Decision

To receive £173,250 from Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) – Rough Sleeping Programme and delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to agree the grant funding agreement with the CPCA. 

Reasons for the decision

The funding is a welcome addition to enhance the work already underway to tackle rough sleeping via the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy along with the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant.

There is a requirement from Ministry Housing Communities Local Government’s funding to the CPCA to increase opportunities to find a route off the streets for rough sleepers.

The new funding will enable FDC to tackle rough sleeping via the interventions below:

We will utilise the funding to deliver a flexible mix of interventions from 2 November 2026, not exhaustive but including activities that we already use as part of the Rough Sleeper Prevention and Recovery Grant (RSPARG) project already in operation and assessed as successful by national government advisors. Examples include:

·         Severe Weather Emergency Provision (SWEP) for clients no matter what the weather is.

·         Purchasing additional specialist support services, e.g. mental health, Housing First etc. to work on the streets to assess and open treatment pathway.

·         Use of void properties within supported accommodation that we can pay for with additional specialist support.

·         Bed and breakfast accommodation as a last resort for rough sleepers who are unable to access other supported housing providers due to past behaviour with additional separate specialist support from the RSPARG project to support clients with complex needs. 

Alternative options considered

N/A