Agenda item

This paper updates the Committee on the current homelessness situation and the winter night provision for rough sleepers and single homeless people in York. In addition, it advises on the wider homeless service and the current homelessness and rough sleeping strategy and relevant developments.

Members discussed a report on the current homelessness situation and the winter night provision for rough sleepers and single homeless people in York. 

The Committee raised concerns over the uptick in the number of rough sleepers from previous years combined with the decrease in funding offered by the central government and increase in anti-social behaviour. They also noted issues with the annual street count that is commencing following the start of the winter provision on 1 November 2022, where some rough sleepers may be in emergency accommodation, and were worried this would result in skewed figures and further loss of funding. 

Officers stated that the number of rough sleepers has increased from the previous year and as a result, the Council had attempted to place bids to increase funding from the Government, but this was unsuccessful due to changes in policies that now favour the prevention of homelessness and rough sleeping. They also explained that the Council has regular meetings and discussions with other organisations and local authorities to monitor the number of rough sleepers so are confident that the counts conducted by Homeless Link will be accurate. 

Clarification on the winter provision was sought by Members and Officers confirmed that the provision made accommodation more accessible to rough sleepers as they do not have to engage with certain Council services to be placed in the accommodation. They agreed to state that there is a winter sleeping provision in place so there may be fewer rough sleepers in their reports.

Members noted some issues with the current resettlement policy of needing to engage with Council services for a minimum of 6 months and how this may be a barrier if there is an increase in the number of rough sleepers due to cost-of-living crisis and rise in evictions. Officers commented that the time frame can be reviewed and that there are private sector team routes available to rehouse people quickly.

Members enquired about the current capacity in temporary accommodation for rough sleepers, how the Council might manage numbers once they are full prior to the winter provision and what the process moving forward will be. Officers explained that they no longer have access to the 4 additional units at the Salvation Army but that they are analysing and making use of their existing assets, such as Crombie House, to accommodate people in the short term. They stated that they want to do more sophisticated prevention work in the future to identify reasons for rough sleeping alongside expanding their housing capacity and funding. 

Questions surrounding the Council’s staff were raised, including how they are trained to support rough sleepers who may be part of the LBGTQ+ community and officers confirmed training for staff is provided and that peer support is available. Moreover, Members also noted the increase in workload for staff and asked whether there is enough staff to support this. Officers explained that the Council has employed more staff and changed how they work to improve effectiveness and efficiency but there are still issues and morale is a continuous problem.

Covid precautions and preparations were also discussed by Members to ensure the Council is equipped to support rough sleepers. Officers explained that the Council has extensive resources, such as hotels to house rough sleepers and PPE stock, that they can utilise and so can respond quickly if/when necessary.

Resolved: 

          i. That the report on the updated Resettlement Services be noted.

Reason: To keep the Committee updated on the homelessness situation and the winter night provision for rough sleepers and single homeless people in York.