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NOTIFY London Ready for Phase 1 launch

What is NOTIFY?

NOTIFY is an on-line information system being developed by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Association of London Government (ALG) (with financial assistance from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and London Connects) that will notify relevant services of the placement or movement of statutorily homeless households living in temporary accommodation in London.

The system will use information provided by London borough housing departments to notify a range of services about homeless households placed in, moving between or leaving temporary accommodation within their geographical area of responsibility.

The system will be administered by the GLA's Bed and Breakfast Information Exchange. Information on households placed in, moving between or leaving temporary accommodation will be contained in a database (known as 'the hub') and updated weekly. The relevant services will be notified on a weekly basis by the hub, by an email containing a link to the relevant reports.

Why is it necessary?

The nature of the temporary accommodation market in London, where households are placed or moved to unfamiliar locations away from existing support networks, has led to widespread concern that some households do not receive or know how to access local services. Furthermore, some service providers are finding it increasingly difficult to plan or target their services effectively, as they have inadequate information or knowledge about households moving to their area (e.g. pre school children requiring health visiting, school age children requiring school places).

Under the Housing Act 1996, local housing authorities are required to notify each other when a homeless household is placed in temporary accommodation within the boundary of another local authority. In addition, the Code of Guidance accompanying the homelessness legislation states that where households have to be temporarily accommodated in the district of another housing authority, the placing housing authority should take positive steps to ensure effective liaison and co-operation between the relevant service departments of both authorities, including housing, social services, environmental health and education.

Who is supporting the project?

Full support has been given to the project by the GLA, the ALG, the London boroughs, London Connects and the government's Bed and Breakfast Unit (BBU). The project is being steered by an Advisory Group with a wide membership, including the GLA, ALG and London borough housing and social services departments. Funding for the project is coming from the GLA, the ALG/LHU, the London boroughs, London Connects and the BBU.

Which services will be notified?

Broadly speaking, housing departments (HDs), social services departments (SSDs), local education authorities (LEAs) and primary care trusts (PCTs) will receive notification of placements/movements within and from their area.

However, exactly which services are notified will depend on several factors, including whether a household is being placed in temporary accommodation within the boundary of local authority other than the one to which they are applying as homeless, whether the household contains school aged children and whether the household receives any social services.

Click Here to see The Guardian story.