The Homelessness Act 2002, requires every local authority to carry out a homelessness review in its borough every 5 years and use the results of this to develop and publish a Homelessness Strategy.
This is Sefton’s fourth review and builds upon the work of the first three carried out in 2003, 2008 and 2013.
A consultation was also carried out in 2018 including involvement with other statutory and voluntary organisations.
Today (January 10), Sefton Council’s Cabinet agreed to the Homelessness Strategy 2018-23 and will now develop an action plan with a number of key objectives.
This includes how Sefton Council will:
1. Monitor the current and future likely levels of homelessness
2. Resource a variety of activities to tackle homelessness
3. Do more to prevent homelessness
4. Secure accommodation for those who are homeless or threatened with homelessness
5. Support people who are, or have been, homeless
Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member Communities and Housing, said: “After several years of hardship to Sefton residents as a result of the Conservative austerity agenda, tackling homelessness is one of our key priorities and the updated Homelessness Strategy will go a long way in tackling this very emotive issue.
“A stark reality affecting our communities shows that just under a quarter of all children in Sefton are living in poverty.
“Similarly, just over a quarter of all people aged 16-64 years living in Sefton are economically inactive.
“What really concerns me is that future levels of homelessness are likely to increase due to wider social, economic and housing market factors. A particular concern is that many people will not be able to afford to buy a home, putting further pressure on an already limited supply of affordable housing.
“The Sefton Homelessness Review paints a picture on homelessness issues locally, and the Sefton Homelessness Strategy sets out how to address these issues.
“From this we will now work on and develop an action plan to tackle this very worrying matter.”
If you have nowhere to stay or if it is unsafe for you to return home, or you will be homeless within the next 56 days, you should contact Sefton Council’s Housing Options Team on 0151 934 3541.
The team will assess your case and will be able to provide housing options advice for you and your family.
For emergencies out of hours contact Sefton Council’s Emergency Duty Team on 0151 934 3555.
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