RESS Evaluation Report
Restricted Eligibility Support Service Evaluation Report
The GMCA research team carried out an evaluation of the RESS, and published a report in March 2025.
- The evaluation of the RESS analysed a six-month period of data and found that the service worked predominantly with people experiencing homelessness, rather than people at risk of homelessness, with a large proportion of the cohort experiencing rough sleeping. The type of immigration related support need varied widely.
- The report found that RESS played a key role in addressing complex immigration and housing needs. Successful immigration outcomes identified in the evaluation include gaining access to, or a greater clarity on eligibility to, public funds, which enabled people to access entitlement that they were previously ineligible for, or not aware of. Most successful housing outcomes were accessing some form of short-term accommodation, such as ABEN or Home Office accommodation.
- Furthermore, the service notably facilitated improved partnership working between providers and between RESS and LAs, especially ABEN teams. This provided unique holistic support for those with immigration related needs.
- The evaluation also contains a cost benefit analysis, which finds that the RESS generates significant savings to local government.
Read the full RESS Evaluation Report here:
Currently, the RESS Evaluation Report document is not fully accessible, however, we are working on making an accessible version available as soon as possible.