Preventing Homelessness:
A Strategy Health Check
Preventing Homelessness: A Strategy Health Check
September 2006
Department for Communities and Local Government: London
Following the reorganisation of the government in May 2006, the responsibilities of the former Office for the Deputy Prime Minister in this area were transferred to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
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September 2006
Product Code: 06HHS04097
Preventing Homelessness: A Strategy Health Check
The Homelessness Act 2002 has changed radically the way that local housing authorities approach homelessness. Effective local strategies contributed significantly to achievements in meeting challenging targets to reduce rough sleeping and in ending the long term use of bed and breakfast hotels for families with children.
At the heart of any local authority homelessness strategy is continued investment in homeless prevention. This approach has demonstrated considerable success in reducing new cases of homelessness. During 2005 homeless acceptances reached their lowest level for 20 years as a result of local authority’s increased focus on early intervention to prevent homelessness.
However, DCLG and local authorities recognise that there is much more to do. This self assessment health check has been developed to help local authorities move the agenda forward in conjunction with their partners.
The self-assessment toolkit has been designed by the Homelessness and Housing Support Directorate (HHSD) in the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). It will help local housing authorities review their homelessness strategy and establish how effective their services are in tackling and preventing homelessness. The toolkit also looks at how to tackle some of the wider causes of homelessness which Housing Quality Network (HQN) identified as gaps in their evaluation of the 2003 strategies. Authorities may also find the assessment tool useful in developing plans to meet the Government’s target of reducing temporary accommodation by 50% by 2010, and in assessing how robust their action plans are for meeting the aims of the Government’s broader homelessness strategy, ‘Sustainable Communities: settled homes; changing lives’.
Local authorities may also find it useful to share this toolkit with their delivery partners as part of their homelessness review. In particular it should help local authorities to:
- Assess the quality of the service they provide.
- Improve partnership working.
- Demonstrate to Members and the local community what has been achieved.
- Highlight opportunities for improving services to the homeless.
This document is not statutory guidance and is not linked to any funding decisions by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Local authorities are reminded that when discharging their homelessness functions they must have regard to the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities, issued under section 182 of the Housing Act 1996. A revised Code of Guidance was issued in July 2006, and formally replaced the previous Code on 4th September 2006.
Undertaking the self assessment.
There is no requirement to complete the self assessment or submit it to DCLG. We hope however, that local authorities and their partners will find the exercise useful. There are numerous options:
- It might be useful for managers in homelessness to complete the exercise separately from the front line staff team with both coming together to compare results at for example, a service planning day. Comparing different perspectives on what has been achieved and where gaps remain could be beneficial.
- The self assessment could be used as the basis to review with partners, the local homelessness strategy. Partners could be asked for their views in advance on the assessment as a whole or on areas relevant to their work, with a strategy working group or stakeholder event considering results.
- Members may wish to use the self assessment as the basis of undertaking a Scrutiny review of the authority’s work in tackling homelessness.
- Another local authority or independent organisation could be asked to undertake a review of the service using the self assessment.
However the assessment is carried out it is likely to be beneficial in helping the local authority to review its homeless strategy and tackle homelessness more effectively. It might be sensible to develop an action plan at the end of the exercise highlighting short, medium and long term aims. Help in taking actions forward is available from the Homelessness and Housing support Directorate, as well as your local authority Regional Champion. A list of helpful publications is provided at appendix one. These can help you develop more detailed actions for areas where you identify any gaps.
DCLG hope to develop and improve the self assessment over time. We aim to develop an on line, interactive version early in 2007. We would be grateful to receive any feedback on the document and suggestions for any improvements which could be incorporated into the on line version.
Contents Section 1 : Strategic assessment
1. Local authority Corporate and Member commitment 7
2. Joint Working and Partnerships 10
3. Reviewing your homelessness strategy for 2008 14
4. Action Planning to meet the 2010 temporary accommodation target 18
Section 2 : Prevention of homelessness self-assessment
1. Housing Advice 21
2. Effective tenancy outreach 23
3. Home visits 24
4. Mediation 27
5. Social housing tenants threatened with eviction 28
6. Rent arrears 30
7. Better co-ordination with the local authority’s Housing Benefits service 31
8. Rent deposit schemes and their role in prevention 34
9. Effective tenancy or floating support 38
Section 3 : Tackling the wider causes of homelessness
10. Health issues and hospital discharge 41
11. Education, employment and school outreach 45
12. Victims of domestic violence 48
13. Rough sleepers and hostel residents 51
14. Offenders and ex-offenders 54
15. Ex-service personnel 57
16. Homelessness among ethnic minority groups 57
17. Refugees 59
18. Street prostitution 60
Section 4 : Administering homelessness more effectively
1. Conducting Options Interviews 61
2. Staff Structures 64
3. Performance management 68
4. Administering homelessness services 72
5. Decision making 74
6. Finance and Invest to Save 78
7. Knowledge of the homelessness legislation 82
8. Customer care and service quality 86
9. Temporary accommodation standards 89
10. Maximising housing supply 91
Section 1: Strategic assessment
1. Local Authority Corporate and Member commitment
Purpose
This section helps a local authority to assess whether it has in place all the key strategic aspects required to tackle homelessness effectively. It assesses whether there is Member and Chief Officer ‘buy in’ backed up by adequate resources, and the inclusion of homelessness in any Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA), Local Area Agreements (LAA) or cross- cutting local authority strategic targets. In such an important service area local authorities should be continuously updating their homelessness strategy with SMART action planning, and not waiting until the strategy has to be reviewed in 2008. Under the Homelessness Act 2002 Local Authorities are under a duty to keep their homelessness strategy under review and have the power to modify their strategy when it is required.
There should also be links to other strategies, for example:
- The Regional Reducing Re-offending Strategy,
- Supporting People Strategy,
- Domestic Violence Strategy,
- Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy,
- Prolific and Other Priority Offender Strategy.
1.Is there Member commitment to tackle homelessness and meet the 2010 temporary accommodation target?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:1.1Is member commitment evidenced by specific Cabinet committee report highlighting the need to meet the 2010 target, and the importance of meeting it in order to tackle the social exclusion effects of temporary accommodation.
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:1.2Is there evidence of performance on tackling homelessness being regularly reported to Cabinet.
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:1.3Is there evidence of Scrutiny Committee consideration in the last twelve months of local authority efforts in tackling homelessness.
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:2.Is there evidence of inclusion in Chief Officer annual work objectives or service plan targets with clear responsibilities linked to chief officer.
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:2.1Is there evidence of discussions regarding tackling homelessness at the Corporate Management team?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:3.Is tackling homelessness part of any existing Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA) agreement?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:4.Is tackling homelessness being considered for inclusion in any Local Area Agreement targets?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:2.Joint working and partnerships
Purpose
This section helps a local authority to assess how effective and inclusive its partnerships are to tackle homelessness. No local authority can hope to achieve its long term aims without developing open and transparent relationships between all partners, including housing associations and the voluntary sector. Given the important role partners need to play in tackling homelessness, professional relationships need to be established with sufficient funding, and outcomes agreed through clear, measurable service level agreements or contracts.
5.Is there a Homelessness Forum operating in the Councils area?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:6.Is the Homelessness Forum fully representative of stakeholders? For example, are the following organisations represented: National Offender Management Service (NOMS), Drug Action Team, Children’s services and Adult Social Services, Youth Offending Teams (YOT), Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), refugee organisations, health commissioners and providers, Key Council Departments (e.g. education, housing and benefit advice services).
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:7.Does the Homelessness Forum meet at least quarterly?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:8.Is there a separate homelessness strategy review group in place?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:9.Are the following key protocols in place to aid joint working in tackling homelessness?
9.1Protocol with Children’s services
a) for intentionally homeless families
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:b) for 16/17 year olds.
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:c) for care leavers.
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:9.2Protocol with Adult Social Services for the provision of appropriate residential accommodation for older people with high care needs who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:9.3Protocol with health services for planning how people will be discharged from hospital if there is homelessness or a risk of homelessness.
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:9.4Protocol with National Offender Management Service for preventing homelessness among offenders due for release.
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:9.5 Protocol with Drug Action Team services for drug and alcohol dependent cases including those returning from out of borough residential rehabilitation.
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:10.Is the council engaged in sub-regional working with other local authorities to prevent homelessness?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:11.Does the Local Authority work in partnership with local secondary schools to help educate students regarding the risks of homelessness and services available to young people to help prevent homelessness?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:12.Have arrangements been put in place with health, probation, voluntary sector and other housing organisations regarding the following:
a) Named contacts,
YESNOUNCLEAR
b) How information will be shared,
YESNOUNCLEAR
c) Referral mechanisms,
YESNOUNCLEAR
d) Dispute resolution
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:13. In the last 12 months how many of the following stakeholders have received training on homelessness prevention; the options available and how homelessness applications are administered by the local authority?
a. Health services / YES / NOb. Children’s services / YES / NO
c. Adult social services / YES / NO
d. National Offender Management / YES / NO
e. Refugee community group / YES / NO
f. Voluntary Sector advice providers / YES / NO
g. The council homelessness forum / YES / NO
Comment:
3.Reviewing your homelessness strategy for 2008
14.Has the local authority appointed a specific officer to take forward initiatives in its homelessness strategy? (In smaller local authorities this could be added to the responsibilities of a senior manager.)
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:15. What proportion of actions in the original Council Homelessness Strategy Action Plan have been implemented?
16.Have outcomes completed from the original strategy been reviewed and evaluated?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:17.Have the figures relating to housing demand and supply contained in the 2003 Homelessness review been updated?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:18. Has the current Homelessness Strategy Action Plan been reviewed with particular regard to the recommendations contained in DCLG’s 2005 homelessness strategy, Sustainable Communities: settled homes; changing lives?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:19.Has a project plan been developed for how the local authority will undertake a statutory review and produce a new strategy by July 2008?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:20.Is there evidence within any project plan of how the local authority will include all relevant partners and, as a minimum, clear evidence of involvement from local children’s services and adult social services, education, health, NOMS and key RSLs?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:21.Have resource implications been considered including allocating staff time for this task?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:22.Are plans in place for how the local authority will involve service users in its review? (The Local Authority should sensibly check that the composition of service users who are consulted reflects the diversity of their local homeless population)
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:23.Is there evidence of any gaps identified in the Housing Quality Network (HQN) 2004 individual assessment of the local authority’s homelessness strategy having been addressed?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:24.Has the Local Authority’s Homelessness Strategy Action Plan been updated at least annually since the publication of the original strategy?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:25.Is there evidence that the current action plan is SMART with at least 50% of actions that have measurable outcomes?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:26.Is there evidence that the action plan incorporates actions on further developing the local authority’s homelessness prevention and options strategy and meeting the 2010 temporary accommodation target?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:4.Action Planning to meet the 2010 temporary accommodation target
Purpose
This section helps a local authority to assess where its plan to meet the temporary accommodation target is comprehensive and robust. It should cover the key components of tackling demand through early intervention and prevention, tackling supply through new housing, affordable housing, opening up the private rented sector, and making best use of existing social housing opportunities. Tackling any backlog in temporary accommodation is the final key component which sensibly should be brought together in a clear model which measures and estimates progress quarter by quarter until 2010. A Local Authority may look to integrate any temporary accommodation action plan into their revised homelessness strategy.
27.Is there an action plan in place for meeting the 2010 temporary accommodation target? (The target requires each LA to halve the number of households in temporary accommodation by 2010. The baseline assessment is the end of December 2004).
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:28.If a plan is in place, are numerical targets set for how temporary accommodation will be reduced as a result of each prevention activity?
YESNOUNCLEARNO PLAN
Comment:29.If a plan is in place, has it been agreed at Corporate Management Team or member level?
YESNOUNCLEARNO PLAN
Comment:30.Are key milestones in place with reductions in temporary accommodation projected up to 2010 and measured on a quarterly basis?
YESNOUNCLEARNO PLAN
Comment:31.If a plan is in place, is it comprehensive covering reductions in temporary accommodation through:
31.1 Prevention of homelessness and options
YESNOUNCLEARNO PLAN
Comment:31.2 New housing supply for social rented accommodation
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:31.3Maximising use of the existing social housing supply within the Las or within partner RSLs stock?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:31.4.Does any Temporary Accommodation reduction plan include a demand and supply model? (one that estimates the effect on demand of prevention activities; calculates any future housing pressures, balances how existing social housing is allocated, and estimates the effect on temporary accommodation of social housing supply).
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:32.Is there a plan for reducing each type of TA currently used?
B&B / YES / NOHostels / YES / NO
Private Sector Leasing (PSL) / YES / NO
LA/RSL own stock / YES / NO
Other / YES / NO
Comment:
33.In the last 12 months how many Qualifying Offers has the local authority achieved whereby the homelessness duty is brought to an end by the applicant voluntarily accepting an Assured Shorthold Tenancies (AST)?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:Section 2: Prevention of homelessness: self-assessment
Purpose
The ‘toolkit’ of prevention options considered below allows a local authority to assess what percentage of a ‘typical toolkit’ that they have in place and also to assess how effective their schemes are against suggested ‘good practice’ criteria. Overall a local authority may look to ‘score’ informally in percentage terms firstly the number of initiatives in place and secondly, where they are in place, the effectiveness of these initiatives.
1.Housing advice
34. Is housing advice outreach offered at a range of locations, e.g. GP surgeries, voluntary sector agencies, and community centres?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:35.Is a homelessness prevention court advocacy service in place, provided by either the local authority or one of its partners?
YESNOUNCLEAR
Comment:36.If a court advocacy service is in place are solicitors or voluntary sector agencies part of a duty rota to ensure that social housing tenants can be represented with no conflict of interest?