Change and Transformation in the Public Sector
While homelessness is a national emergency, it is a particularly acute problem in Enfield. Enfield Council has also seen a 246% increase in the rate of homelessness between 2010 and 2017 (versus a London average of 35%) and has 3,600 residents in temporary accommodation – the second highest number in the country – with 88% of them in temporary accommodation for more than six months.
In response, Enfield Council set out an ambitious strategy to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping and make the experience of homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring. Instrumental to delivering this strategy was a radical transformation to the Council’s housing and homelessness service. EY worked with Enfield Council, local partners and residents to redesign, radically transform and operationalise a new Housing Advisory Service in just 15 months.
It was key that the redesigned service – the Housing Advisory Service (HAS) – would enable behavioural and cultural change and deliver a vision that staff supported and delivered for residents, transitioning away from a process culture and towards one of collaboration.
EY drew on our extensive network across sectors nationally, having previously developed and delivered an innovation process with over 500 stakeholders in the homelessness space, to support Enfield to take a societal view of addressing the challenges around homelessness and collectively create a more inclusive society.
We assembled a team of up to 10 people to bring service design experience, innovation capability, deep housing expertise, an extensive network and a societal, citizen-centric view. EY helped lay the foundations for sustainable change that will impact the borough’s 300,000 residents in the coming years. The project leaves a significant legacy and will enable the Council to provide a home for everyone in Enfield and bring benefits including:
- Helped build a new prevention-focused service delivery model and restructured operational service
- Improved homelessness prevention support and a more seamless transition between accommodation for 5,400 households supported by the service each year
- Assisted the Council with supporting 400 households into sustainable accommodation by April 2021
- Delivering financial benefits totalling at least £10mn over five years
- Helped secure a £2mn investment to drive improved outcomes from Enfield Council’s Cabinet and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)
View the EY profile in the MCA Members Directory.