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Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Community Safety, Homelessness and Wellbeing
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: Yes
Is subject to call in?: No
To approve the award of homelessness prevention grants (HPGs) to agencies.
Matter for Decision
This report
detailed the annual bid round for grants made to organisations providing
homelessness prevention services. It provides an overview of the process, the
grant eligibility criteria and the budget. Appendix 1 details the applications
received with recommendations for 2025-26 awards.
Decision
of Executive Councillor for Community Safety, Homelessness and Wellbeing
i.
Approved the award of homelessness prevention
grants to voluntary and community organisations for 2025-26, as set out in
Appendix 1 of the Officer’s report.
Reason for the Decision
As set out in the Officer’s report.
Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected
Not applicable.
Scrutiny Considerations
The Committee received a report from the Housing Advice Service Manager.
The Executive Councillor for Community Safety, Homelessness
and Wellbeing advised that the Council had received a higher ‘Homelessness
Prevention Grant’ from Central Government compared to last year, which could be
used to increase the Council’s (similarly called) Homelessness Prevention
Grants, awarded to partner organisations, which was the subject of this
report.
The Housing Advice Service Manager said the following in
response to Members’ questions:
i.
Noted that ‘the Haven’ was to provide support 2
nights and 1 afternoon a week.
ii.
Homelessness applications needed to be
determined in accordance with Homelessness legislation and each case was
considered on its own merits. Not everyone who presented as homeless would be
provided with interim accommodation whilst their homelessness application was
determined. The Homelessness Relief Duty lasted for 56 days but not all
applicants may be accommodated during that time. The applicant would need to
fall within a ‘priority need’ during that time. Examples of ‘priority need’
included having dependent children, or a person being vulnerable due to their
mental health needs. Applicants who did not qualify within the Homelessness
Relief Duty would be provided advice on other accommodation options for example
Jimmy’s Night Shelter and the Winter Provision for Rough Sleepers.
iii.
Applicants had to set outcomes within their
Homelessness Prevention Grant applications to explain how their project /
application would prevent / relieve homelessness. Organisations which were
awarded grant funding had to provide monitoring data to the Council in relation
to their outcomes every 6 and 12 months so the Council could assess the
effectiveness of the homelessness prevention measures.
The Committee resolved unanimously to endorse the
recommendation.
The
Executive Councillor approved the recommendation.
Conflicts
of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations
Granted)
No
conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.
Publication date: 13/03/2025
Date of decision: 04/02/2025