At a meeting on Tuesday 25 November, the council’s Cabinet agreed to invest to reshape the service to meet the homelessness challenges which all councils are facing. The investment comes through a boost to the budget and money from sale of assets.
Helping to address a lack of capacity in the housing team, compared to similar councils, this investment will rebuild capacity, modernise outdated processes and increase local housing options - directly supporting the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, Temporary Accommodation Strategy and Allocations Policy delivery.
This follows a period of unprecedented demand for housing services locally and nationally and addresses historical challenges including outdated policies and rising costs.
As part of the council’s wider Future Shape Transformation programme, this move is also set to save the council over £2 million over the next two years on current demand, through better prevention work and more cost-effective housing provision - helping to ensure more families can stay closer to home and receive quicker, more effective support.
The transformation sits alongside other initiatives approved by Cabinet, including leveraging government funding to deliver eight new homes for families facing homelessness.
Councillor Catherine del Campo, Cabinet Member for Adult Services, Health and Housing Services, said: “Housing has historically struggled to meet demand and is placing increasing pressure on our budget. By investing in prevention and creating new capacity, we can reduce the need for expensive temporary accommodation and improve the service for those who need our support.
“This transformation is about putting residents first and rebuilding a service that works. We need to act now to make sure families get the right support at the right time.”
More information is available on our website