Agenda item

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services in respect of rough sleeper data for end of the year 2019/20 and Quarter 1 2020/21 and the following points were made:

• The total number of rough sleepers in the City of London was 172 as at Quarter 4 2019/20 and had fallen to 140 in Q1 2020/21.  This was considerably lower than the same period in 2019/20 and was also lower than the City of London Corporation’s benchmark local authorities. The most common support needs of rough sleepers were those relating to mental health and/or drug or alcohol misuse.  Drug and alcohol support services could be access via Turning Point and the Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping Service was working with Public Health colleagues to develop a funding proposal to lower the threshold for accessing services.

• A Member requested that future statistical reports to the Sub-Committee include clarification on whether rough sleepers who were European Union citizens had settled or pre-settled status.  The Chairman highlighted the need for a strategy to be in place to manage an increase in the numbers of rough sleepers with no recourse to public funds and asked that a report be provided to a future meeting of Community and Children’s Services Committee on this emerging issue and shared with members of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Sub-Committee. 

• In response to a question from a Member, the Head of Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping confirmed that the use of ‘Flow’, ‘Stock’, and ‘Returner’ to categorise rough sleepers were official categories set out by the Greater London Authority to distinguish between rough sleepers who were known or unknown to services, but that different terminology would be used in future.  Another Member was concerned at the proportion of rough sleepers listed as ‘flow unidentified’ and the Head of Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping responded that this related to the people who had not yet been assessed by the Outreach Team.

RESOLVED, that the update be noted.