FOI request (FOIR-276345987)

Homeless referrals

Requested Wed 25 November 2020
Responded Tue 01 December 2020

Response

Between 31 March and 31 October 2020, how many referrals did your council receive from organisations concerning someone they believed might be homeless or may be threatened with homelessness (defined as 'within the next 56 days' from time of application)?

Answer = 185 referrals received

- Could you please give me the description of, and figures for the three most common types of organisations (for example: prison and youth offender institutions, secure training centres/colleges, youth offending teams and probation services, Jobcentre plus, accident and emergency services provided in a hospital, urgent treatment centres, in-patient hospitals, social service authorities, Ministry of Defence for members of the regular armed forces) which referred someone they thought might be homeless or may be threatened with homelessness to you over this period?

Answer: Top 3:

• 85 x DWP – Jobcentre Plus

• 16 x Mental Health Service – Acute in-patient

• 18 x Other service provider (not housing related)

- Could you please give me the description of, and figures for the three most common types of reasons, as stated in the referrals, why those referred found themselves in that position of homelessness or at risk of homelessness (for example: debt problems, problems with a landlord, being a victim of domestic abuse, or other forms of violence/threats or intimidation, approaching discharge from hospital/armed forces or release from custody with no accommodation available to them, having previously been in care/ the armed forces or in prison).

Answer: Top 3 'main reasons for loss of settled home' are:

• 91 x Other

• 36 x Domestic abuse

• 15 x Family no longer willing or able to accommodation

- How many applicants, who were referred to you from organisations which believed they might be homeless or threatened with homelessness, were found to be eligible for assistance?

Answer: Of the 185 referrals received:

• 60 referrals – customers either no longer wanted our help, or they didn't answer their phone or respond to our emails when we tried to arrange a housing options appointment with a housing officer to discuss their housing situation. We make 2 attempts to try and contact customer and if no response or they fail to return our phone calls or respond to our emails we then close their case.

• 19 referrals - we are in the process of either trying to make contact with the customer to arrange a housing options appointment, or if we have made contact with the customer, then customer is waiting for their booked housing options appointment.

• 88 referrals - customers had housing options appointment and were as assessed as either prevention duty or relief duty.

• 18 referrals – customer had their housing options appointment and were given 'advice' only.

- Could you please give me the description of, and figures for the three most allocated types of accommodation (for example: (but not limited to) hotel, B&B, hostel, self contained accommodation) these eligible applicants were subsequently offered in their personalised housing plan?

Answer:  Of the 88 referrals above:

• 4 households were placed temporary accommodation on day of assessment or the following day = Other nightly paid, privately managed accommodation (may also be referred to as Annexes) + Other nightly paid, privately managed accommodation (may also be referred to as Annexes) - Shared Facilities + Accommodation within your own stock

• A further 11 households were placed in temporary accommodation at a later date = Other nightly paid, privately managed accommodation (may also be referred to as Annexes) + Other nightly paid, privately managed accommodation (may also be referred to as Annexes) - Shared Facilities

• The remaining 73 households were not placed in temporary accommodation, for example household made their own arrangements.