Adur and Worthing residents invited to question council leaders amid 'worsening housing situation'
Amid a 'worsening housing situation' in Adur and Worthing, residents have been invited to quiz council leaders.
Residents are being invited to ask questions about Adur and Worthing Councils’ new draft homelessness and rough sleeping strategy ahead of a public consultation next month.
"The five-year draft strategy will outline the councils’ focus on prevention and early intervention of homelessness and rough sleeping, as well as plans to develop proactive solutions to prevent housing issues from escalating,” a spokesperson for the councils said.
"Like much of the country, Adur and Worthing are grappling with a worsening housing situation. There is not enough social housing to meet local people’s needs, house prices and rents in the private sector are becoming more unaffordable, and an increasing number of households are finding themselves being made homeless.
"The cost of living has led to a growing number of homeless individuals with complex and multiple needs approaching the councils for help. The soaring cost of providing temporary housing has also left the councils facing increasing funding and resource constraints.”
The councils said the vision for the new five-year strategy is to ‘move beyond managing homelessness reactively’. They plan to do this by developing strategies to ‘proactively prevent’ it by working with partners, ‘minimise its duration, and break cycles of re-occurrence’.
The spokesperson added: “Plans to develop a stronger multi-agency response to homelessness, to significantly reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation and to help people move forward from homelessness are highlighted as key priorities for the councils in the strategy.”
The draft strategy will be reviewed by the councils’ Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) at 6.30pm on Thursday, September 4 at The Shoreham Centre. Residents are being encouraged to submit questions to JOSC to be answered on the night.
This is ahead of a formal consultation on the draft strategy that will launch on Friday, September 5.
The committee is an elected watchdog comprising councillors from across Adur and Worthing.
It will also be discussing a report into Adur Homes’ readiness to implement new national legislation for dealing with hazards in social housing, the councils said.
The new law is named Awaab’s Law – after the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale in December 2020. It becomes effective from Monday, October 27 for damp and mould cases and for ‘other hazards on a phased basis’ over the next two years.
Lee Cowen, Adur's cabinet member for housing and citizen services, said: “By focussing on prevention and early intervention, this proactive strategy represents a fundamental shift in philosophy that will help people break the cycle of homelessness, move forward and sustain independence. This prudent financial strategy will also prevent further costs to the council down the line.”
Ödül Bozkurt, Worthing's cabinet member for housing and citizen services, said: “Outside pressures mean more people need help with homelessness at a time when the council’s finances and resources are increasingly stretched. As a council for the community, we welcome the opportunity for residents to have their say on our new draft strategy via the consultation as well as by asking us questions at the JOSC meeting.”
Residents can read the draft homelessness and rough sleeping strategy and Awaab’s Law report here: https://democracy.adur-worthing.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=163&MId=2157
Questions can be submitted to JOSC by emailing [email protected] by midday on Monday, September 1.