Agenda item

The Housing Options Manager presented the report to the Committee.

The Bolsover Homeless and Rough Sleeper Strategy (the ‘Strategy’) was attached at Appendix 1 and sought to build upon a multi-agency response, seen during the COVID-19 Global Pandemic, to continue to prevent and reduce homelessness in the District.

There were 4 clear strategic priorities, broken down into individual actions, within the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy Action Plan (the ‘Plan’), which was attached at Appendix 2.  These were:

1.     Make homelessness everyone’s responsibility through a systemwide approach;

2.     Prevent and respond to homelessness through early intervention and personalised solutions;

3.     End rough sleeping and repeat homelessness; and,

4.     Develop sustainable supported and settled housing solutions.

The 5-year Strategy was developed in partnership with all Derbyshire lower-tier authorities and Derbyshire County Council.  All the local authorities had adopted the Strategy by the end of 2022.  The Strategy was formally launched in May 2023 with an event attended by over one hundred partners from across Derbyshire.

Building on achievements outlined at the Committee’s July 2024 meeting, updates from the previous 12 months included:

·       Supported housing improvement programme (SHIP);

·       Trauma Informed Derbyshire;

·       Health Needs Audit;

·       SIGNAL pilot extension;

·       SALUS project; and,

·       Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant (RSPARG) funded projects.

Details on each of the above were provided in the report.

Current funding arrangements for these services were through a joint bid with all Derbyshire local authorities.  There was still some uncertainty about how the UK Government would be funding rough sleeping from 2026 – local authorities had started a process of assessing options depending on the level of funding received.

Current / future actions included:

·       Prison release protocol, final draft presented to Derbyshire Homeless Officers Group (DHOG) in September 2025 – the protocol was a collaborative commitment to improve data sharing for individuals in custody where they were presenting with unstable housing options.  To ensure that where possible rough sleeping was rare, brief and non-recurring, and to collaborate with partners to ensure efforts to secure accommodation begin as soon as possible to prevent homelessness on release;

·       Temporary accommodation review, analysis of usage and availability across the Derbyshire region – to be completed by the Homelessness Special Projects Officer to forecast future demand and suitability of current options;

·       Continued representation at East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) meetings – to continue attendance and advocate for commitment to collaborate within the EMCCA region; and,

·       Duty to refer improvements – specific public bodies had a duty to refer to notify the council if a person was homeless, or at risk of homelessness, within 56 days.  The timeliness and quality of these referrals was very important for an effective response.

It was noted that the Council was in a stronger position on background research than other comparable local authorities, which would help future arrangements and policy making after Local Government Reorganisation had taken place.

Staff would be able to access assistance after handling emotionally demanding homelessness and rough sleeping cases.

It was noted the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) would be reviewing how funding was allocated – homelessness support currently covered numerous grants and so MHCLG intended to bring together the grants to make it easier to apply and receive available funding.

For the prison release protocol, improved data sharing would take place between prisons and local authorities to prevent homelessness.

Temporary accommodation would be reviewed across Derbyshire in anticipation of Local Government Reorganisation and what EMCCA’s role would be in future.

It was noted preventing crisis homelessness in the first place was essential as while Bed & Breakfast establishments could be the best outcome for one night, it was not a sustainable option.

A Member informed that inadequate mental health discharge was preventable through improved communication.  The Housing Options Manager stated mental health services were in a very difficult situation and patient discharge (without knowing future accommodation situations) was often the only option available.

The recommendation was amended to note the Strategy.

Moved by Councillor Rita Turner and seconded by Councillor Amanda Davis

RESOLVED that the Customer Services Scrutiny Committee note the contents of the Bolsover Homeless and Rough Sleeper Strategy and make any necessary recommendations arising from this work area.

Councillor Jeanne Raspin left the meeting at 10:56 hours.