Agenda item

For the Board to discuss the Healthwatch Homeless and Rough Sleepers Report 2018.

The Board considered the Healthwatch Homeless and Rough Sleepers Report 2018 (Agenda Item 11).

Andrew Sharp, in presenting the report, thanked Nick Carter, Dr Bahia and Councillor Fredrickson for insisting that the report was discussed by the Board. The report presented the experiences of 14 rough sleepers who had been interviewed by Healthwatch and was not a complete picture of homelessness in West Berkshire. The average life expectancy of a rough sleeper was 47 years which was a significant health inequality.

Healthwatch had received complaints that primary care services were difficult to access for homeless people and even where they were accessible, homeless people often did not choose to use them due to a lack of self esteem or embarrassment about being unwashed.

Andrew Sharp welcomed the proposal to invite the Homelessness Forum to become a sub-group of the Board and stated that he hoped the Board applied the same rigour to them as they had to other groups. He concluded by requesting that the Health and Wellbeing Board agreed to a target to end rough sleeping by 2020 and not 2027 as per the government’s target.

Jo Reeves outlined that the Health and Wellbeing Steering Group had discussed the report and made recommendations as outlined in section 2 of the report at page 45 of the agenda.

A/Supt Lindsey Finch advised that she had attended a recent meeting of the Homelessness Forum which brought together voluntary and statutory agencies. The Forum had been working on an operational basis and needed to become more strategic, with task and finish groups to complete any practical work. Councillor Boeck asked how the group would transition. A/Supt Finch advised that at present the Forum was chaired by the manager of a commissioned provider and would need to discuss whether they would like to maintain those chairing arrangements with a move to a more strategic way of working.

Dr Bahia expressed the view that the report had shed light on an important subject and it would help to have the Homelessness Forum involved. Dr Bahia reported that he had visited the night shelter set up over the winter and a long term view was needed. The health sector had not previously been represented at the Homelessness Forum and he would like to see the membership expand to include different parties. He hoped that the Forum would respond adequately.

Andrew Sharp again raised the matter of a zero target for homelessness and highlighted that West Berkshire did not enjoy services such as street outreach such as the services operating in Reading and Bracknell. Councillor Boeck recognised that 2027 was a long time away and stated that he would be uncomfortable in agreeing a zero target before the Homelessness Forum had recommended ways in which to achieve such a target. Councillor Jaques noted that the issue might not be that West Berkshire had fallen behind but that the overall scale of the problem had increased.

Andrew Sharp recognised that there were national forces at play but there needed to be a local discussion regarding what could be done to prevent any lives being lost through homelessness.

The Board discussed the chairing arrangements for the Forum and concluded that the Forum should take a view, sensitive to conflicts of interest that may arise for a commissioned provider in the chair. One board member suggested a co-chairing arrangement.

RESOLVED that:

1.    The Board invites the Homelessness Forum to become a sub-group.

2.    The Chair of the Homelessness Forum to join the Health and Wellbeing Steering Group.

3.    The Homelessness Forum should be requested to revise its name, terms of reference, membership and governance in order to operate as a strategic group.

4.    The Homelessness Forum should review the data and recommendations presented by Healthwatch regarding rough sleeping in West Berkshire.

5.    The Homelessness Forum should develop a long term strategy and action plan on behalf of the Health and Wellbeing Board to respond to homelessness and rough sleeping in West Berkshire. This should include ‘quick wins’ and a winter plan for 2018/19.