The Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Commission met to discuss temporary accommodation and homelessness prevention, and to review the strategic housing delivery programme. Councillor Lester Hudson, Chair of Overview and Scrutiny, was scheduled to welcome attendees and introduce the agenda.

Temporary Accommodation and Homelessness Prevention

The commission was scheduled to review temporary accommodation and homelessness prevention in Newham. A report titled Increasing Affordable Temporary Accommodation Supply and Tackling Homelessness in Newham was prepared for discussion.

The report noted that Newham faces unprecedented homelessness pressures due to an unsustainably expensive rental market, leading to increased demand for temporary accommodation (TA) and pressure on the council's general fund.

The report proposed to increase the supply of affordable TA through direct property acquisitions and long-term leasing arrangements. It also outlined wider homelessness reduction measures, including revisions to the Housing Placement Policy.

The report set out the following recommendations for the Scrutiny Committee:

• Support the approach to increase mitigation measures to reduce expenditure and the number of households in temporary accommodation.
• Support the revised Housing Placement Policy.
• Support up to £1.7m in additional resources to deliver the enhanced Homelessness Response Programme.
• Note the delegation of authority to the Corporate Director of Inclusive Economy & Housing to finalise and implement the revised Housing Placement Policy.
• Support the initiation of a comprehensive review of the council's Social Housing Allocations Policy.

The report also noted the intention to review all households in TA to instigate a resettlement programme and that further updates and reports would be presented to the Scrutiny Committee.

National and Local Context

The report stated that, nationally, 126,040 households were in temporary accommodation as of September 2024, a 15.7% increase from the previous year. Councils in England are reportedly spending £1.7 billion a year on temporary accommodation.

In London, temporary accommodation rates are seven times higher than the rest of England, with boroughs collectively spending around £4 million per day on TA. Newham reportedly had approximately 7,500 households in TA in mid-2025, accounting for circa £100 million of the borough's £115 million medium-term funding gap.

Proposals to Address the Crisis

The council's strategy to reduce pressures associated with temporary accommodation was structured around three elements:

1. Accelerating Long Term Housing: This includes increasing the use of the Private Rented Sector (PRS), using Fee Based Providers for increasing housing offers, accelerating long term housing offers through case reviews, expanding working with Registered Providers¹ to increase housing duty discharge, and providing out of borough placements and relocation support.

2. Reducing the Cost of TA: This involves reviewing the TA Market Strategy to improve value for money by renegotiating rates and contracting properties aligned with current and future demand.

3. Revised Housing Placement Policy: This aims to provide residents with a clear understanding of potential placement locations, including options beyond borough boundaries, to ensure equitable access to accommodation.

Housing Placement Policy

The council was scheduled to discuss revisions to its Housing Placement Policy for temporary accommodation and private rented sector offers. The policy explains how the council meets its statutory duties in finding accommodation, in accordance with Part VII of the 1996 Housing Act and the Homelessness Code of Guidance.

The policy prioritises providing suitable accommodation within Newham, subject to the availability of suitable and affordable housing. It considers affordability, distance to employment, education, caring responsibilities, access to medical facilities, support, and local amenities.

The council allocates accommodation within areas categorised as Zone A, Zone B, or Zone C.

• Zone A: Located in the London Borough of Newham or within 30 minutes' travelling time by public transport from the nearest boundary of Newham.
• Zone B: Located outside Newham but within 90 minutes' travelling time by public transport from the nearest boundary of Newham.
• Zone C: Located more than 90 minutes' travelling time by public transport from the nearest boundary of Newham.

The policy outlines priority groups for each zone. Zone A prioritises households with children who have an Education Health and Care plan in Newham, households with children subject to a Child Protection Plan, households where someone has a severe health condition requiring treatment only available in Newham, and households with a longstanding arrangement to provide care to a family member in Newham.

Zone B prioritises children in Year 10, 11, 12 or 13 preparing for exams at a school in Newham, households where someone is in permanent employment, and households interested in moving out of Newham. Zone C is for households where risk of gender-based or gang and drug-related violence makes a move outside London preferable, and households not meeting the criteria for Zones A or B.

The Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) attached to the policy states that the amended policy is not expected to have a significant impact, either positive or negative, from an age, disability, ethnicity, health, socioeconomic or sex perspective. It notes that there continues to be insufficient data to draw conclusions from gender, religious or sexual orientation perspective. The EqIA notes that households where the main applicant is a woman are four times as likely as men to be placed out of borough.

Strategic Housing Delivery Programme

The commission was also scheduled to consider an update on the Strategic Housing Delivery Programme. A report was prepared to provide an update on the council's strategic housing delivery activity and the challenges facing future delivery.

The report noted that since May 2018, the council has embarked on an ambitious house building programme to meet manifesto commitments, delivering 1,000 new genuinely affordable homes. For the 2022 – 2026 term, the council has mobilised housing delivery under the Affordable Homes for Newham programme (AHfN), aiming to deliver an additional 1,500 homes.

The council has also been driving significant estate restoration and regeneration schemes in Custom House, Canning Town and Carpenters Estate. These proposals have the potential to deliver around 5,000 new and replacement homes.

The council benefits from its wholly owned company, Populo Living, which has delivered homes for the GLA grant funding programme and properties for private rent.

Affordable Homes for Newham Programme

The Affordable Homes for Newham (AHfN) programme has been a key driver of affordable housing delivery, funded primarily through the GLA's Building Homes for Londoners grant programme and additional HRA borrowing. The GLA has provided the council with £107 million grant for the 2018-22 programme and £91 million grant for its 2022 to 2026 programme.

The report stated that the key benefit of the council's own AHfN programme was the ability for it to set its own brief to meet policy objectives, including delivering genuinely affordable homes, demonstrating value for money, and supporting place making in key strategic areas on council-owned land.

The report also noted lessons learned across the programmes, including the importance of resolving on-site risks before awarding construction contracts, careful consideration of broad programme-wide implementation of specification such as passivhaus², and adequate time to manage utility connections and provision.

Estate Regeneration and Restoration

The council has three Estate Regeneration projects at Custom House, Canning Town and Carpenters Estate. Successful resident ballots have been achieved, and demolition and construction is progressing.

The table below sets out the number of new homes being delivered through the council's estate regeneration programmes based upon current proposals:

Acquisitions

In 2022, the council began an active acquisition programme, acquiring properties on a large scale to use as an alternative to costly nightly paid accommodation.

Challenges to Delivery

The report noted that the backdrop to developing new homes has changed significantly over recent years, with external factors such as Covid and the war in Ukraine causing inflation to spike and remain higher for longer than anticipated, as well as a rise in interest rates and regulatory changes which have increased the costs of building new homes.

The report stated that the council is conducting a piece of work to understand new models for taking housing delivery forward in this constrained operating environment, including exploring options for external investment funding or other partnerships that would unlock delivery of the pipeline.