Issue - meetings

This item was chaired by Councillor Sheil.

Matter for Decision

In a partnership arrangement with Cambridgeshire County Council, the City Council wishes to commission a single service that will assist rough sleepers to quickly move from the streets into accommodation.

The ‘streets-to-home’ service is expected to commence in April 2022 and will be commissioned by combining funds from the County Council’s housing-related support budget with City Council funding formerly made to enable the annual homelessness prevention grant bid round.

Decision of Executive Councillor for Housing

      i.         Approved the City Council financial contribution as set out in paragraph 3.6 of the Officer’s report.

    ii.         Delegated to the Head of Housing the authority to endorse the award of the contract to the winning bidder.

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 Services Manager.

The Committee made the following comments in response to the report:

i.      Asked when the contract to the winning bidder would be announced.

ii.    Noted that there were people with complex needs who lived on the streets, but that resident’s perception was that the council weren’t doing anything to support them. Felt that residents weren’t aware of good ways to support homeless people for example through Cambridge Street Aid. 

The Housing Services Manager said the following in response to Members’ questions:

i.      Officers expected to announce the winning contractor by the end of January 2022.  Would look into doing a press release.

ii.    Officers were looking into better ways to advise people how they could support homeless people. Would look into the number of press releases.  

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendations.

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.