Access to CHAIN

How does access to CHAIN work?

There are two types of access to CHAIN:

Inputting access - this is for outreach teams, hostels and selected day centres in London who record information about the people they work with. CHAIN records can only be created by outreach teams - all records start with someone being contacted on the street. Other workers add information to records created by outreach workers. To be provided with inputting access a new member of staff needs to attend CHAIN training with the CHAIN team at Broadway.

View only access - Some agencies and projects who do not contribute data to CHAIN find it helpful to be able to view information about their clients and find out about their contact with outreach workers.

How do organisations get CHAIN access?

Only organisations that work directly with individual rough sleepers are able to have access to CHAIN. Other organisations, for example policy organisations, may request aggragate data from the system by emailing chain@broadwaylondon.org if the information they need is not covered by published CHAIN reports available on this website.

Inputting access

Outreach teams commissioned by local authorities to work specifically with rough sleepers on the streets in London have inputting access as do hostels who work with rough sleepers on a regular basis. In some areas with high levels of rough sleeping day centres also have inputting access. Day centres can request inputting access by emailing chain@broadwaylondon.org . They should ensure that their local outreach team and relevant local authority officer are supportive of their application before contacting the CHAIN team.

View only access

View only access can be requested by organisations in London working directly with rough sleepers. When the CHAIN team get a request for access these are discussed with the relevant Local Authority Officer and the department for Communities and Local Government (CLG). If you are requesting access you should ensure your Local Authority lead on rough sleeping is aware of this and supportive of your request. 

Organisations will be provided with access where:

• They are working with one or more local authorities to reduce rough sleeping
• They are working closely with their local outreach team if appropriate
• They have Criminal Records Bureau checked staff
• Staff work directly with rough sleepers on a regular basis and specialise in work with this group in particular
• The work undertaken is relevant to CHAIN e.g. linking clients with other services - not all those working with rough sleepers need to know the information held on CHAIN 
• The Chief Executive or Director has signed the CHAIN data sharing protocol
• They are operating within London.

Please note that local authority Housing Options Teams are not provided with CHAIN access - information relating to a homelessness application should be sought from an outreach team who can provide a more detailed, tailored account of a person's circumstances.

If you would like to request view only access this please download the file below and complete it with as much detail as possible. Email the completed form to chain@broadwaylondon.org

Accessing information about rough sleepers where CHAIN access is not appropriate

Some organisations occassionally need information about individual rough sleepers. In these cases it is not appropriate to allow full access to the CHAIN system as it would provide access to a lot of personal information that is not required by staff. In these instances the best course of action is to contact the outreach team who has been working with the individual or who is operating in the area the person is sleeping in.  The list below provides details of outreach teams operating in London.