Issue - meetings

The Strategic Housing Manager presented a report in respect of the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant.  The report included information about additional funding that had been provided by the Government to help the Council address additional responsibilities in respect of homelessness set out in the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.  Officers were proposing that £60,000 of this funding should be allocated to recruiting two new trainees in the Private Sector Housing team.  Local organisations that delivered services tackling homelessness in the community would be provided with an opportunity to bid for funding from some of the remaining budget.

Officers confirmed that £50,000 had already been spent on temporary accommodation.  In previous years the Government had provided a Temporary Accommodation Advisory Grant for this purpose, but that funding had been combined with this grant in 2018/19.  In the long-term local authorities would be required to concentrate on preventing homelessness and it was anticipated that the need for Councils to provide temporary accommodation would decline as a consequence.

RESOLVED

1)        to NOTE that the 2018/19 grant funding implications will be included as part of the medium term financial plan report to Council in February 2018, subject to Council approval of the budget;

2)        that the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant is made available in line with the table initiatives in 3.9, and that the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 New Burdens Funding be allocated as set out in section 3.13.

3)        that delegated authority be granted to the Head of Community Services, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Strategic Housing, to use any unallocated Grant during the year or make further adjustments as necessary to ensure full utilisation of the Grants for 2018/19 in support of existing or new schemes; and

RECOMMENDED that

4)        the Homelessness and Homelessness Prevention Grant Policy as set out in Appendix 1 be approved with delegated authority granted to the Strategic Housing Manager following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Strategic Housing to award the grants.