More than £18 million to be spent on initiatives to end West Midlands homelessness
More than £18 million will be spent on initiatives in Birmingham and Coventry.
Calls have been made for a pilot homelessness project being run in Birmingham and Coventry to be extended across the region.
West Midlands Combined Authority’s Investment Board approved more the £18 million to be deployed for the Supported Housing Funding Programme to tackle homelessness in the two cities.
Earlier this year, Birmingham and Solihull were selected by the government to take part in a programme having been identified as areas with high demand.
Deputy Mayor Stephen Simkins told members of the Investment Board the pilot project should have been set up to cover the whole of the region to help ensure there isn’t a “stampede” to the two cities and avoiding additional pressure on their local services.
The funding will be used for supporting housing, which provides accommodation alongside support for people who need help to live independently, including those experiencing or at risk of homelessness and rough sleeping.
The £18,266,172 will see just over £13.4 million handed to Birmingham and more than £4.4 million for Coventry.
A total of £395,000 to be retained by West Midlands Combined Authority for coordination and oversight of supported housing need across the region.
Councillor Simkins said: “I think we need a quarterly report on this, especially on the outputs.
“It’s a pilot in Birmingham and Coventry but we want to see an impact it is having on other neighbouring authorities.
“I think there needs to be a bigger, strategic view. There shouldn’t have been a pilot between just two authorities, it should have been across the seven Mets.
“We need to have a conversation with Government to say, there is a potential to create a stampede where people are going to come to Birmingham and Coventry.
“Which puts more pressure on their local delivery. For me, that isn’t a pilot. You need a pilot for the whole of the West Midlands.
“We need to look at how many homes can build. If you want to solve homelessness you build homes.
“We need to make sure we have an understanding of what the implications of across the region strategically.
“Outcomes are the key for us so we can see how it’s made an impact in terms of changing people’s lives, what the cost is in Birmingham and Coventry of services?”