Agenda item

·  To approve the award of the provision of advice and support to single homeless clients at the Greenhouse contract to Bidder 1. The Contract will run for a period of three (3) years, with an option to extend for a period, or periods of a maximum of a further twelve (12) months, with an estimated total value of £1,497,559.00, rising to £2,015,625.00 if the contract is extended for a further year.

Related Decisions

The Business Case was approved at the Hackney Procurement Board meeting on 12th April 2022, authorising the commencement of the procurement process for the provision of advice and support to single homeless clients at the Greenhouse.

Reason(s) For Decision / Options Appraisal

The provision of advice and support to single homeless households is currently delivered through the Greenhouse by Thames Reach, as the commissioned provider. This contract was extended to 31st December 2022 to allow for a formal tendering process to ensure a compliant contract is in place to meet future requirements. This adheres to the Council Standing Orders and also Public Procurement Regulations.

We are seeking to contract a service provider to deliver housing advice and support to single people who are either homeless or in danger of becoming homeless. The Greenhouse has been a key part of the London Borough of Hackney’s effective response to the rapid rise in homelessness, particularly with regard to young single people. Since it was first launched in 2007, the role significantly expanded in 2017 with the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act.

The key aims of the Service are to work strategically and operationally with statutory and non-statutory services to deliver outcome focused, targeted and cost effective interventions for single people in significant danger of becoming homeless. The Service will achieve these aims by:

·  Providing a culturally and linguistically sensitive service to individuals from a range of backgrounds, faiths and nationalities – reflecting the diversity of the Hackney population.

·  Engaging with clients, assessing their needs, advising them of the realistic and achievable options available to them and the actions and changes needed to accomplish these aims. 

·  Providing innovative, effective and trauma informed approaches to those with complex needs to support them in either maintaining their accommodation or to assist them in seeking suitable alternatives where we are unable to prevent them from losing their accommodation.

·  Actively engage with and maintain relationships with private landlords, and other housing providers offering good quality accommodation to people experiencing homelessness to assist in expanding the range of options available.

The service will seek to work with accommodation providers, the single homeless prevention service partnership and others who are committed to tackling homelessness, as well as engage with organisations that deliver services. The service will also seek to link clients into specialist/mainstream service provision in Hackney, other parts of the UK and in their country of origin, where appropriate. In particular, working with the statutory and non-statutory sectors that deliver services for this cohort to ensure the clients’ mental and physical health needs are met.

The provider will work with the Council and its partners to ensure a joined up approach is agreed and delivered on with the single homeless service at the greenhouse. The service will also work collaboratively with local and national agencies to determine individuals’ immigration status and rights and provide the support required when enforcement actions are being taken.

3769 households approached the London Borough of Hackney’s Benefits and Housing Needs Service last year of whom 2812 were single people. There has been a noticeable increase in approaches from younger residents with 19% of total approaches from applicants aged between 18 and 24. We have also seen an increase in individuals with multiple and complex needs.

Alternative Options (Considered and Rejected)

Do nothing - This is not recommended;  the delivery of a frontline service that is targeted at single people is a key component in how we deliver on our statutory duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act and the Housing Act. Not tendering for specialist service that is focused on the needs of this client cohort and allowing the service to lapse at the end of the current contract would result in increased costs. Opportunities to undertake early engagement with single clients may be lost leading to an escalation in need at a greater cost. There is also a considerable reputational risk to the Council where the numbers of single residents who are statutorily homeless increases and instances of reported rough sleeping increase.

Insourcing - At a time of cuts in funding to local government, putting in place a resource intensive service will have significant budgetary considerations. The authority does not have sufficient resources and skills inhouse to manage the growing demand and would need to recruit for officers with this particular skill set within a highly competitive market. We also know that this cohort has traditionally been reluctant to engage directly with Council services and we may experience a drop off in early approaches, particularly from young single adults, until they have reached a crisis point and the opportunity for reconciliatory intervention has been lost.  We would also potentially lose access to the wider network of agencies and structures that a third party provider can deliver.