Birmingham Housing Advice Service consultation
Feedback updated 9 Jun 2016
We asked
In December 2015-January 2016 we consulted with the customers, stakeholders and the public regarding a proposal to withdraw the Housing Advice Service from 3 current locations at Sparkbrook, Erdington and Northfield and relocate these resources to a single centre for Homelessness and Housing Advice based at New Aston House (the current site of Newtown Customer Service Centre).
You said
This was an extensive consultation with customers, partner agencies, interested parties, staff and members of the public contributing in Housing Advice Centres, Online and via face to face public meetings. Over 500 responses were received to a number of questions we asked about this proposal.
We did
We collated this information into a report to the council's cabinet with a comprehensive consultation document and accompanying equality impact analysis.
We submitted the proposal to the city council’s cabinet. This matter was considered on 19th April 2016 and permission was granted to proceed.
Results updated 9 Jun 2016
From 07th July 2016 all homelessness and most Housing Advice services will be provided from New Aston House, Newtown Shopping Centre, Newtown, Birmingham, B19 2SW. If you feel you are at risk of homelessness and want to get advice or find out more about the service please call us on 0121 303 7410 or visit us at www.birmingham.gov.uk/homeless.
If you wish to view the cabinet report, consultation report and equality analysis that informed this decision please go to
Links:
Overview
The City Council is continuing to strive to improve its services for homeless households in Birmingham.
Housing Advice Centres are presently co-located in four Customer Service Centres and we are therefore consulting on changes to this service. The service provided by the Youth Hub (provision for single young people aged 16-25 is not affected by this proposal.)
The Housing Advice Service provides assistance with joining the Council Housing list, discussing housing options, seeking temporary accommodation and assistance with Homelessness or Homelessness Prevention.
Why your views matter
In the current climate the Council is reviewing all services to ensure they best meet the needs of the citizens of Birmingham. Historically, Housing Advice and Homelessness has been delivered alongside the Council’s Neighbourhood Advice Service. We recognise that the current approach has not always led to a consistent service for customers and a small number have experienced delays and frustrations with the service they receive.
In seeking to develop an improved service, consideration has also been given to the significant savings required within the Neighbourhood Advice Service for 2015-16.
We are confident that the proposed changes to the service will bring about improvements such as allowing the service to increase the availability of appointments as well as improving the level of service for Households threatened with homelessness.
However, we also acknowledge that such changes can bring with them concerns from citizens and we may not have identified all of the potential impacts upon our customers. We also recognise that customers are well placed to suggest other improvements that we may not have thought of.
Therefore we are undertaking public consultation to get as much feedback on our proposals as we can to inform our decision making as we move forward.
The proposals on which we are seeking your views:
The Housing Advice Service
The Housing Advice service is presently based in 4 Customer Service Centres at Sparkbrook, Newtown, and Erdington & Northfield. It is proposed to reorganise the service to be delivered, from a single location at Newtown Customer Service Centre, Birmingham. This new single Housing Advice Centre will have more advisors on duty and additional available interviews. There is no planned reduction in accessibility to specialist Housing & Homelessness advisors via the telephone and long term we anticipate improved access to housing advice available via phone and web.
This proposal is not based on the Homeless and Pre-Tenancy Service saving money and we are not looking to reduce resources available to the service at this present moment. We believe that one centre will be able to deliver a more consistent service through centralising our staff and expertise. This will take place alongside improvements to our phone service and further enhancement of online services. This approach is inline with that being taken by other similar authorities.
The Newtown location is proposed for its central location and because it sits in an area of the highest demand for Housing Advice Services. It is the most evenly accessible of the four present locations for people across the city to get to and meets the space requirements to accommodate the service. This proposal follows exploration of alternate options; these have been considered however none have been found to be viable. Alternate options which we considered included:
- Do nothing and stay as we are:
After consideration, it was concluded that if the Neighbourhood Advice staff are to be reduced, it would be necessary to balance this with an enhanced ability on the part of the Housing Advice Service to offer more appointments, ensure that the most consistent service is available and secure the high quality decisions which are needed, particularly in the area of homelessness, all of which objectives are in any event desirable in their own right. This option was therefore not found to be viable.
- Move Housing Advice Delivery to a two centre model:
Upon further exploration it was concluded that this option would still require more Neighbourhood Advice Service staff in support than those actually available or would require additional resources for the Homeless and Pre-Tenancy service. It wouldn’t create sufficient increased capacity and would not fully resolve issues around consistency or flexibility of staff cover. This option was not considered viable in view of this.
- Relocate the Housing Advice Service to a single site in Birmingham City Centre:
This was explored however the Council has no suitable building currently available to use and an evaluation of renting a private building recognised that we would incur significant yearly costs as well as one off set up costs which are unlikely to be sustainable and thus this option was not considered viable.
As part of these proposals we are consulting with and seeking the views of citizens of Birmingham and users of our services along with professionals delivering advice in these areas of work.
Events
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East Birmingham Consultation Event
From 11 Jan 2016 at 10:00 to 11 Jan 2016 at 12:30Venue: Room B, Sparkbrook Community Centre, 34 Grantham Road, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, B11 1LU
Although pre booking is not required to attend these events, it is recommended as places are limited. To book a place please email Andrew.j.clarke@birmingham.gov.uk confirming your name, the date and venue you wish to attend. In the event of attendees exceeding capacity places will be allocated to pre-booked attendees first and on a first come first served basis thereafter. -
South Birmingham Consultation Event
From 11 Jan 2016 at 14:00 to 11 Jan 2016 at 16:30Venue: Northfield Baptist Church, 789 Bristol Road South, Northfield B31 2NQ
Although pre booking is not required to attend these events, it is recommended as places are limited. To book a place please email Andrew.j.clarke@birmingham.gov.uk confirming your name, the date and venue you wish to attend. In the event of attendees exceeding capacity places will be allocated to pre-booked attendees first and on a first come first served basis thereafter. -
North Birmingham Consultation Event
From 18 Jan 2016 at 10:00 to 18 Jan 2016 at 12:30Venue: YMCA, The Coppice, 300 Reservoir Road, Erdington, Birmingham, B23 6DB
Although pre booking is not required to attend these events, it is recommended as places are limited. To book a place please email Andrew.j.clarke@birmingham.gov.uk confirming your name, the date and venue you wish to attend. In the event of attendees exceeding capacity places will be allocated to pre-booked attendees first and on a first come first served basis thereafter. -
West & Central Birmingham Consultation Event
From 18 Jan 2016 at 14:00 to 18 Jan 2016 at 16:30Venue: Community Hall, St Lukes Church Centre, Great Colemore Street, Lee Bank, Birmingham, B15 2AT.
Although pre booking is not required to attend these events, it is recommended as places are limited. To book a place please email Andrew.j.clarke@birmingham.gov.uk confirming your name, the date and venue you wish to attend. In the event of attendees exceeding capacity places will be allocated to pre-booked attendees first and on a first come first served basis thereafter.
Areas
- ACOCKS GREEN
- ASTON
- BARTLEY GREEN
- BILLESLEY
- BORDESLEY GREEN
- BOURNVILLE
- BRANDWOOD
- CITY CENTRE
- CITY-WIDE
- EDGBASTON
- ERDINGTON
- HALL GREEN
- HANDSWORTH WOOD
- HARBORNE
- HODGE HILL
- KINGS NORTON
- KINGSTANDING
- LADYWOOD
- LONGBRIDGE
- LOZELLS AND EAST HANDSWORTH
- MOSELEY AND KINGS HEATH
- NECHELLS
- NORTHFIELD
- OSCOTT
- PERRY BARR
- QUINTON
- SELLY OAK
- SHARD END
- SHELDON
- SOHO
- SOUTH YARDLEY
- SPARKBROOK
- SPRINGFIELD
- STECHFORD AND YARDLEY NORTH
- STOCKLAND GREEN
- SUTTON FOUR OAKS
- SUTTON NEW HALL
- SUTTON TRINITY
- SUTTON VESEY
- TYBURN
- WASHWOOD HEATH
- WEOLEY
Audiences
- All residents
- Asylum Seekers and Refugees
- Minority Ethnic people
- Young people
- Older people
- Disabled people
- Council tenants
- Women
- Councillors/MPs/MEPs
- Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender people
- Older people
- People with Disabilities
- People with Learning Disabilities
- Men
- Homeless
- Offenders
- Local Residents
- Public Sector Bodies
- Faith groups
- Community groups
- Voluntary Organisations
- Staff
- Service user groups
- Newly arrived groups
Interests
- Citizens Satisfaction
- Health & Wellbeing
- Equality & Human rights
- Housing
- Homelessness
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