A Coventry City Council service has secured a prestigious, national award for its work helping support some of the most vulnerable people and families in the city.

The Housing and Homelessness Service has been named the Large Team of the Year in the LGC Awards 2022, which celebrates excellence in local government.

This year the event saw a record number of entries from council teams across the UK, meaning the competition was particularly tough.

But the judges were full of praise for the Coventry entry, describing it as: “An exceptional entry with clear outcomes across all aspects of the target cohorts.”

They added: “There is a genuine passion for impact and improving lives in a way the judging panel found to be genuinely moving. They demonstrated significant innovation in values-led recruitment and recognition of unique skills in a blended workforce and it is clear this service has led to system-wide transformation which will be sustained over time.

Cllr David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said: “The team has been delivering incredible work for some time now.

“But to receive national recognition for their work in what is such a challenging, complex and difficult area is always great to see.

“I know the team will be quick to point out that their work is only possible thanks to a partnership approach, but I want to thank and congratulate everyone involved in making the service such a success.”

Jim Crawshaw, Head of Housing and Homelessness, based in the wider Adult Social Care and Housing Service, said: “The team has demonstrated over the last few years a real commitment to deliver an excellent service to people in housing need in the city and this award is great recognition that their work has not gone unnoticed.

“I know that we are in a great position to continue to improve and assist more residents in the city as they face uncertainty with the cost-of-living crisis that is beginning to bite.

“This award also reflects and recognises the hard work undertaken by colleagues across the council including Legal Services, Procurement, Development Services. Finance and the Transformation Team as well as the numerous voluntary and statutory services that play a key role in tackling and preventing homelessness in the city.”

Local Government Magazine (LGC) Awards are regarded as the top awards in local government. The award was presented at an awards event last night.

Key achievements of the housing and homelessness services include:

• A homelessness prevention team which is helping people to stay in their home and preventing them from becoming homeless in the first place.  Exceeding year on year targets and this financial year helping more than 1000 people to remain in their home.
• Spending more than £2.3m less in 2021/22 across the service. (when taking on board the impact of COVID) delivered through providing a range of different temporary accommodation options including Supported TA for singles
• During the COVID-19 pandemic helping 260 rough sleepers into more longer-term accommodation and increasing our numbers of outreach workers and their range of expertise.

A video outlining the work of the service was created as part of the submission for the award.