Webinar to share research and best practice with colleagues across the homelessness and safeguarding adults sectors, to support effective multi-disciplinary working to help resolve rough sleeping for vulnerable individuals.
In May 2024, a joint ministerial letter was issued to Safeguarding Adults Boards across England, calling for stronger action to protect people experiencing rough sleeping. The letter encouraged Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) to be considered following the deaths of people sleeping rough, with the intention of strengthening multi-agency responses and helping to prevent future deaths.
This reflects a wider national shift towards reducing harm earlier, preventing escalation, and addressing delays between health, social care and housing systems. It also reinforces the expectation that Safeguarding Adults Boards take a proactive role in responding to multiple exclusion homelessness.
In November 2024, MHCLG hosted a webinar bringing together colleagues from homelessness and safeguarding adults sectors to share research, learning and examples of good practice that support effective multi-disciplinary working with vulnerable individuals experiencing rough sleeping.
I am proud to be a part of this event.
The webinar focused on:
- sharing examples of effective partnership working between rough sleeping services, adult social care and safeguarding teams in local areas;
- exploring how safeguarding approaches can help bring an end to rough sleeping through practical examples from across the country; and
- building stronger connections between local authorities to support ongoing sharing of learning, information and skills across homelessness, safeguarding and adult social care services.
The presentations and wider discussions highlighted the importance of identifying effective, person-centred solutions that support vulnerable individuals to achieve a sustainable end to long-term rough sleeping.
The recording of the webinar can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-across-housing-social-care-and-safeguarding-to-tackle-long-term-rough-sleeping-webinar