The Waltham Forest Council cabinet approved a new strategy to address the increasing demand for temporary accommodation in the borough, as well as a new agreement to provide integrated mental health services. Councillor Grace Williams, Leader of the Council, thanked Councillor Ahsan Khan, Deputy Leader (Housing and Regeneration) and Councillor Louise Mitchell, Portfolio Lead Member - Adults and Health, for their leadership on these issues.

Temporary Accommodation to Settled Homes Strategy

The cabinet approved the Temporary Accommodation to Settled Homes Strategy as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report. The strategy sets out a vision to reduce the number of households living in temporary accommodation by supporting more residents into healthy, safe, and affordable settled homes.

Councillor Ahsan Khan introduced the report, describing the plan as one of the most ambitious in London. He conceded that the supply of suitable housing was not meeting demand, resulting in many families being housed in temporary accommodation at minimum standards, which has a detrimental impact on their health and life outcomes. He gave assurances that finding secure and settled homes for residents remained a priority, and that the council would be fully transparent with residents, with the strategy having been informed by feedback from those living in temporary accommodation.

The strategy recognises the need to tackle the housing crisis head on, and states that the council has already taken extensive action, especially focused on addressing the root causes and secondary impacts of the housing crisis. It notes that since the council started its housing improvement journey, London's housing crisis has intensified, with the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation hitting household finances and increasing the demand for homelessness services and temporary accommodation.

The strategy sets out that the council has made some choices:

• Prevention over crisis - delivering services and support to stop residents from becoming homeless in the first place
• Good homes over location - prioritising high-quality temporary accommodation and settled homes, recognising that the rising demand of temporary accommodation means that the council will need to look outside of Waltham Forest more often to find affordable homes for residents
• Secure homes over temporary accommodation - increasing support for residents in temporary accommodation to move into the Private Rented Sector, given the long waiting lists for social housing

The strategy sets out three delivery priorities:

• Tackling the top causes of homelessness
• Increasing the supply of high quality and affordable temporary and settled homes
• Supporting residents to move on from temporary accommodation into long-term homes.

The report notes that the council is forecast to spend £23 million on temporary accommodation in the current financial year, and that should the number of households in temporary accommodation continue to increase, the overspend will rise and increase the financial pressure on the council.

Councillor Grace Williams said that the council had a responsibility to tackle this challenge and to ensure that the most vulnerable of residents were supported, in addition to the council's fiscal responsibility to taxpayers.

Section 75 Agreement for Integrated Mental Health Services

The cabinet approved the proposal to enter into a new Section 75¹ agreement with North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT) to meet the needs of residents who have a mental health need, for a period of five years from 1 February 2026, incorporating annual break options. They also delegated authority to approve the final terms of the s.75 agreement to the Strategic Director of Adult Services in consultation with the Portfolio Lead Member for Health and Adults and the Strategic Director of Resources.

Councillor Louise Mitchell introduced the report, confirming that the consultation exercise, undertaken jointly with NELFT, had recognised areas of strength, including a strong shared commitment to the partnership and the recognition of the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration. She added that relevant professionals were looking at ways to potentially strengthen governance and accountability.

The report notes that the current s.75 Partnership Agreement between NELFT and LBWF is due to expire 31 January 2026, and that the new agreement will build on the positive work that has taken place over the last fifteen years of joint-working. It will incorporate a series of improvements shaped by a recent review in order to strengthen outcomes for residents and incorporate the ambitions set out in the NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England as well as Mission Waltham Forest.

The report also notes that the secondment of the council's adult social care mental health staff remains a core component of the existing arrangement and will continue to be an integral part of the new agreement.

The council and NELFT identified key areas for improvement and development which include:

• Clarifying roles and responsibilities within the wider mental health teams.
• Mapping out mental health pathways.
• Strengthening links with the primary care offer and crisis provision in practice.
• Establishing and agreeing ways to measure person centred outcomes, moving beyond quantitative data for example incorporating the Open Dialogue Model.
• Agreeing the partnership definition of what 'Good' looks like and how to achieve and measure the 'Good'.
• Acknowledging that new integrated services are critical to building care holistically around the needs of the person, to improve their outcomes and support them to achieve wellbeing.
• Conducting a collaborative review of the mental health early intervention and prevention offer to inform future commissioning intentions and deliver improved outcomes for residents.
• Introducing a new service priority for carers of those with mental health needs.
• Enhancing governance arrangements, accountability and visibility across both NELFT and LBWF to ensure a truly integrated and holistic service offer for residents which can, best support demand for statutory services.
• Committing to improving IT interoperability to prevent duplication and streamline processes.
• Strengthening and streamlining operational processes and practice opportunities wherever possible (e.g. HR processes and ensuring all staff are proactively aware of training available etc)

The report considered three options:

1. Continue with the same agreement model without changes, but this model does not address known issues and risks losing stakeholder confidence.
2. End the Section 75 Partnership and return to separate delivery models, but this model would mean the loss of integrated pathways and multidisciplinary working, alongside reduced outcomes for residents with a mental health need.
3. Refresh and recommit to the Section 75 Partnership Agreement, which offers the strongest benefits, building on the existing strengths of integrated working and enabling a holistic and joint up approach for residents in order to deliver good outcomes.

The report recommends option 3, to enter into a new and refreshed agreement.