Issue - meetings

Councillor Moriarty asked how relevant the guidance was for the Council in the future – all the case studies referred to cities.

D Hall explained that the guidance was trying to address a lot for areas with different needs and characteristics.  He added that it was important to understand that there was a lot that could be done for the next step strategy. 

The guidance would help to inform what things could do in the short to medium term to stop people returning to the streets.  It highlighted some funding opportunities, the most important one The Rough Sleeper Initiative where the Government had identified the need for 6,000 new supported housing bed spaces across the country.  It had made £300 million pounds available for both revenue and capital schemes – to be spent over the next two years but much of which needed to be identified in this financial year.  The guidance talked amount empty buildings, the use of modular accommodation and other funding sources.  It was really important that some of these key opportunities were not missed including the High Street Heritage Action Zone to repurpose shops and accommodation above shops.

He added that in some ways this was an opportunity as the next steps strategy and Government funding opportunities meant that some of work identified in the Homelessness Strategy was intensified and could be delivered quicker.