Strategic Housing Service

The Strategic Housing & Community Activity Service has four service areas that have close links and working relationships:

1. The Strategic Housing Service Area
2. The Housing and Welfare Options Service Area
3. Private Sector Housing Service Area

The Strategic Housing Service Area

The Council responds to national, regional and local priorities and ensures that sufficient multi-tenure housing is provided to meet the needs of a changing population.

The Strategic Housing Service Area works to provide affordable, safe and secure homes throughout the City.

This involves ensuring the delivery of more good quality affordable homes, making better use of the existing housing stock and facilitating better, more accessible, housing services and choice for residents.

To fulfil this role we are required to develop, implement and evaluate the success of housing strategies, co-ordinating the involvement of stakeholders and partners in the strategic process.

It entails building excellent working relationships with partner agencies to ensure that the quality of housing available is appropriate to the needs of current and future residents.

• Manages and develops the Promoting Independent Living Scheme (PIL). Worcester City Council has a contract in place with Milbrook Health for works of repair or renewal in the private housing sector.
• Effective action to increase homelessness prevention and helps vulnerable people to live independently in their homes.

• Partnership working
• Enabling the delivery of affordable and supported housing to meet the diverse housing needs of the community including community-led housing developments.
• Monitor No Second Night Out (NSNO)Rough Sleeping in the City
• Directly commissioning specific support services for  vulnerable clients such as CCP
• Gathers relevant data in order to monitor and provide data for internal and external purposes such as Department for Communities and
• Local Government (DGLG) .The Department for Communities and Local Government's job is to create great places to live and work, and to give more power to local people to shape what happens in their area. DCLG is a ministerial department, supported by 11 agencies and public bodies

Development of housing policies and strategies

The Housing and Welfare Options Service Area

• Provides the statutory assessment of homelessness.
• Provides temporary and emergency accommodation for homeless households where appropriate
• Provides advice and assistance for non statutory homeless clients
• Works to prevent homelessness through casework, advice and support
• Develops a homelessness strategy and seeks resources to develop new services
• The shared Countywide Choice Based Lettings Register Housing For You and Allocations Policy
• Provision of the Integrated Gateways Service (IGS)  which aims to make a real difference for single homeless
• South Worcestershire Discretionary Welfare Assistance Scheme

Private Sector Housing Service Area

• Manages and develops a Home Improvement Agency (HIA) .Worcester City Council has a contract in place with Fortis Living who operate the Care & Repair Worcestershire for works of repair or renewal in the private housing sector.
• Manages the private sector enforcement responsibilities e.g. Houses in Multiple Occupation and Enforcement Policy
• Improves the management of the private rented housing stock through Landlord Forum  and other positive initiatives e.g. Local Lettings Agency City Life Letting
• Develops and maintains an up to date  pdf Private Sector Stock Conditions Survey (8.15 MB)
• Improving the quality, condition and management of housing so that all residents benefit from safe, healthy and well-managed homes.