Agenda item

Homelessness

It was moved by Councillor Jayne Dunn, seconded by Councillor Anne Murphy, that this Council:-

(a)       regrets that after falling sharply for six years, the number of statutory homelessness acceptances across England has risen every year since 2010 and substantially by 34% overall since 2009/10;

(b)       notes that under the previous Government, statutory homeless fell by 70% from 2003/4 to 2009/10;

(c)        opposes the Conservative Party’s plans to restrict access to housing benefit for 18-21 year olds and believes that to present homelessness as choice for young people reveals how out of touch they are;

(d)       notes that 40% of homeless young people who approach local authorities and housing providers are forced to do so because their parents are no longer willing to accommodate them;

(e)       agrees with the view of Centrepoint that the Rt. Hon. David Cameron MP’s policy to axe housing benefit could “do series harm to young people’s futures”;

(f)        notes that rough sleeping has increased by around a third since this Government took office in 2010;

(g)       supports Roundabout’s plan for a “sleep out” on 6th November 2014 to be held at St Andrew’s Church, Psalter Lane, noting that this event will raise both money for this venerable charity and awareness of youth homelessness;

(h)       thanks the organisations in Sheffield that work to prevent, tackle and reduce homelessness in our City; and

(i)         resolves to continue to work with partners and other organisations to help prevent and tackle homelessness in Sheffield.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Steve Ayris, seconded by Councillor Penny Baker, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.        the deletion of paragraphs (a) and (b) and the addition of new paragraphs (a) and (b) as follows:-

(a)       notes that homeless acceptances in England have more than halved, and in Yorkshire & the Humber fallen by two-thirds, since 2003 and that the latest Department for Communities and Local Government figures for 2013/14 show a further fall, despite the downturn in the housing market post 2007;

(b)       recognises that the key to housing solutions to tackle homelessness in the longer term lies in the provision of an adequate supply of affordable homes;

2.        the deletion of paragraph (f) and the addition of a new paragraph (f) as follows:-

(f)        notes that rough sleeping has increased markedly since the introduction of new counting methodology in 2010, prior to which only 76 out of 354 councils contributed to the total count for England;

3.        the re-lettering of paragraphs (g) to (i) as new paragraphs (i) to (k) and the addition of new paragraphs (g) and (h) as follows:-

(g)       welcomes the provisional Homelessness Prevention Grant allocation of £517,066 to Sheffield City Council for 2013/14 and 2014/15;

(h)       welcomes the cross-ministerial working group set up in 2011 by the Coalition Government, which has since led to:

(i)      expansion of the “No Second Night Out” initiative to prevent rough sleeping, of which this Council is subscribed to;

(ii)     changes in the Localism Act 2011 to give greater freedoms and flexibilities to local authorities to meet the housing needs of homeless families, reducing the need for long waits in temporary accommodation;

(iii)    the Government-funded Streetlink website alerting local authorities in England about rough sleepers in their area; and

(iv)    the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund which has seen a total of £288,905 awarded to local charities Roundabout, ASSIST and the Cathedral Archer Project;

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived. 

After a Right of Reply by Councillor Jayne Dunn, the original Motion was then put to the vote and carried, as follows:-

RESOLVED:  That this Council:-

(a)       regrets that after falling sharply for six years, the number of statutory homelessness acceptances across England has risen every year since 2010 and substantially by 34% overall since 2009/10;

(b)       notes that under the previous Government, statutory homeless fell by 70% from 2003/4 to 2009/10;

(c)        opposes the Conservative Party’s plans to restrict access to housing benefit for 18-21 year olds and believes that to present homelessness as choice for young people reveals how out of touch they are;

(d)       notes that 40% of homeless young people who approach local authorities and housing providers are forced to do so because their parents are no longer willing to accommodate them;

(e)       agrees with the view of Centrepoint that the Rt. Hon. David Cameron MP’s policy to axe housing benefit could “do series harm to young people’s futures”;

(f)        notes that rough sleeping has increased by around a third since this Government took office in 2010;

(g)       supports Roundabout’s plan for a “sleep out” on 6th November 2014 to be held at St Andrew’s Church, Psalter Lane, noting that this event will raise both money for this venerable charity and awareness of youth homelessness;

(h)       thanks the organisations in Sheffield that work to prevent, tackle and reduce homelessness in our City; and

(i)         resolves to continue to work with partners and other organisations to help prevent and tackle homelessness in Sheffield.

(Note: Councillors Simon Clement-Jones, Richard Shaw, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Martin Smith, Penny Baker, Roger Davison, Diana Stimely, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Ian Auckland, Steve Ayris, Denise Reaney, David Baker, Katie Condliffe and Vickie Priestley voted for paragraphs (c) to (e) and (g) to (i) and against paragraphs (a), (b) and (f) of the Motion and asked for this to be recorded.)