Agenda item

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

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services providing a COVID-19 update and the following points were made:

• Whilst homeless and rough sleeping individuals were inherently vulnerable to COVID-19, infection rates had remained low.  A focus had been placed on preventative measures to sustain and build on the reduced level of rough sleeping in the City of London during the COVID-19 period.  This included short-term accommodation at the Carter Lane hostel and other locations where individuals could be safeguarded whilst accessing the multi-agency support that was intended to help them move on to longer-term accommodation.  The Carter Lane hostel had supported 74 individuals during Quarter 3 2020/21, of which 19 had successfully moved into longer-term and stable accommodation.  A further 81 individuals had successfully moved into longer-term and stable accommodation from other hostel provision.  The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government had recently announced additional short-term funding which would be used to strengthen the existing service offer.

• In response to a question from a Committee Member, the Rough Sleeping Service Manager confirmed that the City of London Corporation’s contract for the use of the Carter Lane hostel had been extended for a further twelve months until 31 March 2022, with break clauses at six, nine and twelve months if the provision was no longer required.  A vaccination session had been delivered at the Carter Lane Hostel enabling eleven clients and two staff members to receive a COVID-19 vaccination and it was hoped to run another vaccination session shortly.  There were complexities around offering vaccines to individuals who remained on the streets but work was underway with health partners to identify a viable delivery mechanism for this cohort.

RESOLVED, that the update be noted.