MD2193 No Second Night Out leases

1.1 NSNO is a service for new rough sleepers, providing them with a rapid single service offer to prevent them from spending a second night out and becoming entrenched. In 2016/17, 1,523 new rough sleepers were assisted by the service (30 per cent of the new arrivals onto the street), 84 per cent of whom were not seen rough sleeping again during that year.

1.2 NSNO currently comprises three assessment hubs plus two staging posts, for people whose rough sleeping cannot be resolved quickly and who therefore need short-term accommodation. Each hub currently has capacity for a maximum of 25 clients.

1.3 NSNO has operated from a series of temporary premises and, therefore, a position of some uncertainty. Also, finding premises has been extremely challenging and, as a result, none of the service’s buildings have been ideal, in terms of internal layout and size. The service is continually at risk of losing its premises, posing a serious threat to the continuity of the service and considerable uncertainty over the cost of future premises.

1.4 In addition, under the current NSNO contract, it is the responsibility of the service provider to secure accommodation for the hubs and staging posts, and contract with accommodation providers where appropriate. Having the service and the accommodation inextricably linked in this way limits the market of potential service providers or could result in breaks in the service following a procurement exercise, while new providers find suitable premises.

1.5 Working in partnership with St Mungo’s, the Mayor is developing two permanent assessment hubs and a staging post for NSNO. As well as being for the NSNO services, these premises will accommodate the GLA’s Severe Weather Emergency Provision (SWEP) for rough sleepers. The staging post and one of the hubs will be in LB Lewisham and the other hub will be in Hackney. The Hackney hub will start on site in November 2017 and the Lewisham development will start on site in 2018. Through his Homelessness Change programme, the Mayor has allocated around £5 million plus VAT to St Mungo’s towards funding the project, with St Mungo’s providing the remainder. Approval for this funding has been given by the Executive Director of Housing and Land, through the delegation approved in MD2085.

1.6 In addition to the funding agreement, a nominations agreement between the GLA and St Mungo’s will give the GLA nomination rights to the staging post. It is proposed that the GLA enters into a lease for each of the assessment hubs. The duration for each lease would be 14 years and 11 months. There would be no cost for the leases themselves, but as the tenant the GLA would be required to make an annual contribution towards running costs, such as business rates, utilities, taxes and outgoings. This would be £13,500 per hub, increasing by RPI each year, for the duration of the leases.

1.7 Whichever organisation that the GLA commissions to run the NSNO service is contractually required to pay a contribution towards running costs (out of the funding that the GLA pays them for delivering the service). The current service provider is St Mungo’s. Their contract runs from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2019, with scope to extend by up to two years. The funding from the GLA to the NSNO service provider includes an element of funding for running costs. The NSNO service provider pays those running costs direct to the landlord of the accommodation. Approval was granted through MD2031 to procure and fund the NSNO service from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2019. Running costs for the hubs were included in the funding approved through MD2031. This means that there is already approval for expenditure on these running costs up to 31 March 2019.

1.8 When the NSNO service is reprocured, while St Mungo’s will continue to be responsible for the buildings, there could be a different organisation providing the service.

2.1 NSNO contributes to the following key corporate performance indicator: ‘Each year, 85 per cent of individuals being supported by Mayoral programmes and services exit rough sleeping as a result of this support.’.

2.2 A key outcome for the NSNO service is that fewer than ten per cent of those leaving the hubs each quarter subsequently end up rough sleeping during that quarter.

3.1 Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as public authorities, the Mayor and GLA are subject to a public sector equality duty and must have ‘due regard’ to the need to (i) eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; (ii) advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not; and (iii) foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not. Protected characteristics under section 149 of the Equality Act are age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (all except the last being “relevant” protected characteristics).

3.2 Of those seen rough sleeping in 2016/17:

• 53 per cent were non-UK nationals

• 47 per cent had a mental health need

• 15 per cent were women

• 56 per cent were in the 26-45 age group

• nine per cent were under 26 years old

• 11 per cent were over 55

• four people were under 18.

3.3 As rough sleepers those with protected characteristics of race and disability are over-represented among rough sleepers, the proposals in this paper are likely to have positive impacts on these groups.

a) Key risks

b) Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.1 The Draft London Housing Strategy, published in September 2017, states that ‘Rough sleepers should be supported off the streets as quickly and sustainably as possible. The Mayor’s central aim will be to ensure there is a route off the streets for every single rough sleeper in London.’ (Policy 7.2). It further states that the Mayor will ‘develop new services including a permanent base for the No Second Night Out service’.

c) Impact assessments and consultations

4.2 St Mungo’s have undertaken extensive local consultation on the development of both hubs, and have secured planning permission from LB Lewisham and LB Hackney.

5.1 This decision requests approval for the GLA to enter into two leases with St Mungo’s (14 years and 11 months each) for two No Second Night Out (NSNO) permanent hubs.

5.2 Leases will be agreed on a cost neutral basis. However, the GLA will be expected to make an annual contribution of £13,500 per/year (increasing by RPI each year) towards the running costs of the buildings for the duration of two leases. The running costs expenditure approval is sought from 1 April 2019 as there is already an approval in place through MD2031 covering the period between 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2019 (as described in Section 1.7 above). The proposed funds will be expended from the Rough Sleeping Commissioning budget (MD1532), which has been allocated a four-year indicative budget of up to £33.8m (£8.45m per year)

6.1 Section 30 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (as amended) (GLA Act) gives the Mayor a general power to do anything which he considers will further one or more of the principal purposes of the GLA as set out in section 30(2) which are:

(a) promoting economic development and wealth creation in Greater London;

(b) promoting social development in Greater London; and

(c) promoting the improvement of the environment in Greater London.

6.2 Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, due regard must be had, when the Mayor exercises a function such as the making of this decision, to the equalities obligations referred to in the ‘Equality comments’ above.