Including the Homeless

A strategy to tackle homelessness

Nicola McCrudden, Housing Rights Service Policy and Communications Manager, welcomes a new government strategy which she hopes will help achieve a much needed holistic response to homelessness.

‘We are all human beings when it comes down to it at the end of the day… it shouldn’t differ because you are homeless' (from Including the Homeless).

Homelessness has risen dramatically in Northern Ireland. Between 1996 and 2006 the number of households applying as homeless to the Housing Executive rose by 85%, covering a total of 21,013 households in 2006-07.

In July 2007, the Minister for Social Development, Margaret Ritchie, published a new strategy to prevent and alleviate homelessness. The document ‘Including the Homeless’ was developed under government’s Promoting Social Inclusion policy (PSI) which encourages departments to form inter-departmental groups and work with social partners to tackle social exclusion. It was first released for consultation in November 2004 by the Department for Social Development (DSD) following a series of meetings of a cross-departmental, cross-sectoral working group. The strategy document and action plan is based on the outcome of this consultation exercise and subsequent discussions with government departments and other relevant bodies.

Guiding the strategy is a set of sixteen principles which government departments have agreed to promote. They range from committing to a cross-departmental and cross-sectoral approach, to promoting advice provision, training, education, health and access to financial services. The accompanying plan contains a number of actions covering the wide ranging areas of:

information and advice;
staff training and education;
eligibility and selection;
delivery of services;
health and mental well-being;
targeting more vulnerable people;
education;
employment and learning;
private rented sector;
social security benefits;
financial services;
equality of opportunity.

The strategy acknowledges that homelessness is one of the most extreme forms of social exclusion and does not only mean rough sleeping. The legal definition, contained in the Housing (NI) Order 1988, provides that a person is homeless if s/he has no accommodation available for her/his occupation in the UK or elsewhere. This would include situations where a person is living in temporary accommodation or staying with friends. In addition, a person will not be treated as having accommodation unless s/he and anyone who might reasonably be expected to reside with her/him:

is entitled to occupy it; and
it is reasonable for them to continue to occupy it.

So, even in situations where someone has accommodation, s/he could be deemed homeless if, for example, it is not habitable or suited to meet special needs.

In Northern Ireland, the Housing Executive has statutory responsibility for assisting homeless people. The level of advice and assistance varies depending on how many of the following legal ‘tests’ a person qualifies under. To be accepted as a Full Duty applicant, and have statutory entitlement to housing, a person must be found:

(a) homeless or threatened within 28 days; and

(b) eligible for assistance; and

(d) not intentionally homeless.

For many, it can be difficult to fulfil all of the criteria, particularly if single. Each year, around half of those who apply are accepted as Full Duty applicants. Under current provisions, those who fail to qualify have no legal right to have a decision reviewed and, other than using the Housing Executive’s internal review process, have no means of further legal redress other than judicial review. In recognition of the difficulties faced by some, the DSD has agreed to make a number of amendments to the Housing (NI) Order 1988. These will align Northern Ireland legislation more closely in England and Wales.

Advice and assistance:

NIHE is to have statutory responsibility for ensuring advice about homelessness and its prevention is available free of charge;
NIHE to arrange for advice to be provided by a range of providers;
DSD to prescribe the kind of advice and assistance to be provided.

Priority need:

All homeless sixteen and seventeen year olds not already provided with accommodation by social services and all homeless eighteen to 21 year olds who are leaving care or are vulnerable to sexual or financial exploitation will have priority need for housing.

Review and appeal:

Homeless applicants to have a right to request a review of decisions made by NIHE about their entitlement to assistance and a subsequent right of appeal to the county court.

For a number of years, Housing Rights Service has been advocating for strong protective legislation that promotes the rights of homeless people and ensures that the most vulnerable are not excluded from assistance. We welcome government’s commitment to amending the homelessness legislation and look forward to the swift implementation of the new provisions.

As a member of the PSI Homelessness Implementation Group, Housing Rights Service firmly supports the publication of this new strategy. We agree that effective multi-agency working is absolutely fundamental to tackling homelessness in Northern Ireland. The relevant departments and agencies must work together - both at strategic and operational levels) - in a client focused and co-ordinated manner. Public services are currently delivered in a functional and compartmentalised manner. Achieving a holistic response to homelessness will require not only a fundamental change in the way people work but also in the way they think. Securing this change is too important an issue to be left to chance or to rely on the goodwill of key (and often changing) personnel within different departments and agencies. It is our view that government must ensure this commitment by providing legislative direction on this matter. The success or otherwise of the strategy could depend on this.

Including the Homeless – A Strategy to Promote the Social Inclusion of Homeless People and those at Risk of Becoming Homeless in Northern Ireland is available from the DSD Housing Division 028 9081 9503 or online at www.dsdni.gov.uk. Further information about Housing Rights Service, its membership services, as well as a free copy of its housing law and policy journal Housing Rights Review is available online at www.housingrights.org.uk.