Issue - meetings

To receive and consider report 13/08 of the Strategic Director.

Introduction and Report Summary

The Homelessness Act 2002 introduced a legislative requirement for all local housing authorities to carry out a review of homelessness in their district and to produce a homelessness strategy setting out how homelessness was going to be tackled.

The first strategy was required to be published by July 2003, and strategies must be reviewed at least every 5 years.  The Council’s first Homelessness Strategy was published in July 2003. 

The Council have now produced a second Homelessness Strategy 2008-13, which has been informed by the findings of a review of homelessness in the District carried out over 2007-08. 

This report summarises the priority areas that the new Homelessness Strategy will seek to address.  The Council is required to publish the Strategy by July 2008.

The Contact Officer for this report is Lyn Scaplehorn, Lyn.Scaplehorn@whitehorsedc.gov.uk  Housing Advice Team Leader (01235 520202 Ext 579).

Recommendations

(a)       That the Executive adopt the new Homelessness Strategy 2008-13

(b)               That the Executive ask the Housing Advice team to implement the action plans developed as part of the Homelessness Strategy 2008-13

(Time: 2.40pm to 2.44pm)

The Executive received and considered report 13/08 of the Strategic Director, which requested Members to approve a revised Homelessness Strategy.  The Homelessness Act 2002 had introduced a requirement for all local housing authorities to carry out a review of homelessness in their District and to produce a homelessness strategy setting out how the issue was going to be tackled.  The Council’s first Homelessness Strategy was published in July 2003 and had to be reviewed at least every five years. 

A second Homelessness Strategy 2008-2013 had been produced, informed by the findings of a review of homelessness in the District carried out over 2007-08.  The report summarised the priority areas that the new strategy would address.  The Council was required to publish the strategy by July 2008. 

The Executive commended the work done to tackle homelessness and commended the revised strategy to further reduce homelessness in the District. 

RESOLVED

(a)       that the Homelessness Strategy 2008-2013 be adopted; and

(b)               that the Housing Advice team be asked to implement the action plans developed as part of the Homelessness Strategy 2008-2013.