Agenda item

Ramesh Logewaren, Head of Housing Needs, introduced the report which summarised the key themes of Islington Council’s emerging Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy.

The following main points were noted in the discussion:

·         Local authorities were required to adopt a homelessness and rough sleeping strategy under the Homelessness Act 2002. 

·         The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government had set a national objective of halving rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminating rough sleeping by 2027.

·         Homelessness was not an issue which could be solved by local authorities in isolation. It would be necessary for the council to work with its partners to prevent and relieve homelessness effectively.

·         The strategy was due to be published in Spring 2019. It was commented that an update on the implementation of the strategy could be provided to the Health and Wellbeing Board at a later date if required. 

·         The Board commented that the strategy should clearly link to the Mayor of London’s Homelessness Strategy and make reference to local mental health services. 

·         The proposed strategy included an objective to ‘improve our understanding of the connection between homelessness and health and wellbeing’. It was suggested that this could be revised to better articulate how services should be shaped around the needs of homeless people to improve their health and wellbeing. It was important not only to understand the connection between homelessness and health, but to act on it.

·         It was commented that homelessness was a London-wide issue and many service providers worked across London. The strategy should reflect this; clearly setting out what work was being carried out at borough level, cross-borough level, London-wide, and nationally.

·         It was noted that the council had received a small amount of funding from the government to support rough sleepers. Some of this funding was to be spent on mental health services.

·         The Board commented on the importance of communicating the strategy. It was important for all relevant staff across the public and voluntary sectors to be aware of how to support homeless people and rough sleepers.

·         A member of the Board commented on the importance of advice services being accessible to all. It was noted that some BME communities, and particularly those whose first language was not English, may be further delayed in accessing such services.

·         It was reported that local hospitals were reviewing their pathways for homeless patients and it was suggested that NHS services would be keen to engage with the strategy.

·         It was suggested that the strategy should draw on best practice from other boroughs, particularly on issues related to engaging with voluntary sector partners.

·         The Board noted the appended action plan. It was commented that this should be updated to reference that the ‘Housing First’ scheme was being mainstreamed and that the council was developing at least 550 genuinely affordable new homes by 2022.

·         The Board expressed some caution over the proposal to reallocate general needs properties as temporary accommodation, commenting that a loss of general needs housing could contribute to the borough’s housing crisis.

·         The Board supported taking strong enforcement action against rogue landlords in the private rented sector.

·         A member noted that work to reduce rough sleeping under the Stroud Green Road Bridge had been successful and asked if any lessons from that experience would be incorporated into the strategy. In response, it was commented that services had developed a greater understanding of the needs of rough sleepers, their vulnerabilities, and links between rough sleeping and the local drugs market. These matters would be addressed in the strategy.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy be noted.