A six-point plan to reduce homelessness in Northumberland has been reviewed.
Northumberland County Council's homelessness strategy is being refreshed in light of new legislation, but the direction of travel remains the same.
The Northumberland Homelessness Strategy runs from 2016 to 2021 and a full review is still due to take place in two years' time.
However, an updated version has been produced for the final two years and is due to be signed off by the authority's cabinet on Tuesday, April 9.
At the meeting of the council's communities and place committee, on March 27, head of housing and public protection Phil Soderquest explained that the changes were largely in light of the Government's Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
"Our duty previously was to respond to homelessness," he said. "We now have a duty both to relieve homelessness and prevent homelessness."
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Based on this change, from April 2018 to the end of January this year, 157 households were prevented from becoming homeless.
Homelessness was relieved for another 106 households, which means that the council only took 17 homeless applications during this period, of which nine households were accepted as being homeless and in priority need.
In total, 922 households have contacted the homelessness and housing options service since April last year, of which 173 are current cases, 266 were advice only and 217 were closed or cancelled.
The updated strategy has six priorities: To prevent homelessness by improving support to vulnerable client groups; to increase options for, and ensure access to, suitable temporary accommodation; to support people through Welfare Reform, particularly Universal Credit; to remove barriers to permanent accommodation; to prevent youth homelessness; and to develop services for rough sleepers.
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Mr Soderquest said: "We will develop an action plan with our partners and that will be a dynamic document that will change.
"We as an organisation cannot resolve homelessness or rough sleeping on our own, we are working with partners to do so."
He added that it still remains 'a very worrying factor' that domestic violence is the reason behind a large proportion of homelessness in Northumberland; in 2017-18, it accounted for 42 per cent of all homeless acceptances.
Coun Jeff Reid welcomed the direction of travel, saying there was nothing in the document that anyone could object to, but he would have liked some kind of comparison to be able to judge if Northumberland was doing well or not in terms of tackling homelessness.
"As far as I can see, our aims and objectives are the right ones, our heart seems to be in the right place," he continued.
"What worries me is one of our priorities is supporting people through welfare reform.
"If that's one of the barriers to providing everyone somewhere to live then we are doing something very wrong, welfare reform is supposed to help people."
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