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Source: Jonathan Edwards
Source: Jonathan Edwards

The path to homelessness prevention

The Homelessness Reduction Act is now on the statute books. Sophie Barnes takes a look at what this means for councils

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The path to homelessness prevention #ukHousing

Homelessness Reduction Act now on statute books #ukHousing

Last week the Homelessness Reduction Bill passed into law, with the aim of preventing homelessness and offering help to a wider range of people. But its path through parliament was not always certain. It came into being off the back of a gamble. Ten months ago Conservative backbench MP Bob Blackman threw his hat into the ring to submit a private members’ bill to parliament.

Most new laws come about as a result of the government putting forward a bill. But, on rare occasions, MPs with no role in government can take a punt and put their name forward for the private members’ ballot. If their name is pulled out of the hat, then they have the opportunity to put forward a bill on any subject they see fit. Even if your name is chosen, it’s very unlikely the bill will get further than a short debate in parliament before falling off the agenda.

In short, it was against all the odds that the Homelessness Reduction Bill passed into law last week.

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This is largely thanks to homelessness charity Crisis, which approached Mr Blackman with the idea for the bill and worked with him to put together the legislation and lobby MPs to back it.

Speaking at the recent Crisis annual conference, Mr Blackman said that on the day he found out he’d been selected to put forward a private members’ bill, he got on the Tube in the morning to travel to Westminster and when he emerged from the station his phone was ringing off the hook - he had secured one of the rare bill slots. He revealed the Conservative Party whips tried to pressure him into taking up a different bill but he wanted to use this one-off opportunity to tackle a cause close to his heart: homelessness.

The bill received its first reading in parliament in June last year, with the backing of MPs of all political stripes. Its future was precarious until the government threw its weight behind it four months later.

When introducing the bill to parliament, Mr Blackman was unequivocal.

“The reality is that, in this day and age, homelessness results from many different causes,” he said. “It could be because of a relationship breakdown, the end of a private sector tenancy, someone being ill or injured in an accident, or many other causes. As members of parliament, we know that often someone who reaches that crisis of homelessness in their lives will naturally go to their local authority to seek help. The sad fact is that when someone is threatened with homelessness and goes to their local authority they will, as likely as not, be told to ‘go home, wait until the bailiffs arrive and come back when you are literally on the streets’.”

 


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More responsibility

The legislation places new expectations on councils (see bullet points: The new main duties) to intervene sooner to stop a household from becoming homeless.

The new main duties:

  • Councils must act within 56 days of a household being threatened with homelessness
  • Councils must prevent or relieve homelessness for all eligible people threatened with homelessness
  • Councils must offer advice to anyone who needs it on preventing homelessness, how to get accommodation, their rights and how to access help
  • Advice services must in particular meet the needs of people released from prison, care leavers, former Armed Forces members, domestic abuse victims, people leaving hospital, those suffering from a mental illness and anyone else identified as particularly at risk of homelessness
  • If a council believes a person is homeless or threatened with homelessness the council must assess the person’s housing and support needs

Despite cross-party support, the issue of funding has dogged the bill throughout its passage through parliament. While councils back the aims of the bill, they have regularly pointed out that they won’t be able to deliver on these aims without substantial funding from government.

The government has pledged £61m to cover the first two years of the legislation but the Association of Housing Advice Services has estimated the bill could cost £161m for London councils alone.

Opposition MPs have warned the laudable aims of the bill will be scuppered if the government doesn’t make more funding available. But ministers have argued that the savings councils make by preventing homelessness, and therefore the less they spend on temporary accommodation, will cover the cost of the new duties.

Steve Bullock (Labour), executive member for housing at London Councils and mayor of Lewisham Council, is sceptical about this claim.

“Right now I’m not aware that we’ve got any estimates that show this is likely to happen,” he says. “Certainly in London, all the pressure on temporary accommodation costs is upward; it’s just a supply and demand thing. I can’t see we’re going to achieve savings in our temporary accommodation budget because we’re continuing to see huge pressure from homeless families. The temporary accommodation challenge in London is not getting any better - the properties just don’t exist.”

 

In the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, council officials are predicting a 180% increase in the number of homelessness cases they will have to support, at an extra cost of £4m.

Officials predict they will have to carry out 6,400 extra assessments for people who require support and a spokesperson says the new duties have “serious cost implications upon critical services which are already straining under maximum demand and funding pressures”.

Croydon Council has predicted a 20-25% increase in the number of people presenting as homeless as a result of the new legislation.

Mr Bullock says: “The Department for Communities and Local Government was talking about £61m being allocated and our best guess is at least £77m is needed in London alone so we’re beginning to have some conversations to say we’re not sure enough money has been put aside.”

“We’re pretty clear we’re going to need more staff to do these things and there are going to be significant costs involved,” he adds.

Councils are not expecting the new duties to kick in until April next year, according to Mr Bullock. The government is expected to issue guidance and reveal how much each council will receive in funding before councils are expected to take on the extra support.

Mounting pressure

Before the new legislation is adopted by councils, the government must lay regulations in parliament, but the Department for Communities and Local Government has not said when this will take place.

It is rare that legislation receives such strong cross-party support but the Homelessness Reduction Act attempts to tackle a problem that shows no signs of easing. Rough sleeping has more than doubled since 2010 and the cost of paying for temporary accommodation is crippling council budgets.

However, without the funding to match the government’s aspiration, councils are eyeing the new homelessness duties warily. To some this is one more responsibility loaded onto their already overburdened shoulders. Without adequate funding, the act’s aims will not be achieved.

Councils are making their case to government in the hope that more funding will be found from somewhere.

The sector is willing them to win the argument for the sake of the many households struggling in an insecure tenancy with the threat of homelessness looming over them.

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