World Homeless Day is 10 October, and Milton Keynes City Council is reflecting on a milestone year for tackling homelessness in which it was commended for its work by a group of independent experts.
Homelessness is a significant national challenge, and supporting people who are facing homelessness, as well as doing more to prevent homelessness are key priorities in the Council Plan. Last year the city council spent more than £18 million on providing emergency accommodation to residents facing homelessness and it’s approached for help by around 175 local families every month.
Last year on World Homeless Day, the city council introduced a top up scheme to help more families move into private rented homes. In certain situations where rent is just out of reach, the city council tops up the difference between what a tenant can afford and what a landlord can reasonably expect. It’s helped more than 115 families this way, and around 150 landlords are signed up to the scheme – which also sees the city council providing financial incentives to landlords who can offer long term, secure tenancies.
Renters who are in dispute with a landlord can also get more help from the city council. Its ‘Call Before You Serve’ initiative prevents homelessness before it happens by offering mediation between landlords and tenants before eviction notices are served. It estimates around 35 evictions have been avoided since July, as well as lessening the financial and emotional cost of legal proceedings.
Residents who still find themselves homeless, perhaps because of a no-fault eviction, are now less likely to be housed in emergency B&B accommodation far outside the city. In the last year more than 400 smaller families have been temporarily housed in Harben House in Newport Pagnell after the city council struck a deal to book the hotel in full – saving over £400,000 on paying for B&Bs and other spaces night by night. City council teams run cooking clubs and other activities at the hotel to help families get to know each other.
The city council also opened a new, larger facility in Fishermead for people who had been sleeping rough. Since then, it’s helped more than 50 residents move into secure, long-term homes, providing ongoing mental health and other support. Many people are now renting successfully or have reconnected with family or moved into council housing. There is always space at the facility and the city council’s outreach teams are in regular contact with rough sleepers.
This common-sense approach to tackling homelessness was commended by a group of independent experts who spent four days in Milton Keynes earlier this year as part of a Local Government Association corporate peer challenge.
“While tackling homelessness remains a significant challenge for all councils including in Milton Keynes, this has been a milestone year for us as we’ve introduced some major initiatives that are already showing an impact. We’re helping local people find safe, stable homes while doing more to prevent homelessness. This is all against a bigger backdrop where we’re building more council homes and encouraging developers to build more affordable homes.”