WIXLIB

3WE HAVE INCREASED THE PREVENTION OF HOMELESSNESS CAUSED BYDOMESTIC ABUSEu CBC, in partnership with Braintree,Tendring and Maldon Councils,successfully secured 263,453 fora 15-month project to providespecialist services at the refuge and inthe community for Gypsy and RomaTravellers and hard to reach victimsand their families. The project wasdelivered by Colchester and TendringWomen’s Refuge. The service startedin May 2017.u From May 2017 to the end of March2018, 181 Colchester households whowere experiencing domestic abusewere referred to the project. Of these,169 were from hard to reach groupsand 12 from the Gypsy and RomaTraveller Community. A total of 24% ofall the referrals were accommodatedin the Refuge and 76% were offeredsupport in the community.An additional 14,573 of funding wassecured from the Ministry of HousingCommunities and Local Government(MHCLG) to continue the project.u In 2018/2019 CBC led on a successfulbid and secured 398,643 of fundingto provide services to women andtheir families fleeing domestic abusein Colchester, Tendring, Braintreeand Maldon. The bid was made inpartnership with Colchester andTendring Women’s Refuge (now calledNext Chapter).u The funding is being used for servicesincluding; increasing the numberof available spaces at the refugeand provide accommodation forwomen and their children seekingto live independently after sufferingdomestic abuse and provide supportand accommodation to women withcomplex needs including substancemisuse arising from the abuse theyhave experienced.4WE HAVE PROVIDED ADVICE AND SUPPORT TO TENANTS ANDRESIDENTS POTENTIALLY AFFECTED BY THE WELFARE REFORMS.u The CBC Customer Support Team continues to engage withcustomers affected by welfare reforms to minimize the effect ofthe reforms, reduce reliance on discretionary funds and preventhomelessness.u Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) were used to supportresidents affected by Welfare Reforms and to remove the risk ofhomelessness. The DHP fund of 444,224 (including 50,000 fromCBC) was fully spent in 2018/19.u A total of 71,003.32 was spent to support residents affectedby the Benefit Cap. A further 88,219.72 was spent to supportresidents affected by the removal of the Spare Room Subsidy.u Exceptional Hardship Payments were utilised to supportcustomers in managing their Council Tax accounts – a total of 15,688 was spent to alleviate this financial pressure.What we have achieved7

5WE HAVE PROVIDED ADVICE AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHANGESTO THE COUNCIL’S HOMELESSNESS SERVICE BROUGHT ABOUT BY THEINTRODUCTION OF THE HOMELESSNESS REDUCTION ACT (HRA) AND THENEW HOMELESSNESS CODE OF GUIDANCE.u CBH held a successfulStakeholder event in February2018 to introduce partners tothe changes being made to theservice with the implementationof the HRA.u Training on the HRA wasalso carried out for partnerorganisations by CBH Officers.Upskilling of Housing SolutionsOfficers took place to meet thenew requirements and additionalofficers were recruited to carryout the initial assessmentprocess. Systems and processeshave been reviewed to assistcustomers to self-serve.u CBH Housing Solutions teamimplemented the HomelessnessReduction Act followingsignificant preparation asdetailed above. A significantchange implemented in2018/2019 was the provision ofan Enhanced Housing Optionswebsite to provide advice andguidance to those who may behomeless or threatened withhomelessness and to makeappointments online to see anadvisor.u During the first year; 1344households approached CBHas homeless or threatened withhomelessness and 744 PersonalHousing Plans were completed.115 households were acceptedas homeless and in priority need,with the Council accepting aduty to provide permanentaccommodation. This is a 37.5%reduction from 2017/2018.u Action was taken to prevent andrelieve homelessness for another276 households.6WE REVIEWED THE ALLOCATIONS POLICYTO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THEHOMELESSNESS REDUCTION ACT TOENSURE THAT IT IS SUFFICIENTLY GEAREDTOWARDS PREVENTING HOMELESSNESS.u The Allocations Policy was reviewed in2017-18 to meet the requirements of theHomelessness Reduction Act to reflectthe new prevention and relief dutiesplaced on local authorities under the newHomelessness prevention Act. The Policywas adopted in February 2018.What we have achieved8

Rough sleepinge have made significant progress to reduce the number of rough sleepers inColchester by Identifying the support needs of different types of rough sleepersincluding entrenched rough sleepers, young people that are ‘new’ to the streetsand people suffering from mental health to help engage with different groups.Wu In December 2016 CBC and TendringDistrict Council successfully securedthe then Department of Communitiesand Local Government (DCLG)funding of 239,000 for 2 years toprovide a co-ordinated responseto rough sleeping across both localauthority areas to support andprevent homelessness for this group.Two Early Response Rough Sleeperco-ordinators (one for Colchester andone for Tendring) were in post byNovember 2017. The Early ResponseRough Sleeper Co-ordinator forColchester works within the CBHHousing Solutions Team.u The role of the Rough SleeperCo-ordinator was initially to workwith local organisations who havethe skills and expertise in this field,to develop a more targeted andassertive approach to rough sleepingin Colchester and to support and helpsecure accommodation for peopleliving on the street.What we have achievedThe outcomes from the project fallinto 3 main categories: Culture change and good practice Better joined up working Getting rough sleepers intoaccommodationThe initial funding for the RoughSleeper Co-ordinator will come to anend in October but due to the successof the project the post will continueto be funded as part of the Ministryof Housing Communities and LocalGovernment (MHCLG) Rough SleeperInitiative funding for 2019-20 (seebelow).In Colchester from November 2017to the end of July 2018, 20 roughsleepers or those at risk of roughsleeping were housed or supportedto remain in their homes.9

We have established a multi-agency group of support servicesfor single homeless and rough sleepers.u Colchester’s Homeless Service UserPanel (CHASUP) was reviewed by theRough Sleeper Coordinator and isnow known as Colchester HomelessAction Panel (CHAP). A matrixhas been developed to provide anaccommodation and support pathway.CHAP is currently working with 18clients to provide support and assistthem into accommodation.u A Community of Practice has beenset up in partnership with HomelessLink (a national good practice andinnovation organisation). A forum isheld quarterly to look at innovationand ideas and provide training forall services in Colchester to helpaddress single homelessness andrough sleeping. The Forums are wellattended.We have extended the opening times of agencies to reduce theamount of time that rough sleepers spend on the street.u Daytime activities at ColchesterEmergency Night Shelter (CENS)remain well attended by residentsand ex residents. This has createda mentoring and peer supportenvironment which allows residentsto see that positive outcomes can bemade if engagement is continued.Emergency bed spaces at CENSincreased during the cold periodin 2018- and 24-hour opening wasintroduced during extreme badweather.Additional funding for Rough SleepersIn May 2018 the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government(MHCLG) identified Colchester as an area eligible to bid for additionalfunding during 2018/19 to further reduce rough sleeping. CBC inconjunction with CBH, were successful in securing 192,683 of funding.4 key interventions were identified for the funding: To provide an assertive street outreach service, especially out of hoursprovision and helping those rough sleepers who have no local connectionto Colchester return to the area where they do have a local connection. To provide an opportunity to pilot a ‘Housing First’ approach for 6months with a Registered Provider that provides supported housing(The concept of Housing First is to provide a stable home and intensivepersonalised support and case management to homeless people withmultiple and complex needs). To increase bed spaces and support staff capacity at Colchester NightShelter, specifically, for Colchester people at risk of rough sleeping. To provide continuous Severe Weather Emergency Provision (SWEP) fromthe end of October - mid March, with specialist support staff to preventpeople moving back to the street once the provision ends.What we have achieved10

Outcomes fromDecember 2018 to the end of April 2019:u 25 rough sleepers have beensupported into emergencyaccommodationu 7 rough sleepers have beensupported into temporaryaccommodationu 7 rough sleepers have beensupported into long termaccommodationu 10 rough sleepers have beenreconnected back to the areafrom which they cameu 4 people at risk of roughsleeping were supported intoaccommodation and preventedfrom living on the streetu The Housing First scheme hasbeen successful in supporting2 people to move on into morepermanent accommodation.u 21 rough sleepers have beenreferred and accepted intoColchester Emergency NightShelter.Colchester Borough Council were also invited to bid for further funding to continue theinterventions for 2019-20. Further funding of 204,753 has been awarded. In total 517,123.50 of funding has been secured from the three government funding streams toprevent, reduce and support rough sleepers in Colchester.Colchester’s Homelessness Prevention CharterIn March 2019 Colchester Borough Council and Colchester Borough Homes set up theHomelessness Prevention Charter.Under Colchester’s Homelessness Strategy, the council is committed to tacklinghomelessness in the borough by working closely with partner organisations and focusing onearly interventions that prevent people losing their homes.The Homelessness Prevention Charter encourages residents and businesses to help playtheir part in supporting this ambition by signing up to the Charter and making a pledge.Examples of the pledges that can be made include: donating to a local homelessness charity or project volunteering for a local homelessness organisation having a Homeless Support Champion in the workplace to help inform colleagues abouthomelessness and alternative ways of supporting the homeless raising money for a local organisation to help people that are at risk or are experiencinghomelessness companies offering a person who is or has been homeless training or work experienceAlternatively, residents and businesses will be able to develop their own pledge.What we have achieved11

The Strategic ContextTo put the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy intoperspective, this section focuses on the legal, national and localcontext.The legal frameworkThe Housing Act 1996Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 continuesto be the overarching piece of legislationthat relates to homelessness and informsthe way in which local authorities respondto homelessness.The Act has since been amended by theHomelessness Act 2002 and the LocalismAct 2011. These subsequent pieces oflegislation have placed a requirementon Local Authorities to adopt a strategicapproach to managing and preventinghomelessness.The Localism Act 2011Section 153 of the Localism Act 2011prescribes the relationship betweenschemes and strategies that localauthorities must have regard to indeveloping or modifying their localpreventing homelessness strategies:‘In formulating or modifying ahomelessness strategy, a local housingauthority in England shall have regard to —(a)its current allocation scheme undersection 166A of the Housing Act 1996,(b)its current tenancy strategy undersection 150 of the Localism Act 2011’The Strategic ContextThe Care Act 2014The Act came into effect on 1st April 2015and represents the most significant reformof care and support in more than 60 years.The main purpose of the Act is to put peopleand their carers in control of their care andsupport.The Act combines various existing piecesof legislation which were previously usedto shape how social care was arranged inBritain.Key areas of change from April 2015included:u general responsibilities on local authoritiesincluding promoting people’s wellbeing,focusing on prevention and providinginformation and adviceu the introduction of new national eligibilitycriteriau new rights to support for carers on anequivalent basis to the people they careu for a legal right to a personal budget anddirect paymentu the extension of local authority adult socialcare responsibility to include prisonsu new responsibilities around transition,provider failure, supporting people whomove between local authority areas andsafeguarding.12

The Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016The Welfare Reform and Work Act tookforward the government commitment tointroduce a duty to report to Parliamenton progress made towards achievingfull employment and the target of threemillion apprenticeships in England. Inaddition, the Act ensured reports on theeffect of support for troubled families andprovision for social mobility, the benefitcap, social security and tax credits, loansfor mortgage interest, and social housingrents.The key changes in the WelfareReform and Work Act which impact onhomelessness are:u Welfare benefits changes; loweringof the Benefit cap, freeze on certainsocial security benefits, freeze on taxcredits, changes to the child element ofuniversal credit, Universal credit: workrelated requirements.u Reduction in social housing rents.The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017The Homelessness Reduction Act cameinto force in April 2018. The governmentalso published a new code of guidancethat set out in more detail how thechanges should be implemented.The Act is the first change toHomelessness Legislation for 16 yearsalthough some commentators argue itis the greatest change since the original1977 Homeless Persons Act.The new Homelessness Reduction Actplaces two additional statutory duties onlocal housing authorities:u The prevention duty – requirescouncils to intervene to preventhomelessness at an earlier stage,when a household is at risk of losingtheir home in the next 56 days. Thisis particularly relevant for those livingin privately rented homes who areserved with notice and provides moreopportunity to support people directlyinto another tenancy.The Strategic Contextu The relief duty - requires councilsto offer more advice and supportto anyone who is already homeless,regardless of whether they are inpriority need and may involve offeringaccommodation.Councils are also required to draw uppersonal housing plans for people thatare homeless and anyone who is at risk ofbecoming homeless. Public authorities thatare specified in the legislation and thathave contact with clients who are homelessor at risk of homelessness will be requiredto refer them to local authorities, with thepersons consent. Clients can choose whichlocal authority they want to be referred.This is known as a ‘duty to refer’.The duties that existed under the previoushomelessness legislation, known as themain duty, remain in place. A main housingduty is owed where homeless householdsare eligible (certain persons from abroadare ineligible for housing assistance), havea priority need for accommodation andare not homeless intentionally. Certaincategories of household, such as pregnantwomen, families with children, andhouseholds that are homeless due to anemergency such as a fire or flood, havepriority need if homeless.Other groups may be assessed as havingpriority need because they are vulnerableas a result of old age, mental ill health,physical disability, having been in prison orcare or as a result of becoming homelessdue to domestic abuse. This duty is usuallyended through the offer of a settled/permanent home.As a result of the Homelessness ReductionAct processes, procedures, informationbeing collected, and statutory returns haveall had to change.13

National ContextNational Rough Sleeping StrategyIn August 2018 the government published its Rough Sleeping Strategy. The strategysets out the government’s vision to support every person who sleeps rough off thestreets and into a home, which will deliver its commitment to halve rough sleeping by 2022and eliminate it by 2027.The strategy acknowledges that in order to achieve this will require central and localgovernment, as well as business, communities, faith and voluntary groups and the generalpublic to work together in new ways.The main focus of the strategy is to put in place new programmes and structures to supportpeople off the streets immediately.The strategy is based aroundthree core objectives: Prevention,Intervention and Recovery.u Prevention - providing a focuson timely support beforesomeone becomes homeless.u Intervention - helping peoplewho are already in crisis getswift, targeted support to getthem off the streets.u Recovery – supporting peopleto find a new home quickly andrebuild their lives via a newrapid rehousing approach.The actions to deliver thecommitment are set out in adelivery plan that was publishedalongside the strategy.The document also states that alllocal authorities will be required to:u Update their Homelessnessstrategies and rebadge themas Homelessness and RoughSleeping strategiesu Make strategies available onlineand submit them to the Ministryof Housing, Communities andLocal Government (MHCLG)u Report progress on deliveringthese strategies and publishannual action plans.The Strategic ContextLocal ContextEssex Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS)2018-22The Strategy sets out the priorities identified throughthe Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) thatlocal government, the NHS and other partners delivertogether through the Health and Wellbeing Board.The JHWS identifies ‘a small number of key strategicpriorities for action’, where there is an opportunity forpartners working through the Health and WellbeingBoard to ‘have a real impact’ on improving healthand wellbeing outcomes and a reduction in healthinequalities.The JHWS is jointly owned by partners throughthe Essex Health and Wellbeing Board, the District,Borough and City Council’s HWB PartnershipBoards, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner,Safeguarding Boards and the voluntary andcommunity sector.The strategy sets out a shared vision for health andwellbeing in Essex through key countywide strategicpriorities, which address four areas of focus:u Improving mental health and wellbeingu Addressing obesity, improving di

This is Colchester's fourth Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy. It has been developed by Colchester Borough Council and its partner organisations, all of whom are strongly committed to developing initiatives and objectives to prevent and relieve homelessness in the borough. The new Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy has looked