POLICY FRAMEWORK
England

BACKGROUND

Between 2004 and 2007, the number of people officially recognised as homeless declined by around one third (see England - trends over time ). This follows a steady rise in the years before 2003.  It is not straightforward to know what has caused this decrease, but it does coincide with the introduction of the new strategy, aimed more at preventing homelessness than just processing statutory duties. 

KEY POLICIES

During the 1990s, under both Conservative and Labour Governments, the focus was on the more visible forms of homelessness, namely rough sleeping and households accommodated temporarily in bed-and-breakfast. Since then, attention has turned to tackling all forms of homelessness in a more coherent way. The 2002 Homelessness Act was crucial to this change of approach. As a result of it:

• The level of assistance available to homeless people was enhanced by the extension of priority need to include new groups of vulnerable people, and by the introduction of the requirement that all homeless people (even if not in priority need), must receive advice and assistance which meets minimum standards (see English Legislative Framework). However, it is important to emphasise that while the categories of people deemed to be in ‘priority need' was extended, the basic distinction between those in priority need (and thereby entitled to accommodation) and those not in priority need (and so with no such entitlement) remains.  

• Local Authorities were required to develop homeless strategies, including an assessment of current and likely future levels of homelessness in the area, current activities contributing to the prevention of homelessness, the provision of accommodation and support, and an assessment of the resources available to the Local Authority and/or other organisations for carrying out those activities.

Central to the Government's new approach is the importance attached to preventing homelessness. Sustainable communities: settled homes; changing lives, published in 2005, stressed the importance of prevention, including family mediation, general housing advice and debt counselling. This strategy was further developed in Homes for all  and People, places, prosperity. To ensure the delivery of the strategy, the Government increased funding for homelessness - in 2005, a £90m capital improvement programme in hostels was launched, which aims to increase the supply of  new social housing by 50% by 2008 and also to develop area based initiatives. 

In 2006, the Communities and Local Government Department (CLG) published Preventing homelessness, a strategy healthcheck , which provided a framework for local authorities to assess their own homelessness strategy.

A Best Value Performance indicator (BVPI 213) was introduced to measure the number of  homelessness preventions in a local authority area. This means that prevention runs right the way through the government policy - from national strategy, to advice on its practice, to measurement of its effectiveness. Statistics for this indicator can be found in the 2006/07 report, Homelessness statistics 2007 and local authority survey of homelessness prevention, which attempts to quantify the most common types of preventive action. In recent years, the most common means of preventing homeless were those that dealt with the financial side of securing a tenancy - effectively guaranteeing the deposit on a rented property.

A revised Code of guidance  to local authorities was issued in 2006 which devoted a chapter to preventing homelessness. It sets out different types of intervention that can be applied to different causes of homelessness.

Sustainable communities: settled homes; changing lives  also focused on helping people who had experienced homelessness progress to more settled homes.  Places of change  (2006) extended this focus on development to hostels and their role.

OTHER POLICY DOCUMENTS

More than a roof: a report into tackling homelessness  (2003), emphasised the personal problems that could be the immediate cause of homelessness. 

In the same year, the Supporting people initiative reorganised the funding of housing related support services for vulnerable people including those who might be at risk of homelessness. The key client groups are: older people; people with learning difficulties; people with mental health problems or some disabilities; women fleeing domestic violence; young homeless people and vulnerable people struggling with their accommodation.

The 2007 report Tackling youth homelessness addressed both causes and symptoms of homelessness among 16- and 17-year-olds.  Specifically, it contains a new package of measures to tackle homelessness among young people, including a pledge that no 16- or 17-year-old will be placed in bed-and-breakfast accommodation under homelessness legislation.  It also promises to improve access to mediation services, such that they become the norm across the country, and to establish supported lodging schemes for young people across the country

 

 

Page last modified on 23/04/2008 at 13:03