Agenda item

To follow

RESOLVED that:

1.    The report be noted;

2.    That the Service Manager – Housing Needs and Refugee Services

a.    ensures that caseworkers’ voicemail inboxes are able to receive message

b.    provides the Committee with up to date figures showing the number of children currently in nightly paid shared-facility accommodation;

c.    Updates the staff directory to ensure the switchboard has working phone numbers for caseworkers.

Lee Georgiou, Service Manager – Housing Needs and Refugee Services, introduced himself to the Committee and made the following points:

1.    The service aims to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place, in accordance with the aims of the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA). The introduction of the HRA has necessitated a culture change within the service.

2.    Demand for housing services is unprecedented. Applications requiring assessment have doubled. There are currently around 2600 households awaiting a housing plan. The administration of the assessment process is onerous.

3.    The number of households in temporary accommodation is increasing and there is insufficient social housing to meet demand, despite purchasing social housing through Lewisham Homes and the private market.

4.    Following the successful delivery of good quality temporary accommodation at PLACE Ladywell, PLACE Deptford is being created.

5.    Pressure on the service is immense.

A discussion followed in which it was noted:

1.    Housing had received funding for trailblazing work with service delivery partners, including schools. Recently, housing officers had attended Lewisham’s head teacher forum to share contact information, structure chart, and to answer any questions.

2.    Schools are often the main source of support for homeless families, and as such they need to know how to access housing help for families.

3.    Housing officers acknowledged that sometimes the language used isn’t helpful to families, for example “temporary accommodation” could mean interim, emergency, or longer term. Families need clearer information to make informed decisions.

4.    The Housing department is working hard to change the misinformation that circulates in the community. The council has a statutory duty to prevent homelessness, which kicks in at 56 days before eviction. Some residents still think they need to wait for bailiffs to arrive before the council will offer support.

5.    Members had experienced a range of difficulties when trying to contact named housing officers, including dead phone numbers, phones ringing out, mailboxes full and unable to take messages, having to ask the Operator to email caseworkers to request that they empty their voicemail. Members stressed that service users need to be able to leave voicemail.

6.    The Committee heard that caseworkers are often out visiting properties therefore service users are asked to email so officers can call back when they are in the office. The Corporate Call Centre also takes calls.

7.    The Service Manager committed to updating the staff director and reminding staff that their voicemail must be regularly cleared to enable service users to leave messages.

8.    Members asked how many children were in nightly paid accommodation currently, and what could be done to reduce the number of households with children living in accommodation with shared facilities. Figures would be analysed and supplied after the meeting.

9.    Nightly paid accommodation is the most expensive and least suitable type of accommodation for families. Every effort was being made to limit its use and to convert or make more suitable accommodation available.

10. Data on ethnicity of households in temporary accommodation, particularly those placed out of borough, and reasons for homelessness was requested.

11. Members reported that for families with small children, waiting for long periods at the Housing Options Centre can be very difficult, particularly if they do not get the information they need. Schools could be a better source of information and support if they knew who to contact, and how.

12. The triage process has been reviewed and an appointment system is in place. There had been some steps to provide the service in more child-friendly locations in the community, such as Downham Leisure Centre but issues around confidentiality and appropriateness of settings has limited the roll out.

13. The service was undergoing a culture change, moving away from ‘gate-keeping’ to building relationships and trying to intervene early.

14. The service does not recommend that families in interim accommodation move their children to a closer school. For these families, the service can exercise discretion about whether to support travel costs.

15. One of the main reasons for homelessness is leaving friends or family accommodation. In these cases, the service has mediators who can help to work through relationship issues. However, the situation often arises because children have grown up but cannot afford to rent on their own and the family home becomes overcrowded.

16. Whereas the impact of moving into temporary accommodation out of borough is massive, most people settle within 6 months and do not want to come back to the borough.

17. “intentionally homeless” is a legal definition that applies where people have done or failed to do something with the result that they become homeless, for examples not paying affordable rent and becoming evicted, or a parent entering the criminal justice system. Such households are supported in that they have 28 days to find alternative accommodation and receive help with a deposit.

18. The report would return to the next meeting with a set of draft recommendations. Members should email any suggestions to the Scrutiny Manager.

19. The Chair urged Committee Members to bear in mind the impact of homelessness on families in terms of Members' work when social housing developments are proposed in the borough.

RESOLVED that:

1.    The report be noted;

2.    That the Service Manager – Housing Needs and Refugee Services

a.    ensures that caseworkers’ voicemail inboxes are able to receive messages.

b.    provides the Committee with up to date figures showing:

                                          i.     the number of children currently in nightly paid shared-facility accommodation;

                                        ii.    Ethnic breakdown of families in TA, and by location

                                       iii.    Data on reasons for homelessness

c.    Update the staff directory to ensure the switchboard has working phone numbers for caseworkers