Decision Maker: Council

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: September 18, 2024

Purpose:

Content: RESOLVED:   Hackney Council notes:   1.  Despite the previous Government’s commitment in 2019 to end rough sleeping by 2024, estimates show there has been an increase in rough sleeping in all regions of England, with London and the south-east accounting for almost half of the rise. 2.  Rough sleeping increased under the previous Government, with the number of rough sleepers having increased by 74% since 2010. 3.  The most recent annual count by the London-only Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain) showed 11,993 sleeping rough in London between April 2023 and March 2024. This marks a significant 19% increase from last year's total of 10,053. 4.  The majority of people sleeping rough in England are male, aged over 26 years old and from the UK. Meanwhile the Office for National Statistics found men who are living on the street outnumber women at a ratio of six to one. 5.  Women are often missing from rough sleeping counts because they tend to be less visible than male rough sleepers due to the risk of violence on the streets. A coalition of homelessness and women’s organisations in London conducted a women’s rough sleeping census in October 2022 and found 154 women, including trans and non-binary women, sleeping rough in London in a week. That number was higher than previously thought with an extra 71 women found across 13 London boroughs when the data was compared to the latest official rough sleeping count. 6.  The cost of living crisis has exacerbated longstanding drivers of homelessness, such as a shortage of affordable housing, an often punitive welfare system and increasingly stretched health services. 7.  Local authorities and homelessness charities state that street homelessness is just the tip of the iceberg and estimate the number of people living without a home is much higher than the figures show, with many people in informal living arrangements such as sofa surfing. 8.  The number of households living in temporary accommodation in England are at an all-time high. As of March 2023, 104,510 households were living in TA, including 65,000 households with children. 9.  Over 3,000 households in Hackney were among more than 300,000 nationwide who spent Christmas without a home. In Hackney this includes 3,500 children, and around 50% of TA placements are now outside our borough, severing people from their livelihoods and support networks. 10.Like other local authorities, Hackney has seen a precipitous increase in the number of homelessness applications. The number of households seeking support is up by 44% from 2017/18 to 2021/22. The Council anticipates the number of approaches will continue to increase at around 8% per year. 11.Hackney’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, adopted at Cabinet in December, will ensure we strengthen the advice, support and tools available to people at risk of homelessness need, and make sure that no one in Hackney is left facing homelessness alone. This will include maximising access to short and long-term affordable housing, tackling rough sleeping and addressing homelessness among young people in Hackney. 12.Private rents in Hackney rose to an average of £2,290 in April 2024, an annual increase of 11.2% from £2,059 in April 2023. This was higher than the rise in London (10.8%) over the year. 32.2% of households in Hackney live in the private rented sector. 13.The number of homelessness presentations made by refugees and people seeking asylum evicted from Home Office accommodation increased by 39% from September to October 2023, according to research by London Councils. 14.In 2023 homelessness among armed forces veterans in England rose by 14%. Local authorities must consider the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant when making decisions about homeless applications and when drafting homelessness strategies   Hackney Council further notes:   15.That the Mayor of London’s Rough Sleeping Charter was created by a pan-London coalition working to end rough sleeping, and enshrines principles and actions needed to tackle the issue; an example of London’s commitment to working together to end rough sleeping for good. 16.The Charter sets out six principles for signatories to uphold in their work including: a.  Accepting that whilst people sleeping rough may have problems, they aren’t problem people b.  Recognising that everyone rough sleeping is unique, and there should be meaningful options for all, regardless of immigration status c.  Ensuring that people sleeping rough are safe from violence, abuse, theft and discrimination and that they have the full protection of the law   17.The Charter also includes key actions that signatories commit to undertake and support: a.  Acknowledging people when they talk to you or ask you for money, even if you decide you would rather not give it to them directly b.  If you see someone sleeping rough who needs help, let Streetlink London know c.  Volunteer, donate, or support a charity who has joined this pledge   Hackney Council resolves to:   18.Ask the Mayor of Hackney to sign the London Charter to End Rough Sleeping on behalf of Hackney Council. 19.Continue to call on the Government to: a.  Remove the cap on Housing Benefit subsidy for TA, which is currently set at the 2011 Local Housing Allowance rate, to enable local authorities to provide more TA locally. b.  Increase the Homelessness Prevention Grant. c.  Implement an emergency increase in Discretionary Housing Payments in the current financial year. d.  Provide additional grant funding to acquire Private Rented Stock released by landlords (currently 40% of all sales listings in London). e.  Invest in new build affordable housing – bringing London’s Affordable Homes Programme target back up to at least 35,000 homes. f.  Increase the 40% cap on the proportion of individual sites that can be funded through Right to Buy receipts and allow boroughs to use receipts in conjunction with grant funding (particularly Affordable Homes Programme grant). g.  Address the financial shortfall created by the 7% rent cap in 2023/24 h.  Deliver a long-term rent settlement post-2025 which puts social housing on a sustainable financial footing i.  Fully fund the new Decent Homes Standard and ensure a long-term and more easily accessible funding pot for home retrofit measures. j.  Make an early decision on Rough Sleeping Initiative funding for 2025/6 to ensure continuity of service and ensure work to end rough sleeping can be properly planned and delivered through a long term commitment to the RSI funding scheme. k.  Support the expansion of Housing First projects through additional funding and detailed evaluation of effectiveness. l.  Recognise the increasing housing requirements to support rough sleepers with multiple and complex physical and mental health needs through provision of additional supported accommodation that is psychologically and trauma informed.     Proposer: Cllr Joseph Ogundemuren Seconder: Cllr Sharon Patrick