-
-
FOI request (FOIR-824225465)
Assertive Outreach and Move-On Service (Multi-Year Outcomes and Costs)
Requested Wed 08 April 2026
Responded Tue 28 April 2026Please provide the following information in relation to the Assertive Outreach and Move-On Service for the last five financial years (or since service inception if shorter):
- Annual activity and outcomes
For each year:
- Number of individuals engaged
- Number of individuals verified as rough sleeping
- Number of individuals placed into accommodation
- Number of individuals sustaining accommodation for 6 months or more
- Number of individuals who returned to rough sleeping (if recorded)
Please provide data in annual totals where available.
- Financial data
- Total annual cost of the service
- Any additional funding streams contributing to delivery
- Performance measurement
- Any recorded measures of cost-effectiveness used by the Council (e.g. cost per placement or cost per sustained outcome), if held
- Definitions
Please provide the definitions used for:
- “Engagement”
- “Verification”
- “Placement”
- “Sustained accommodation”
If any of the above data is not held, please confirm this explicitly.
If the request exceeds cost limits, please advise how it may be refined in line with your duty to assist.
Response
All metrics for homelessness are reported by each Local Authority on a monthly (and, in some instances, annual) basis, and this data is processed and published by MHCLG as Official Statistics, into the Public Domain. All Freedom of Information requests (FOIR) of this nature can be fulfilled, by referral to the published online data:
Tables on homelessness - GOV.UK
All collated data is available here, for public consumption, and covers the requested timeframe (and beyond). Spreadsheets (in ODS format) can be downloaded on-demand and specific Local Authorities can be searched within, (LA_dropdown being a particularly useful sheet/tool). These reports contain all relevant statistical and financial data for all Authorities in England.
It is worth stating that as a Local Authority, we only store, collate and report on the data & metrics requested by Central Government. Therefore, if it is not included in the Statutory homelessness prevention duty outcomes OR within the Statistical data set and/or Tables on homelessness, it is unlikely to exist to any greater detail, on any of our internal records.
We feel we have already responded to queries on definitions for “engagement” and “verification”, but to clarify the additional ones in this FOIR:
Based on MHCLG guidance, a "placement" refers to the specific instance of temporary accommodation offered to a household by a local authority under homelessness legislation, including both statutory duties and powers. It covers any type of accommodation—such as nightly paid, hostel, or private sector—used to house individuals while duties are discharged.
Based on MHCLG evaluations and related guidance, “sustained accommodation” generally refers to independent, settled housing that a formerly homeless individual or person with complex needs has maintained for a specific, extended period (often 6, 12, or 18 months).
- Annual activity and outcomes
-
-
Freedom of Information
Contact
Contact us if you have a question about democratic services.
Comments
The content on this page is the responsibility of our Democratic Services team.