Analysis of Current Statutory Duties and Performance
In an increasingly complex housing landscape, it is essential for Local Authorities to not only meet their statutory duties but to do so efficiently and effectively.
Our analysis delves into the performance of current statutory housing services, assessing how well Local Authorities are fulfilling their obligations under the Homelessness Reduction Act, Housing Act, and related legislation by focusing on processes and systems.
We evaluate the effectiveness of housing allocations, homelessness prevention, and temporary accommodation provision, identifying areas where processes may be falling short or could be streamlined.
By focusing on compliance, service delivery, and outcomes for those in need, our analysis provides clear insights into gaps in performance, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities for improvement. Our goal is to help Local Authorities enhance their ability to meet legal requirements while improving service delivery for those who rely on housing support the most.
Efficiency, Compliance, and Innovation
To meet growing demands while working within constrained budgets, Local Authorities must embrace a forward-thinking approach that prioritizes efficiency, compliance, and innovation. Our recommendations focus on streamlining processes, reducing administrative burdens, and optimizing resource allocation to ensure housing services are both responsive and sustainable.
We propose practical, actionable strategies to enhance compliance with statutory duties, ensuring that local authorities not only meet legal requirements but also have improved accuracy and reduced risk. Alongside this, we explore innovative solutions, such as leveraging data-driven decision-making, adopting digital tools, and fostering stronger partnerships with the VCSE sector.
These innovative approaches offer opportunities for Local Authorities to maximize their impact and deliver better outcomes for those they serve, even in the face of financial and operational challenges.
By implementing these recommendations, Local Authorities can transform their housing services to be more agile, compliant, and equipped to address the evolving needs of their communities.
Upstream Prevention
In addition to evaluating current service delivery, we prioritize upstream prevention efforts aimed at reducing the inflow of individuals into the service. Through our review, we assess local authorities’ preventive initiatives that tackle root causes, such as housing instability, economic hardship, and health-related vulnerabilities.
Upstream Prevention Strategies include:
- Early Identification and Intervention: Collaborating with local services to identify individuals and families at risk, enabling timely intervention.
- Partnerships with Health and Social Services: Ensuring mental health, addiction, and social services are well-integrated, providing comprehensive support to those at risk.
- Community-Based Resources: Strengthening support systems in communities to reduce housing instability before it leads to homelessness.
By enhancing prevention efforts, we enable local authorities to reduce overall homelessness demand, lessen the financial strain on homelessness services, and improve long-term outcomes.
Methodology
Data will be gathered through:
• Quantitative and qualitative analysis of statutory homelessness data from the Jigsaw or other database, H-CLIC data, and the other local systems made available to the review.
• Structured interviews with those with lived experience of homelessness services. This will include individuals facing multiple disadvantages, such as those dealing with mental health issues, addiction, domestic violence, and other factors that make their cases complex.
• Engaging with and interviewing service staff and stakeholders, including partner agencies and other relevant VCSE sector groups whose work impacts the service to understand its context better.
Whilst every effort will be made to complete the review as quickly as possible by expediting each stage, given the range of individuals and variables involved, the time required to complete this phase may vary. Nevertheless, the report will be submitted well before the due date, as required.
Stakeholder Engagement
We will engage with service users, statutory homelessness staff, external service providers, and other relevant stakeholders as part of the process.
With an emphasis on diversity and inclusion, engagement will be made accessible and tailored to meet the needs of individuals and group contributors, whether face-to-face or remotely, through the use of online forms.
Interviews will be conducted to capture a diverse range of insights.
Most importantly, comprehensive relationships will be developed as needed at all levels within the authority’s statutory homelessness services and associated ancillary departments, including HR, without limitation, to ensure thorough engagement and the greatest insight in order to fulfil the agreed brief.
Comparative Analysis
We will research up-to-date best practices to ensure the recommendations are aligned with the latest approaches in statutory homelessness services.
In particular, where there are opportunities to learn from successful pilot projects and more radical approaches applied which ‘break the mould’ with associated improvements in outcomes, these will be highlighted in the report.
Within Scope
- Compliance with regulatory frameworks relating to statutory homelessness
- Formal policies and procedures relevant to discharging statutory duties
- Competence, skill and experience of staff carrying out duties in the statutory homelessness team
- Management oversight of the statutory homelessness team
- Appropriate access to specialist advice and guidance to support accurate and consistent decision making
- Systems used by officers to organise and record work
- Internal inter-agency collaboration to prevent and relieve homelessness
- Human resource capacity within the service
- Access to resources essential for discharging statutory duties (including procurement solutions for TA)
Out of Scope
- Rough sleeping services
- Supported accommodation services
- Temporary accommodation (quality, suitability, location)
- Social housing (other than relevant policies)
Legislation
As a minimum, the review should take in to account the following legislative frameworks and processes:
Part VII Housing Act 1996; specifically, sections:
- S184 main duty decision
- S185 enquiries into eligibility
- S188 interim duty to accommodate
- S189 enquiries into priority need
- S189(a) duty to assess and provide PHP’s
- S189(b) relief duty
- S191 enquiries into intentional homelessness
- S193 main duty
- S195 prevention duty
- S202 reviews
- S2213(b) duty to refer
Homelessness Reduction Act2017
Domestic Abuse Act2021
Proposed Timeline
The data-gathering phase, particularly interviews with individuals with lived experience, the statutory team, and community partners, is subject to variables such as the number, diversity, and complexity of cases. These factors could influence the precise duration of this phase but will not affect the project’s deadline.
The timeline is illustrative and can be adapted to meet local requirements.
- Month 1:
- Project initiation and review of City of London Corporation’s policies, procedures, and data systems.
- Review of homelessness team data including factors which affect performance.
- Formulation of key questions to guide the review.
- Month 1-Month 3:
- Stakeholder interviews, including statutory homelessness team members, service providers, and individuals with lived experience of homelessness.
- Data gathering from Jigsaw and H-CLIC databases.
- Research into best practices from comparable local authorities.
- Month 4-Month 5:
- Data analysis and comparison of findings with best practice examples.
- Initial drafting of report, including findings and recommendations.
- Presentation of initial findings (if requested) to senior leadership teams.
- Month 6:
- Finalization of the report and submission.
- Presentation of final findings to SLT and DLT (if requested).
Outputs
The review will produce the following outputs:
- An initial discovery paper outlining the approach and key areas of focus.
- Evidence of staff and stakeholder consultation, including feedback from individuals with lived experience.
- A detailed report, suitable for presentation to the City of London’s Senior Leadership and Departmental Leadership Teams, containing findings and actionable recommendations.
- A presentation of findings and recommendations (upon request).
Benefits of Independent Review
An independent review allows local authorities to gain a fresh, unbiased perspective on the challenges they encounter, uninfluenced by internal baggage or operational blind spots.
By bringing in external expertise, Local Authorities can receive an objective evaluation of their housing services, providing a clearer understanding of what is working effectively and identifying areas that require improvement.
We bring invaluable insights into best practices and innovative solutions, drawn from a wealth of experience across multiple sectors, offering new ideas that may not be apparent internally.
Furthermore, an independent review enhances credibility and accountability.
Stakeholders, including service users, elected officials, and the public, can be confident that our recommendations are based on impartial, thorough analysis.
This transparency ensures that any proposed changes are backed by data, evidence, and proven methods. With the inclusion of external expertise, local authorities can tackle complex problems with renewed creativity and more effective strategies, ultimately maximizing their ability to deliver sustainable housing services and improve outcomes for their communities.
Costing & Budget Considerations
We recognize the immense financial pressures that local authorities are currently facing, where limited resources and scrutinized budgets make it difficult to balance essential services.
To help navigate these challenges, we provide a flexible pricing model designed to meet these financial constraints while ensuring the high-quality expertise and outcomes that Local Authorities require.
Our pricing structure is adaptable, offering a modular approach that allows Local Authorities to target critical areas first, enabling them to prioritize services based on urgent needs and budget availability.
We ensure costs remain manageable while delivering valuable insights.
Additionally, we provide payment flexibility through phased payments aligned with project milestones, helping ease the financial burden and allowing for better planning.
Our services are crafted to offer long-term value by improving efficiency and optimizing resource allocation, even in the face of budgetary constraints.
Prepared by: Lloyd Hobbard-Mitchell
Negotiable Day Rate: (outside IR35)
Email: lloydhm@smallchangerevolution.com
Tel: 07970198992