Time & Location

3 November 2021, 10:00 – 17:00 (Registration starts 9:30)

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Cost

Standard Ticket - £150+VAT

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About this Conference

A must-attend conference for all local authority homelessness and allocations professionals.

 

AS we now come out of the pandemic local authorities are facing new challenges as to what their service should look like in 2021 and beyond. We continue to see increasing pressures arising from increasing demands from legislative changes and the shortage of affordable housing. Judgements in the courts and the Ombudsman decisions have also required local authorities to re-evaluate the way they work. The everchanging eligibility criteria make it extremely difficult for local authorities to know the current regulations. 

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THIS conference has been designed to offer practical advice and solutions in the areas of homelessness as well as how to meet all the challenges that lie ahead. You will hear from leading national experts in the areas of homelessness, allocations and trailblazers.

 

THIS conference will give delegates:
 

An insight into how local authorities are looking to find long term housing solutions for homelessness
Best practice for using housing medical advisers, including the do’s and don’ts
Confidence in dealing with the challenges faced by Housing Options Services in 2021 and overcoming them  
Details of recent developments in allocations and homelessness case law in the County Court, High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court
Eligibility made simple through easy to follow flowcharts and eligibility templates for every scenario
First hand details as to how through Homefinder UK a local authority can secure council accommodation outside of its district
Great guidance on how to use general defences against Section 21 ad Section 8 notices as a form of prevention

How to help homeless people obtain employment or start their own business ideas 

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Speakers

ANNETTE CAFFERKEY, Barrister at 4-5 Grays Inn Square Chambers
Annette specialises in landlord & tenant, housing, residential leasehold matters, local government (public law/judicial review) and education law.  She is regularly instructed by landlords (both private & public bodies), tenants, local authorities and parents (in relation to education matters).  Annette started her career in a successful chancery set, and went on to gain experience doing general civil work before specialising in the areas mentioned above. She is recognised by the Legal 500 as “a tenacious lawyer, who understands the needs of vulnerable clients” and “brilliant even in the most challenging cases” with “tremendous experience at all levels of court and tribunals”.

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ANDY GALE, Housing Consultant
Andy is one of the best known names in the field of homelessness and lettings. He trains and advises local authorities around the country. He has a wide range of local government experience having worked as Housing Needs Manager for Harrow Council and with the DCLG. He has also become an expert advisor on how to use the private rented sector to prevent homelessness or to discharge. Andy has worked with many local authorities to help them successfully embed the changes brought in by the Homelessness Reduction Act.

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SEB BARKER, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Beam

Beam is the world’s first crowdfunding platform for homeless people. At Beam, Seb oversees the organisation’s public sector work and heads up the Mission Support team, which is responsible for helping hundreds of homeless people secure homes and start work in sectors facing skills shortages. Seb has spent a decade working in homelessness services, first at Thames Reach where he worked on the world's first ever homelessness social impact bond, and later at Turning Point where he supported clients with drug and alcohol issues. He has also designed personalisation services for the NHS, which are now being rolled out across England.

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BRENDA FRASER, Homefinder UK & Revive Project Manager at Homefinder UK

Brenda is the manager of Homefinder UK, a national mobility scheme set up by software house Home Connections, and has worked for charities, support services and housing associations such as Centrepoint, YMCA and One Housing. Combining extensive experience in housing, applicant case management and her own experiences of homelessness, she has helped set up and lead a specialist move-on service for domestic abuse survivors, Revive. The project has rehoused over 130 survivors in safe accommodation across the country. 

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MINOS PERDIOS, Reviews Manager at Housing Reviews Ltd

Minos has personally carried out over 7,000 S202 reviews on behalf of local authorities and his work has been commended in both the County Court and Court of Appeal. He also provides one of the most well received training for homelessness officers who find his training not only ‘very practical’ but also ‘entertaining’. Minos has also carried out audits of local authority homelessness services and knows what makes an outstanding homeless service.  

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BEN REEVE-LEWIS, Founder Member & Strategic Case Manager Safer Renting

Over 33 years Ben has worked variously as a homelessness case worker, head of homelessness, s202 reviews officer and Tenancy Relations Officer. He is co-founder of Safer Renting, a non-profit housing advocacy service for 11 London Boroughs. He has been a trainer of housing law for frontline workers since 2000 and is currently visiting lecturer in housing law at Middlesex University.  

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Dr JOHN KEEN, Senior Medical Adviser at NowMedical 
Dr John Keen is a senior medical adviser at NowMedical Ltd, the UK’s leading provider of housing medical advice. He is part of NowMedical’s team of doctors and psychiatrists who specialise in housing medical assessments, advising on homeless-vulnerability, housing applications and transfer cases, intentionality, suitability, future housing needs, section 202 reviews, and everything else medical. NowMedical work at the forefront of latest guidance and case law, and have acted as medical advisers in landmark cases, including Hotak/Johnson.

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VICTORIA KELL, Strategic Policy Lead for Homelessness at Liverpool City Council

Victoria joined Liverpool City Region Combined Authority as the Strategic Policy Lead for Homelessness in July 2020 at a time when the national Housing First pilot in the area was commencing the significant upscale of the project. The pilot is providing a high fidelity Housing First response to over 200 service users. Prior to this Victoria was seconded to the Homeless Advice and Support Team (HAST) at the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government for 2 years where she supported over 90 Local Authorities to introduce and embed the Homeless Reduction Act. As a Homeless Adviser she provided support and guidance around the Act as well as wider development of partnerships and pathways to successfully prevent and relieve homelessness. Victoria has managed housing options services within Local Authority settings for a number of years delivering services with a strong focus on homeless prevention alongside a range of interventions for those needing more intensive or immediate solutions. 

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AMANDA BLOXSOME, Best Practice and Partnership Lead of Housing First Pilot in Liverpool

Amanda has worked within the homelessness sector sector for the past 20 years, and has a varied range of management experience.  Amanda has lead on specialist women’s housing first services, she was the lead for one of the first successful housing first services in England and developed and managed this for 6 years, this service became one of the largest in the UK and she was instrumental in the development of Housing First as one of the homelessness solutions.  Amanda is currently the Best Practice and Partnership Lead for one of the national housing first pilots in Liverpool and is responsible for quality and fidelity to the model, communications, partnerships and workforce development.  Amanda is also an accredited member of the European Hub Housing First Trainers. 

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Who Should Attend

• Homelessness/Housing Options Officers and Managers

• Reviews Officers

• Housing Policy Officers and Managers

• In-House Solicitors

• Letting/Allocations Officers and Managers

• Youth Homelessness Officers

• Housing Associations responsible for making homelessness and suitability decisions

 

Programme