Issue - meetings

EEBC continues to have a significant financial outlay on temporary accommodation costs to meet its homelessness obligations under the Housing Act 1996 and Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. The level of expenditure exceeded the budget set for 2023/24 and it will be a significant challenge to meet 2024/25 budget targets. This report sets out the actions taken to minimise homelessness expenditure and identifies the funding which was utilised to cover the additional expenditure for 2023/24[Ad1] .

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)          Agree the priority actions points which have been taken to manage homelessness over the past 18 months.

(2)          Note the use of Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG) and homelessness grant reserves to cover the increase in expenditure, during 2023/24, to enable the Council to meet its duties under the Housing Act 1996 and Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

(3)          Agree that a further update regarding nightly paid accommodation (NPA) expenditure be provided at the Community & Wellbeing Committee in October 2024.

The Committee received a report setting out the actions taken to minimise homelessness expenditure, identifying the funding which was utilised to cover the additional expenditure for 2023/24, and giving an indication of the anticipated costs for 2024/25.

The Committee considered the following matters:

a)            People housed in temporary accommodation. In response to a Member, the Strategic Housing Manager explained that a variety of people from a range of life circumstances, including single people and families, are housed in nightly paid accommodation by the Council. He explained that people housed in nightly paid accommodation are typically those who are considered vulnerable for a number of reasons, such as having young children, or having physical or mental health needs, and to whom the Council duly has a duty towards. He stated that the most expensive accommodation is that for family units, though the Council also provides a large amount of accommodation for single persons.

b)            Accommodation inside and outside of Epsom & Ewell. Following a question from a Member, the Strategic Housing Manager explained that the Council has a large amount of temporary accommodation within the Borough, much of which is provided by registered providers, such as ‘Town and Country Housing’ (formerly by Rosebery Housing). He went on to explain that the Council’s nightly paid accommodation, however, is mostly located outside the Borough, and that people are oftentimes housed in such accommodation for 2-3 years at a time. He stated that the Council’s temporary accommodation outside of Epsom & Ewell Borough is predominantly located within Thornton Heath, in Croydon Borough. He explained that due Thornton Heath’s close proximity to Epsom, it allows people housed there to maintain their lives and to stay close to their support networks in Epsom & Ewell.

c)            Recruitment. The Strategic Housing Manager confirmed that two posts had been recruited within the housing team over the past 18 months, one of which was the Single Persons Officer, who works closely with people in need of single person temporary accommodation.

d)            Collaboration with other authorities. In response to a question from a Member in relation to the possibility of partnering with other authorities in order to mitigate the increasing costs for nightly paid accommodation caused by the inherent competition between authorities, the Strategic Housing Manager stated that he was aware that conversations on the topic had been had between Epsom and Surrey County Council, and that the Housing Solutions Manager would be able to provide further details. He said that he would contact the Housing Solutions Manager in order to provide the Member with further information after the meeting.

e)            Accommodation rates and Homelessness Prevention Grant. In response to a question from a Member, the Strategic Housing Manager explained that the rates set by Government at which the Council can charge for temporary accommodation was low and had remained unchanged since 2011. He explained that the Council consequently has to spend a large portion of the Homelessness Prevention Grant received from Government on covering the shortfall on the accommodation rent.

f)             Temporary  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4