Calls to review end of York's rough sleeper contract

York Council ended its contract with the Salvation Army on 30 September after 20 years

A councillor has called for a formal review of the way City of York Council ended the Salvation Army's contract for supporting rough sleepers in the city.

The Labour-run authority axed the deal on 30 September after 20 years, opting to bring the services in-house.

Housing scrutiny committee chair Danny Myers said he had "concerns" about how the termination was handled and communicated to stakeholders.

The council said it recognised the matter "was not communicated well".

In a letter to Andrew Hollyer, the chair of the audit and governance committee, Labour councillor Mr Myers said committee members "agreed that we have concerns with the way the Salvation Army's early intervention and prevention contract was handled".

"At our meeting, we heard from both Salvation Army and the council that the contract and communication has been poorly handled since March, with a lack of communication between stakeholders about the contract and likely extensions, renewals or expiration," he wrote

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Salvation Army managers found out the £95,000-a-year contract was not being renewed via the local press.

It was also claimed that a one-month contract extension was sent to the Salvation Army two minutes before 5pm on the day of its expiry. 

 "The Salvation Army said at our meeting that there was no way they could get it signed," Mr Myers letter continued.

"Our committee would formally request, due to our concerns, that you review how this contract has been handled, since March."

Mr Hollyer said he was liaising with the council's monitoring officer on the best way to take the request forward and the options available.

Neil Ferris, corporate director of economy and place for the council, said: "Both parties recognised that the conclusion of this contract was not communicated well."

However he added: "When we signed up to that contract, everybody knew that that contract ended on September 30."

On Monday, the council announced it had received £234,995 from the Government's Rough Sleeper Initiative to support its work to help get people off the streets.