The Issues
The move towards sub-regional strategies for homelessness, and of cross-borough lettings through choice-based lettings schemes, has implications for move-on strategies. The wider the geographic choice open to homeless people in finding somewhere that suits them in the private sector, the greater the chance of developing the sector as a move-on option.
The ability to access support as well as housing across borough boundaries will be key to developing this sort of flexibility. Some cross-borough support mechanisms exist (such as rough sleepers' Tenancy Sustainment Teams), although it is not clear what prospects there are for continued cross-borough funding in the longer-term; meanwhile, there is a growing trend for Supporting People commissioners to consolidate floating support contracts to produce borough-wide generic services. There was some evidence at the Future Search conference of the development of cross-borough protocols for transportable support packages, and for joint commissioning of floating support services at a sub-regional level, but it was not clear whether this was a widespread or isolated phenomenon.
Outline agenda
The aim of this symposium was to share information and best practice on:-
and to identify issues, barriers, and areas where further work is needed.
Desired outcomes
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increased knowledge and contacts for symposium participants
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examples of good practice which can be disseminated and copied more widely
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agendas for discussion at strategic level and for future work by the Foundation.
Key participants
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Sub-regional homelessness coordinators and local authority Housing Options Team members
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Supporting People commissioners
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Support providers
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CLG, GLA and London Councils
A report detailing the findings of the symposium programme is currently
being produced and will be available to download for free from this
website during February 2008.