Issue - meetings

20.1.    The Board considered a report providing an update on the ongoing welfare concerns for unsupported homeless people placed in Kendal Court and other temporary accommodation in the Lewes and Eastbourne areas by Brighton and Hove City Council.

20.2.    The Board thanked the Council’s leadership and officers for their work in resolving the issue and welcomed the outcome of the process.

20.3.    The Board RESOLVED to note the latest information in respect of Brighton and Hove residents temporarily accommodated in East Sussex

8.1          The Board considered a report providing an update on the ongoing welfare concerns for unsupported homeless people placed in Kendal Court and other temporary accommodation in the Lewes and Eastbourne areas by Brighton and Hove City Council.

8.2          The Board RESOLVED to:

1) Note the additional information, ongoing concerns and actions set out in this report in respect of Brighton and Hove residents temporarily accommodated in East Sussex; and

2) agree to receive a further update report on the situation at its next meeting on 29 September 2022.

41.1     The Board considered an update report on the health and wellbeing inequalities of residents at Kendal Court Newhaven, and homeless people accommodated by Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) in temporary accommodation in East Sussex.

41.2     Mark Stainton outlined the actions that had been taken since the last report in December 2021. There has been a significant exchange of correspondence between the two authorities at both officer and elected Member level. There has been some progress, but the fundamental concerns have not been resolved. Preparations are being made to escalate the matter through the legal routes available if this becomes necessary. BHCC has been asked to share the placement details of the 71 Kendal Court residents that have come to East Sussex County Council’s (ESCC) attention in the past 5 years in an attempt to resolve the dispute and avoid further escalation. So far, this information has not been provided.

41.3     There have been a number of improvements in the situation since the last report which include the following:

• The number of people accommodated in East Sussex continues to fall and is now around 122 (which is around half of the peak of 250 last summer).
• New placements to Kendal Court have been paused since December.
• BHCC have made clear their intention to invest in more welfare provision to support people in emergency accommodation when services are put out to tender in quarter 1 of the new financial year (2022/23).

41.4     There remain are a number of areas (as set out in section 3.2 of the report) where BHCC have been asked to provide assurance that the current arrangements are safe and that future commissioning intentions are safe and sustainable.

41.5     The Chair commented that it is good that both parties have been communicating, but a complete resolution has not been found. Therefore, it is important that the Board continues its efforts to resolve this issue.

41.6     The Board noted BHCC’s intention to included extra welfare officer provision when it re-commissions the service and asked whether this would be provided 7 days a week and 24 hours a day.

41.7     Mark Stainton responded that there are three or four different tiers of accommodation for homeless people requiring temporary accommodation. Most have no or minimal support needs, but others with enduring mental health or substance misuse issues have significant needs. It would be normal for people with these significant needs to have access to 24 hour support. BHCC have advised that they do not place people with such needs at Kendal Court, which ESCC disputes.

41.8     The Board asked if BHCC has met with East Sussex Healthwatch to discuss their report and what the outcome of the meeting was.

41.9     John Routledge, East Sussex Healthwatch outlined that Healthwatch has not had a direct meeting with BHCC to discuss its report and has not had a formal response to the report. However, there have been a number of emails that would indicate that BHCC are responding in a piecemeal way to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41

30.1     The Board considered a report providing an update on the ongoing welfare concerns for unsupported homeless people placed in Kendal Court and other temporary accommodation in the Lewes and Eastbourne areas by Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC).

30.2     Mark Stainton, Director of Adult Social Care informed the Board that a response had been received to the 4th November letter on Friday (after the publication of the HWB papers). The reply did not attempt to address the issues and restated BHCC’s position in respect to the Care Act 2014, i.e., that it was adhering to its requirements. It did, however, indicate a reduction in out-of-area placements in East Sussex to 168, with 64 now in Eastbourne – a much lower figure – due to the decant of clients from a hotel BHCC had commissioned following the potential planning enforcement action. The balance of 104 out-of-area placements remain in Lewes District. The letter also said the numbers would remain around this level, suggesting no strategic plan to address the temporary accommodation issues in Brighton & Hove. The letter also stated BHCC is reviewing the Healthwatch report that was published two and a half months ago.

30.3     The Director of Adult Social Care also informed the Board that a further resident of Kendal Court had sadly taken their own life on Friday, taking the death toll of residents to ten. ESCC is now seeking legal advice to help prevent further harm or death of Brighton & Hove residents placed temporarily in Kendal Court.

30.4     John Routledge, Director of Healthwatch, said Healthwatch is pressing BHCC for a response to the recommendations it made in its report on Kendal Court but had not yet had a response. He added that BHCC had taken on board the recommendations for commissioning new temporary emergency accommodation going forward and that may be an opportunity to improve things at Kendal Court, as the lease for the building expires next year and it could enable the City Council to demand higher standards of the provider. He added that about half of those being placed in East Sussex, including some in Kendal Court, were happy with the arrangement and were making plans for their future, however, the issue is with vulnerable people being placed in East Sussex.

30.5     The Board expressed serious concern about the situation at Kendal Court and the lack of engagement from BHCC. Board members hoped the issue could be resolved as soon as possible and expressed support for ESCC to seek legal advice, suggested that ESCC should explore whether there are any legal covenants on Kendal Court, and suggested exploring whether there is scope for the Safeguarding Adults Board to look at carrying out a thematic safeguarding review of Kendal Court.

30.6     The Board RESOLVED to:

1) Note the additional information, ongoing concerns and actions set out in this report in respect of Brighton and Hove residents temporarily accommodated in East Sussex; and

2) Agree to receive a further update report on the situation, at its next meeting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30

19.1.     The Board considered a report providing an update on the ongoing welfare concerns for unsupported homeless people placed in Kendal Court and other temporary accommodation in the Lewes and Eastbourne areas by Brighton and Hove City Council. The Board also heard a verbal update on the latest situation from the Chief Executive of East Sussex County Council, and a presentation from Healthwatch on the results of their latest inspection.

19.2.     The Board discussed the need to resolve the issue as soon as practicable; the importance of informing neighbouring authorities when placing vulnerable people into their temporary accommodation; the risk this could have on availability of temporary accommodation for vulnerable residents in East Sussex; and whether it was acceptable for a local authority to place vulnerable residents who require additional care outside of their jurisdiction.

19.3.     The Board RESOLVED to:

1)    Note the additional information and ongoing concerns set out in this report and the actions taken to try and address them;

2)    agree that the Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board writes again to the Chair of the Brighton and Hove Health and Wellbeing Board (BHHWB) to request that Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) urgently resolve the inequalities experienced by the vulnerable adults that it has placed at Kendal Court and elsewhere in Lewes and Eastbourne by fulfilling its statutory health and welfare responsibilities; and

3)    agree to receive a further update report on the situation, at its next meeting on 14th December 2021, to include further options for escalation if the current issues have not been satisfactorily addressed.

7.1.        The Board considered a report providing information on the significant welfare concerns about the placing of unsupported homeless people in Kendal Court and the wider Lewes and Eastbourne areas by Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC).

7.2.        The Board asked whether there were staff on site at Kendal Court 24/7.

7.3.        Keith Hinkley said Kendal Court is not set up as a 24/7 care service and East Sussex County Council (ESCC) is not trying to make it into one. The Council is seeking to ensure that BHCC provide appropriate support for those vulnerable people who are placed there. There are ways of providing this support in a consistent way to people in the unit, but not as a 24/7 service.

7.4.        The Board asked whether there was a known length of stay of residents.

7.5.        Keith Hinkley said there is minimal throughput of clients, i.e., some clients have been there for a very considerable time, and this is one of the main areas of concern.  

7.6.        The Board asked whether BHCC, as a neighbouring authority, had been engaged sufficiently over the issue. The Board also asked whether BHCC should be reported to the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for not fulfilling its statutory duties.

7.7.        Keith Hinkley said that ESCC has made it clear that the needs of the residents placed at Kendal Court are at the forefront of the actions being undertaken by the Council. The Director of Adult Social Care and Health said that homeless support was a complex issue that local authorities face, but ESCC is committed to working collaboratively and had sought over a period of time to address these challenges with BHCC. It is clear, however, that during this time fundamental issues around people receiving the right care and support to meet their needs have not been addressed, even though they are solvable. BHCC has been informed about this report and the local authority’s views had been reflected in the report’s contents. Health and wellbeing boards are concerned with the oversight of the wellbeing of local residents, which is why this issue has been escalated to the East Sussex HWB. The proposed letter will raise the Brighton & Hove HWB’s awareness of the issue and will provide a further opportunity to work together in the best interests of these vulnerable people who have been placed in Kendal Court and elsewhere in East Sussex. A further update is proposed in September and it will give the HWB the opportunity to reflect on next steps if progress is not made. 

7.8.        The Board took the view that it should be a very strongly worded letter, as residents in East Sussex had expressed concern about the plight of these vulnerable homeless people who had been placed across the county by BHCC, and meeting their needs was a clear strain on ESCC and the district and borough council’s resources. BHCC is a neighbour and attempts should be made to work together as far as practicable, however,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7