Agenda item

The Panel will receive a presentation from Russell Wallace, Housing Options Manager, regarding Homelessness Prevention.

The Panel received a presentation from Mr R Wallace, Housing Options Manager regarding the District Council’s Homelessness Prevention Service. The service became fully operational in 2006 and formed an integral part of Housing Options within the Housing Directorate. The service receives funding from both the Government and the District Council’s General Fun.

The Homelessness Prevention Service:

• Reduced demand on costly temporary accommodation
• Reduced unnecessary homeless applications
• Provided effective Housing Options for households with housing difficulties

The “Relate” Family Mediation Service:

• Committed to reducing homeless acceptances on parental exclusions
• The service had an 80% success rate on referral cases

The Epping Forest Housing Aid Scheme set up in 1995 gave:

• Good partnership working between Housing Options and Private Sector Housing
• Provided a Bond to assist referred clients to identify accommodation across the District
• Currently 84 guarantees in place
• In the past year, the scheme assisted 61 adults and 40 dependents to access the scheme.

The Epping Forest District Sanctuary Scheme assisted high risk cases of Domestic Violence or HATE crime. The Sanctuary provided:

• Successful partnership working
• Safer Communities
• Tenure neutral
• Housing repairs
• Liaison with Essex Police and Fire and Rescue
• Reduced cost of temporary accommodation
• The scheme had seen a drop in reported domestic violence incidents
• All cases were risk assessed

Single Accommodation for Epping Forest (SAFE) Project:

• Effective tool in preventing homelessness for young single people
• Provided 39 bed places across the district
• Accommodation with Housing Management support

Mortgage Rescue Scheme

• Became operational from January 2009

Success had been achieved through:

• Good partnership working
• Citizens Advice Bureau
• Moat Housing
• Negative equity 20% and property price cap £200,000
• 6 completions so far

The Rental Loan Scheme

• Set up with good performance grant of £10,000 from CLG in 2008/09
• Scheme received additional £20,000 in 2005 from the Cabinet
• Granted interest free loan up to £1,000 to be re-paid over 24 month period
• Had assisted 65 households since 2008

Homeless Prevention Fund

• Grant of £47,500 from CLG in June 2009
• Assisted households sustaining existing accommodation
• Interest free loan up to maximum of £5,000 re-paid over maximum 5 year period
• Accepted 11 households

Conclusions

• Reduction in homeless acceptances from 2007 for period 2005/06 to 48 for period 2009/10
• For period 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2010 prevented homelessness on2,563 cases

With the conclusion of the presentation, Mr R Wallace answered questions from the members present.

• Did the District Council house victims of domestic violence outside the District?

Although the District Council housed victims of domestic violence outside the district, they were guided by the clients involved. It was confirmed that there was secure accommodation in the Ongar area now available.

• What other funding streams were available?

There was a Homelessness Prevention Fund supported by the District Council, along with Supporting People funding. However the Government funding for the staffing  was expected to end in March 2011. A report would be submitted to the Cabinet in October 2010 with the funding options.

• Had there been an increase in Call-Outs

There had been a significant increase in call-outs recently. 80% of incidents known, occurred in the Loughton and Chigwell areas.

The Chairman thanked Mr R Wallace for his presentation.

RESOLVED:

That the Presentation on The Role of the Homelessness Prevention Service be noted.