Agenda item

The Director of Housing submits a report which provides a six-monthly update to Overview Select Committee Members on progress of implementing Leicester’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2018-2023 at the request of the Chair of the Housing Scrutiny Commission.

The Director of Housing submitted a report which provided a six-monthly update to the Committee on the progress of implementing Leicester’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2018-2023 at the request of the Chair of the Housing Scrutiny Commission, and a minute extract from the Housing Scrutiny Commission meeting on 4^th October 2021 was attached at Appendix A to the report.

Councillor Cutkelvin, Assistant City Mayor for Education and Housing, introduced the report. She said that it was an important reminder that rough sleeping was the tip of the iceberg when talking about homelessness. The report demonstrated how much homelessness prevention work was vital in the city, and talked to strategic aims around increasing the levels of council homes in the city through building and acquisitions. It also talked to strategic aims around good tenancy sustainment services and good partnership working, with the NHS, Police, VCS, and business.

The Assistant City Mayor stated she had inherited strong partnership working in the homelessness sector, which continued to be recognised on a national level. The challenges faced over the past couple of years namely because of the pandemic had really put pressure on the service, and had had to re-design the service delivery through the loss of dormitories, the loss of day centres, the ‘Everybody In’ scheme which was continued in the city longer than other authorities in recognition of Leicester’s continued lock-downs, the emergence of sofa-surfers who had been managing their homelessness through friends and family which was something that they could no longer rely on given the spread of the virus.

The Assistant City Mayor was immensely impressed with officer and partners who had risen to the challenge and levels of resilience they had shown. Pressures continued to build, but it was a good time to bring the Strategy to the Committee in recognition of the good work and resilience shown.

Councillor Westley, Chair of the Housing Scrutiny Commission, was pleased to have referred the report to the Committee, as it was important to recognise success in dealing with cases of homelessness and rough sleeping, and it was clear that staff had done an excellent job under challenging circumstances. He congratulated the Assistant City Mayor for Education and Housing, the Director of Housing, and all staff involved in achieving very good progress over the past six months.

He added it was important for all Chairs of all Commissions to examine the report given that it had been a while since a report on homelessness and rough sleeping had been brought to the Committee, and the implications it had across various service and departments across the authority, and it was known that tackling the route cause of homelessness could only be done in conjunction with all service areas and partners.

The Chair of Housing Scrutiny Commission said Leicester should be really proud of how the authority had managed the important issue of homelessness, which had cross-departmental implications, such as health.

The Chair commented on the report as it highlighted an issue, namely, if problems of begging were tackled in the in the city centre, the problem was pushed out to the outer areas, and the question was how it would be dealt with in other areas. It was pointed out that not all beggars were homeless.

The Assistant City Mayor noted that it had pointed out correctly that there were hotspots in the city of aggressive begging, and that the good work undertaken in the city centre by the Street Lifestyle Operational Group (SLOG) had been taken to other areas in the city to tackle similar issues.

Caroline Carpendale, Head of Service Housing, reassured Members that officers were aware of and work being done to tackle an encampment on Great Central Way. She added as part of the Strategy Outreach teams had been extended, and were working during the day and evening to visit hotspots. It was noted the StreetLink site was very well used in Leicester and responded to all public alerts of rough sleeping and street drinking, to initially support individuals, including accommodation, then moving to deal with difficult situations, and there was the enforcement arm when required.

The Committee noted progress updates on the Strategy would be taken to the Housing Scrutiny Commission twice yearly. The authority had a duty to produce the Strategy. There would be a new Strategy in 2023, and would look at further improvements to prevent homelessness which was the key objective.

John Leach, Director of Neighbourhood and Environmental Services, informed the Committee the street lifestyle work was a multi-agency approach which had been running since 2017, initiated by the City Mayor and former Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). That work had been instrumental in supporting a bid made to MLCHG, now the Department for Levelling Up, and had successfully secured funding of £2.6million to be spent over three years to help people facing multiple disadvantage. Work had now moved to other areas, including Narborough Road, and the City Mayor had supported an extension of multi-agency approach by investing in an enforcement team that had been active in places like Great Central Way. The LGA had recognised the model as good practice in reaching people in difficult circumstances.

The Chair said the authority had gone a long way in responding to homelessness, and that praise needed to be passed on to the Housing Department and everyone involved in taking the Strategy forward.

The Chair added it would be interesting for the Neighbourhood Scrutiny Commission to look at this report.

AGREED:

1.    That the Overview Select Committee note the report.

2.    The report be taken to the Neighbourhood Scrutiny Commission as an item of interest.