The Homelessness Act 2002 required all housing authorities to carry out a homelessness review and use the information collected to publish a homelessness strategy by 31 July 2003. Both Derbyshire Dales District Council and High Peak Borough Council produced their Homelessness Strategies in 2003.
The aim of this Draft Strategy is to enable the Peak Sub Region to reduce homelessness and to ensure the prevention of future homelessness.
Since the last strategies were written the way we work has changed. This has, in part, been in response to the targets set by Central Government in terms of use of bed and breakfast and temporary accommodation but also as a response to the greater understanding of the causes of homelessness and a greater emphasis placed on prevention.
The wider housing agenda has also been reformed. The development of the Regional Housing Strategy in 2006 included recognition that housing markets are not confined by local authority boundaries. The East Midlands Regional Homelessness Strategy divided the region into sub regions, this grouped together authorities that had common features and shared housing market conditions. The first sub regional housing strategy, A Sub Regional Housing Strategy for Derbyshire Dales District Council and High Peak Borough Council: 2005 to 2010, provided the information about the Sub Region and was developed in response to the Regional Housing Strategy?
The Peak Sub Region Housing Strategy was the first step in the process of allocating funding for housing on a sub regional basis rather than to individual local authorities. The sub regional allocation of capital for affordable housing started with the funding round for developments in 2006 – 2008. The requirement to bid for funding for a range of housing funding streams as a sub region, or wider, is now becoming more usual.
This Draft Strategy is the first Sub Regional Homelessness Strategy. It looks at homelessness trends in both districts and the existing provisions in place to prevent homelessness and assist homeless households. The strategy looks at what needs to be done to improve prevention services, to improve the services available to homeless households and to reduce repeat homelessness through the use of support and advice.
The Peak Sub Region Draft Homelessness Strategy also looks at homelessness across the East Midlands region following the first East Midlands Regional Homelessness Strategy.
The full Draft Homelessness Strategy can be downloaded here Draft Homelessness Strategy 2009 to 2014. (349KB) 