Agenda item

The Committee considered the report from Cabinet updating on the following services:

-       Homelessness, Rough Sleeping and Temporary Accommodation – the report noted that the Newcastle Housing Advice Service (NHA Service) had seen increased demands for its service.  The Rough Sleepers service was delivered by Brighter Futures and continued to operate as normal.  The Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) was outlined – this was instigated between 1^st November – 31^st March when the temperature was forecast to drop to zero degrees or below on a single night or during severe weather conditions such as rain and snow.  The Temporary Accommodation service position was fairly static with approximately 16 households in such accommodation at any one time; the service was delivered by a mixture of Bed and Breakfast and temporary accommodation units.

-       Domestic Abuse services update – the Police had advised that the expected increased demand in reporting had not materialised although partners expected an increase to occur as victims had not had access to safe spaces during lockdown to report incidents.  The weekly Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference had seen fairly consistent numbers of cases but services had seen a rise in more complex cases with greater risk and an increase of abuse from adult children to parent. 

-       Work to ensure visitors felt safe with reopening Town Centres post lockdown – updated signage had been installed in Kidsgrove and Newcastle town centres and public toilets had remained open with increased cleaning.  Members received information on the provision of Street Marshals and Business Marshals and how the service was resourced.

In relation to a query earlier in the meeting, the Partnerships Manager outlined the role of the organisation Open Door Stoke on Trent whose role including delivering weekly outreach services in Newcastle; further information would be circulated outside of the meeting to all Members. 

Members raised issues and queries as below: 

-       How could the Committee help with the issues around homelessness and rough sleeping?  It was suggested that promoting and signposting people to the services of the NHA Service was important especially as their remit included preventative work.  

-       Did the Council have provision such as The Macari Centre in Hanley?  The Committee was informed that the report on the Temporary Accommodation Policy later on the agenda would cover this in more detail but the Council did not own stock of accommodation and had to rely on other providers; the immediate issue was to build a resilient service and then enter into discussions with providers around additional provision.  It was also important to have pathways that could support the person and enable them to remain in accommodation appropriate to their needs which were often complex.

-       Could a progress update be made on the marshalling service?  Members were informed that there were 2 marshal roles – Street Marshals who gave advice in the town centre and dispersed groups of 6+ people, and Business Marshals who give advice to businesses and reminders to businesses including relating to the operation of the ‘Click and Collect’ service during Lockdown.  There had been very few negative reactions to the Marshals.  The Committee was advised that the Marshals were current staff who were unable to undertake their current role due to the pandemic, such as J2 staff.  Other Marshalling staff were provided through managing rotas to enable staff to undertake their substantive role as well as undertake duties as a Marshal. It was not thought there was any detriment to services but any specific issues could be raised with officers outside the meeting.   The Council would be able to reclaim some of the costs through the Business Marshal Support scheme.  Members commended staff for maintaining services throughout the pandemic.

Resolved: that the update be noted.