Item 10 - More than a Roof - Housing Solutions Strategy 2025-2028
West Dunbartonshire Council · 26 February 2025
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 26 February 2025 and its agenda
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by the Chief Officer - Housing and Employability Housing and Communities Committee - 26 February 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: “More than a Roof,” West Dunbartonshire Council Housing Solutions Strategy, 2025 – 2028. 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek member approval of the new housing solutions strategy “More than a Roof” 2025 – 2028. This new strategy will succeed West Dunbartonshire’s Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (RRTP) strategy “Home at the Heart” as the key strategic response to homelessness and housing access in West Dunbartonshire. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Housing and Communities Committee: (i) Note the contents of the report and approve the new West Dunbartonshire Council Housing Solutions Strategy ‘More Than a Roof’ as attached as Appendix 1 of this report. (ii) Note the detailed consultative process carried out in developing the strategy inclusive of direct engagement with individuals with liver experience of homelessness and housing crisis summarised in Appendix 2 of this report. (iii) Invite the Chief Officer, Housing and Employability to fully implement the Housing Solutions Strategy within the referenced time, (iv) Invite the Chief Officer, Housing and Employability to direct the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan funding award from the Scottish Government to the delivery of the new strategy’s key objectives; (v) Note that an annual update and progress report will be provided to the Housing and Communities Committee at the first Housing Committee of each calendar year; 3. Background Our current strategy “Home at the Heart”, which was our RRTP has ended. This ran from 2019 and was extended by a year due to Scottish Government funding also being extended. There has been no further ask from the Scottish Government to renew our RRTP. Therefore, we have taken the decision to produce a new homeless strategy which will be referred to as our Housing Solutions Strategy in line with Council’s new 3.1 3.2 Item 10
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service delivery model. It will be a three-year strategy; 2025 – 2028 so the timing is aligned to West Dunbartonshire’s Local Housing Strategy. 3.3 Extensive consultation was carried out with service users, staff, and other stakeholders to agree the key objectives to be deliver through the strategy. A full summary of the consultation results is in Appendix 2 of this report. 3.4 “More than a Roof” aims to build on the achievements of “Home at the Heart”, our Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan. It has been developed within the backdrop of a Housing Emergency Declaration both locally and nationally, where demand for social housing is higher than ever, and supply cannot meet demand. At the time of writing, 13 Local Authorities have declared housing emergencies, alongside a national declaration by the Scottish Government on 15th May 2024. West Dunbartonshire Council was the fifth local authority to declare a housing emergency on 1st May 2024. 3.5 It worth noting that the Housing (Scotland) Bill 2024 will be enacted during the time of this strategy. Part 5 of the bill will have a significant impact in terms of statutory duties around the prevention of homelessness and the development of the strategy was cognisant of this and includes objectives and actions that have taken account of the proposed legislative changes. 3.6 An update report will be provided to the first Housing and Communities Committee every year, detailing achievements each year and highlight any changes required. 4. Main Issues 4.1 Following consultation the key themes and asks were clear and have beeni ncorporated as the key objectives for “More than a roof”. The full strategy is in Appendix 1. The four strategic objectives are; 1. Homelessness is prevented by providing good quality advice and information to enable informed decisions on personal housing solutions, 2. Where homelessness does occur households are rehoused quickly, 3. Review and ensure there are a wide range of support services available to prevent and end homelessness, and 4. Working with partners to provide Interim options for temporary accommodation and providing best quality temporary accommodation where required. 4.2 Homelessness is prevented by providing good quality advice and information to enable informed decisions on personal housing solutions. This objective builds on our successful performance to date and ensures the service will be well placed for the pending legislative changes from the Housing (Scotland) Bill 2024. It incorporates what our consultation told us that there is still more that can be done to help prevent homelessness including exploring more alternative housing options. From the consultation on the draft strategy this was the joint top objective people wanted delivered.
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The table below details the number of cases that approached West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) housing options services and their outcomes for 2023/24; Outcomes 2023/24 2023/24 Number % LA tenancy 36 9% Private rented - assured tenancy 18 5% Hostel - local authority 0 0% Moved-in with friends/ relatives 8 2% Other (known) 5 1% Not known 2 1% RSL (Housing Association) tenancy 14 4% Private rented - short, assured tenancy 4 1% Residential care / nursing home 0 0% Home Ownership - Low-Cost Home Ownership 0 0% Home Ownership - Bought own home via other means 1 0% Sheltered Accommodation 1 0% Shared Property - LA 0 0% Shared Property – RSL (Housing Association) 0 0% Shared Property - Private Rented Sector 0 0% Lodger 0 0% Prison 0 0% Hospital 0 0% Lost contact with applicant 24 6% Remained in current accommodation 179 46% Made homelessness application to local authority 94 24% All 386 100% Despite the successes of the service, we continue to have a considerable demand for homeless services. The table below shows the number of households who presented as homeless to WDC in 2023/24; Assessments 2023/24 value Number of assessments 1104 Assessed as homeless 1010 Assessed as homeless, unintentional (duty to house) 1000 Households assessed as homeless - Rate per 10,000 households 235 Some of the key actions within this objective expected to be delivered during the time of the strategy are;
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Introduce a Housing Solutions Charter for provision of information and advice, Rolling out a common housing application form for social housing providers in West Dunbartonshire, In line with the Housing Act liaising with relevant public bodies and landlords to help them understand their responsibilities to ‘ask and act’ and explore actions to prevent homeless, Exploring the option of creating a “one door” approach for all housing information and advice which is consistent and robust, and which captures new demand created from the Housing Act, 4.3 Where homelessness does occur households are rehoused quickly. This objective was also a key objective in our RRTP which was to reduce the time households experiencing homelessness spend in temporary accommodation. This continues to be key focus for the Scottish Government and the Scottish Housing Regulator. During this strategy, the aim will be to reduce the average time spent in temporary accommodation to 13 weeks. The table below shows the achievement of “Home at the Heart” to reduce the average times. 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Avg time 15 wks 19 wks 16.5 wks 17.5 wks 17.5 wks The size of properties households require continue to impact progress around times in relation to numbers requiring one-bedroom properties and larger families’ homes with four bedrooms or more, and this is factored within the Council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan. Some actions we have agreed which will help deliver this objective, include; Regularly improving our online stock information and further promote so residents have a better understanding of what our stock is like and what becomes available to make informed decisions, To increase our housing supply through our new build and acquisition programmes focusing on medical needs and larger family homes to meet need our own stock is unable to address, and Continue to lobby the Scottish Government for increase affordable housing funding. 4.4 Review and ensure there are a wide range of support services available to prevent and end homelessness. A key theme from our consultation and one of the asks from service users was more support and not all in the current format that its currently offered. Support can have positive impacts on tenancy sustainment and therefore help reduce homelessness as a result.
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From the consultation on the draft strategy this was the joint top objective people wanted delivered. We currently provide housing support for those who require whilst homeless to comply with our Housing Support duty as part of Housing (Scotland) Act 2010. We also have residential supported housing and a housing first support service, although the latter service is still temporary as future mainstream funding is uncertain. Of those households who presented as homeless in 2023/24, 21% was assessed as having a support need. The table below shows of those how many support need categories they had; 2023/24 No support needs 651 1 support need identified 260 2 support needs identified 129 3+ support need identified 64 All 1104 Key actions agreed to achieve this objective include; Reviewing the casework support assessment ensuring that it captures all support needs of households to prevent and end homelessness, Exploring options to fund and provide more informal and practical type support for groups that would not fall into prescribed housing support, The creation of a youth specialist housing support team as part of the Housing Solutions service redesign, Reviewing and creating protocols to ensure positive partnership working between the housing solutions service and all HSCP partners, 4.5 Working with partners to provide Interim options for temporary accommodation and providing best quality temporary accommodation where required. The initial consultation stated that 90% of services users said that their needs were met with the temporary accommodation they were provided with and 78% were happy with the location. This still allows for further improvement to explore and provide different options of temporary accommodation and there was a strong emphasise again on partnership working. Table below details current dispersed temporary accommodation; Area/No. of rooms 1 2 3 4 Grand Total ALEXANDRIA 12 40 16 68 CLYDEBANK 35 76 21 132
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DUMBARTON 15 24 7 2 48 Grand Total 62 140 44 2 248 The table below details our residential supported accommodation (temporary); Supported accommodation project Ashton View Blue Triangle Alexandria Blue Triangle Bonhill Blue Triangle Clydebank Number of places 20 10 8 13 This objective will look to explore additional options of interim accommodation and review all partnership working. Actions agreed which will help achieve the objective are; Creating a stock profile for dispersed temporary accommodation and review against temporary accommodation standards, Explore support and accommodation options for young people 16-21yrs, Implementing the recommendations of the Supported Housing Review including smaller and self-contained accommodation options. The Scottish Government for the 6 years of Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan has provided all local authorities with additional financial support. They have confirmed that through the budget processes for 2025/26 a minimum £8 million Rapid Rehousing Transition Funding will be available to all Scottish Local authorities. We are currently awaiting confirmation of WDC allocation of this funding, but we would estimate it to be around £250k. The funding will be used in 2025/26 to support the objectives of the new Housing Solutions Strategy, and the Council will be required to provide the Scottish Government with an annual report detailing the use of the funding and its impact in preventing homelessness and minimising the use of temporary accommodation. 5. People Implications 5.1 There are no additional people implications with regards the implementation of the new Housing Solutions Strategy, however it is aligned to the services design within the Housing Development and Homelessness Team. 6. Financial and Procurement Implications As indicated in 4.6 the Scottish Government will be distributing another £8million for a final year to local authorities to assist with rapid rehousing. The key aim of the funds is preventing homelessness and reducing the use of temporary accommodation. The amount allocation to West Dunbartonshire is estimated to be in the region of £250k and will be used to meet the objectives of the Housing Solutions Strategy as the successor strategic approach to the West Dunbartonshire Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan. One of the key aims is the delivery of the recommendations of the supported h ousing review which has the potential to require a procurement exercise for the future provision of temporary accommodation. The outcome of this review 4.6 6.1 6.2
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and any potential procurement exercise will be submitted to a future meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee in late 2025. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 There are financial and regulatory risks associated with not being able to fully deliver our “More than a Roof” along with reputational risks. The implementation of the strategy mitigates these risks through the delivery of the action plan which addresses such risks. If the Council were unable to deliver the strategic objectives it would have the potential to increase homeless demand and requirement for temporary accommodation which have a detrimental financial impact on the Council’s budgets. 7.3 As with all Scottish local authorities, West Dunbartonshire Council currently has regulatory engagement with the Scottish Housing Regulator regarding the provision of homeless services. Failing to deliver this plan could lead to increased engagement from low to high. 8 Environmental Sustainability The Council’s use of temporary accommodation is consistent with the delivery of our housing maintenance programme and is part of our current and future approach to strategic housing asset management which will continue to prioritise a ‘zero carbon’ approach to decision making and deliverability and this will be done the aims of the Housing Asset Management Strategy and the Council’s Climate Change Strategy. 9. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 9.1 There are no negative equalities impacts due to the introduction of a new Housing Solutions Strategy, however preventing and responding to homelessness has a significant positive impact on individuals and communities. There are potential positive impacts for some groups as noted in the EIA conducted during the producing of this strategy in November 2024, EIA 1148. The EIA can be found as Appendix 3 of this report. 10. Consultation 10.1 This strategy was written in partnership with all key stakeholders including staff and service users with lived experience of homelessness. Local authorities have a statutory duty to involve, consult and engage with stakeholders relevant to their policies and strategies. Part of the process of producing the initial draft of this strategy involved a wide consultation process, to gather views and experiences of our service and identity areas we need to focus on. 10.2 Service user focus groups were held, online surveys for service users, staff an dstakeholders were created, public consultation events and staff meetings and focus group with our Housing Solutions Partnership. The feedback from this first round of consultation lead to the four objectives of the strategy. 7.2
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10.3 Further consultation was then carried out on the draft through the housing solutions partnership meeting, West Dunbartonshire Tenants, and Residents Organisation (WDTRO) and a public online survey to ensure we have captured the most meaningful strategic objectives. 11. Strategic Assessment 11.1 Having considered the Council's strategic priorities, this report contributes significantly to all strategic priorities. • Our Communities - Resilient and Thriving • Our Environment - A Greener Future • Our Economy - Strong and Flourishing • Our Council - Inclusive & Adaptable Peter Barry Chief Officer, Housing and Employability Date: 12th February 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Person to Contact: John Kerr – Housing Development and Homelessness Manager, Housing Development and Homelessness Team, Housing and Employability, telephone: 07793717981, email: john.kerr@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Claire McKay, Housing Development Coordinator, Housing Development and Homelessness Team, Housing and Employability: email claire.mckay@west- dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: Appendix 1 – Housing Solutions Strategy, “More than a Roof” Appendix 2 – Summary of Consultation Appendix 3 – Equalities Impact Assessment Background Papers: Ending Homelessness Together – High Level Action Plan; Scottish Government/COSLA https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/ publications/publication/2018/11/ending-homelessness- together-high-level-action-plan/documents/00543359- pdf/00543359-pdf/govscot%3Adocument Letter from Paul McLennan, MSP, Minister for Housing on Distribution of Funding for Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans for 2024/25; 5 March 2024; “Home at the Heart” West Dunbartonshire Council’s RRTP Strategy 2019 - 2025. West Dunbartonshire Council’s Local Housing Strategy 2022-2027; Wards Affected: All