That authority be delegated to the Director of Adult and Community Services in consultation with the Director of Finance and Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, Public Health and Inequalities to award a contract for a building-based housing-related support service for homeless adults in temporary accommodation.

The current temporary accommodation model in Torbay was based around dispersed units of accommodation without support. However, it had become clear that for a cohort of people with additional needs, who make up a significant percentage of the local recipients of council-funded temporary accommodation, a more interventionist approach was required. By providing support alongside accommodation, the council would be able to address the underlying causes of homelessness and introduce better flow through the temporary accommodation supply.

The alternative options considered were:

Do nothing - The current delivery model would remain the same. This would result in insufficient volume of temporary accommodation continuing and would remain a challenge to the Housing Needs team.  Costs would also remain the same (or increase depending on need). With the likely impact on demand for unsupported temporary accommodation increasing.  This option was therefore discounted.

Purchase of own accommodation - Based on similar services of this type and scale, the full capital cost of acquisition and remodelling of an alternative building in Torbay would be in the region of £2.5 million. If Torbay were therefore to facilitate such a scheme through funding from Homes England, this would apply additional occupation conditions. This would likely require assured shorthold tenancies, rather than occupation under license, therefore reducing the management of a site through moving people quickly and therefore not the provision of temporary accommodation.  This option was discounted.

This decision will come into force and may be implemented on 30 September 2024 unless the call-in procedure is triggered (as set out in the Standing Orders in relation to Overview and Scrutiny).

Torbay Council have been offered an opportunity to work with an existing national provider with a local footprint to re-purpose a large building, at their cost, in Torquay that had previously been operated as a residential care home, but which had now closed.

The proposal was to commission a block contracted support service to provide 24:7 support to 20 individuals, together with personalised tailored support to each occupant. There were currently no existing contracts in place for this type of provision and support in Torbay.

At the meeting Councillor David Thomas proposed and Councillor Tranter seconded a motion that was agreed unanimously by the Cabinet, as set out above.

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