Jenrick Told ‘Significant New Effort’ Needed On Homelessness

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has been told of a need for “significant new effort” on homelessness prevention after a visit to St Mungo’s. Dominic Williamson, St Mungo’s executive director of strategy and policy, made a direct pitch to work with the government on helping to ensure “the right plans are in place along with the requisite funding”. Jenrick was shown around the charity’s hostel in Southwark, which is home to men and women who have been homeless or rough sleeping. There, staff work to assess people’s options and find a safe route away from sleeping on the streets including accessing health, employment, benefits and advice services, and appropriate housing. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/jenrick-told-significant-new-effort-needed-on-homelessness/

Making The Most Of Our Private Rented Sector To Tackle Homelessness

Nottingham City Council wanted to explore how they could further utilise the private rented sector to discharge their homelessness prevention and relief duties. Effective use of the private rented sector as a housing resource is very important in Nottingham because the private sector is often both the cause and solution for homelessness. As well as exploring ways in which the Council could better engage with the PRS in order to secure more properties, it wanted to look at the ways in which it could deploy earlier interventions in order to prevent people from becoming homeless from PRS homes. Read more on the LGA website.

https://www.local.gov.uk/making-most-our-private-rented-sector-tackle-homelessness

Ending Rough Sleeping: What Works?

Through analysis of over 500 published studies and interviews with eleven homelessness experts around the world, this Crisis review found that current approaches to address rough sleeping are not as effective as they might (and need) to be. The development of an improved approach to ending homelessness must of course incorporate the views of rough sleepers and those who work with them, and take into account homelessness prevention, but the learning from this evidence review can play a key role in shaping a new approach. Download the review from the Crisis website.

Homelessness Reduction Act To Commence From April Next Year

The government has set aside £61m to distribute between councils to fund the new responsibilities they will face under the act, including intervening at an earlier stage to prevent homelessness and an expected increase in reviews when a person is not deemed to be priority need. But peers and housing experts have warned £61m will not cover the increased costs councils will face. In a letter to councils, homelessness minister Marcus Jones said the formula for how the funding will be distributed is being finalised and allocations will be announced in the autumn with the first payments expected to be made in the winter. Read more on Inside Housing.

Homelessness Prevention ‘Achievable’ Within The Next Parliament

Homelessness prevention could be ‘achievable’ for some of the most high-risk groups; care leavers, prison leavers and survivors of domestic abuse within the next Parliament, according to an All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ending Homelessness (APPGEH) report. The APPGEH is now urging the government to recognise the growing emergency of homelessness and establish a joined up, cross-government strategy to specifically tackle homelessness prevention among the identified groups. The report finds that with so many of these people already on the radar of police, local authorities, prisons and social services, it is ‘inexcusable’ that they should fall through the net, yet they continue to do so. Read more on 24housing.

New Grant For Council Homelessness Services

The government is transforming the way councils fund homelessness services, giving them greater flexibility to prioritise homelessness prevention. The new ‘flexible homelessness support grant’ is a replacement of the tightly controlled funding currently given to source and manage temporary accommodation for homeless individuals and their families. Under the existing ‘temporary accommodation management fee’, funding can only be used for expensive intervention when a household is already homeless, rather than on preventing this happening in the first place. The new grant will empower councils with the freedom to support the full range of homelessness services. Read more on the CLG website.

Statistics Watchdog Warns Government Over Homelessness Figures

The government’s official statistics body has told the CLG to stop using potentially misleading figures for homelessness, and said it would monitor its future statements on the issue. The intervention by the UK Statistics Authority came after the CLG claimed in a series of press briefings late last year that homelessness was at less than half its 2003 peak. The briefings did not make clear that this only referred to the statutory definition of homelessness – a relatively narrow meaning which only includes people local authorities are obliged to assist – and does not take into account those given assistance under homelessness prevention and relief schemes. Read more on the Guardian website.

Homelessness Reduction Bill Moves To The House Of Lords

The Homelessness Reduction Bill has passed the relevant stages in the House of Commons. It will now move to the House of Lords for its first reading on the 24 February 2017. There have been a number of changes to the Bill since it was introduced, including:

·         Removal of the requirement for local authorities to provide 56-days emergency accommodation for homeless people and rough sleepers with no safe place to stay.

·         Clarification that a local authority’s duty to prevent homelessness begins on receipt of a valid section 21 notice. Local authorities do not need to wait until a court order/bailiff’s warrant has been issued.

·         A limitation on the circumstances in which households can be found to be non-cooperative.

Read more on the Homeless Link website.

Councils Could Provide Homelessness Prevention Support Beyond 56 Days

Councils could be required to work with households to prevent them becoming homeless beyond the 56-day time period set out in the Homelessness Reduction Bill, under an amendment planned by the government. During a parliamentary debate on the bill, the homelessness minister Marcus Jones said the government plans to table an amendment that will require a council to keep supporting a household who has stayed in the same property to prevent homelessness even if 56 days have passed. The bill has already extended a council’s prevention duty from 28 to 56 days. Read more on Inside Housing.

New Funding ‘Fails To Address’ Causes Of Youth Homelessness

The £48 million of funding announced by the Government for Councils to help deliver new and expanded services to prevent and reduce homelessness, fails to address root causes – according to property industry charity LandAid. The new funding will be available to councils in England to meet the costs of the Homelessness Reduction Private Members’ Bill, which if passed by Parliament, will mean anyone at risk of losing their home will get the help they need more quickly. LandAid Chief Executive Paul Morrish said: “Nothing in today’s announcement tackles the biggest twin causes of homelessness among young people; family breakdown and the appalling prognosis facing those leaving the care system.” Read more on 24housing.

Government Will Intervene If Councils Fail On Homelessness Prevention

The government will intervene with councils which are not meeting their homelessness prevention duties if a new law is passed, the minister responsible for homelessness has revealed. Marcus Jones, the minister with responsibility for homelessness, has confirmed he will write to all councils about their homelessness duties and ask them to come up with a strategy to tackle the problem. He will work with the Local Government Association to come up with the wording for the advice that councils give to people presenting as homeless, including what counts as a suitable and appropriate location for any property offered to the applicant. Read more on Inside Housing.

Government Backs Homelessness Reduction Bill

The government will support the Homelessness Reduction Bill, the communities secretary has announced. Sajid Javid has confirmed ministers will back the bill, which would impose duties on councils to prevent homelessness. Ministers had previously said they would consider options, including legislation, to prevent homelessness but until today had stopped short of supporting the bill. The bill, tabled by Conservative backbench MP Bob Blackman, has been supported by homelessness charities. It is made up of 12 measures. Read more on the CLG website.

MPs Urged To Ensure Homelessness Bill Vote

MPs are being urged to attend a crucial debate on a bill to reduce homelessness, to prevent the legislation falling short of a vote. At least 90 MPs have pledged privately to attend the second reading of the Homelessness Reduction Bill on 28 October, but more are expected to sign up. Under parliamentary rules, a minimum of 100 MPs need to attend to bring the debate to a vote – a ‘closure motion’ – which would stop the bill being talked out by MPs opposed to the bill’s proposed new duties on councils. The bill would introduce a duty on councils to prevent homelessness for households who are 56 days away from losing their home. Read more on Inside Housing.

Select Committee To Scrutinise New Homelessness Law

A parliamentary committee has launched an inquiry into a private members’ bill that aims to reduce homelessness. The CLG Committee has announced a pre-legislative inquiry into the Homelessness Reduction Bill, tabled by Conservative MP Bob Blackman. Mr Blackman’s bill includes measures to help councils intervene earlier to prevent people becoming homeless, as well as providing help for single homeless people. The committee will examine whether the bill will “achieve its aim of reducing levels of homelessness”. Mr Blackman is a member of the select committee. Read more on Inside Housing.

Crisis Steps Up Prevention Duty Pressure

A charity is pushing backbench MPs to table a bill imposing a homelessness prevention duty on councils, after the measure was left out of the Queen’s Speech. Homelessness charity Crisis has opened talks with MPs who will be best placed to table a Private Members’ Bill (PMB) this parliamentary term to introduce the legislation. PMBs rarely make it into law, but the charity believes the move would put pressure on the government to reveal publicly where it stands on introducing the duty, which would overhaul the way single homeless people are treated in England. Read more on Inside Housing.

Homelessness Duty 'Would Cost Councils £44m'

Introducing a new homelessness prevention duty would initially cost English councils £44m a year in total, a report has found. A panel of housing experts, organised by Crisis, officially published its recommendations calling on ministers to introduce new duties on councils to prevent people becoming homeless. The provisional research findings, undertaken by academics and published by Crisis, found that local authorities would spend in total £43.9m a year on homelessness prevention under the new scheme. However, it found that these extra costs would eventually be offset by £46.8m a year due to fewer full homelessness duty cases, because people would get help quicker. The CLG has not confirmed whether or not it would match new legislation with extra money for councils. Read more on Inside Housing.

Crisis Calls For Decisive Action As Rough Sleeping Rises Again

New figures reveal that 3,569 people were found sleeping rough on any given night in England in 2015, an increase of 30% per cent on the previous year. Rough sleeping in England has now doubled since 2010 and Crisis is calling on the Government to implement a comprehensive and strategic approach to arrest this rise, including practical steps such as changes to legislation to prevent homelessness. Wide-ranging reform of the private rented sector is also desperately needed - the loss of a private tenancy is the number one cause of homelessness in England. Read more on the Crisis website.

200,000 Asked For Help To Keep Home

More than 200,000 people on the brink of homelessness became desperate enough to seek help from local services in the last year alone. That number, based on government statistics from 2014-15, represents a surge of nearly 50 per cent in calls to councils in the last five years. Although the 205,100 cries for help to councils in England led to action that prevented homelessness, in the same year 54,000 households lost the struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Advisers at Shelter said the surge came as no surprise, as it received 450,000 calls to its helpline last year. One in four of the calls came from people who faced losing their home within a month. Read more on the Morning Star website.

Gold Standard Award For Tackling And Preventing Homelessness

The Royal Borough of Greenwich has become the first council to achieve the Government’s Gold Standard award for tackling and preventing homelessness. The Council has achieved all 10 of the Gold Standard challenges including taking action against rogue landlords, preventing residents from becoming homeless and reducing the need for temporary accommodation. Last year the local authority prevented 1,800 households from becoming homeless through their casework and support while its welfare reform team prevented 225 families from becoming homeless and has supported 229 into work. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Three Quarters of MPs Contacted By Homeless People with Nowhere Left to Turn

Survey findings show that three quarters of MPs have been contacted by single homeless people turned away from help by their council. The survey also reveals that only 15% of MPs think single homeless people get enough help from their council, while nearly two thirds think councils should have a duty to do more to prevent homelessness. More than three quarters of MPs think homelessness should be a priority for the government. Drawing on the findings, Crisis is urging MPs and members of the public to back its No One Turned Away campaign, which calls for political action so that all homeless people can get the help they need. Read more on the Crisis website.