To receive the above update.

The Chairman stated at the last Forum, a request was made for an update on what the Council and partners were doing on the issue of street dwellers and anti-social behaviour (ASB); since then, things had moved on and a paper had been presented to Crime and Disorder Overview and Scrutiny Panel. Following that meeting, the Council had received feedback from residents that the paper should have been split in to two individual papers and that more work would be carried out on it so it would not be presented to Cabinet till March 2018; it was also decided that the papers would be consulted on to make sure the approach taken was the right approach.

David Scott, Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships explained to the Forum that since the draft report was presented to Overview and Scrutiny, the Council had listened to feedback from residents and partners and the paper was withdrawn, split into two parts and would then not go to Cabinet until March 2018.

The first paper would look at rough sleeping and support for those sleeping rough and the other paper would look at the ASB aspect. It was a subject with very strong views and it had become clear that there were mixed messages and misunderstandings around the complexities of the issues. There were no simple solutions. The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships added that he had provided Overview and Scrutiny with an update but things had again changed since then.

The Borough had seen significant increases in reports of ASB and some of that could be attributed to rough sleepers. The ASB was coming from different sources which also included the night time economy (NTE). The Borough had seen an increase in street dwellers with some dwelling during the day, while others were dwelling throughout the day and night. The Council was determined to provide support for individuals that found themselves in hard times. The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships confirmed his team were working with the Windsor homeless Project to help provide support and temporary accommodation. The Borough had invested in facilities for the homeless which exceeded the national minimum criteria and officers from the housing team and community wardens had been speaking to individuals and ensure the Borough’s approach was unique to each homeless individual.

The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships stated sometimes temporary accommodation was taken up and others refused it so the Borough adjusted its offer and had some more success but, some people still did not want to engage. He added he had learnt over the last few months from comments received and he now had a much better idea of the issues. He was trying to take a number of stakeholders input on board which helped to shape the longer term plan. Officers and the commissioning team were all working with third parties to find solutions and the Council was trying to remove barriers to helping individuals. Homelessness was a national problem and the Council were looking at implementing best practice and using alternative giving to maximise support.

The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships said the Borough needed to understand individuals and their chaotic lives, but others were not in the same position and did not need support as they were taking advantage of people’s good nature. He was trying to look at alternative ways individuals could access good health care support which also needed an individual and unique response.

The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships had been disappointed the report had jumped to enforcement as that was not the point. There needed to be an outreach service that could get to people that wanted to engage with services. There was a lot of work ongoing and ASB would be addressed separately from rough sleeping which would be presented to Cabinet in March 2018.

Councillor Da Costa stated it was great the two issues had been separated but he had a few points he wanted to raise:

1.    The rough sleeping report should go to Adult Services and not Crime and Disorder Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

2.    A Task and Finish Group should be set up to include all parties to address the issues.

3.    The report should include an assessment of the type of housing and services required to be brought in to help address the issues.

Councillor Da Costa added that the report would define the Borough and Windsor to the world. The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships stated the intention for the homeless strategy was to go to Planning and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Panel but, he would look to see if it should also go to Adult Services. He added it was important to note that the recommendations in the last report were clear that the report was about developing a strategy so it would be a multi-agency group that would the Council address the issues. An update would be provided in six months on the Homelessness Reduction Strategy.

Councillor E. Wilson stated it was a very difficult, complex and sensitive issue. In Westminster, there had been problems with rough sleepers for years and early attempts to deal with the problem had been hopeless; it had taken a long time to develop a proper strategy which was comprehensive and multi-agency. He wanted to see officers take on best practice and visit where that best practice had come from. Councillor E. Wilson had received many emails and calls from residents saying the Council needed to help and others stating residents needed to claim the streets back from street dwellers. The Borough needed a clear picture on what the issues were, who needed the help and how the Council did that, and it needed to get it right. He wanted to see impartial data, he wanted officers to talk to Westminster Council to see who they talked to. He added it was a journey that would develop over time.

Councillor Bicknell stated he had been involved in producing a strategy since September 2017 and he fundamentally believed everyone would like to be able to wave a magic wand so that everything was fixed. It was a sensitive and complex issue and he liked the idea of setting up a task and finish group but, at the same time, the Council could not just keep talking about it, it needed to do something, as the Borough now had tents on the streets. The Borough had a challenge and it needed to sensitively produce a solution. Councillor Bicknell said the Council needed to work with all relevant agencies. There were 12 – 14 actual rough sleepers in the Town and there were approximately 120 families in temporary or emergency accommodation that needed housing. Each rough sleeper needed one to one individual solutions and the residents wanted the homeless removed from the street but safely and sensitively.

Sally Wright of the Windsor Homeless Project stated that what had been said so far was right, it did need a joined up working approach. She said she was glad the strategy had been split into two elements as for her, she worked with homeless guests and their main issues was their mental health and then it was their addictions. The Windsor Homeless Project (WHP) had difficulties working alongside mental health because they did not want to help when there was addiction. Her plea was to work together with the Council and other agencies.

Sally Wright stated mental health had to come on board as part of the strategy as stated in the report; she queried whether that had been costed and she also wanted to know why travel warrants had been stopped three months ago as it was affecting people being able to make it to their mental health appointments.

The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships responded mental health was clearly recognised with very high incidents in the homeless. The council recognised something had to change as community intervention did not step in early enough. The Council was looking at not just dual diagnosis outreach workers, but also approaching mental health teams to ask them to have a worker that could get on board and help. Councillor Bicknell had talked to the Chair of the CCG to ask for help. The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships confirmed he was unable to answer the question on the travel warrants but he would look into it.

Councillor Bicknell confirmed he had met with Dr Hayter and had a conversation regarding mental wellbeing and how together, they could support individuals. He added it was easy to get bogged down in detail and the issues should be above cost, cost should be taken down as a barrier. The government had put £1.2m into the Borough in order to tackle the issues surrounding homelessness but, if the Borough needed more, it should ask for it.

Helen Price stated the travel warrants were stopped because the forms were not filled in correctly but, that stopped people receiving the treatment they needed. Local residents agreed with what the Councillors had said; it was a very complex problem. The Borough needed an approach where there were 14 people that needed travel and a place to dwell. It was known there were other people that were not homeless but also required support to help them make better choices to help them live better lives.

Michael, a local resident stated he was very pleased the report had been split into two separate elements, that was a positive step. Mental health underpinned both rough sleeping and ASB. outreach did not go out to them but it was an important step to change that so they did. He questioned what was being done to police addiction and drug dealers, in Portugal, the government used consumption rooms to provide a safe space where mental health teams were so drug users could use safely but also access vital services. This also kept them off the streets.

Councillor Bicknell said homeless people were lost souls, they were not in control of their mental wellbeing and at least 12 had addiction issues, he did not thing non-drug users could fully comprehend addiction. He added the Borough could provide 14 beds but, some of them did not want to leave their pitches because that was how they funded their addiction; it was a catch 22 situation. So that was why it was necessary to have all agencies and a task and finish group come together. Marjory, a local resident said it was a very complex debate and when you think of 14 homeless people, the invisible homeless were not counted. There was a huge area to investigate and it was vital to involve agencies and groups such as the WHP that talked to the homeless; all homeless people had a story to tell and some were addicted to alcohol and others were addicted to drugs. Unless the problems were addressed, the Borough would just replace the current 14 homeless with another 14 people behind them. The causes needed to be addressed such as mental health and lack of affordable housing.

One resident stated he was not from the UK but had only experienced kindness. He was once homeless and staying in a car in another country; what helped him get through the situation was having someone believe in him and hold his hand. The situation needed consistency and someone always there to help.

Councillor E. Wilson stated there was missing data in the paper. There was no input from the CCGs and he was looking for data to inform the strategy. There were people that got it more right than wrong and Westminster was a good place to start. He wanted to see officers going to Westminster and learning about what they had done. The Borough had a lot of residents that wanted the streets back. He was concerned that if the strategy was delayed by another month, it would negatively on the Council that it was not doing anything, but at the same time, the Council needed to be seen to be trying to get it right. Helen price stated since it was announced the paper was to be split and was not going to Cabinet till March 2018, it left just three weeks to produce a new strategy. The Forum was now hearing the strategy needed to be reviewed and then there was the mention of hidden homeless, it was starting to look like the strategy would not be any further forward for at least nine months. She added the strategy should not look at the hidden homeless yet, and it should just focus on the rough sleepers for now. Councillor Bicknell stated compassion was a feeling; there were children in the borough that were parentless or in foster care, maybe Windsor’s homeless needed some sort of foster family that could take them in and give them support and a helping hand. But, Helen price was right, the borough needed to start moving quickly, to do nothing was condemning them to an early death and to do something could save lives.

Councillor Bowden stated street dwellers were using bus shelters outside banks. They were a security risk; he asked the police why they could not be moved and was told they had too many belongings. It was poor behaviour. Residents and businesses were fed up of street dwellers and their behaviour. The Council had tried to get Morrisons in the Town centre boarded up so the florist, that had a permit to trade there, could continue to sell her flowers but, the council did not own the land as it was private property and no one would take any action. He added that RBWM had established bus shelters for passengers and not for someone to sleep in all day. 50% of residents did not want to see them there and there were services available to help them. Sally Wright of the WHP confirmed 90% of the projects guests came from Windsor. Councillor Bowden stated action was needed not words. Action had to be taken, it had gone on for far too long. Marjory said she thought it had been a very positive meeting until Councillor Bowden had spoken. Michael he helped a homeless man himself but, if services had been available, he would not have needed to. Michael said there would be accommodation in Windsor for a night shelter and that would be a concrete proposal. Michael stated some resident just wanted street dwellers to go; maybe they lacked compassion. Real key provision such as a night shelter, if the provision was there, then the Council could ask them to move on reasonably. Councillor Quick wanted to reassure residents. She stated a few years ago, the Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships was put in charge of the Intensive Family Support Service which needed to evolve just like the homeless reduction strategy, and she was very confident that if the Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships was looking after the strategy, it would help people get the right support; he was the best person to take it forward.