A report from Nottingham City Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee, in advance of a meeting on 16 October 2023, provides a comprehensive update on the current state of homelessness and rough sleeping in Nottingham.
The city of Nottingham, like many others, is grappling with a national crisis in homelessness and rough sleeping, exacerbated by the national housing market’s challenges and policy contexts.
The national crisis in homelessness and rough sleeping has seen a rise across the country.
Factors such as the national housing market’s wider features and national policy context around housing have exacerbated the situation in Nottingham.
The Housing Act 1996, amended by the Homelessness Act 2002 and the Homeless Reduction Act 2017, outlines the council’s duties to prevent and relieve homelessness and provide temporary and settled accommodation.
The council’s primary approach is prevention, encouraging households at risk to contact Housing Solutions early. Despite prevention efforts, the council currently handles 2,540 open homelessness cases.
The city council has increased family-type temporary accommodation units from 88 in 2017 to 441 in 2023. However, all provisions are currently full, with an additional 169 households in hotel accommodations.
The number of rough sleepers in Nottingham has seen a significant increase, with the latest count in September 2023 identifying 47 individuals, a 42% increase from the previous year.
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The Nottingham Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping Strategy, developed in 2019, aims to prevent and respond to homelessness and address its root causes. The strategy is backed by a cross-sector partnership and is currently undergoing a Homelessness Needs Assessment.
A recent policy change by the Home Office in July 2023 regarding the housing of newly recognised refugees and survivors of trafficking poses an emerging risk.
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