Index of information on this page:
People who are Homeless
Shelter is a pre-requisite for health.
People who are disadvantaged suffer both from a lack of housing and
from poor quality housing.
People who are homeless or living in temporary
accommodation suffer from high levels of health inequality which
may include: high mortality rates; higher rates of depression and
anxiety and some major mental disorders; higher prevalence of
bronchitis, tuberculosis, arthritis, skin diseases, and infections,
problems related to alcohol and substance misuse; and higher rates
of hospital admissions.
The Definition of
Homelessness
A general definition is that someone is
homeless in law, if:
- They do not have accommodation that they have a legal right to
occupy.
- They have accommodation that is not accessible and/or
physically available to them (and their household).
- They have accommodation but it would not be reasonable for them
to continue to live in it.
- It would not be reasonable for someone to continue to live in
their home, for example, if it was likely to lead to violence
against them (or a member of their family) or if the property was
in such a state of disrepair that it was not habitable.
Homelessness Act 2002
The Homelessness Act 2002 made changes to the
arrangements for local authorities to ensure that they had a duty
to protect more people.
Key principles of the legislation were
securing settled homes for households in priority need and also
helping, where possible, those who were not considered to be a
priority.
It was also intended that housing authorities
would offer more choice to homeless people and others in housing
need through appropriate lettings policies and to ensure that
advice and information were made available to everyone in the
locality.
The Homelessness Act 2002 also placed a legal
obligation on all Local Housing Authorities to carry out a review
of homelessness in their areas and, in consultation with local
partners and stakeholders, to develop a strategy for tackling and
preventing it.
The most recent national strategies and
legislative requirements that have shaped the Homelessness Strategy
include:
Laying the
Foundations: A Housing Strategy for England 2011
No One Left
Out: Communities Ending Rough Sleeping (Nov 2008)
Vision to
end rough sleeping: No Second Night Out nationwide (July
2011)
Supplementary
Guidance on the homelessness changes in the Localism Act 2011 on
the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order
2012
Northumberland Homelessness Strategy
2011-12
Following consultation with partners,
stakeholders and staff to inform the refresh of the 2011-2012
strategy the following priorities were agreed for the development
and delivery of homelessness and housing options services in
Northumberland:
1. Reducing
homelessness through prevention
The primary focus of the housing options and
homelessness team is to prevent homeless. Prevention initiatives
have been developed and implemented to enable households to remain
in their current home where appropriate or to provide options to
enable a planned and timely move to help sustain independent
living.
2. Reducing the
use of temporary accommodation and improving the
quality
Work has been carried out to improve the
quality of temporary accommodation including increased security and
safety measure. The council’s housing options and homelessness team
has the responsibility for placing clients in suitable
accommodation when a duty is owed. People are placed in temporary
accommodation when they have no other suitable alternative. The aim
is for clients to stay in this accommodation for as short a term as
possible before they secure a permanent tenancy.
3. Tackling
youth homelessness
Most young people are made homeless due to a
breakdown in family relationships. Family and friend eviction is
Northumberland’s second highest reason for homelessness. In most
cases, the family home is the best home for children and young
people. There will always be however rare cases where the family
home is not safe for a young person and the young person has to
leave in an emergency. A specialised post of Youth Homelessness
Officer was created to sit within the Homelessness and Housing
Options Service. This recognised the particular issues around youth
homelessness, including the need for improved joint working with
the 16+ team.
4. Strengthening Partnership
Working and Service User Involvement
Tackling homelessness cannot be achieved by
the council on its own and, working with partners is essential to
our success in providing a comprehensive homelessness and housing
options service. Involving service users will help us to develop
the service that will most suit the client.
Performance Indicators
The Housing Options and Homelessness Service
continues to work toward achieving successful outcomes against the
housing performance indicators for homelessness which are:
- Number of successful outcomes for homelessness support and
prevention funded through the homelessness grant
- Average length of stay for occupants in the temporary
accommodation owned, leased or accessed by a Service Level
Agreement
- The percentage of satisfied customers who have accessed the
housing options and homelessness service
- Average length of time to process a homeless application to
decision. The target is currently 28 days.
Statistical Information
Northumberland Housing Options and
Homelessness Service received 1347 applications between April 2011
and March 2012, an increase of 20% compared to the same period in
2010/11. 55% of the applications were successfully dealt with
before the household became homeless, however, the number of
households where the council has a statutory duty to rehouse
increased by 22% from 188 in 2010/11 to 229 in 2011/12. It is
anticipated that this trend will continue to rise in the current
economic climate.
Profile of households being accepted as
homeless
The quarterly data returns on those households
accepted as homeless reported to government provide information on
household type and age of the lead applicant. The main points from
this information are summarised below:
- Household Type - In 2011/12 67% of all acceptances were for
households with or expecting dependent children. This is consistent
with 2010/11. Of those households with dependent children 71% were
lone parents, with the majority (93%) being female lone
parents.
- Age – The majority of those accepted as homeless (122) are aged
between 25 to 44, which is 53% of all acceptances
However, from 2010/11 to 2011/12 there has
been a 46% decrease in the number of 16 and 17 year olds accepted
as homeless. This is a positive change and reflects the focused
prevention work and the introduction of the Young Person Protocol
with Children’s Services
