Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration.

The December meeting of the Communities and Housing Scrutiny Committee received an update on homelessness within the Borough.  As well as providing an outline of the situation within Stockport, it detailed a number of initiatives in place to address the issue. This included the Greater Manchester ‘A Bed Every Night’ (ABEN) commitment towards rough sleepers and bids submitted by Stockport Homes and the Greater Manchester Housing Providers Group (GMHPG) to deliver a ‘Housing First’ programme and a sub-regional scheme to improve access to the private rented sector.

This briefing provides an update on these areas of work, which form a key strand of the Council’s approach towards reducing homelessness.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Andy Kippax on 0161 474 4319 or email: andy.kippax@stockport.

The Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on homelessness within the Borough including those initiatives in place to address the issue.

The Cabinet Member for Communities & Housing (Councillor Sheila Bailey) also attended the meeting to respond to councillors’ questions.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         There were a number of people who had declined the offer of assistance, however the Council and its partners continued to approach those people to provide support.

·         With regard to a comment that Shelter were not part of the Housing First initiative, it was stated that this had been commissioned at a Greater Manchester level and Shelter had been part of a losing bid, however the third sector would nonetheless be key to its success.

·         The number of ‘Section 21’ evictions were having an impact on the number of people presenting themselves as homeless.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.