Year 1 Reducing Homelessness Action Plan:

Area	Action	Key Stakeholders	Lead	Activities	Outcome
Theme 1. Preventing homelessness.
Priority 1: Intervening before people reach housing crisis.	Expand the Private Rented Sector Offer across North Yorkshire	Housing Needs staff	Housing Needs	Source funding for posts.   Review current role description and ensure consistency across localities. Develop comms for other professionals and the public.	More North Yorkshire residents can access and sustain private rented tenancies.
	Expand pre-tenancy support and life skills across North Yorkshire.	Housing Needs, Housing Market Development	Housing Needs	Evaluate current approach, identify support gaps across TA, hostels and other homelessness projects and prioritise areas for action. Identify good practice from other areas.  With service providers, assess capacity for delivering an expanded service.	Support not tied to locality or temporary accommodation type. More placements are sustained.
	Continue to develop our data systems and explore what additional use can be made of housing benefit, council tax and other available data to identify households in financial stress and who are at future risk of homelessness.	Housing Needs, Revenues & Benefits, DWP, Council Tax, Adult and Children’s Care, Integrated Care Boards.	Housing Needs	Review current data collection around households in financial stress and at future risk of homelessness.  Review what data is currently shared between services and organisations and what additional data-sharing agreements need to be developed.  Agree key indicators to be used to identify households in financial stress and risk of homelessness. Scope outreach and other possible interventions to support homelessness prevention.	Better identification of at-risk households. Increased opportunities for early intervention, which improves homelessness prevention outcomes.
Priority 2: Improving the customer journey.	Develop a county-wide action plan to ensure a consistent customer journey for customers receiving support from the Housing Needs Service.	Housing Needs	Housing Needs	Publicise customer journey to internal and external stakeholders. Seek regular customer feedback about their experience of using homelessness services.	All people receiving support from the Housing Needs service have a consistent customer journey.
	Ensure all our homelessness prevention offers, including debt management/income maximisation, DHP, and rent deposits/rent in advance, are consistent across localities.	Housing Needs	Housing Needs	Review current provision of interventions in localities, including debt management/ income maximisation, DHP payments, and rent deposits/rent in advance.	All people receiving support from the Housing Needs service across localities have similar access to the service offer.
	Improve the self-service offer on the Council website for customers to apply for assistance and understand their likely entitlements to housing and support.	Housing Needs	Housing Needs	Review current website content.   Agree arrangements for regularly updating website information.   Seek customer feedback about the usefulness of information and ease of access.	People requiring assistance can easily access information and understand their entitlements to housing and support.
	Deliver refresher duty to refer/commitment to refer and Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA) training to all relevant frontline staff. This will include sessions at upcoming meetings of the Homelessness Forums and the Registered Social Landlord Partnership.	Housing Needs	Housing Needs	Review current training delivery programme content.   Agree future delivery timetable.   Agree delivery mechanisms, including sessions at upcoming meetings of Homelessness Forums and Registered Social Landlord Partnership.	All frontline staff feel confident to deliver assistance and support in these areas.
Priority 3: Working with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector to prevent homelessness.	Work closely with North Yorkshire Council’s localities team, Parish and Town Councils and Community First Yorkshire, to identify needs of individual communities and to develop engagement strategies, to encourage earlier engagement with council services around housing needs.	Housing Needs  North Yorkshire Localities Team  Community First Yorkshire	Housing Needs	Map individual communities in NYC, their current engagement with NYC homelessness services and forums and gaps in this  Draft engagement strategies for individual communities.   Seek funding for a dedicated role, to increase VCSE capacity, understanding of NYCs homelessness service offer and promote joint working with Housing Needs.	Earlier and more comprehensive engagement with NYC homelessness services increases opportunities for homelessness prevention.
	Increase council presence and visibility in community settings. This might include joint working between voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations and the DWP, to provide a single access point for support which could also promote the council’s homelessness assistance offer.	Housing Needs, Community First Yorkshire,  DWP	Housing Needs	Scope joint working opportunities, including around provision a single access point for support and alternative approaches.   Review good practice from other areas.   Identify potential venues for the single access point/other preferred intervention.   Develop service specification and budget.   Develop delivery action plan.	More people are aware of and access the council’s service offer around homelessness; increased opportunities for homelessness prevention.
Theme 2. Increasing the availability of suitable accommodation options.
Priority 1: Increasing access to suitable and affordable housing	Provide transparent information on housing availability and waiting times, relevant services, and support across in other parts of North Yorkshire, to help housing applicants make informed choices about where they would like to live.	Housing Needs  Housing Management and Landlord Services.	Housing Management and Landlord Services.	Review current publicly available information and identify gaps.   Agree timescale for developing new text and uploading on North Yorkshire Council website.	Customers have access to transparent information which enables them to make more informed choices about where they wish to live; this increases acceptances of offers.
	Increase access to privately rented accommodation through enhanced landlord liaison and relationship-building, financial incentives, and support for landlords and working through landlord forums.	Housing Needs	Housing Needs	Build relationships with private landlords  Enhance financial incentives for private landlords  Ensure landlord forums are functioning in all localities and can provide support to private landlords.   Ensure private landlords understand requirements within recent legislation.	More residents are able to access decent quality private rented accommodation.
Priority 2: Meeting the needs for and improving temporary accommodation.	Audit the locations and physical standards of existing temporary accommodation to undertake an improvement plan.	Housing Needs	Housing Needs	Audit locations and physical standards in current TA properties.   Explore if underspend from Homelessness Prevention Grant and other budgets can be utilised to upgrade current TA stock.	All TA is of adequate standard. There is sufficient supply to meet local needs; improved mental and physical health for TA residents.
Priority 3: Increasing access to supported housing.	Develop an integrated offer between council directorates, to remove multiple access routes across Housing and Adult Social Care and increase focus on achieving positive outcomes for individuals.	Housing Needs  Adult Social Care  Children’s Services	Housing Needs	Map current access routes and identify/highlight duplication (multiple routes).   Scope integrated access point between council directorates – identifying barriers and if/what funding would be needed to develop this.	Reduced duplication provides clarity and makes access easier for people requiring support.
	Work with public health around multiple disadvantage (MDOM), to support customers with a defined housing need, alongside wider care and support needs.	Housing Needs,  Public Health Team	Housing Needs	Scope opportunities for joint working for people with a defined housing need alongside wider care and support needs.	People with multiple disadvantage can access all the services they need to help them leave homelessness.
Theme 3. Improving availability and access to support services.
Priority 1: Strengthening housing related support pathways.	Strengthen the Young People’s Pathway (YPP) through the current recommissioning process, ensuring dedicated support for 16/17-year-olds and care leavers, clearer transition points, and improved move-on into training, employment, and settled housing.	Housing Needs,  Leaving Care services,  Housing Management and Landlord Services	Housing Management and Landlord Services.	Map current support, transition points, move-on pathways, employment and training opportunities.   Work with Housing Management and Landlord Services to ensure these issues are identified and addressed within recommissioning for housing-related support.	All 16/17 year olds using the YPP have access to appropriate accommodation and support.
	Co-produce a Care Leaver Housing Protocol with Leaving Care and other partners to support young people transitioning from care or supported accommodation.	Housing Needs  Adult Social Care   Leaving Care services	Housing Needs	Work with Adult Social Cre and other partners to co-produce a Care Leaver Housing Protocol With Adult Social Care (building on the transitions framework between CSC and Adults services for eligible care leavers).	All relevant services are aware of and able to implement the protocol. There is reduced homelessness within this group.
	Ensure the domestic abuse pathway remains inclusive and trauma-informed, while reviewing gaps in provision for women with multiple disadvantages, including those at risk of violence against women and girls (VAWG).	Housing Needs,  Domestic Violence Services,   Housing Management and Landlord Services	Domestic Violence Services	Review current provision and identify gaps for women with complex needs and women and girls at risk of violence.   Explore additional commissioning opportunities and potential funding sources.	The domestic abuse pathway is able to meet the needs of all women and girls experiencing, or at risk of domestic abuse.
	Comply with the requirements of the new Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act.	Housing Needs,  Housing Management and Landlord Services.	Housing Management and Landlord Services.	Review local supported housing, to assess its alignment with new national standards  Set up licensing schemes for local supported housing providers, to ensure minimum quality standards.  Develop and deliver training for all relevant staff.	All properties meet legal requirements; all relevant staff understand and feel confident in implementing these.
	Continue to work with criminal justice partners to develop a strategy for those being released from prison and serving community sentences.	Housing Needs, Probation Service.	Probation Service	Map existing pathways, capacity.   Identify gaps and funding opportunities   Draw on good practice in other areas.	Fewer prison leavers become homeless/repeat homeless.
Priority 2: A dedicated support offer for people facing multiple disadvantage.	Expand learning from the REACH and SAFE models across other North Yorkshire localities, including their approaches to housing stability, trauma-informed practice, and integrated, multi-agency working. And Continue to embed the Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) approach through the North Yorkshire Multiple Disadvantage Network, supporting co-located teams, shared risk planning and delegated decision-making through the pilot in Harrogate	Housing Needs  North Yorkshire Multiple Disadvantage Network.	North Yorkshire Multiple Disadvantage Network	Work with the Multiple Disadvantage Network to:   Disseminate learning from REACH and SAFE models   Continue to embed the MEAM approach   Extend multi-disciplinary team working across localities, including:  co-located teams, shared risk planning, delegated decision-making structures and processes (utilising existing models in NYC).	All frontline staff are confident in delivering trauma-informed support; multi-disciplinary working improves outcomes for service users around homelessness prevention.
	Deliver joint training for housing and Adult Social Care staff on legal frameworks, responsibilities, and thresholds to improve support planning and coordination in complex cases.	Housing Needs  Adult Social Care   Mental Health Services		Review current training offer   Update training materials.   Agree training delivery plan.	Better understanding of legal frameworks, capacity and thresholds improves support planning and coordination of complex cases.
	Establish joint housing protocols with probation and North Yorkshire Youth Justice Service to support people leaving institutions and reduce repeat homelessness.	Housing Needs,  Probation,   Youth Justice services.	Housing Needs	Develop joint protocols with Probation and youth justice services for people leaving institutions.    Develop an accommodation and support pathway for people leaving prison or being supervised in the community.	All people leaving institutions will have access to appropriate support and are less at risk of homelessness; reduced reoffending; increased public safety.
Priority 3: Embedding inclusive, trauma informed, and culturally competent practice.	Develop a shared understanding of trauma-informed and psychologically informed approaches across Housing, Adult Social Care and voluntary sector partners, including through joint training and reflective spaces	Housing Needs  Adult Social Care  VCSE partners		Develop a shared understanding of trauma-informed and inclusive approaches across Housing, Adult Social Care and VCSE partners.  Review service policy and processes.	All policies and processes are inclusive and culturally competent.
	Improve the way we capture and act on feedback from customers and tenants from diverse backgrounds, as part of improving service quality and inclusion.	Housing Needs		Explore how to better capture and act on feedback from these service users.   Identify good practice from other areas.	There are a range of mechanism through which service users can provide feedback and inform service design and commissioning; the impact of this can be demonstrated.
Priority 4: Supporting voluntary, community and social enterprise engagement and peer-led models.	Strengthen the long-term role of voluntary, community, and social enterprise partners in delivering homelessness support, including through improved commissioning opportunities, funding partnerships, and involvement in strategic planning.	Housing Needs,   Community First	Community First	Map current provision, focusing on rural and underserved areas.   Assess current capacity within VCSE services   Explore funding options to increase capacity for additional service delivery.
	Expand Homelessness Forums as vehicles for shared planning and communication.	Housing Needs	Housing Needs	Explore how forums can be used as vehicles for shared planning and communication.	Homelessness forums are fully operational; there are specific examples of how forums have informed service delivery and/or communication.
	Establish a county-wide lived experience forum, building on good practice such as the Lived Experience Network in Harrogate, and develop principles and structures to ensure it is inclusive, resourced, and embedded in decision-making around commissioning and service design			Establish a county-wide lived experience forum, building on good practice from the Lived Experience Network in Harrogate  Develop Terms of Reference for the new forum.   Explore a codesign approach for lived experience involvement and utilisation of this forum to influence commissioning and service design.
Theme 4. Reducing rough sleeping.
Priority 1: Meeting the accommodation and support needs of people experiencing rough sleeping.	Develop a consistent emergency accommodation offer for people experiencing rough sleeping, based on the NSNO model.	Housing Needs,   B&B providers,  Private landlords.	Housing Needs	Review current emergency accommodation for rough sleepers and gaps in provision.   Identify good practice in other areas, focusing on the NSNO model.  Identify suitable buildings for procurement and/or adaptation for emergency accommodation.	There is a consistent service offer which all rough sleepers in North Yorkshire can access; this reduces time spent on the streets by individuals.
	Review our approach to reconnecting people experiencing rough sleeping to their local authority area of origin, with a view to making this more robust.	Housing Needs	Housing Needs	Review current approach to reconnection to UK local authority areas, including budget for travel costs and other needs.   Develop guidance for frontline staff, which promotes reconnection as a positive housing outcome for some rough sleepers without a local connection to North Yorkshire.	There is a consistent approach, which is offered to all rough sleepers. This reduces time spent on the streets.
Priority 2: Supporting people experiencing rough sleeping with multiple disadvantages.	Expand the Housing First model across localities – utilising North Yorkshire council stock and seeking agreement with registered providers	Housing Needs,  [Housing procurement]		Review current capacity and identify unmet need.   Explore potential to access additional units of accommodation within NYC stock and RPs.	Expanded capacity enables all eligible rough sleepers to access Housing First accommodation and support.
	Make data recording around rough sleeping more consistent – adding rough sleeping data to our existing casework management system or developing bespoke IT solutions.	Housing Needs  [data/IT teams]	Housing Needs	Explore if/how rough sleeping data can be added to existing casework management systems  Explore costs and benefits of developing a bespoke IT solution.	Data recording is more consistent and gives a more accurate picture of rough sleepers’ needs.
Priority 3: Working with local business and the voluntary sector.	Input via NYSAB Prevention Group to strategy for rough sleepers experiencing multiple disadvantage.	Housing Needs, NYSAB	NYSAB	Review workforce skills	Fewer safeguarding incidents and SARs.
	Provide better integrate outreach services and day services. This will include hubs across North Yorkshire.	Housing Needs	Housing Needs	Review data to understand engagement with outreach services by entrenched rough sleepers and those with multiple disadvantages.   Explore the need for additional outreach capacity and/or specific resources for these groups.	Outreach services successfully engage with entrenched and multiply disadvantaged rough sleepers and can support them into accommodation.
	Undertake a cost benefit analysis of commissioning a “welfare bus” to engage with people experiencing rough sleeping in rural areas.	Housing Needs  VCSE providers	Housing Needs	Explore costs and benefits of commissioning a ‘welfare bus’, which offers support around housing, substance use, mental health, and welfare benefits.	Rough sleepers in rural areas have access to multi-agency assistance to address housing and support needs.
	Develop the StreetAid offer to support engagement with people experiencing rough sleeping and others engaged with street activity.			Explore potential benefits of expanding StreetAid offer to support engagement with people engaged in street activity.  Identify good practice in other areas.	People engaged in street activity can access to other sources of financial support; this reduces substance misuse and anti-social behaviour.