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 The Cabinet considered a report of the
Director of Economy and Place, which sought approval to accept the
2025/26 Homelessness Prevention Grant allocation of
£1,740,771, and a further Top Up Grant of £223,363,
giving a total allocation of £1,964,134 and agree on the
proposed spending plan outlined in Appendix 1 to the
report.
 
The Cabinet Member
Regeneration and Housing delivered a brief summary of the
report’s key points.
 
The Head of
Strategic Housing (People) was in attendance to present the
information and addressed the questions and comments of the Cabinet
Members.
 
The Officer
informed that the grant condition required that at least
£1,076,341 be spent on prevention, relief, and staffing
activities. The Grant funding was intended to provide local
authorities with additional resources in 2025/26 to support
individuals and households who were at risk of or experiencing
homelessness.
 
Resolved:

1.    
That the terms of the grants be noted and acceptance of
the grants totalling £1,964,134 be
approved;

2.    
That the spending plan as set out in Appendix 1 to the report
be approved;

3.    
That delegated authority be given to the Director of Economy
and Place to undertake the necessary procurement exercises and
award of contracts together with the entering into of all required
agreements for the delivery of the spending plan.
 
Reason for
decision:
The grant
provideed essential funding to enable the Council to deliver its
statutory homelessness prevention duties under the Homelessness
Reduction Act 2017. It supported early intervention, tenancy
sustainment, and strengthened partnership working, as well as
helping to provide temporary accommodation. This funding aligned
with corporate priorities relating to housing, health, and
wellbeing.
 
A longstanding
challenge with the HPG had been the short-term nature of the
government’s annual allocations, which had been confirmed
only one year at a time and had been subject to fluctuation. This
limited the Council’s ability to plan strategically, develop
longer term commissioning arrangements, or commit confidently to
multiyear activity.
 
The uncertainty in
annual grant levels made it more difficult to embed sustainable
homelessness prevention outcomes, despite the increasing demand
pressures and the Council’s clear prevention first ambition.
Nevertheless, the spend plan outlined in section 6 reflected a
proactive approach to maximising the impact of the funding
available and ensuring that the Council continued to meet its
statutory obligations.
The HPG continued
to represent a critical funding stream for Rochdale Borough
Council, underpinning the delivery of statutory homelessness
functions, sustaining frontline Housing Solutions, and ensuring
capacity to deliver timely assessments, Personalised Housing Plans,
prevention and relief interventions, and support for single people
and families at risk of homelessness.
 
The grant also
formed a central part of the borough’s wider strategy to
minimise the use of unsuitable temporary accommodation,
particularly bed and breakfast placements, and to support pathways
that prevent and reduce rough sleeping.
 
Use of the grant
must remain fully aligned with the national HPG principles,
ensuring that expenditure contributes directly to preventing
homelessness, supporting households at risk, and maintaining the
financial viability of core housing services.
 
A key requirement
of the grant was that funding was directed towards the delivery of
statutory duties arising from the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA)
2017 and the Housing Act 1996. In Rochdale, the grant supported our
statutory prevention and relief activity, assessments, personalised
housing plans, and the provision and management of temporary
accommodation. This included mitigating the increasing cost
pressures associated with temporary accommodation placements, which
continued to reflect regional and national trends in
demand.
 
The grant also
underpinned our strategic commitment to reducing the number of
families placed in temporary accommodation, with a particular focus
on minimising, and ultimately eliminating the use of unsuitable bed
and breakfast accommodation for families.
 
The requirement
ensured robust oversight of frontline pressures and a clear
operational pathway to compliance. Rochdale continued to prioritise
early intervention and family homelessness prevention to reduce
reliance on costly crisis responses.
 
In addition, the
funding supported Council’s obligations to prevent and
relieve single homelessness and rough sleeping. This included
strengthening outreach activity, enhancing move-on pathways, and
enabling targeted interventions that support individuals who face
the greatest risk of repeat homelessness.
 
These activities
remained central to our local ambition to end rough sleeping and
provide consistent support across the homelessness
pathway.
 
As stipulated
within the grant conditions, at least 49% of all expenditure must
be spent on prevention, relief, and staffing activities.