To approve the award of contract for a service to deliver enhanced housing management for refugee families during their second and third years of resettlement.

The first cohort (2016/17) of resettled refugees will be coming to the end of their second year of resettlement between November 2018 and June 2019.  The second cohort (2018) of families who have arrived between June and September 2018 will come to the end of their initial year of orientation and support between June and September 2019.  Families are provided with initial support during year one of resettlement through a contract with Refugee Action.  Families from the first cohort are provided with enhanced housing management support during year two of resettlement.

The model to provide 12 months of orientation and support to each cohort is adopted by specialist providers as the approach that achieves the best outcomes for people going through the resettlement process. National guidance, the experience of other councils, case work to date and the exit interviews conducted for the families due to reach the end of the 12 months of support have identified the following ongoing areas of need;

·         English language development (purchased via the council’s community learning team)

·         Support to access employment (provided for by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Building Better Opportunities project)

·         Volunteering and training opportunities ( offered by community services such as Herefordshire Voluntary Organisations Support Service)

·         Support with managing tenancy and associated factors such as benefit entitlement (commissioned Enhanced Housing Management for refugees service).

The enhanced housing management service considered in this report is designed to provide support to the families to enable them to sustain their tenancies during the second and third year of their resettlement journey. An open tender process has been followed, in accordance with the council’s contract procedure rules, to seek a provider to deliver enhanced housing management support for the third year of resettlement for the 2016/17 cohort and second and third year for the 2018 cohort.

That:

(a)  a contract to deliver enhanced housing management for resettled refugees in years two and three of resettlement for three years to September 2021 at a cost of £60,970 be awarded to Spring Housing Association.

1.         Not to award a contract for the provision of enhanced housing management for refugee families. This option is not recommended as the families would be at risk of a breakdown in their tenancy, possibly resulting in homelessness or them leaving the county in order to seek support elsewhere. This scenario is not a desirable outcome for these vulnerable people and would put pressure on local services in having to respond to housing related crises. This also would not comply with the principles of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme or Vulnerable Childrens Resettlement Scheme, where the host council agrees to provide appropriate support to resettle families and receives funding from the Home Office to aid in fulfilling this agreement.

2.         To make a direct award to the current refugee enhanced housing management provider.  This option is not recommended as it would be in breach of the council’s contract procedure rules, which require competitive quotes to be sought from a minimum of three appropriately qualified and competent suppliers for a contract value between £5,001 and £75,000.