1. Please provide copies of any policies, guidelines and/or training prepared and/or followed by your authority’s housing department which relate to the practice of notifying Applicants of an Offer in discharge of the ‘main housing duty’, and the steps to be taken by your authority’s housing department where an Applicant accepts or refuses an Offer. We do not have a policy on this, rather we rely on the Homelessness Code of Guidance and use this as a training resource for all staff Homelessness code of guidance for local authorities - Guidance - GOV.UK

2. Please confirm what information is provided, and in what format, to Applicants when your authority’s housing department makes an Offer in discharge of the ‘main housing duty’. In particular:
a) Please confirm whether, and if so how, Applicants are advised in relation to: via letter which is attached
i. the potential consequences of accepting or refusing an Offer, including as regards the potential termination of the authority’s
‘main housing duty’; and
ii. the Applicant’s right to request a review.
b) To the extent your authority’s housing department uses any templates and/or precedents for such communications, please provide copies of the same. Letters have been amended from a number of templates. We do not have original templates anymore.
c) Please provide copies of the information provided to the Applicants in receipt of the five most recent Offers made by your authority’s housing
department, including the Offer itself and any subsequent correspondence. Attached is a copy of our letters used to make an offer and discharge our main duty. However copies of correspondence would be exempt under s40 (personal information) and section 41 (provided in confidence)

3. Please confirm what information is provided, and in what format, after an Applicant accepts or refuses an Offer and your authority’s housing department terminates its ‘main housing duty’. In particular:
a) Please confirm whether it is your authority’s housing department’s practice to always send a separate letter to notify the Applicant of the termination of the ‘main housing duty’ after the acceptance or refusal of an Offer. Yes it is
b) Please confirm, and if so how, Applicants are advised in relation to:
i. the consequences of your authority’s housing department terminating its ‘main housing duty’; and
ii. the Applicant’s right to request a review.
c) To the extent your authority’s housing department uses any templates and/or precedents for such communications, please provide copies of the same: Letters have been amended from a number of templates, but primarily based on Andy Gale templates. We do not have original templates anymore.
d) Please provide copies of the information provided in the five most recent cases where an Applicant has accepted or refused an Offer and your
authority’s housing department has terminated its ‘main housing duty’: Attached is a copy of our letters used to make an offer and discharge our main duty. However copies of correspondence would be exempt under s40 (personal information) and section 41 (provided in confidence).

4. If your authority’s housing department’s approach to notifying Applicants of Offers and/or the steps to be taken where an Applicant refuses an Offer is currently under and/or has been subject to review and/or legal challenge, please provide further details (and if already known, the outcome of that review and/or legal challenge).
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