Fylde Council’s Executive Committee have approved the funding of a full-time Moving On Tenancy Support Officer, to help asylum seekers with settled status move from temporary homeless accommodation to permanent homes.
A funding allocation of £67,000 for this crucial three-year post is to be drawn from Asylum Seeker Dispersal Grants (ASDG) received from the Home Office throughout 2023/24.
Cllr Chris Dixon, Lead Member for Social Wellbeing, said: “The need for temporary housing in Fylde is frequent, and though our available temporary units rose from 10 to 31 in 2023/24, we currently support 51 households in temporary accommodation, including 19 families with a total of 38 children.
“This additional role will be instrumental in supporting families to find permanent accommodation within the private or social rented sector, putting them in a place to continue with their lives, and reducing the pressure on the temporary units.”
The existing Moving On Service was established in April 2023 to help source moving-on options in the private and social rented sector, access funding to set up the tenancy with rent bond, rent in advance, and household items, and ensuring that the appropriate social services support is in place.
The service has been instrumental in applying for funding to increase the supply of temporary homeless accommodation in Fylde via the Local Authority Housing Fund and negotiating with partners at Fylde Coast YMCA to repurposing accommodation as temporary homeless units.
The new Moving On Tenancy Support Officer will provide support for asylum seekers with settled status who approach the council under homelessness legislation on leaving temporary National Asylum Support Service (NASS) accommodation. In 2022/23, Fylde Council’s housing service saw a total of 5 clients leaving NASS accommodation, which rose to 7 in 2023/24. Of these, Fylde Council was able to accept Main Housing Duty towards three households with settled status.
If you or someone you know are at risk of homelessness or otherwise require housing advice, find out about the support available to you through Fylde Council’s housing service here: https://new.fylde.gov.uk/resident/housing/homelessness-and-housing-advice/
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