Priority 1: Early intervention and prevention
Our objectives
- To reduce homelessness, and the risk of it, through successful early intervention and prevention.
- To reduce the number of homeless prevention cases moving to the homeless relief stage.
- To reduce the number of homeless relief cases moving into the main homeless duty decision stage.
- To strengthen multi-agency partnership working in the prevention of homelessness.
We aim to prevent homelessness at the earliest opportunity. This means encouraging people to contact us when they first experience difficulties, in order to work to resolve any issues before the threat of homelessness results in actual homelessness.
A range of activities are carried out by the Council to prevent homelessness. Some of the key ways we do this, include:
- Housing Hub (a multi-agency approach to case management)
- Complex Case Panel (for Council tenants)
- Working with landlords and excluders (e.g. family or friends) to sustain accommodation
- Carrying out interventions on Section 21 evictions and rent arrears
- Homeless prevention payments
- Discretionary payments (Exceptional Hardship Payments and Discretionary Housing Payments)
- Sanctuary Scheme for victims of domestic abuse
- Attending Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC) and Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA)
- Implementing various joint working protocols with other organisations in many areas of homeless prevention
- The duty to refer process
While the review of homelessness found that opportunities for early intervention are present, performance is below the national level for preventing homelessness. Where homelessness has not been prevented, the applicant will then move into the relief duty stage. The review also found a higher level of relief cases where 56 days had elapsed without finding a housing solution compared to the national level. Where homelessness has not been relieved, the applicant is still homeless and therefore moves into the main duty decision stage.
We aim to work towards achieving an upward trajectory on the proportion of successful homeless preventions and a downward trajectory on the proportion of prevention cases moving to the relief stage. We also aim to increase the proportion of successful outcomes at the relief stage and reduce the proportion of cases moving to the main duty decision stage.
A review of staffing levels and resources was carried out and, to further strengthen the preventative approach, additional staff have been recruited to enable a reduction in caseloads per officer, shorten waiting times for appointments and have an increased focus on accurate and timely Homelessness Case Level Information Collection (HCLIC) submissions to government.
How we will meet our objectives
Relaunch and expand membership of the Housing Hub
The impact of the pandemic has meant that the Housing Hub has not been running at full capacity and, for greater efficiency, now operates a more virtual model. Relaunching the Hub and expanding membership will help get the best results for people who are homeless, as partners can work in collaboration on a range of different and complex needs.
Introduce multi-agency panel meetings for complex cases
Where cases reach a threshold of being of a particularly complex nature, the Housing Solutions team discuss complex cases internally to jointly agree actions to work on solutions to the issues. We will aim to also include Housing Hub partners in these complex needs discussions.
Look at ways to reduce the average waiting time for appointments
There is an average wait for appointments of two weeks which could impact on successful prevention outcomes. The earlier we act to prevent homelessness, the greater chance there is of a successful outcome. Reviewing the service and fully training Triage Officers in homeless legislation, has enabled Officers to confidently identify opportunities to prevent homelessness much earlier on.
Explore the viability of introducing a financial exclusion predictive analytics model
This financial exclusion analytics model brings together data from different areas to identify those at risk of future homelessness so we can know who to reach for intervention at the earliest opportunity.
Encourage joint agency working in personalised housing plans
Personalised housing ans set out the steps to be taken by an applicant and the local housing authority to prevent or relieve homelessness. Working together with organisations who are also working with applicants, will improve the likelihood that plans will be successful in preventing or relieving homelessness. Applicants will therefore be encouraged to engage with their other support services as part of their plan.
Expand membership of the Dartford Homelessness Forum to include missing partners
The Homelessness Forum is an opportunity for partner organisations to work together on the joint ambition to prevent homelessness and to drive this strategy forward. We have a number of dedicated partners already attending who are helping to make a real difference. We want to welcome even more partners into the Forum, especially social services, mental health and substance misuse services, and local housing associations who are all key stakeholders in the work we do to achieve the best outcomes for people experiencing homelessness.
Work in partnership with the Kent Housing Options sub group to develop and deliver a multi-agency training package
Working in partnership helps raise awareness and knowledge of the Council’s role in the prevention of homelessness and how we can assist. This also helps organisations in the referral of applicants to us and the management of a person’s expectations of the service. We will work with Kent colleagues to pool our resources to help train external colleagues on homelessness legislation.
Promote the duty to refer to relevant authorities
Specific public authorities have a duty to notify local housing authorities of service users they consider may be homeless or threatened with homelessness. This helps to ensure that services are working together effectively to prevent homelessness by ensuring that peoples’ housing needs are considered when they come into contact with public authorities. We want to increase the level of these referrals from public authorities as well as those organisations not subject to the duty to refer.
Work with registered providers of social housing (housing associations) to try to intervene at an early stage to prevent homelessness
Some registered providers operate fixed terms tenancies with a statutory minimum term of two years. If a decision is made to not renew the tenancy at the end of the fixed term and no alternative housing arrangements have been found, we want to know as early as possible so that we can work to prevent homelessness. We also want to know as early as possible if a provider is planning to evict a tenant for tenancy breaches.
Establish a weekly drop in service where anyone can access our service to gain quick housing advice
A weekly drop in service will help empower people with advice and knowledge, encourage them to access our service early on before hitting crisis point and potentially prevent the need to make a homeless application.
Review joint working processes with the YMCA, including the crash pad based at the YMCA
We have an established partnership arrangement with the YMCA that has, for many years, successfully supported vulnerable young homeless people. A review of our joint working processes and the use of the crash pad will ensure young people continue to receive the best possible response to their homeless situation.
Develop a multi-agency panel that seeks to assist 18+ care leavers from supported accommodation
Care leavers need to feel settled as they come to the end of their social care journey. The Council will work proactively with personal advisors to discuss cases early on when care leavers turn 18, in order to jointly develop a plan of move on into settled accommodation.
Explore and identify future government funding opportunities to improve outcomes for homeless households in the borough
We will continue to actively explore funding sources to assist rough sleepers, domestic abuse survivors and people affected by the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
Introduce key performance indicators for the homelessness service
Key performance indicators measure how well we are performing in delivering the homelessness service. They are a useful tool to highlight areas of success and areas where improvements are required, thereby informing strong decision making.
How we will measure success
We will measure our successes through the monitoring of:
- Number of initial assessments owed a prevention duty
- Number of initial assessments owed a relief duty
- Percentage of applicants securing accommodation for six months or more