http://councilmeetings.lewisham.gov.uk/ ... 092014.pdf
In November 2013, Lewisham’s Executive Management Team commissioned a review of current NRPF processes in Lewisham to quantify the current and future financial pressure on the organisation and identify whether there were opportunities to redesign current processes to reduce this burden.
This ‘robust front door’ approach has started to have significant impact on managing spend in this area. In the first two and a half months, 96 people presented to the council seeking support with housing and subsistence (approx. 10 per week). Of these:
• Lewisham has accepted a duty to provide ongoing support (until their immigration status is resolved) for one case
• Lewisham is temporarily supporting 8 pending the outcome of the full assessment
• The remainder of cases have been refused either at triage or full assessment.
Before the pilot, at least half of all cases were being accepted for support, usually lasting at least one year.
Lewisham is about to submit a bid to the DCLG for a project to develop the approach tested in Lewisham into a mainstreamed model using a single assessment and data collection approach across five boroughs (Lewisham, Lambeth, Southwark, Greenwich and Bromley).