Issue - meetings

The Board considered a report from the Strategic Director – People, updating them in respect of the changes to the eligibility criteria for accessing housing and homelessness support that was made as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic.

            At the beginning of the Pandemic central Government announced that all local authorities should continue with the statutory eligibility criteria for services but also adopt an approach of supporting all people who contacted housing and homelessness services for help, irrespective of their priority need.  This ‘Everyone In’ approach meant that although those with priority need would continue to be supported as before, there was now an additional layer of support for a wider group of vulnerable people that was needed.  The report outlined how this led to an increased demand on services and provided information on the commissioning of additional provision to help meet this increased demand.

            It was reported that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) had advised that move on pathway plans to reduce temporary accommodation must now be in place.  The policy was now to support people to move on from their homeless accommodation into more permanent settings and for the local authority to transition back to the routine approach to the delivery of homelessness services.

            The ‘Move On Pathway’ recommendations were set out under paragraph 3.2 together with the proposed pathway plan for Halton.  This would enable the Housing Solutions Team to adopt a phased approach in reverting to the homelessness eligibility criteria.

RESOLVED:  That the Board

1)    notes the contents of the report; and

2)    agrees with the recommendations set out in paragraph 3.2, that the Housing Solutions Team revert to using the homelessness eligibility criteria and adopt a phased approach to its implementation.