Alcedo Care adds residential young people's services to portfolio

CONTINUING to evolve and expand, Alcedo Care Group has added Residential Young People's Services to its growing portfolio. The award-winning care services company has invested circa £500,000 in acquiring and setting up its 1st home in Morecambe to help young people in crisis aged up to 18 years old.

Known as Osprey Home, the property will be fully staffed and will offer an inviting family atmosphere for young people. The property has been specifically designed to accommodate young people with placements lasting a minimum of 28 days and continuing for years if required.

Working closely with the local authority and children's social services, Alcedo Care aims to address the specific needs of the community effectively, creating a positive impact. The company is committed to enriching the lives of its clients, with Osprey Home dedicated to caring for young people across Lancashire.

Mark Howard has been appointed registered manager of Osprey Home. He says:- "My primary goal for the 1st 12 months of Osprey Home is to start a solo placement for a child or young person who faces challenges with social skills and perhaps finds it difficult living with others. Once this initial placement is firmly established and successfully settled, we hope to introduce a second child or young person. We aspire to create a supportive and nurturing environment where individuals can thrive, with excellent care, inclusivity and understanding at the core. It is our ultimate aim that the young people we care for at Osprey Home experience remarkable growth and progress during their placement, with their overall health, well-being and development much improved."

Mark and his new team will welcome their 1st client in the next few weeks. With plans to open 4 homes per year across the North of England and Wales, Alcedo Care is committed to accelerating the availability of its Residential Young People's Services.

Andy Boardman, managing director at Alcedo Care Group, adds:- "The launch of this new service is a huge milestone for the company. It's a fresh approach to caring for children and young people yet we maintain the all-important comfortable 'home' environment. Much time has been investment in this new offering, with the team working closely with the local authority and children's social services to understand what requirements they needed most and how best to help the individuals. It was their recommendation that we purchased a small home with a high staff ratio, which we were willing to do and found the perfect location in Morecambe. We will continue to work in collaboration to develop the Residential Yung People's Services and have clear and comprehensive plans to roll it out across the North of England and Wales, with the company already close to purchasing its 2nd home."

The Alcedo Care Services Group now has 20 offices within the North of England and Wales:- Birkenhead, Blackburn & Darwen, Blackpool & Fylde, Bury, Chester, Crewe, Holywell, Lancaster & Wyre, Liverpool (Kirkdale), Liverpool (Speke), Ormskirk, Preston, Southport, South Lakes, St Helens, Trafford, Ulverston, Warrington, Wigan and Wirral.

The family owned and operated Group is on track to meet its target of owning and operating 30 branches across the North of England and Wales by the end of 2025. Alongside its geographical expansion plans, the innovative Group is also on track with its mission to continually expand its portfolio of quality care services, with a particular emphasis on developing its Complex Care and Live in Care services alongside its Young People's residential homes. For more information, please visit www.AlcedoCare.Co.UK.

New taskforce to tackle criminal rogue landlords

LIVERPOOL City Council is launching a taskforce to go after rogue landlords involved in criminality who exploit vulnerable tenants.

The Council has secured £2 million from a Department for Levelling Up pathfinder to launch a new way of working which will see the local authority collaborating with partners and organisations across the City Region.

The aim of the Private Sector Housing Intelligence and Enforcement Task Force is to disrupt landlords who work with the likes of gangmasters and those involved in other types of exploitation, such as sex work and drug dealing.

A dedicated team has been recruited, giving the local authority additional resources to tackle the most complex types of cases, where often tenants are afraid to report crimes for fear of reprisals.

They will adopt an enforcement strategy after gathering intelligence and carrying out targeted enforcement to drive bad landlords out of the market. They will also work with neighbouring authorities, as often the owners have properties across more than 1 area.

The partners working closely will include:- Trading Standards, Children's Services and Merseyside Police to join up and share information and take action where appropriate.

It fits with the Council's new Neighbourhood Model of working, breaking down silos and working more closely with other organisations to improve services.

The taskforce is separate to the Council's Landlord Licensing scheme, which covers around 70% of the privately rented housing sector in the City. It is focused on tackling fire and electrical safety hazards, excess cold and damp, and preventing and tackling anti social behaviour.

The taskforce has been launched on:- Friday, 1 December 2023, at a summit involving Liverpool City Council and partners at the Cunard Building.

Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Sarah Doyle, said:- "This taskforce is about tackling criminal rogue landlords who do not care about their tenants, nor our City. They are exploiting tenants for their own financial gain, taking advantage of extremely vulnerable people who are afraid to speak out because they are terrified of the consequences. Due to the nature of the issues we are dealing with, drawing up evidence is extremely time consuming and complicated, which is why we have secured funding for a dedicated team to work specifically on this. This is a key part of our commitment to improving our neighbourhoods and making them better areas places to live for our residents. We all want the best for the City, and by working closely with partner organisations we can and will make a real difference to vulnerable people, and help drive rogue landlords out of Liverpool."