Content

To accept year 2, tranche 1 of DLUHC grant
funding of £25,000 in 2024/25 to continue to enable
sustainable rehousing options and solutions within the Private
Rented Sector in the locality area of Carlisle, for ex-offenders
who meet the eligibility criteria of the programme.

Reasons for the decision

The Accommodation for Ex-Offenders
(AfEO) project was first introduced in
July 2021 to support homeless prison leavers to access the private
rented sector, reducing the chances of this cohort rough sleeping
and reoffending. This new funding from 2023-2025 is intended to
build on the progress already made, with the ambition of supporting
ex-offenders into sustainable accommodation with a reasonable
expected tenancy length of 12 months wherever possible.
 
Carlisle City Council (now Cumberland Council)
was successfully awarded £100,000 over two years to support
this locality-based project; supporting 60 clients into sustainable
tenancies / rehousing options by the end of March 2025.
 
Additionally, the project will:
1.       Reduce the number of
homeless prison leavers sleeping rough on release
2.       For prison leavers
owed a homelessness duty, increase the proportion that secure a PRS
tenancy as their outcome, with every individual being in settled
accommodation with a minimum expected tenancy length of 12
months
3.       Increase in the
number of offenders that are in settled accommodation 3-months post
release

Alternative options considered

Risks
 
There is a risk the Council is unable to meet
externally funded project targets in relation to AfEO, homelessness and rough sleeping as per the
MOU agreement.