Local authorities must meet new prevention duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act. Policy in Practice is helping councils identify the predictors of homelessness in their areas. Using existing data we segment households into those coping, struggling, at risk or in crisis to help prevent future homelessness.
The Homelessness Reduction Act shifts the focus to early intervention, extends the period during which an authority should consider someone as being threatened with homelessness, requires local authorities to develop an action plan for people identified as being at risk of homelessness and places a duty on public services to notify a local authority if they come into contact with someone they think may be homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
We were joined by Claire Horton, Newcastle City Council, who shared how they are using the dashboard to help meet the new requirements of the Homelessness Reduction Act.
Listen back to hear how Policy in Practice’s LIFT dashboard can help you tackle homelessness by:
- identifying who may be at risk of homelessness
- offering tailored messages to help you engage with those households
- tracking what happens to those households over time
The Policy in Practice LIFT Dashboard has allowed us to draw together previously disparate databases into one easily accessible platform. It maps our data against future predicted changes in inflation of household goods and predicted welfare changes and gives the team an easily accessible platform to see what residents' situations are.
Register for an upcoming live webinar
| Title | Date | Start Time | Duration | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data driven success: From tackling homelessness to unlocking £1m income and recovering over £550k of debt
More families struggled to pay their rent after COVID-19 and, as a result, Bracknell Forest Council saw an increase of 750% in the number of families who approached as homeless, up from 120 to 909 in four years. The council initially bought Policy in Practice’s LIFT platform in 2021 to tackle rising homelessness. Using LIFT, the council harnessed the power of its administrative data to identify residents for support. Notable campaigns include the timely allocation of over £4,000 in Discretionary Housing Payments and over £8,000 in emergency support to 31 households. But household financial health took another hit from the cost of living crisis and, by March 2022, two in ten families found paying bills a burden and were regularly in arrears. A proactive shift by a council officer extended LIFT's data driven approach from the homelessness team to other departments, with great results. The LIFT approach had proven its ability to identify residents at risk and allocate scarce resources. With more demand for council services, LIFT offered a way to give preventative support at scale across the borough. Join this webinar to learn: - The steps one officer took to get wider adoption of using data to tackle vulnerability across the council - In depth results from seven benefit take up campaigns that saw arrears of £550,000 reduced and missed income of £820,000 secured - Highlights from brand new analysis on unclaimed benefits and support in the UK in 2024 and what you can do about it | 24/4/2024 | 10:30 BST | 1.3 hours | Register |
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