The Committee received the report of Keith Burns (Service Manager – Integrated Commissioning) on the review of the Homelessness Action Plan.

Mr Burns explained that the action plan was initiated by the Health Scrutiny Sub-Committee eighteen months ago and that he had been invited to provide an update on the progress of the plan.

A Member asked for clarification on recommendation 9 (that the Housing Options Service works with organisations involved in the review and with individuals who present at Housing Options, to find out what they consider to be a safe offer of temporary accommodation and provide insight into what they value and how they would feel better supported on) which was listed as work in progress. Officers said that maintaining a stock of good quality accommodation was a challenge and service users often had differing views on what safe accommodation looked like. It was noted that accommodation would have to be reviewed on a case by case basis.

Also with regard to recommendation 9, a Member asked whether the Shuttleworth Hotel was being used as temporary accommodation by the borough because there were concerns the hostel was badly managed, in poor condition and a number of deaths had occurred on the premises. Officers directed the query to the Housing Options team. 

Members also raised concerns about Vantage House in Wimbledon, which was owned by the council, as there were reports the single mothers living there were regularly confronted by drug dealers and youths. Mr Burns said he would advise the service to follow up on this issue.

There was a discussion around what progress the service had made in finding pet friendly accommodation. Officers said they had made some progress in this area in some hostels but on the whole it was difficult to accommodate pets due to the landlord’s policies. Senior officers assured the Committee this would remain as a priority area for the service.

There was a discussion on the complexities around homelessness and hospital discharge. Officers said a pathway plan had been put in place to ensure those who were admitted to hospital had a path out. The Royal London was working in partnership with the East London Housing Partnership to ensure homeless patients were discharged to suitable accommodation. However, officers noted that it was an ongoing and complex issue.

Members said that their constituents often asked why they saw the same homeless people in the same place for long periods of time, when support and accommodation was available via the council. Officers explained that those individuals had complex needs and required a multi-agency approach. They also said that the council had limited enforcement powers and in many cases individuals were determined to stay on the street.

A Member who was present at the initial review meeting said that the intention for recommendation 5 (that the CCG explore the possibility of commission a peripatetic team consisting of a paramedic and advance care practitioner in mental health to provide a visiting service to very difficult to manage and violent patients) had been misunderstood. He explained that at the time the group advised that a mobile team was required to treat disruptive people in their hostel rather than cause disruption at GP surgeries and A&E.

Officers acknowledged that the recommendation had been partially met and this was due to funding restrictions. They said the E1 Health Contract had included a virtual ward round service in order to help mitigate the issue in response to the recommendation. It was suggested hostel residents use the PCs at Dellow House to access the virtual service. Mr Burns said he would follow up on this with the Dellow Centre.

Commissioning officers said that two senior psychologists had been hired to provide care in hostels for residents experiencing complex issues. They also said there were plans to expand the home treatment team to provide care at home.

With regard to recommendation 10 (that the council performs further research on the impact homelessness has on the health needs of women who are rough sleeping, temporary accommodation or hostels), officers said that the council’s community insight team had undertaken the research which was due to be completed at the end of 2019. Progress and findings had been regularly reported to the multi-agency partnership group who were responsible for responding to the findings.

There was a discussion on the Housing First Pilot. Officers said the Housing First Pilot aimed to provide accommodation at the point of access and then provide multi-agency support around the individual such as substance misuse support or mental health support.

Overall the Committee praised the action plan and thanked officers for their continued commitment to work on the recommendations.

It was noted that it was Keith Burn’s last committee meeting as he was leaving the council. The Chair thanked Mr Burns for his service and wished him all the best in his new role.

ACTIONS:

1. Keith Burns to follow up on ICT provision at Dellow House for the virtual ward round service.
2. For the Housing Options Service to confirm whether the Shuttleworth Hotel was still being used by the borough as a temporary accommodation offer.
3. For the Housing Options Service to address concerns about anti-social behaviour around Vantage House and provide a response to the Committee.

RESOLVED:

1. To note the Homeless Action Plan Update.