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Families with Rent Arrears Protocol
Neighbourhood Services & Children and Families Service
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Content
1. Introduction
2. Procedures for Neighbourhood Services and Children and Families
Service
Appendix A: Early Help Note
Appendix B: Process Flow Chart
Appendix C: Troubled Family Criteria
Appendix D: Contact Details
Appendix E: COG letter
April 2016
Reviewed September 2016
Author: Denise Hooper Neighbourhood Services [email protected] Contact 0121 569 5130
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Introduction
At any one time during the year, approximately 11,000 Sandwell council
tenants fall into rent arrears; at least a third of which are families with
children. The council has a duty to recognise a child’s need for a safe and
secure home in any action taken in pursuit of family evictions. An eviction is
preventable and only undertaken as a last resort, it is recognised that an
eviction usually extends the difficulties faced by families with children, rather
than reducing them.
This protocol applies to all tenants with dependent children. It has been
developed to make sure that at every key stage of the arrears process, we
ensure information is shared with Children and Families, to identify where
preventative interventions are appropriate to ultimately safeguard children.
The protocol and processes have been developed with the involvement and
agreement from Neighbourhood Services Income Management Team and
Children and Families Service.
The Aims of this protocol are:
To safeguard children and families
To support employees to take a proactive, preventative approach and identify potential safeguarding issues
To ensure the best outcomes for children and families
To embed information sharing/partnership working
To improve tenancy sustainment and prevent evictions
To identify clear expectations/responsibilities of officers within Neighbourhoods Services Income Management Team and Children and Families Service
The protocol will operate on three common principles:
Information sharing
Joint decision making
Coordinated intervention
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Information Sharing
Information sharing is necessary in order to assess whether a child is at risk of
significant harm, or to decide on the appropriate action to reduce the risk of
significant harm.
Officers from the Income Management team have received training and have
access to Safety Net and eCAF. It has been agreed that at every key stage of
the arrears process, officers will check Safety Net to find out if there is any
Children and Families Service involvement with the child(ren) or if children
have been known to the Children and Families Service. Information about the
arrears situation will be shared with the appropriate professional involved in
the case. Officers will endeavour to gain consent to share the information,
but if they are unable to, will share the information based on the fact that if
the family become homeless, the children may be at significant risk of harm.
The purpose of sharing the information is to quantify the risk and decide on
the appropriate action to take.
Joint Decision Making
Within the agreed process, officers from Neighbourhoods Services and
Children and Families Service will make joint decisions on the next course of
action at specified stages within the arrears recovery processes, with the focus
on preventing eviction. The decision to carry out an eviction will ultimately
remain with Neighbourhoods, but when pursuing eviction proceedings, the
child’s need for a secure home will be taken into account and effective joint
working practices will be implemented to ensure their support needs are met.
In order for this to happen there needs to be a commitment from both services
that officers will work together and appreciate each other’s priorities, but
make a positive outcome for the family the joint priority.
Co-ordinated Intervention
Within the agreed processes, there are several identified points where there
will be the opportunity to take a co-ordinated approach to intervention. These
include:
Joint visits involving Family Support Workers or Social Workers and
Neighbourhood’s officers.
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The presentation of the case for discussion at the Community Operating
Group (COG) weekly case meetings by Neighbourhoods Officers
Neighbourhood Officers checking the Troubled Families criteria and
notifying Early Help services.
Neighbourhood Officers attending Team around the Family Meetings.
Neighbourhood Officers working jointly with Officers from the Children
and Families Service.
The purpose of taking a co-ordinated approach is to ensure that intervention
and support is offered at all stages of the arrears recovery process with the
primary outcome of trying to resolve the arrears issues and prevent the
eviction, but at the same time identifying the underlying issues that may be
taking place within the family and ensuring effective support is offered.
In order for this protocol to work officers from both services should:
Return phone calls within 1 working day
Answer e mails within 1 working day
Keep joint appointments or let each other know if unable to attend.
Jointly focus on the best outcome for the family
Respect each other’s priorities
It is hoped that following this protocol will prevent the council from reaching
the eviction stage with tenants who have dependent children.
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Procedures for Neighbourhood Services and Children and Families
Please see appendix B the process flow chart
At any time if contact is made with the tenant and there are concerns about
the family, an Early Help Assessment with consent or a MARF can be made
subject to the Sandwell Safeguarding Children's Board Threshold Framework.
Arrears Stage 1 (AR1)
When a tenant falls into arrears of £140 plus, the arrears stage one is instigated. This is an investigatory stage that requires the Income Management Team to contact the tenant to establish household circumstances including those of a financial nature. If contact is not made a letter is sent to the tenant advising of the arrears and what action the tenant needs to take to prevent further action. Due to the number of cases that fall into this amount of arrears and the fact that many are resolved once the letter 1 has been received, this key stage will not prompt any action within this protocol.
Arrears Stage 2 (AR2)
For all cases where there has been no contact, payment or agreement
following the previous course of action, a second letter is sent to the tenant.
Income Management Officers will check Safety Net to see if there is any
involvement from the Children and Families Service. If the case is open to the
Children and Families Service, contact will be made with the Social
Worker/Lead Professional and the information shared about the current
arrears situation.
Arrears Stage Visit (ARV)
For all cases where there has been no contact, payment or agreement
following the previous course of action, a notice of seeking possession is
served. If there is still no contact or payment following this, Income
Management Officers will carry out a visit, if they are unable to have contact
with the tenant or do not receive payment they will check Safety Net to see if
there is any involvement from the Children and Families Service . If the case is
open to the Children and Families Service, contact will be made with the Social
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Worker/Lead Professional and the information shared about the current
arrears.
Arrears Stage 4 (AR4)
For all cases where there has been no contact, payment or agreement
following the previous course of action, a letter will be sent warning the tenant
that the council is about to apply to the courts for possession. For all cases at
this stage, the officer will check Safety Net to see if there is any involvement
from the Children and Families Service. If the case is open to the Children and
Families Service, contact will be made with the Social Worker/Lead
Professional and the information shared about the current arrears situation.
Arrears Stage Memo for Court (MFC)
For all cases where there has been no contact, payment or agreement
following the previous course of action, the Income Management Officer will
apply to court for a possession order and at this stage the tenant will accrue
court costs. A letter is sent to the tenant advising them of this action. For all
cases at this stage, the officer will check Safety Net to see if there is any
involvement from the Children and Families Service. If the case is open to the
Children and Families Service, the information will be shared with the Social
Worker/ Lead Professional about the current arrears situation. During the
period when we are awaiting a court date, a Neighbourhood Officer from the
Local Office will carry out a visit, following the visit, if the tenant has failed to
engage and has made no effort to make an agreement or reduce the arrears,
the Neighbourhood Officer will put an early help note on Ecaf whether the
case is known to Children and Families Services or not. Officers will complete
the section entitled Free from the negative impact of poverty with
information that the risk of eviction has further increased and the tenant has
now also incurred court costs and the family are at risk of homelessness. If the
family meet any two of the Troubled Family Criteria see appendix C, Officers
should tick the troubled families tick box on eCAF. The COG manager will then
make a decision whether the case needs to be discussed at the next weekly
COG meeting.
The outcome of the court application is likely to be one of five things:
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A suspended possession order with terms – low to medium risk of
eviction
Adjourned with terms – low to medium risk of eviction
Adjourned generally – low risk of eviction
14/28 day possession order – high risk of eviction
An outright possession order (rarely granted at this stage especially
when families are involved) – High risk of eviction
Arrears Stage Post Court (EV3)
For all cases where there has been an outright possession order, breach of a
suspended possession order an eviction warning letter is sent to the tenant.
For all cases at this stage, the officer will check Safety Net to see if there is any
involvement from the Children and Families Service. If the case is open to the
Children and Families Service, the information will be shared with the Social
Worker/Lead Professional about the current arrears situation.
Arrears Stage Apply For Warrant (MFW)
For all cases where there has been no further contact or payment since the last
course of action, an Eviction letter is sent is sent to the tenant advising that the
Council is applying to court for a warrant for eviction. The Income
Management Officer will check Safety Net to see if there is any involvement
from the Children and Families Service. If the case is open to Children and
Families Service, the information will be shared with the Social Worker/Lead
Professional about the current situation.
If the case is not open, an early help note shall be completed on the eCAF
system see appendix A. The Officer will complete the section entitled Free
from the negative impact of poverty with information that the risk of eviction
is now very high and the family are at risk of homelessness and the case needs
to be discussed at the next weekly COG meeting. If the family meet any two of
the Troubled Family Criteria see appendix C, Officers should tick the Troubled
Families tick box on eCAF. The COG manager will send out a letter (see
appendix to the tenant informing them that their case will be discussed at the
next meeting. At the meeting a decision will be made about whether a joint
visit needs to be carried out. All cases going to the weekly COG meeting must
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be presented by either an Income Management Team officer or a
Neighbourhood Officer.
Between applying for a warrant and the actual eviction taking place can take
between 6 to 8 weeks. During this period every effort should be taken to
engage with the family by the Income management team and the Children and
Families Service.
Arrears Stage Eviction (eviction date known)
Prior to the eviction being carried out, further checks shall be made by the
Income Management Officer on Safety Net and eCAF, and information will be
shared with any of the agencies involved to inform them that the eviction is
going ahead and the family will be homeless. If the family is still unknown to
the Children and Families Service, a decision shall be made by the COG
manager, based on all known information whether the case needs to be
escalated to Children’s Social Care. If this is the case, the COG manager will
escalate the case. The final decision to go ahead with the eviction will still
remain with Neighbourhood Services.
Monitoring and Review
This protocol will be reviewed by Neighbourhood Services Income
Management Team on 1st June 2017 to determine whether it is meeting its
aims:
To safeguard Children
To support employees to take a proactive, preventative approach and identify potential safeguarding issues
To ensure the best outcomes for children and families
To improve information sharing/partnership working
To improve tenancy sustainment and prevent evictions
To identify clear expectations/responsibilities of officers within Neighbourhoods Services Income Management Team and Children and Families Services
Non-compliance with this protocol Any issues experienced by employees operating within this protocol in the first instance should be taken to their respective managers. If the issues cannot be
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resolved, the issues should be escalated to either the Area Manager for Income Management (Neighbourhoods Services) or the Group Head for Targeted Support (Children and Families Service).
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Signatories Name…………………………………………………………………… Date………………………… Position………………………………………………………………………… Signed…………………………………………………………………………. Name…………………………………………………………………… Date………………………… Position………………………………………………………………………… Signed………………………………………………………………………….
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Appendix A: Early Help Note
Assessment Details
Early Help Note
Baby/Child/Young Person’s Details
Surname:
Forename:
Also known as:
Date of Birth:
Gender:
Unique Ref. Number: Please record all names the
child and parents/carers
have been known by.
This is the child / young
person's usual or home
address. Where the parents
have shared care, the child /
young person may have two
addresses.
Address:
Postcode:
Telephone Number:
Parent/Carer Details
Name:
Relationship:
Date of Birth:
Address:
Postcode:
Telephone Number:
E-mail Address:
Early Help Note Commenced: ……………………………………… Early Help Note Completed: ………………………………………. In which Locality do the family live ? ............................................ Is this a referral for COG? Yes/No
Family Non-Engagement
Agency Non-Engagement
Spot Purchase Request
Service Required Not Available
If yes, reason for referral?
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Early Help PO Box 16021 Oldbury B69 9EW
Male Female
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Early Help Checklist
Does the unborn baby, infant, child or young person appear to be:
Healthy Yes/ No/ Not Sure (delete as appropriate) Comments
Safe from Harm
Yes/ No/ Not Sure (delete as appropriate) Comments
Learning and Developing Yes/ No/ Not Sure (delete as appropriate) Comments
Having a positive impact on others? Yes/ No/ Not Sure (delete as appropriate) Comments
Free from the negative impact of poverty?
Yes/ No/ Not Sure (delete as appropriate) Comments
If you have answered ‘No’ to any of the previous questions, what additional services are needed for the unborn baby, infant, child or young person or their parent(s), carer(s) or families?
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Comments
Can you provide the additional services needs? Yes/ No (delete as appropriate) If you answered ‘Yes’ to the previous question who will provide these services? Comments
Is there a child in the household aged between 18 months and 3.5 years? Yes/No (delete as appropriate) If yes, please select which of the following apply:
Income Support
The Guarantee Element of State Pension Credit (from 30 April 2005)
Income Based Job Seekers Allowance
The child has a current statement of SEN or an Education, Health and Care Plan
Child Tax Credit (and household income is not more that £16,190)
Support under part 4 of the Immigration an Asylum Act 1999
Working Tax Credit (and household income is not more than £16,160)
The child has left care through special guardianship or an adoption or residence order
Disability Living Allowance Looked After Child (in the care of the local
authority)
Income Related Employment and Support Allowance
None of the Above
If answered yes to one or more of the above you/ your child meets the eligibility criteria to access Early Learning for Twos in Sandwell, would you like to receive further information? Yes/ No (delete as appropriate) (If yes, please provide family with application and provision details)
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Appendix B: Process Flow Chart
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Appendix C: Troubled Family Criteria
Applies to families who have 2 of the 6 following problems:
parents and children involved in crime or anti-social behavior children who have not been attending school regularly children who need help adults out of work or at risk of financial exclusion and young
people at risk of worklessness families affected by domestic violence and abuse parents and children with a range of health problems
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Appendix D: Contact Details
Sandwell Local Centres & COG Teams
Smethwick Local Centre Address: Council House, High Street, Smethwick B66 3NT
Neighbourhood Services Manager Sue Geddes Email – [email protected]
Ext: 0159
COG Manager Barry Cole Email – [email protected] Ext: 7297
(Note: Smethwick COG Team are currently based at the Hollies Family
Centre)
Oldbury Local Centre Address: Sandwell Council House, Freeth Street, Oldbury B69 3DE
Neighbourhood Services Manager Andy Langford Email – [email protected] Ext: 1236
Oldbury COG Manager Naomi Clarke Email – [email protected] Ext: 2588
(Note: Oldbury COG Team are currently based at Brandhall Library)
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Rowley Regis Local Centre
Address: Payne Street, Blackheath B65 0DH
Neighbourhood Services Manager Prabha Patel Email - [email protected] Ext: 0221
COG Manager Rofia Noreen Email – [email protected] Ext: 2460
(Note: Sandwell Local Teams & COG Teams are co-located in Payne Street) West Bromwich Local Centre
Address: Court House High Street, West Bromwich B70 8LU
Neighbourhood Services Manager Liz Nembhard Email - [email protected] Ext: 6134
COG Manager Claire Martin Email – [email protected] Ext: 2581
(Note: Sandwell Local Teams & COG Teams are co-located at Court
House)
Wednesbury Local Centre
Address: Ground floor, Wednesbury Town Hall, Holyhead Road Wednesbury WS10 7DF
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Neighbourhood Services Manager
Tom Hogan Email - [email protected] Ext: 0185
COG Manager
Suki Sian Email – [email protected] Ext: 2550
(Note: Wednesbury COG Team are currently based at Wednesbury
Library)
Tipton Local Centre
Address: High Street, Princes End, Tipton DY4 9JB
Neighbourhood Services Manager
Rushpal Dhaliwal Email - [email protected] Ext: 0281
COG Manager
Kate Griffiths Email – [email protected] Ext: 2559
(Note: Sandwell Local Teams and COG Teams are co-located)
Income Management
Neighbourhood Service Manager (Income Management)
Jeanette Wade Email – [email protected] Ext: 6045
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Rents Team Coordinators
Rachael Hughes Email – [email protected] Ext: 5212
Errol Johnson Email – [email protected] Ext: 5211
Raj Sandhu Email – [email protected] Ext: 5219
(Note: Income Management are based at Court House)
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Rowley COG Payne Street Blackheath B65 0DH
Contact:
Telephone:
Dear Re: Rent Arrears and Pending Eviction We are the local family support service and we are part of Sandwell Council. We have been told by Income Management Team within our Housing department that you are high risk of being evicted from your home due to rent arrears and we are writing to you because we know you have children and we might be able to help. It is important that you telephone us on: 0121 569 7296 or you can ring the Housing Income Management Team on: ……. If we don’t hear from you in the next 7 days we will discuss your family and whether we need to call and visit you or if we need to do anything else to try to avoid you and your children being made homeless. Of course we can only really help you if you get in touch with us so please telephone us on: 0121 569 7296. Yours sincerely
