Memorandum by HLG (Nottingham Hostels
Liaison Group) (HOM 30)
HLG is pleased to be able to provide evidence
to the Select Committee about the issues facing homeless people
and the organisations that accommodate and support them across
the county of Nottinghamshire.
1. BACKGROUND
TO HLG
HLG is a membership organisation which offers
information, support, representation and training to over 100
voluntary sector members across Nottinghamshire. HLG's members
provide emergency accommodation, hostels and supported housing,
outreach, day centre and advice services for homeless and other
vulnerable single people and families across the county. HLG is
funded to do this work by Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire
County Council and there is much positive inter-agency and partnership
work developing to improve services for homeless people. However,
there are also a number of issues which are impacting on the voluntary
sector's ability to deliver effective services for homeless people
in the county.
2. OVERVIEW OF
CURRENT ISSUES
The issues that are currently impacting on services
offering accommodation and support for homeless single people
and families in Nottinghamshire can be grouped under the following
headings:
— Availability of and access to accommodation.
— Increasing complexity of needs of
homeless people.
— Services for homeless families.
3. AVAILABILITY
AND ACCESS
TO ACCOMMODATION
3.1 Temporary accommodation
HLG advice and day services members report increasing
difficulties in finding temporary accommodation for homeless people.
The main reason for this is that accommodation services for homeless
people have filled up with people who are not able to move on
to the next stage of accommodation and support. Many homeless
people's move along a pathway through homelessness services:
| Emergency accommodation
| Second stage hostel or supported housing |
Permanent housing(with or without support) |
A recent survey of Nottingham City day centre and advice
service for homeless people found that in the period of a week
these services saw 125 individuals who were not able to access
an emergency bed that night.
The difficulties arise as follows:
— There are increasing numbers of people with multiple
and complex needs using homelessness services, particularly to
do with mental health or substance misuse difficulties or personality
disorder. There are currently insufficient specialist move on
and supported housing services to house people who need longer
periods of support and rehabilitation before being able to live
more independently. As a result people remain in emergency accommodation,
reducing access for people who are newly homeless.
— Changes in the interpretation of legislation and
the tightening up of policies by local housing authorities have
reduced access to permanent move on accommodation (see below).
Some positive work is being done through the Nottingham City
Inter-Agency Homelessness Strategy Implementation group to look
at how throughput can be improved to increase the supply of emergency
beds on any one night, but this is proving an extremely complex
issue.
We are also receiving more reports of the increasing levels
of single homelessness in county towns and rural areas. Historically
many people who became homeless in these areas moved to Nottingham
to access emergency accommodation. Whilst this was not an ideal
solution, it did at least enable people to access the services
they need. With increasing pressure on city services, access is
being restricted for people from outside the City. There is an
urgent need for resources to be available to develop appropriate
emergency accommodation in county towns to meet this need.
3.2 Access to permanent accommodation
HLG members are increasingly reporting difficulties in moving
on people from temporary accommodation who are ready to live more
independently in a council or registered social landlord tenancy.
This is particularly regrettable since the development of Floating
Support services under the Supporting People funding regime has
enabled for the first time a comprehensive range of support services
for people in their own tenancies.
There are two main reasons reported as to why social landlords
are not willing to offer tenancies to homeless people—arrears
in a former tenancy or that they are intentionally homeless.
Former tenant arrears
Whilst we appreciate fully the need for landlords to minimise
rent arrears, we believe that a blanket approach to former tenant
arrears is keeping people in temporary (and often costly) accommodation
for longer than is needed and is also blocking the access to that
accommodation of people who need it more. In Nottingham City we
are working with the Local Authority to address the issue of former
tenant arrears amongst homeless people and hoping that the council
will adopt a more flexible response based on setting up payment
plans and support packages, as well as addressing some of the
issues that lead to rent arrears in the first place.
Intentionality
We are also seeing a more rigid interpretation of intentional
homelessness, particularly in relation to people with mental health
and drug problems who have both experienced and caused difficulties
in previous tenancies resulting in eviction or abandonment. A
strict interpretation of intentionality is resulting in very vulnerable
people having no option but to stay for long periods in temporary
accommodation. One local hospital is discharging people who have
been in hospital with drug-related issues without accommodation
because they are being declared intentionally homeless by the
local authority.
4. INCREASING COMPLEXITY
OF NEEDS
All services for homeless people are reporting an increase
in the number of people they are seeing with a range of needs
including mental health, drug and alcohol misuse, personality
disorder, physical health. Many people do not access statutory
services, either because of poor experiences of services in the
past or because statutory services do not recognise or serve their
needs. There are some good examples of services being funded in
the voluntary sector by statutory services to improve access to
services by homeless people such as the Mental Health Support
Team for Homeless People, based at HLG. However, the work of that
team and others is being frustrated by the shortage of suitable
accommodation and support services for people with one or more
of these pressing needs.
There are some good examples from the Drug and Alcohol Action
Teams in the county of support for services for homeless drug
uses, but drug use remains the most prevalent issue presented
by homeless people. Over 80% of the people contacted by the Rough
Sleepers Outreach Team in Nottingham City have a drug problem.
For many people a move away from homelessness is not going to
be possible until their drug problems are addressed.
We have also recognised that some people will never achieve
a degree of independence that will enable them to live without
support in a tenancy. There is a need for some long-term supported
housing for people with particularly complicated needs who need
on site support and also to develop long-term tenancy sustainment
support to enable people to maintain a social housing tenancy.
5. HOMELESS FAMILIES
There is a view amongst providers of services for homeless
families locally that they needs of homeless families, other than
their need for accommodation, are often overlooked. The requirement
that local authorities no longer use bed and breakfast accommodation
is welcomed, but it is also important that alternatives such as
homeless families hostels and refuges recognise the pressing needs
of families. Issues that have been raised locally include:
— the impact on the mental health of parents and
children of being homeless and the need for appropriate support
services;
— the importance of access to play facilities for
homeless children in temporary accommodation, including children
who are at school; and
— the difficulties homeless children can have in
accessing a school place and the stigma they can face at school.
It is important that the needs of homeless families and homeless
children are explicitly stated in family and children's policies.
We have found that without this, homeless children in particular
can become "lost" children, despite being amongst the
most in need.
Domestic Violence is a key factor in family homelessness.
In Nottingham City over 30% of applications as homeless by families
cite domestic violence as the reason, and we believe that this
is a significant under-reporting of the issue. The impact on women
and children of firstly experiencing domestic violence and then
having to go into homelessness services can be very damaging and
locally service are looking at how best to support families in
homelessness accommodation and also how to reduce the need to
come into homelessness services by, for example improved security
at a woman's house.
Claire Grainger
Chief Executive
HLG
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