Issue - meetings

Homelessness continues to be one of the most significant challenges facing Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Demand for assistance has risen sharply, driven by rising private rents, household income pressures and increasing complexity of need. In 2024 to 2025, BCP Council determined that 2,767 households needed formal intervention because of their homelessness or threat of homelessness, representing a doubling of demand compared with 2020. Rough sleeping reached a peak of 193 individual people seen over the month of July 2024 before beginning to reduce through targeted outreach, expanded supported housing and strengthened multi agency work.

The proposed Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2026 to 2031 sets out a long term, evidence based and partnership led plan for reducing homelessness and rough sleeping across the area. The Strategy is fully aligned with national Government priorities on homelessness and rough sleeping, including the emphasis on earlier prevention across public services, national commitments to reduce families and children in Bed & Breakfast, rough sleeping and the monitoring of performance within the Local Outcomes Framework.

Developed through comprehensive review, extensive engagement, consultation and strong lived experience input, the Strategy presents a shared ambition to make homelessness in BCP rare, brief and unrepeated. It reflects updated statutory data, changing system pressures and learning from recent years. Approval will help BCP Council and its partners strengthen prevention, reduce unsuitable temporary accommodation usage, improve multi agency practices and support people to secure and sustain safe and stable homes.

This report sets out the approach taken to developing the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2026–2031, outlines the emerging strategic direction, and seeks the Committee’s input, noting that the detailed Delivery Plan is in its final stages of development and will be presented alongside the Strategy for Cabinet approval in May 2026.