Mansfield District Council has been selected as one of three national Testing Hubs by the Justlife Foundation to lead a two year project improving temporary accommodation for homeless families.
At a glance
What went in
- Priority area: Improving temporary accommodation (TA) for homeless families.
- Budget: £128,000 awarded by the Justlife Foundation.
- Timeframe: Two-year project.
- Partners: Seven Nottinghamshire housing authorities; Justlife Foundation.
What came out
- Testing a new countywide model for supporting families in temporary accommodation.
- Development of replicable best-practice approaches for national use.
- Improved coordination between housing, health, education, and community services.
Executive summary
Mansfield District Council has been selected as one of three national Testing Hubs by the Justlife Foundation to lead a two year project improving temporary accommodation for homeless families. At Nottinghamshire housing authorities, the project will test new ways of supporting families across all types of temporary accommodation. With £128,000 of funding, the hub will trial coordinated support models, improved accommodation standards, and better access to services such as health, education and benefits. Learning from the pilot will inform national practice and support wider system change, including future Nottinghamshire local government reorganisation.
Challenge and context
Temporary accommodation use is rising across Nottinghamshire, with families disproportionately affected. Multiple moves, short placements and poor conditions disrupt children’s health, education and stability. Local and national research shows families in TA often experience severe and multiple disadvantages.
The council recognised the need for a more consistent, joined-up approach to homelessness prevention and support. This project was initiated to address fragmentation, improve outcomes for vulnerable families, and test scalable solutions that could work across different types of TA, local geographies and service arrangements.
What we did
Mansfield District Council was chosen to lead the pilot due to its established innovation in housing and family support. The council is coordinating the project on behalf of the seven Nottinghamshire districts.
Key steps included:
- Establishing a strategic steering group to guide delivery, support learning, and align the work with wider system reforms.
- Creating a Virtual Coordination Hub to link housing teams with education, health, safeguarding and community services.
- Using co-design, including peer and child-led insights, to shape solutions that reflect lived experience.
Testing new practices, such as:
- A countywide notification system for GPs, schools and health visitors.
- Consistent access to existing support such as health, benefits, safeguarding and education.
- Improvements to the physical environment in TA, including child safety equipment and safe sleep kits.
- A benefits maximisation and debt advice offer to reduce financial stress and support quicker move-on.
The pilot covers all TA settings, including B&Bs, hostels, dispersed accommodation and less visible arrangements such as living with friends/family or staying in asylum seeker accommodation.
The difference
The project is enabling councils to better understand the experiences of families in different types of TA and identify gaps in support. Early benefits include stronger relationships between housing and public services, clearer referral pathways, and more consistent support offers for families. Practical improvements, such as access to safety equipment and play spaces, are reducing day-to-day stress for families.
The hub is also generating learning that will feed directly into Nottinghamshire’s local government reorganisation, helping shape future system design.
Lesson learned
- Stronger coordination is essential: cross-sector working has highlighted significant missed prevention opportunities that can be resolved with better communication systems.
- Consistency matters: families reported wide variation in support depending on their TA type and location; standardising access is already improving outcomes.
- Co-design strengthens solutions: peer and child involvement has shaped more practical, family-centred approaches.
- Scalability is achievable: early learning suggests the model could be used nationally due to its flexibility across different TA settings.