Memorandum by the Salvation Army and Salvation
Army Housing Association (HOM 44)
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Salvation Army and Salvation Army
Housing Association are grateful to the committee for the opportunity
to contribute to its inquiry.
1.2 The Salvation Army is a Christian Church
and one of the largest charities in the UK, helping thousands
of vulnerable people each day. The Salvation Army provides a professional
service designed to meet the needs of homeless people throughout
the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland. Its aim is
not just to give homeless people somewhere to sleep. It seeks
to help people overcome the problems that have caused them to
be homeless—and help them start to build a new life for
themselves.
1.3 Salvation Army Housing Association provides
housing to people in need, primarily the single homeless with
strong emphasis on empowering them to gain and sustain their independence.
We seek not only to provide high standard, appropriate homes but
also good quality management and maintenance services and training
and care services appropriate to residents needs, directly or
through our agents. This work is undertaken in a spirit of partnership.
Our principal partner is The Salvation Army with whom we share
many common objectives. We also work with other partners able
to complement the Association's skills to offer opportunity to
our tenants and residents. Local and central government are seen
as key enablers of the Association's work. "Move on"
and general family housing is developed to create wider opportunities
for people to move into an appropriate environment and to building
communities.
2. THE OVERALL
LEVEL AND
THE NATURE
OF NEED
FOR HOUSING
FOR HOMELESS
PEOPLE
2.1 The committee will be aware that good
practice in homelessness services now emphasises a holistic package
of both housing and support. Therefore, the level of available
housing is only one factor in reducing levels of homelessness.
However, it is obviously a very important factor and it must be
emphasised that there remains a chronic lack of affordable housing
in many parts of the country. It is certainly the case that many
homeless people become stuck in hostels, unable to find suitable
move-on accommodation. Many residents become deeply unhappy at
this situation, particularly if they have made great efforts to
recover from substance misuse problems but are unable to leave
an environment where those problems are all too present.
2.2 There is still a very clear need for
services. Statistics show that SAHA housed nearly 7,000 people
in 2003-04 and the same number the year before. The majority of
these were single homeless.
2.3 Another concern is that people with
multiple support needs often fall through gaps in service provision
and the provision of accommodation alone is not enough. Rather
than being passed from agency to agency these very vulnerable
people need to be assisted in a co-ordinated way. The Salvation
Army's National Monitoring and Evaluation Service, an information
management service that provides specific client assessment tools
to aid strategic planning, has picked up some disturbing trends,
despite being in its infancy. In 2003 61% of The Salvation Army's
homeless clients had an alcohol dependency and 54% had problems
with Class A drugs. Data also shows that 27% of the clients had
significant mental health problems.
3. THE SUCCESS
OF POLICIES
MEETING THE
NEEDS OF
HOMELESS HOUSEHOLDS
3.1 Families—The Salvation Army welcomes
the initiative to clear bed and breakfasts but is concerned that
some are not being cleared but simply relabelled as family centres.
Research should also be carried out to assess the long-term impact
of homelessness on children, particularly in areas such as educational
achievement. The Salvation Army welcomes the resources made available
for DV refuges but believes the network is incomplete and requires
further resourcing. It further believes that all Bed and Breakfasts
and temporary family housing should be licensed and required to
meet minimum central government quality standards.
3.2 Single People—The Salvation Army
believes that there should be a return to the statutory obligations
to house everyone who is homeless, regardless of vulnerability.
On top of this, 90,000-100,000 units of truly affordable housing
are needed immediately.
3.3 Intentionally Homeless—The term
"intentional homelessness" requires careful consideration.
It is difficult to see how people who are mentally ill or individuals
who are heavily addicted to drugs and alcohol could ever be described
as "intentionally" homeless.
4. THE ADEQUACY
OF INVESTMENT
IN HOUSING
FOR HOMELESS
PEOPLE AND
THE QUALITY
OF ACCOMMODATION
FOR THEM
4.1 Current restraints of Supporting People
funding are severely limiting new capital investments. Again,
it must be emphasised that housing needs to be truly affordable,
particularly in high-cost areas such as the South-East of England.
More work needs to be done with the private sector to encourage
their involvement in providing solutions but society would need
to guard against the creation of "ghettos" or "sink
estates" using hard to let or substandard accommodation.
5. FACTORS AFFECTING
THE SUCCESSFUL
IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE HOMELESSNESS
ACT 2002
5.1 If local authorities are given extra
responsibilities to house people then they also need to be given
the resources to do the job. Therefore, significant Supporting
People resources need to be made available to support the provisions
of the Act. Moreover, significant financial resources will need
to be allocated to the NHS and Drug Action Teams to fund substance
misuse work or the extra tenancies will fail. The parameters of
the law still allow for different interpretations and local authorities
will come to different conclusions regarding their obligations.
Clear and unambiguous guidance in interpretation is needed from
the ODPM to ensure consistency of service provision across the
country.
6. THE LOCATION
OF PROVISION
FOR HOMELESS
PEOPLE RELATIVE
TO WHERE
THEY LIVE
6.1 The provision of services for homeless
people is geographically uneven and this raises serious questions
regarding equality of access. Currently it is easier to access
certain types of services, move on accommodation for instance,
in some places than others. Service shortages are particularly
acute in many rural areas where homelessness may be less-visible
but still prevalent.
6.2 The Salvation Army recognises the concerns
some communities have raised about the placement of hostels and
other facilities. A collaborative approach is always best but
where this has proved impossible The Salvation Army has taken
legal action to ensure that the development of facilities in areas
of need are not impeded.
6.3 The geographic, economic and social
characteristics of some areas means that they will continue to
be "magnets" for homeless people regardless of government
policies intended to deter them.
7. THE BALANCE
OF PUBLIC
INVESTMENT IN
HOUSING FOR
KEY WORKERS
AND HOMELESS
PEOPLE
7.1 The term key worker needs defining.
There is a potential problem if a very narrow group of public
sector workers are given privileged access to housing over people
on similar, or much lower, incomes. Additionally, it is difficult
to comment on whether the balance is correct when the level of
investment in both areas is far too low.
8. PRIORITY FOR
THE HOMELESS
WITHIN THE
OVERALL ALLOCATION
OF SOCIAL
HOUSING
8.1 The Salvation Army feels that categorising
individuals as "homeless" when talking of priorities
is, in this instance, unhelpful. Many homeless people have complex
needs and if these, and not the rooflessness, are highlighted
then priorities become easier to establish.
8.2 Prioritising does cause problems for
single homeless males who are given the lowest priority but are
the largest client group. However, where resources are limited
The Salvation Army supports the prioritisation of families with
children and those with mental health problems.
8.3 Lack of move-on accommodation silts
up direct access and is also one of the main reasons for resettlement
failure as people simply give up.
8.4 A report produced by The Henley Centre
for The Salvation Army earlier this year called The Responsibility
Gap highlighted the complexity of needs and suggested that government,
charities, the business sector and individuals needed to find
better ways of working together.
9. WHETHER THE
NON-HOUSING
SERVICES PROVIDED
FOR HOMELESS
PEOPLE ARE
ADEQUATE AND
ARE CO
-ORDINATED WITH
HOUSING PROVISION
9.1 This is an area of particular concern.
There are still large gaps in primary health care for the homeless
and a very poor response to mental health issues. In particular,
the lack of dual diagnosis and multiple needs provision remains
a severe issue. Clients still often find themselves passed from
one agency to the next, which shows that greater co-ordination
needs to take place.
9.2 The Salvation Army believes that day
and street services can play a vital part in homelessness provision
if it is co-ordinated, focused and outcome driven.
10. WHETHER PUBLIC
AGENCIES ARE
EFFECTIVE IN
PREVENTING PEOPLE
BECOMING HOMELESS
10.1 In general The Salvation Army believes
that the public sector often lacks the dynamism, culture and structure
to be effective in preventative work. This work seems better suited
to the voluntary sector, its ethos, flexibility and local connections.
For example, voluntary sector contracts with prisons, housing
departments and hospitals could prove very effective at identifying
those at risk and helping to prevent them becoming homeless. Indeed,
public sector processes can often be part of the problem. Late
claims and slow processing in the housing benefit system, for
example, can often lead to evictions. Similarly, benefit traps
within the housing benefit/supporting people framework can cause
or perpetuate homelessness.
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