rough sleepers from November 2018 to March 2019. They stated that Brighton & Hove had the 2^nd highest number of rough sleepers in the country as of November 2017.

33.2      Councillor Moonan welcomed the report and stated that the City was in a much better position to provide support through the coming winter with 62 extra beds in addition to those provided under the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP). The winter provision was part of an overall package of support available in the city and encouraged Board Members to share the infographic included as an appendix to ensure that services that come into contact with rough sleepers were aware of and able to sign post to support.

33.3      The Director of Public Health stated that rough sleepers were a key group to engage with and that the expanded winter provision provided an ideal opportunity for this engagement. It also presented an opportunity for more integrated working bringing different services together at the night shelter or HUB and provide positive outcomes for a group who were generally accessing services in an unplanned way.

33.4      In response to Councillor Page, Officers confirmed that the night shelter open from November 2018 until 20 March 2019. The night shelter would focus on those who have potentially been sleeping rough for a long time and were difficult to engage with. The HUB was to focus on people who were either new to the streets or new to the city. These individuals were likely to have a lower level of need and may be easier to place into accommodation, but some people may remain in the HUB longer if their needs were more complex. The HUB also had an important role in reconnecting people with places where they had a local connection.

33.5      Councillor Page sought assurances that any process of reconnection would be safe and that it would not just be a case of buying someone a bus ticket.

33.6      Officers responded that the reconnection service reached out to support services in the destination to arrange support and accommodation before an individual left the city.

33.7      The Chair stated that reconnection was also for local residents who were newly homeless to reconnect them with friends and family in the city.

33.8      Graham Bartlett stated that safe recruitment was a priority for the Safe Guarding Adults Board and he assumed that this would be considered for any Council commissioned service in which staff would be working with vulnerable people. He asked what provision there was to help the community and voluntary sector to recruit safely.

33.9      Officers stated that there was a charity link worker who was in place to provide support but he was only able to engage with organisation who were willing to engage with him. He ran various training events for the community and voluntary sector but there were organisations who had chosen not to engage with the Council.

33.10   Graham Bartlett emphasised the importance of involving all providers in the city. The Chair asked that through Graham Bartlett and Councillor Moonan that this issue be taken up by the Safeguarding Adults Board.

33.11   David Liley stated that he had attended a Sustainability and Transformation Partnership wide workshop on winter planning and he had taken the information in the report and had been able to give assurances that Brighton & Hove had developed a robust plan for providing services in the coming winter.

33.12   Councillor Mears asked that officers circulate the equalities impact assessment which was mentioned in the report to Members. She also asked officers to clarify how the local connection was impacted by the enhanced local connection time adopted in the housing allocation policy.

33.13   The Chair stated that she agreed that the wording was confusing as the same term was being defined differently when used for housing allocations or housing options and asked that officers provide a written response to be inserted into the minutes:

Housing Allocations Policy:

Live in the Brighton & Hove area and have lived in the area continuously for the five years immediately proceeding the date they make their application for Housing and continue to reside in the Brighton & Hove area unless any of the following circumstances apply:

(i)    They are homeless and the council has accepted a full duty to them under the Housing Act 1996 S193 (2) that has not yet ceased

(ii)   The Housing Department has accepted a nomination for the applicant from the council’s Children’s Services or Adult Social Care Department or other approved partner support agency in line with inter-agency agreements to the council’s interest queue who has been placed outside of Brighton & Hove under a statutory duty and need to return to the city.

(iii) They are serving in the regular forces.

(iv) They have service in the regular forces when the application is made within 5 years of discharge.

(v)   They are serving or have served in the reserve forces and are suffering from a serious injury, illness or disability, which is attributable (wholly or partly) to that service.

(vi) They have recently ceased or will cease, to be entitled to reside in accommodation provided by the Ministry of Defence following the death of their spouse or civil partner where their spouse or civil partner has served in the regular forces.

(vii)        The council has agreed to rehome them under a reciprocal agreement with their current landlord or local authority  where their current landlord or local authority has agreed that, if Brighton & Hove houses them, they will house an applicant nominated by Brighton & Hove City Council.

(viii)       The council has accepted an application for an existing secure or assured tenant seeking to transfer under the right to move scheme.

(ix) Rehousing / relocation into Brighton & Hove is accepted by the council as being essential in the furtherance of the national Witness Protection Scheme.

Statutory ‘Local connection’ under part (vii) of the Housing Act 1996

defines that an applicant has a local connection with a district, because:

(i)            he or she is, or was in the past, normally resident there, and that residence was of his or her own choice; or

(ii)          he or she is employed there (i.e. the applicant actually works there; it would not be sufficient that his or her employer’s head office was located there); or

(iii)         of family associations there; or

(iv)         of any special circumstances (e.g. the need to be near special medical or support services which are available only in that particular district).

Local Connection - Rough Sleeping:

LC Criteria

To be deemed as having a ‘Local Connection’, a person must fulfil one or more of the following:

Person must:

1.    Have lived in Brighton and Hove for at least 6 out of the last 12 months.

Sleeping rough here will not count – they must have had a tenancy.

2.    Have lived in Brighton and Hove for at least 3 out of the last 5 years.         

Again, sleeping rough will not count and they must have had a tenancy.

3.    Have close family who are living here and who have lived here for at least the past 5 years. Close family means:

(i)            mother or father

(ii)          brother, sister, son or daughter all of which must be over 18 years of age

(iii)         carer over 18 years of age

Please note: ‘close family’ means just that. If there is no actual ‘relationship’ with the family member already living here, the person applying would not be considered to have a Local Connection under this part.

4.    Have permanent full-time employment in the city – please note Big Issue vending does not meet this criterion.

5.    Other special reason, such as growing up and attending school in the area or fleeing domestic violence in an area.

33.14   RESOLVED: that the Health & Wellbeing Board noted the report.