Action Plan: Action 1 aims and objectives
Identify the causes of homelessness, facilitating early interventions to ensure pathways to housing to reduce rough sleeping
Aim 1
Improve partnership working between Districts across the County to ensure quality housing advice services are provided to clients
Objectives:
- Work in partnership across the public and third sector to ensure access to services and support, if housing issues are identified, is clear and used effectively.
- Ensure advice and information is available early and ahead of statutory duties to focus ‘upstream’ to prevent homelessness.
Actions:
- Evaluate and review the Duty to Refer protocol across the County.
- Provide training for partners and service providers to create wider knowledge within teams of housing issues and challenges.
- Provide a space and promote co-location for staff from partner agencies to work in the Housing Team office.
Owners:
- Countywide Steering Group
- Housing Options Team Leader
- Head of Housing
Success measure or outcome:
- Improvement in housing knowledge and advice across agencies that leads to more holistic and planned responses to housing clients requiring support and leads to less crisis interventions that could lead to rough sleeping.
Implementation timescale:
- Year 2
Aim 2
Achieving transition to a Housing led rapid rehousing service, supporting the Countywide Homelessness Strategy
Objectives:
- Establish clearer countywide governance, in relation to the prevention of and effective response to ‘multiple exclusion’ homelessness.
- Terms of reference will be clear on accountability and responsibility and other partnership groups will hold them accountable.
- Services for Cherwell clients are delivered via the Alliance in proportion to the needs and contributions into the Service. Including Off Street Accommodation.
- Proactively engage with the monitoring and joint commissioning of services to meet the needs of Cherwell.
Actions:
- Fully engage with partnerships to deliver and monitor Alliance Service.
- Support and lead where relevant on the delivery of the Countywide Homelessness Strategy.
- Provide support for the monitoring of services, and ensure this reflects the funding commitment from Cherwell, ensure grant funding is spent in-line with criteria.
- Work with partners within the Homeless Alliance to ensure Off Street Accommodation in Cherwell is delivered in-line with grant funding.
- Understand local needs and resources to inform commissioning and delivery of services.
Owners:
- Head of Housing
- Housing Options Team Leader
- Single Homeless Co-ordinator
Success measure or outcome:
-
Services are being delivered consistently across the county and meeting the needs of clients.
-
More Cherwell clients are able to access pathways out for homelessness and rough sleeping, reducing its prevalence.
Implementation timescale:
- Year 2 to 3
Aim 3
Improve early intervention to prevent evictions from Supported Accommodation, Social and Private Sector Housing
Objectives:
- Engage with landlords to establish pre-eviction protocols and provide support to tenants to prevent eviction.
- Prevent eviction to the streets for complex clients who must leave supported accommodation due to their actions or risks.
- Expand and improve existing partnerships to address issues that directly or indirectly affect homelessness and could improve prevention
Actions:
- Promote Pre-eviction Protocols, support, and advice for landlords to ensure that tenants have good practical information on rights and responsibilities.
- Ensure that tenancy support services are focused on helping clients remain in accommodation and prevent eviction.
- Consider how emergency provision could be put in place for those needing to exit supported accommodation at short notice, providing off street accommodation pending further assessment.
- Investigate ways a countywide service could operate to work more closely with the private sector, pooling resources and establishing a consistent offer.
- Work with the Economic Development Team to improve and advice and information regarding housing and homelessness at employment fairs and other events.
- Strengthen links between the existing partnership of the money advice service provided by the Citizens Advice Bureau with the Housing Options Team to target those threatened with homelessness.
Owners:
- Head of Housing
- Tenancy Relations Officer
- Housing Management Team Leader
- Housing Options Team Leader
Success measure or outcome:
- Registered Providers and Private Landlords contact ahead of taking action to evict tenants, reducing homelessness presentations through notices served.
- Wider partnerships are being used to increase prevention opportunities and goals.
Implementation timescale:
- Year 2