30th September 2014
Present:
Kirstine Riding, Fylde BC
Pauline Parker, Fylde BC
Alison Parsonage, Fylde BC
Claire Goodworth, Progress Housing
Statia Medlicott, Progress Housing
Kim Cook, Fylde CAB
Sharon Sherrington, Children’s Centre Manager
AAAW Ltd
Helen Hubberstey, DISC
Maggie Crabtree, DISC
Wendy Parsons, Richmond Fellowship
Holly Whittaker, Working Together With Families
Stephen Health, YMCA
Angela Dunne, Young People’s Service
Linda Chelton, Hyndburn Homes
Apologies:
Rachel Page, Progress Housing
Debbie Carr, Fylde CAB
Linda Tune, Lancashire probation
Lucy Wright, Fylde BC
Andy Cross, Children’s Social Care
1Minutes of the last meeting and updates
Agreed as a true record.
Updates on initiatives in Fylde
- Kim Cook, Manager CAB
Fylde Foodbank now gone live with two distribution centres. CAB offices Moor Street, Kirkham and St Anne’s Road Methodist Church. Accept donations every Tues to Thurs from 10am to 12pm and are then open from 1pm to 3pm for people to collect food parcels. Collection is only from a voucher given by a referral agency. Parcels are sufficient for 3 days of food and people can access 3 parcels within a 6 month period as common sense would dictate that within that period support would have been accessed. Scheme is run through the Trussel Trust who have a relationship with Tesco. Items needed are tinned goods, dried food and tinned meat or fish.
CAB are looking for a separate venue in Kirkham to current space underneath their offices. Progress Housing suggested Community centre in Lower Lane. Also need a centre in Warton or Freckleton. Referral agencies are keeping some food in stock and are able to collect food parcels for clients.
Discussion around a protocol between referring agencies and ensuring the project is kept as one Food Bank for the borough.
- Stephen Heath, Fylde Coast YMCA
Their 5,000th member has just signed up. The organisation is self-sufficient and generates enough income to cover their costs. They have shop front premises in Blackpool and currently have lots of money to give out in loans. Credit Union covers the Fylde Coast but also some postcodes for the Preston area. They hold surgeries in the YMCA offices to offer financial advice. From the website forms can be downloaded. Leaflets can be downloaded from the website above.
- AAAW Ltd
Shared Housing Initiative – Lancaster, Wyre and Fylde
Funded as part of the Lancashire Single Homeless Initiative this pilot is looking to set up shared housing in Fylde. Referrals are through Fylde BC and for single homeless households 18 to 35 years old.
- DISC – Helen Hubberstey and Maggie Crabtree
Tenancy Ready Training – Lancaster, Wyre and Fylde
Funded as part of the Lancashire Single Homeless Initiative this project offers Tenancy Ready Training weekly in each borough. There are three courses – Housing options and finding suitable accommodation, tenancy Readiness and living skills and Managing your tenancy effectively. In Fylde courses are run at St Anne’s Church Parish Rooms every Wednesday and lunch is provided. Battle will be attracting people when completed course to complete all three upon completion of which a certificate is offered that can be classed as a reference that they have completed such a package of training. Referral pathways are currently through the Housing Team at Fylde BC but this may be opened up to allow other agencies to refer in.
2Guest Speaker - Hyndburn Homes, Passport to Housing
The project received £20,000 funding from the Learning Skills Council and have 3 dedicated staff from different agencies who have completed PETLS who undertake the training. Originally there were six parts to the course run over a 6 week period. Unit 5 looks at the persons role within the wider community and Unit 6 – What next. The course covered work with clients pre-tenancy and current tenants of Hyndburn Homes who need support. For all new tenants it is compulsory that they attend the training therefore the course has been adapted to be delivered at sign up. The course also helps people who have no landlord reference and are suspended from the housing register. They have also worked with private landlords to get the passport approach accepted as illustration that prospective tenants are ‘’Tenancy Ready’’.
They have worked with current tenants of Hyndburn Homes who have a possession order and were on the point of eviction and their tenancies have been saved.
They have also provided the course in Kirkham prison and worked with Probation in Hyndburn Drug Rehabilitation.
To date 154 people have completed the course of those 72% have accessed voluntary work and 104 have been re-housed. The others have returned to their parent’s home or been into supported accommodation. To date none of these tenancies have failed.
The future is looking at replacing sign ups with a 4 hour training course regardless of their age and incorporating Universal Credit.
Although the course is still running the course itself has lost its accreditation through the learning skills council. The cost is £1,000 per course and if 10 people attend is £100 per person. The momentum is in place to continue to run the courses but with the withdrawal of funding the cost is being met by Hyndburn homes, but the benefit in settled tenancies will make it worthwhile. It is compulsory at sign up now.
3Increasing the supply of settled accommodation in Fylde
- Need buy in from main providers for the tenancy ready course – social rented sector and private landlords
- Resettlement packages with support for tenants that looks at support around housing status, education and training.
- Agreed a need to develop the tenancy ready training may be not into a passport approach but more of a recognised training programme that is flexible and illustrates to landlords private and social that the course has covered areas to assist in securing a settled tenancy.
4Organisational updates and feedback to DWP
- New Fylde Housing has come under the umbrella of Progress Group and have been rebranded. Processing of MyHomeChoice applications has transferred to central customer service team based in Leyland.
- Fylde BC Area Lettings Policy being updated.
- CAB – Tenancy support project ends April 2015.
DWP Feedback
- Concern about the sanctions placed on families with Children from the Children’s Centres in Fylde. They have experience of families with small children turning up with no money and subject to benefit sanctions. They accept that there is an element of self responsibility but they wondered if in the case of families with small children whether a reduction would be a better approach to avoid the emergency self-referrals made to the smaller community based organisations such as the Children’s centres.
5Date of next meeting
Tuesday 20th January at 2pm.