Minutes:
Mr. O’Kane commenced by advising that the numbers presenting as homeless had fallen during the initial stages of the pandemic, but unfortunately at the end of September homelessness numbers had started to rise again. He reported that there had been a 11% increase in homeless presenters during the first 6 months of this year and that demand was continuing to rise. He advised that the reasons for people presenting continued to be the same, and he anticipated that the numbers of people needing placed in temporary accommodation would exceed that of last year. He referred to the difficulties still faced in placing people in temporary accommodation as a result of reduced capacity due to Covid restrictions (guidance from Public Health Agency (PHA) in regard to social distancing) which had resulted in a number of voluntary sector hostels operating well below capacity. He advised that discussions regarding updating the current guidelines were ongoing but currently many of the restrictions on bedspaces remained.
The representative then proceeded to outline to the Members the range of options available for temporary accommodation to try and meet the demand, which included the supply of approximately 400 lets within the private rental sector. However, he reported that this approach had also become much more challenging as both the demand for such properties and the rental price had increased significantly, with the supply of rental properties now significantly being outstripped by demand.
The representative also referred to the staffing pressures within the voluntary sector in terms of difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff which was also impacting the running of voluntary hostels.
The Members were advised of the new telephone system that had been installed in May 2021 and noted that this had been helpful as the level of calls had risen significantly.
Mr. O’Kane referred to the important role of the Council and its various Partners on the work of the Complex Lives Approach initiative, explaining that this specifically aimed to tackle the many addiction and mental health issues using an inter-agency and voluntary approach. This was a collaborative project with the NIHE, Public Health Authority, the Health and Social Care Board, Probation Board for Northern Ireland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, along with voluntary agencies, and reported that that it was working well and he drew specific reference to the usefulness of the weekly multi-agency meeting. The organisations were endeavouring to work together to try and ensure that the necessary arrangements were in place, however, he stated that he anticipated that the next six months (winter pressures) would be an extremely challenging period.
Mr. O’Kane stated that whilst there was currently a homelessness crisis the statutory agencies emphasis continued to be on prevention and to this end the NIHE had recently approved just over 1 million of Homelessness Prevention Funding. This funding would help to provide financial assistance to voluntary and community sector organisations to aid those individuals who had been particularly affected during the pandemic. Emergency accommodation was not a long-term solution and the statutory organisations priority was to prevent someone becoming homeless. The representative stated that the statutory organisations were committed to improving the access and provision of services to vulnerable individuals by supporting their health and social care needs.
The representative also advised that the Housing Executive was working very closely with the Home Office in terms of housing asylum seekers.
The Committee was advised that the Housing Executive had just approved its new Homelessness Strategy, and this would be being circulated for consultation in the near future.
The Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, thanked the NIHE representatives for the update.