More Young Notts People At Risk Of Homelessness Because Of Pandemic

At least 2,290 people aged between 16-24 approached their local authority in 2018/19 because they had become homeless or were at risk of losing their home, according to to a Freedom of Information request by Centrepoint, a youth homelessness charity. Of the 2,290 people, just 733 - or 32 percent - had a positive outcome, which includes finding accommodation or where homelessness was prevented. The charity is now concerned the pandemic may lead to more young people becoming homeless, having already received calls from people who had lost their homes due to the pandemic, as financial resources are stretched and local authorities come under pressure. Read more on the Chad website.

https://www.chad.co.uk/news/people/more-young-notts-people-risk-homelessness-because-pandemic-2561661

Single Mums Make Up Nearly A Third Of Local Homelessness Cases

Single mums account for nearly a third of homelessness cases in the city and county, new figures reveal. A total of 2,415 households were accepted as homeless, or threatened with the immediate prospect of homelessness, and were entitled to help from councils in the area in the last six months of 2018. Of those, 743 were single women with children. That compares to just 68 who were single men with children. It means female single parents accounted for 31 percent of homelessness cases in Nottingham and the wider county. Read more on the Nottingham Post website.

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/single-mums-make-up-nearly-3172389

Rough Sleeping Is At A 20-Year High

More people will spend Christmas sleeping rough on the streets of Nottinghamshire this year than at any time in the last two decades. Local homeless people say that the problem is increasing at such a rate that, for the first time in 20 years, they fear someone may be found dead in a shop doorway this winter. So, The Post has teamed up with homelessness charity Framework to try to raise £30,000 to help take people off the streets this Christmas. Last month the Nottinghamshire charity had to cancel its annual sponsored sleep-out, due to fears that the fundraiser would be sabotaged by self-styled activists. This robbed Framework of up to £30,000. Read more on the Nottingham Post website.

Nottinghamshire Has Almost 9,000 EMPTY Homes

Almost 9,000 homes across Nottinghamshire are currently empty or derelict, new figures have revealed. The statistics, obtained through Freedom of Information requests to eight district councils, show that 8,982 properties are unoccupied across the county. Some homes are mid-sale or being marketed for either sale or rent, others are in probate, a few are being converted or awaiting demolition and planning consent and others are between tenants and changes of ownership. Nottingham City has the most empty properties, with 1,443 currently without tenants, whereas the Ashfield district has the least with 712. Read more on the Nottingham Post website.

5,000 Empty Homes Across Nottinghamshire

More than 5,000 homes across Nottinghamshire have been left empty and unfurnished for more than six months, according to new figures. Government data shows that 5,226 houses across the county have been left empty and unfurnished for six months or longer. The problem is at its worst in Nottingham itself, which has 1,410 long-term vacant properties across the private and public sectors.  This is compared to a decade ago when there were 4,931 long-term vacant properties across the county. Andrew Redfern, chief executive of homelessness charity Framework, believes that bringing empty homes back into use could help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. Read more on the Nottingham Post website.

Councils Finalise 77,000-Home Devolution Offer

Wide-reaching proposals to devolve powers over housing development and finance to a coalition of East Midlands authorities are being fine-tuned ahead of a September deadline. Proposals to create two combined authorities for Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire have been submitted to the Treasury and CLG as a first step in negotiations over a full devolution deal for the whole area. Devolution proposals are being worked up by local authorities and business representatives, co-ordinated by the D2N2 local enterprise partnership that covers both counties. The business community is a key partner in developing proposals that will see 55,000 new private sector jobs created by 2023 and 77,000 affordable new homes by 2020. Read more on the Derbyshire County Council website.

Pioneering Social Housing Project in Notts

Work has just started on a £5.7 million project in Harworth, Nottinghamshire, in what is being billed as the first major social housing project in the district for 35 years. Bassetlaw District Council, A1 Housing and construction company Woodhead are involved in the 43 new homes on Smith Square. The non-traditional 'Airey' houses - a pre-fabricated house built in the 1950/60s – will be replaced with modern, energy efficient homes. Just over £1m of government funding is coming from the Homes and Communities Agency and work began on 1 September. Read more on 24dash.

'Shocking' Health of Homeless Highlighted In Report

More needs to be done to address the health needs of homeless people across Nottinghamshire, a report has recommended.  It found that each of the 349 respondents reported having three or more separate health needs, including 74 per cent reporting mental health problems, with just 31 per cent having a diagnosis, 18 per cent reporting having an alcohol problem, or recovering from one and 26 per cent had attended A&E in the past six months. It also found 38 per cent of those polled were either taking drugs or recovering from a drug problem, compared with 8.8 per cent of the general population, and that 34 per cent had no fruit or vegetables in their regular diet.  Download a copy of the report from the Notts County Council website.

Homelessness and Health

The health of people who are homeless is among the poorest in the country.  The average life expectancy of male rough sleepers is just 47 years. Life expectancy of female rough sleepers is even lower at just 43 years (Crisis UK. Homelessness, A Silent Killer, 2011). Despite this well-known increased morbidity, homeless people consistently miss out on the healthcare they need. As a result, health problems are left untreated and overall health and wellbeing deteriorates.  Framework studied 349 homeless people from across Nottinghamshire. The findings give commissioners and providers the opportunity to better understand the prevalence of the poor health conditions our homeless community experience and provides recommendations for how better to address these in the future. Read more on the Framework website.

Why Councils Should Get Behind the Robin Hood Tax

The Local Government Association has estimated that council income will be slashed in real terms by 27% by 2020. Job losses, wage freezes and cuts are also having an impact. Office for National Statistics figures show that the average income per individual householder in Nottingham, the poorest city in the UK, is just £10,834 a year – compared with £16,034 for the rest of the country.  That's why we should celebrate that Robin Hood last week made a rightful return to his home – Nottinghamshire county council voted through a motion in support of the Robin Hood tax. It calls on the government to implement a tiny tax on banks' speculative trading to raise much-needed revenue. The size of the UK's financial sector means this could generate an additional £20bn, providing much-needed revenue that could reverse many of the most damaging cuts.  Read more on the Guardian website.

Ex-Offenders Handed Tents to Live In

Homeless ex-offenders in Nottinghamshire are being issued with tents by the region’s probation service. The service confirmed it gave tents to five people last year when hostel accommodation could not be found. Peter Anthony, accommodation, benefits and advice officer with Nottinghamshire Probation Service, said it would prefer stable accommodation for ex-offenders. But he added: ‘When there simply is no other option we will, if it is appropriate, provide a tent and sleeping bag.’ Andrew Redfern, chief executive of Nottinghamshire-based Framework Housing Association, said it had closed two hostels, losing 32 bed spaces, since Christmas as a result of Supporting People cuts. Read more on Inside Housing.

Legal Challenge to Service Frontline Cuts

Letter from Andrew Redfern, Chief Executive of Framework a homelessness charity based in Nottinghamshire;
Presenting the draft local government finance settlement in December, DCLG claimed Nottingham city council would have its spending power cut by 8.4% in 2011-12 (the council puts this at 16.5%) – but apparently including a staggering 45% cut in the city's Supporting People allocation. Contesting this, DCLG describes a complex system of banding to limit the maximum cut in SP. We have written to DCLG under the pre-action protocol for judicial review. We are challenging the lack of transparency in the draft settlement, the sudden redistribution of SP funding away from the most deprived areas, and central government's failure to consult or assess the impact of the changes. These include the imminent withdrawal of support from around 7,000 vulnerable people in Nottingham, nearly 3,000 of whom receive housing support. But we are told secretary of state Eric Pickles is aware of his equality duties and will discharge them before the settlement is finalised. So the government does have the power to distribute SP in 2011-12 on the same basis as in 2010-11. This will allow time for proper consultation on a long-term solution that is fair, transparent and predictable.