Agenda item

Report from the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Note the increase in homelessness and growing demand for temporary accommodation and the work being undertaken by the Council to respond to this demand.

2.    Approve the adoption of the new Temporary Accommodation Placement Policy (Appendix 1).

3.    Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health for a 3-year period in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, to make operational amendments to the Policy when the need is identified.

4.    Note officers’ intention to continue to pursue opportunities for a 3-year period to increase the portfolio of Council-owned temporary accommodation to meet service demands, subject to available budget and in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing.

Consideration was given to the report which sought approval of a new Temporary Accommodation Placement Policy as attached at Appendix 1. The report set out the objectives and principles that were reflected in the Policy and explained how the Council intended to meet its statutory obligations under the Housing Act 1996 and The Homeless (Suitability of Accommodation) Order 2012, in line with the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities and the objectives and principles of Rotherham’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy.

The report also provided Cabinet with an update on the growing demand for temporary accommodation and the work being undertaken by the Council to improve outcomes for residents and reduce the impact on the Council’s financial position. The report requested a specific, time-limited delegation to expand the Council’s temporary accommodation portfolio to meet demands.

National rates of homelessness and use of temporary accommodation were

currently the highest on record. According to national housing charity Shelter,

112,660 households were homeless and living in temporary accommodation

at the end of 2023, a record high figure and up 12% in a year. In the same

year, 317,430 households were accepted as either homeless or at imminent

risk of it by their local authority, the highest number since records began, and

up 9% on the previous year.

Rotherham Council had experienced significant increases in demand for homelessness services over the last few years. In the financial year 2022/23, 1,409 homelessness applications were received. During the same period, there were 771 placements into hotel/bed and breakfast temporary accommodation. In 2023/24 the number of homelessness applications increased by 7.9% to 1,521, while the number of placements increased by 29% to 995. The placement of families with children also increased in 2023/24: 258 families with children were placed in hotel/bed and breakfast accommodation, a 14.2% increase from 2022/23. It was noted that some households could have been placed more than once.

The Leader noted the scale of homelessness and how it was often perceived incorrectly.

The report was considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management

Board (OSMB), who advised that the recommendations be supported.

Resolved:

That Cabinet:

1.    Note the increase in homelessness and growing demand for temporary accommodation and the work being undertaken by the Council to respond to this demand.

2.    Approve the adoption of the new Temporary Accommodation Placement Policy (Appendix 1).

3. Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health for a 3-year period in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, to make operational amendments to the Policy when the need is identified.
   
   
4. Note officers’ intention to continue to pursue opportunities for a 3-year period to increase the portfolio of Council-owned temporary accommodation to meet service demands, subject to available budget and in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing.