Due to sub-zero conditions, local authorities activated the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) last Tuesday. The emergency response promises temporary accommodation for all rough sleepers during extreme weather conditions.
As part of the protocol, local homelessness agencies are to provide free extra beds, offering support to individuals regardless of whether they qualify for benefits or have previously refused aid. Linda Smith, Councillor for Blackbird Leys, told Cherwell: “We [the council] worked with various partners to make sure that up to 41 bed spaces would be available each night.”
SWEP is typically introduced after consultation with St Mungo’s outreach and assessment service Oxford Street Population Outreach Team. The decision is made by morning of that day and staff from the St Mungo’s Outreach team are responsible for checking that everyone who may need to access the service is aware of its opening. Those who are not allocated a SWEP room can still gather at O’Hanlon House, a hostel in the city centre run by Homeless Oxfordshire, between 11 pm and midnight for guaranteed shelter.
The order was originally set to last from Tuesday 19th of November to Friday 22nd however, after review, it was extended to Monday 25th. Councils across London, Bristol and Bournemouth have taken similar steps in implementing emergency procedures to protect those without housing through freezing temperatures.
Hannah Faulkner, Head of Rough Sleeping Services at St Mungo’s, outlined the severity of the rough sleepers’ situation: “These low temperatures can kill people who are street homeless and it is absolutely right this is treated as an emergency.”
According to figures released in February by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, there has been a 70% increase in the number of people sleeping rough in Oxford compared with the previous year.
The City Council is currently running several initiatives to combat homelessness, with an agreed £1.65m grant budget for 2024/2025 to help prevent rough sleeping. The grant lends support to the Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance, a “housing led” service which ties together outreach, accommodation and prevention services across Oxfordshire’s six councils to systematically tackle rough sleeping.
However, just last month concerns arose from homelessness charities in Oxford such as Homeless Oxfordshire, Connection Support and Aspire Oxfordshire over the future of the Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) funding which the government recently announced will end in March.
With charities at a “funding cliff edge”, there are concerns that there will be a steep decline in the availability of aid offered to those facing homelessness. The Draft Housing, Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy for Oxford 2023 to 2028 states: “Continuous funding from the government and other sources is key for it to be able to continue to deliver and develop the range of services that are needed to end rough sleeping in the city.”
Linda Smith, Councillor for Blackbird Leys, also remarked on the growing difficulties facing the Council regarding the provision of aid to the homeless, telling Cherwell: “There is a shortage of truly affordable housing in Oxford, and rents in the private rented sector are impossibly high for people on a low income.
“This means it is very hard for people to move on into a settled home from a hostel or supported emergency accommodation after a period of rough sleeping. It also means that too many households are reliant on the council accommodating them in temporary accommodation to avoid homelessness, which is creating an unprecedented pressure on the city council’s budget.”
