FOI request (FOIR-695730951)

Housing First programme(s)

Requested Thu 13 March 2025
Responded Thu 24 April 2025

I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information on the implementation of Housing First programmes in your local authority area. Could you please provide responses to the following questions:

1. Is your local authority running a Housing First programme? If so, how many?

If yes, please complete the following:

2. Is your Housing First scheme run by the local authority or by an external partner?

3. How many individuals can your Housing First programme(s) support at any given time?

4. How many individuals are either:

a. Currently on a waiting list for Housing First support?

b. Assessed as eligible but not currently receiving support due to capacity constraints or any other reason? If you cannot provide this, please still provide 4a.

5. Please provide the most up to date cost benefit analysis (CBA) or cost estimate analysis (CEA) estimating the costs of support provided by your Housing First service(s) and the value of benefits delivered. For this request, please provide the information including itemised costs, benefits, and any other underlying data including discounting used and your methodology. If you have not conducted a CEA or CBA please provide any cost estimates and any benefit estimates that you have. Please prioritise costs if you cannot provide other information. For this request, please provide the information including estimation methodology in a word or pdf document with underlying data preferably as excel .xlsx or .csv. If you cannot provide the underlying data, please still provide the methodology.

6. What is the current length of the funding period for your Housing First provision?

7. How is your Housing First programme funded? For example, local authority homelessness funding (through pots like the Rough Sleepers Initiative or the Homeless Prevention Grant), local authority funding via adult social care (e.g. adult social care or public health) and/or charitable grants or partnership.

8. What is the primary source of housing for your Housing First programme? For example, council housing, housing association, or private rented sector.

Response

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding.

1. HBC runs one Housing First Programme under the RSI. This provides support in Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme(RSAP)/Next Steps Accommodation Programme (NSAP) tenancies and social housing tenancies. This will also be extended under the new Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme (SHAP) with a further 10 units.

2. Currently commissioned to a third party organisation, Southdown Housing Association.

3. Typically, the Housing First programme can support up to 42 individuals at any one given time across Hastings and St Leonards.

4a. We don't hold specific waiting lists, but look at each case-by-case upon receipt of a void property.

4b. See 4a above.

5. Hastings Borough Council is in the process of developing a new Housing First service so does not currently hold this information.

6. Current Housing First provision until 31st March 2026, but with SHAP, this extends in part (10 units worth) to 2028.

7. Rough Sleepers Initiative (RSI) Grant/SHAP funding/RSAP Funding.

8. Local Authority Owned/Housing Association.