Information > Briefings > Homelessness Task Force Report - at a glance
February 2002
The Homelessness Task Force was set up in 1999 by the Scottish Executive to: ‘review the causes and nature of homelessness in Scotland; to examine current practice in dealing with cases of homelessness; and to make recommendations on how homelessness in Scotland can best be prevented and, where it does occur, tackled effectively.’
Its first report made recommendations about immediate changes to legislation, which were incorporated into the Housing Scotland Act 2001. These included:
These will be implemented over the coming year.
The Task Force since then has had a sub group working in Glasgow on the hostel re-provisioning proposals and has considered more far reaching changes to homelessness provisions, contained in its final report, published on 27 February 2002. It has also commissioned a significant body of research summarised in a supplementary Task Force Report. Its work builds on the work of the Rough Sleepers’ Initiative in Scotland which continues to have as its aim, ending the need for anyone to sleep rough in Scotland by April 2003.
The final report concentrates on 5 main areas
Underpinning the report are a number of key themes:
The final report builds on the new package of rights contained in the Housing Scotland Act 2001, which guaranteed a minimum package of rights to all homeless people for the first time. It does not seek to change the definition of ‘homeless’ in the legislation, but makes radical proposals on ‘priority need’, ‘intentional homelessness’ and ‘local connection.’
The report recommends the phased extension over 10 years of the categories of people considered ‘in priority need’ until it covers every homeless person and is effectively abolished. The first phase sees priority need being extended to all the groups mentioned in the Code of Guidance as vulnerable. The second phase will see a further extension possibly by age (e.g. those under 25 and over 55) and the final phase extension to all homeless people. A Monitoring Group being set up by the Scottish Executive will assess when phase two will be introduced (as well as chasing progress on the rest of the report). The abolition of ‘priority need’ fulfils a long-standing SCSH aim.
The definition is not changed. The duty to investigate intentionality is replaced by a power to do so. A new duty towards intentionally homeless people in priority need is created. They will have to be offered a short Scottish secure tenancy with appropriate support. The support offered will be to enable the tenant to convert the short tenancy into a full tenancy. Progress will be reviewed regularly. Where the short tenancy with support has not been successful local authorities will remain under an obligation to provide accommodation with support, though not with the rights afforded by a short sst or full sst. The Task Force believes there has to be an ultimate safety net to stop people being evicted to rough sleeping – especially if the rough sleeping target is to be achieved.
This will be suspended. It is not possible to gauge how much this provision is used at present to filter out applications before they are made. If the result causes problems the ‘local connection’ provision can be reinstated in particular areas or the whole country.
The report recommends that local housing strategies should identify what improvements are required in the supply and quality of affordable housing. This should be linked to requirements in order to meet the challenges posed by the legislative changes described above. Resource allocations by Ministers should reflect these needs.
It calls for more entry level, ready access accommodation for young people. All authorities should enable access to rent guarantee schemes. There should be additional furnished accommodation – 1000 additional furnished tenancies per year for 5 years.
The legal framework for allocations giving ‘reasonable preference’ to certain groups should be retained. The Code of Guidance recommendation that homeless people be given the same number of offers as people on the general waiting list should be monitored by Communities Scotland and homeless people at the very least should be given a choice of two options.
Although benefits issues are ‘reserved’ for the Westminster parliament the Task Force made a number of recommendations, since benefits are crucial to effective action to tackle homelessness. DWP should review the adequacy of levels of benefits for under 25s. The Social Fund should be reformed to allow for community care grants to be paid in advance of a tenancy offer being agreed. Delays in severe hardship payments should be eliminated. Homeless people and those resettling from temporary accommodation should be a priority for social fund payments.
The Single Room Rent and Local Reference Rent restrictions should be reviewed. Non dependant deductions should also be reviewed.
Local authorities’ homelessness strategies should incorporate standards for processing housing benefit and targets for improvements. There should be pro-active benefits outreach.
Prevention is linked closely to homelessness strategies. The report says strategies should make proposals on the early identification of people getting into housing difficulties, ensure advice and assistance is available for them, make advice and information available to particular identified risk groups (e.g. young people living on their own, people discharged from a variety of institutional settings) and the provision of leaving home education in schools.
It suggests examples such as mediation, money advice, drug and alcohol counselling, advocacy and proactive management of neighbour disputes, with particular emphasis on publicising available services.
Local authority housing, social work and finance departments should work together to prevent evictions (especially where rent arrears are concerned) and performance indicators streamlined to encourage good practice. It suggests further work with the police and Crown Office to tackle illegal evictions in the private rented sector and a requirement on private landlords to inform local authorities if they are planning an eviction.
The report makes specific recommendations for care leavers (including recommending that those who leave prior to their 16th birthday receive full through and aftercare); mainstreaming housing advice services for prisoners and changing housing benefit restrictions on prisoners with relatively short sentences; a range of recommendations relating to people leaving the armed forces; and improvements to the services to asylum seekers.
Underpinning the recommendations is the recognition that there is no single solution, and that homeless people represent a diverse range of needs and aspirations. Sustainable services need to address that diversity. It recommends joint training to ensure attitudes of staff at the first point of contact respond effectively.
Support, both formal and informal, is recognised as crucial to the long term resolution of homelessness. Flexibility of formal support in both intensity and duration is recommended.
Local Authorities should develop crisis response systems which are permanently available, flexible and linked with other agencies (so that for example multiple needs can be addressed). They should ensure clear ‘exit strategies’ are a key element of the service.
Independent advocacy services as well as good quality information and advice should be available .
Domestic abuse strategies and homelessness strategies should be complementary and inform each other.
There is a range of recommendations for health services, including: linking in health action plans for homeless people to Drug and Alcohol Action Teams; better mental health services for homeless people; and that being free from alcohol or substance misuse should not be a condition of access to services.
There should be improved gateways to training and employment for homeless people, linked with a recognition that many homeless people may need considerable time to reach a stage where they are ready for employment.
The report recommends that further work should be done to develop social networks for homeless people, and that existing social networks should form part of the assessment of the needs and support for homeless people.
A monitoring group will be set up by the Scottish Executive to ‘progress chase’ the recommendations.
Copies of the full report and ancillary research report are accessible on the Scottish Executive website: www.scotland.gov.uk/homelessness or from the Stationery Office bookshop 0870 606 55 66.
The Task Force’s recommendations have been endorsed in their entirety by the Scottish Executive’s cabinet. An initial funding package of £11million over the next two years to assist towards implementing the recommendations has been announced, and there has been a promise of legislation in the autumn of 2002 to progress the necessary legislative changes.
The two crucial areas on which the success of the report depends are resources to ensure an adequate supply of good quality accommodation and a means of ensuring that all the necessary support to prevent and tackle homelessness are delivered. This means that the implementation of Supporting People as well as social work and health budgets must take account of these recommendations.
© 2002 Scottish Council for Single Homeless
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