1. VULNERABLE FAMILIES MOVING FROM LONDON TO ESSEX
SEPTEMBER 2018
By Zoe Bloomfield
DATA AND ANALYTICS
STRRATEGY, INSIGHT AND INNOVATION

2. Why more people are moving out of London to Essex?
As homelessness levels have risen nationally, the experience has been particularly acute in London. Since 2012 homeless households in temporary accommodation has increased by 61%. Between 1997 and 2016 job numbers increased in London by 40%; the housing stock only increased by 15%.
The combination of a limited supply of social housing and rising rental costs in London means that some London boroughs are increasingly looking to house homeless households in cheaper areas outside their administrative boundaries.
Housing Allowance Reforms limit housing benefit amounts which with rising demand and rents in London has reduced the number of benefit claimants who are in private rented accommodation and increased homelessness resulting from eviction from a private rented accommodation Londoners were Homeless in 2016/17 from a shorthold tenancy ending.
Rising proportion of income taken up by rental costs for working families has led to 60% of homeless families placed by London Boroughs being in work.
1st April 2018 the Homelessness Reduction Act came into being which increases councils responsibilities to assist people at risk of homelessness and will place further stress on limited housing resources.
para 51
p.14
families-struggle GLA, Housing in London, 2017

3. HOMELESS HOUSEHOLDS PLACED IN ESSEX BY LONDON BOROUGHS
Receiving District
Q1 2016/17
Q2 2016/17
Q3 2016/17
Q4 2016/17
Q1 2017/18
Q2 2017/18
Q3 2017/18
Q4 2017/18
Q1 2018/19
Total
Harlow 20 14 11 12 34 5 9 37 93
246
Epping Forest 7 4 10 3 13 78 74
209
Basildon 31 27 29 32
171
Tendring
Rochford 1 30
Braintree 8 17
Chelmsford 2
Brentwood
Colchester
Castle Point 77 62 41 61 47
169
182
744
IBAA, London Housing Data Collection
The number of homeless placed in Essex by London Boroughs has increased since January 2018.
This could be partly due to preparation for the Homeless Reduction Act 2017 which was introduced in April 2018.
The areas to show an increase are limited to Harlow and Epping Forest.
X3 more homeless households were placed in Essex by London Boroughs in the first quarter of 2018/19 compared to the previous year.
The table shows homeless out of county homeless household placements by responding London boroughs in Essex by quarter from April 2016 to June 2018.
Some homeless relief figures may not be included – the data controller was unsure which boroughs had and had not included this therefore these figures may be lower than actual.

4. WHICH LONDON BOROUGHS PLACED HOMELESS IN ESSEX ?
Placing Borough
2015
2016
2017
2018
Redbridge 13 11 46
243
Havering 10 9 48 65
Enfield 38 77 58
Waltham Forest 6 8
Tower Hamlets 5 7 3
Haringey 2 1
Camden
Brent
Bromley
Croydon
Harrow
Islington 4
Lambeth
Bexley
An FOI to London Boroughs shows some of the boroughs who have housed homeless families in Essex since 2015.
So far in 2018 numbers have close to tripled. Mainly due to the increase in Redbridge.
Twice as many homeless families were placed in Essex by London Boroughs in 2017 than in the previous year.
* Nil returns for all years were received from Westminster, Hillingdon, Ealing, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton. Note Barnet, Newham, Lewisham and Barking and Dagenham did not respond and are therefore excluded from results.
Some boroughs used private rented converted industrial blocks in Harlow.
Redbridge Council revealed block purchasing places to use for homeless in a hotel located in Epping Forest.
This data differs from the previous slide as homeless relief placements are included.
HOTEL 79

5. HOUSING STOCK OWNED BY LONDON BOROUGHS IN ESSEX
637 properties have been identified in Essex owned by London Boroughs. Half of these are owned by Waltham Forest and the other half Newham.
Waltham Forest properties are located on two estates in Basildon (Wickford and Billericay) and one estate in Epping Forest.
Newham properties are located on one estate in Brentwood
559 Homes; mainly in Tendring, with some in Maldon and Colchester are Housing Association owned and used exclusively to house over 55’s from London as part of the Coast to Country Scheme

6. MIGRATION AND CHILDREN IN EDUCATION IN ESSEX
1 in 9 children in years 1 to 9 in Essex
started their education from outside of Essex. Over half of these started their education in a London Borough.
Total = 2902
A larger proportion came from Redbridge, Havering, Barking and Dagenham and to a lesser degree Waltham Forest and Newham
12% of Children years 7-11 from London are living in households at risk of homelessness, compared with just 5% of children from Essex
30% of Children years 7-11 from London are living in low income or workless households, compared with 27% from Essex.
1326 children years 1-11 who came from London are receiving Essex funded SEND provision. This is a similar proportion to children who came from Essex.
13% of children years 1-11 who came from London are receiving free school meals, compared with 10% from Essex.

7. CHILDREN KNOWN TO SOCIAL CARE
557 (6%) children (yrs 1-11) from London have been referred to Essex social care in the past 2 years. This is a rate of 2% higher than children from Essex.
12% of children living in households at risk of homelessness in years 1-11 from London were referred to social care in the past two years compared with 9% of children at risk of homelessness from Essex.
285 (3%) children in year 1-11 from a London Borough had a child and family assessment in the past two years. This is a rate of 1% higher than children from Essex.
11% of children in years 1 to 11who received a social care service in the past two years started their education in a London Borough
82% of children from London who received an Essex child protection social care service in the past two years were not transferred in by their originating local authority (the child protection issue arose after their move to Essex.
A third of children from London who received family solutions support in Essex started their education in Barking and Dagenham.
7% of social care referrals for children in years 1-11 were for children who started their education in a London Borough (same % who had a child and family assessment completed)
10% of child and family assessments for children at risk of homelessness were for children who started their education in a London borough (years 1-11)
81 children from London in years 1-11 were on the child protection register in the past 2 years
89 children from London in years 1-11 had family solutions support in the past 3 years

8. NEXT STEPS
This work is a snap shot initial exploration of homelessness and migration of homeless families moving from London to Essex. The following next steps are recommended to explore:
Map location of industrial unit conversions with proximity to local amenities, green space and public transport to explore access/isolation potential issues.
Analysis of the education census from past 5 years and school admissions data to explore school placements issues arising from use of temporary accommodation in areas of higher placement use.
Follow up FOI to London boroughs to request information on other support services they provide to homeless households placed in Essex. For example transport to school or medical appts. Including information on how they assess and decide who (circumstances) to place out of borough.
Similar exercise to be undertaken for single homeless households and look at needs of vulnerable adults.
Work with Essex district housing authorities to gather data on numbers of homelessness and us of out of borough placements they undertake. Including use of converted industrial units.
Gather good practice examples of effectively supporting families who are placed out of borough and decision making practice/tools to identify needs relevant to homeless placements.
Costing exercise to estimate cost of homelessness out of borough placements on a district basis.
Ethnography research with some households living in industrial converted units (Harlow) to understand their experiences and circumstances.
FOI

9. A full report is available by Zoe Bloomfield, Data and Analytics, Strategy Insight and Engagement
You can contact us in the following ways:
Zoe.