To approve a new accommodation strategy for vulnerable young people in Herefordshire.

THAT:

(a) the accommodation strategy for vulnerable young people in Herefordshire at

appendix 1 be approved.

The council has developed a newly collaborative and strategic approach to meeting the

accommodation needs of vulnerable young people. This involves new housing

development, allied to commissioning of care and support and offers the opportunity to

improve outcomes for young people and generate some savings. It is necessary to

formalise this approach in a new strategy to set appropriate objectives and target

outcomes and promote new ways of working to achieve strategic goals.

The option to continue to improve accommodation for young people without a formal

strategy. This option is not recommended because it would establish no clear objectives

or principles or way of measuring success and demonstrating commitment. Nor would it

promote different ways of working across housing and children’s services which are the

hallmark of the proposed strategy. The strategy is also required in order to create a

model for delivering savings and monitoring the avoidance of specialist placements for

young people.

2. The option to include management of homelessness among young people generally

within the strategy.This is not recommended because there are specific duties and other

factors relevant to homelessness which can be addressed best through implementation

of the homelessness prevention strategy.