Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Jeffrey Room, The Guildhall, St. Giles Square, Northampton, NN1 1DE. View directions

Contact: Tracy Tiff, Scruitny Officer 

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

The Chair to note any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Birch, G Eales and Meredith.

 

2.

Declarations of Interest (including Whipping)

Members to state any interests.

Minutes:

There were none.

3.

Deputations and Public Addresses

The Chair to note public address requests.

 

The public can speak on any agenda item for a maximum of three minutes per speaker per item.  You are not required to register your intention to speak in advance but should arrive at the meeting a few minutes early, complete a Public Address Protocol and notify the Scrutiny Officer of your intention to speak.

Minutes:

There were none.

4.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 65 KB

The Scrutiny Panel to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 5 July 2018

Minutes:

The Chair signed the minutes of the meeting held on 5 July as a true and accurate record.

5.

Witness Evidence pdf icon PDF 81 KB

The Scrutiny Panel to receive a response to its core questions from a number of Expert Advisors:

 

Ø    Cabinet Member for Community Safety, NBC

Ø    Chair of the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) and the Community Safety Team

Ø    Cabinet Member for Environment

Ø    Cabinet Member for Housing, NBC

Ø    Housing Options and Advice Manager, NBC

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

At this point, Emma Forbes introduced ‘Mr C’ (not his real name) who has ‘lived experience’ of sleeping rough in Northampton and was keen to share his experience in order to inform the Scrutiny Panel’s deliberations and recommendations.

 

 

Mr C spoke candidly about his experiences, saying that he used to have a good life but, as a result of his drug use, he had lost his job and his home. He had slept in the woods for about six months and, although he initially enjoyed the freedom of the woods, this soon changed and it started to have a major impact on his mental health. 

 

Mr C was very supportive of the Nightshelter, describing it as a warm, safe, welcoming place where the staff are non-judgemental and the food is good. He has spent a lot of time sleeping rough and has used the Nightshelter twice since it opened.

 

At the end of his first stay in the Nightshelter, Mr C was helped to move on to supported housing where he stayed for 11 months before becoming homeless again and returning to the Shelter. During his second stay at the Nightshelter, he engaged more effectively with local services and sorted out his medication before being offered a place in Oasis House.   

 

Mr C has been living in Oasis House for around four weeks and helps out at the Hope Centre, for which he is rewarded for his work.

 

The Scrutiny Panel asked Mr C a series of questions to which he responded as follows:

 

·           He felt he had been failed by JCP (JobcentrePlus) at his health assessment and that, as a consequence, he lost his benefits and supported housing

 

·           He felt there are plenty of places for homeless people to go during the day when the Nightshelter is closed, but they are probably not being promoted well enough. He said that, although there is always somewhere to go, longer opening hours would be useful but would require extra funding. It would be good, for example, if the Bridge Project was open every Sunday because, for homeless people, Sundays are lonely days.

 

·           He felt that he was living on the streets for a reason and he explained that, while he was on the streets, he was sad and very lonely.

 

·           He commended the Street Outreach Workers, saying that they do their utmost to engage with all rough sleepers, including those who do not want to engage.

 

·           He said that, after moving on from the Nightshelter the first time, he was worried he might not receive enough support from the accommodation provider. He said he felt that the lack of support was the main reason why he lost that accommodation.

 

·           He said he is continuing to work with his Key Worker at Oasis House and, as his medication is now stable, he is hopeful that he will be able to move on successfully from Oasis House when he is ready. In the long term, he wants to be a Key Worker.

 

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Relevant Published Papers pdf icon PDF 145 KB

The Scrutiny Panel to receive a paper around relevant published papers on homelessness and rough sleeping

Minutes:

The Scrutiny Panel noted a briefing note around relevant published papers.  

 

AGREED:    That the information provided informs the evidence base of this Scrutiny Review.

 

At this point the Scrutiny Panel watched a TED talk regarding Housing First.