Homelessness Strategy

This is the second Homelessness Strategy produced by North Norfolk District Council based upon a review of homelessness services in the area. Both the review and the development of the strategy were undertaken in partnership with key partners and stakeholders operating in the district. A significant number of the actions in the Action Plan which covers the period 2008-2011 will be delivered in partnership although the strategy does not cover all of the services being delivered to those who are homeless in the district.   

The strategy covers homelessness prevention in its widest sense and seeks to deliver an Enhanced Housing Options Service in line with the latest guidance issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

You can view this document at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/expandingchoice 

The incidence of homelessness in North Norfolk is relatively low with 2.6 households being accepted as homeless per thousand households. The Council has been successful in preventing homelessness with reductions in the number of homeless applications taken and in the number of households accepted as homeless. The main reasons for homelessness have tended to remain constant with the loss of private rented accommodation, parents no longer willing or able to accommodate and violent breakdown of relationship with partner being the main reasons for homelessness. Most households accepted as homeless are in the 16-24 and 25-44 age groups.

The strategy identifies a number of issues that are likely to impact on homelessness and the delivery of housing options services in the short term (the availability of mortgage finance and the impact of the ‘credit crunch’), medium term (the increasing numbers of European economic migrants) and the long term (coastal erosion and flooding).

The recent review of homelessness services in the district identified that the aims of the first strategy were still relevant and that further work needed to be undertaken in these areas to move towards the delivery of an Enhanced Housing Options Service. These aims have however been revised to reflect the vision we have for the housing service and are as follows:

1. to deliver a customer focused service to standards influenced by the customer
2. to increase the accessibility of the housing service ensuring equity of access for all
3. to increase the range of housing options available and to provide a service that enables customers to make informed choices about their housing options and which empowers customers to pursue their chosen housing option
4. to reduce the incidence of homelessness through effective homelessness prevention services
5. to reduce the use of temporary accommodation for households accepted as homeless and where temporary accommodation has to be used to ensure that it is of a reasonable standard and in a location which enables the household to maintain stability.

The Action Plan contains specific actions to deliver the aims above with actions being identified for each of the three years covered by the strategy. Delivery against the strategy and action plan will be monitored by the Council along with its group of key partners and stakeholders who will meet on a quarterly basis. An annual progress report will be produced in September of each year.