Joseph Rowntree Foundation on Financial inclusion in the UK

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has produced a review of financial inclusion policy and practice in the UK .

Homeless people are shown to be particularly vulnerable to financial exclusion. One study found that 24 per cent of homeless young people do not have a bank account. The report highlights the difficulties homeless people can face in opening bank accounts when proof of identity and address are requested. It emphasises the importance of partnerships between banks and local services, such as between Barclays and the Passage Day Centre in Victoria, London.

We recognise the importance of financial advice services for homeless people, particularly around benefits, debt, budgeting and saving. Our Survey of Needs and Provision found that 95% of services surveyed have benefits advice available, either in house or by referal, and only slightly fewer have debt/financial advice (91%).

Commission for Rural Communities on Rural Financial Poverty

The Commission for Rural Communities has produced a report that presents the latest statistical evidence of the scale and depth of rural financial poverty. Reccomendations include the need to understand and mitigate the impact of high housing and fuel costs, and to improve access to financial facilities and advice.

The accompanying good practice guide highlights the example of Community Projects North Devon (CPND), which works to relieve poverty, homelessness and isolation through projects such as a furniture enterprise that provides training and work experience, and a housing options and assessment agency, which also provides financial assistance and support.

Our Rural Homelessness Report highlights the particular issues faced by organisations that seek to tackle homelessness and social exclusion in rural areas, such as costs, accessibility and partnership working. Its recommendations are targeted at both service providers and local authorities.

Housing support for ex-service personnel

The Ministry of Defence has released a report on cross-government support to our armed forces, their families and veterans . Homeless Link met with the Ministry of Defence in April to discuss the contents of this strategy. The report advises authorities that they must accept a certificate of cessation as demonstrating impending homelessness, and should not insist on a possession order before providing housing assistance. It also highlights the £400,000 that Communities and Local Government will contribute to provide new supported housing for service leavers in England.

York University has published a research report on the experience of homeless ex-service personnel in London which found that an estimated 1,100 non-statutory homeless ex-Service personnel are living in London on any given night.

We support this increased focus on homelessness amongst ex-service personnel. Findings on ex-service personnel taken from our Survey of Needs and Provision suggest that they are reported in almost two thirds of day centres and almost half of direct access hostels.

Department for Children, Schools and Families on Young Runaways

The Department for Children, Schools and Families has produced an action plan on providing appropriate support to young runaways.

The action plan suggests that those children and young people who repeatedly run away are more likely to present as homeless later in life. It highlights the importance of preventative work around the causes of running away, as well as creating safe places where young runaways can go to and receive support. It draws attention to the need for planned and stable transitions for young people within the care system.

Findings on young people from our Survey of Needs and Provision showed that half of day centres surveyed reported that they had care leavers who used their service. Broadway's CHAIN report from January to March 2008 showed that 13% of rough sleepers in London had a history of care. We welcome this increased focus on support for young runaways, so as to prevent them from becoming homeless in later life.

Welfare Reform Green Paper

The Department for Work and Pensions has released a Green Paper that seeks views on plans for improving support and work incentives to create a benefits system that rewards responsibility. This includes new requirements for jobseekers to do more the longer they claim, including working in return for their benefits.

These new responsibilities will be delivered alongside the Flexible new Deal that will provide more support to people the longer they are unemployed, including personalised back-to-work support to people unemployed for 6-12 months. This support will be delivered for up to a year, via specialist providers in the private or voluntary sector (those who do not secure employment in this time return to Job Centre Plus services).

We welcome the Flexible New Deal and the focus that it gives to helping those furthest from the job market, however it needs to have a special approach for homeless people. At present, clients will have to wait 6-12 months before moving to personalised support. Many homeless people will benefit from being fast-tracked to this level of support and not having to return to Job Centre Plus services after 12 months if showing good progress.

Cross-governmental Partnership Project on Improving Practice in Housing for Drug Users

A cross-governmental partnership project has released a new practice report on Improving Practice in Housing for Drug Users , which looks at the spectrum of needs of drug users and the necessary flexibility within housing and related support to be able to respond to those needs.

The 13 case studies within the report look at good practice for service user involvement, policy and procedures for service delivery and strategic planning and commissioning. The Single Homeless Project (SHP) in London is highlighted as an example of how ‘chaotic’ drug users who have a history of homelessness and anti social behaviour can be engaged through a proactive harm reduction approach, which does not exclude people who are continuing to use.

The report builds on our Clean Break project and toolkit that provides practical tips on how housing and treatment services can work together more effectively to reduce the risk of homelessness among drug users engaging in, or leaving, treatment. Newham, Islington, Havering and Westminster Councils and providers are now taking forward action plans in this area.

New report on dual diagnosis for substance misuse and mental health problems

The Home Office commissioned SCAN Consensus Project has produced a practitioner’s guide on substance misusing clients with mental health problems , aimed at Criminal Justice Integrated Teams, but applicable to other service providers such as homelessness organisations.

The guide outlines ways to help staff recognise mental health problems in substance misusing clients and stresses the importance of staff refering clients to appropriate care and with the appropriate degree of urgency.

We know from our Survey of Needs and Provision (SNAP) that homelessness providers see many clients with substance misuse and mental health problems. We welcome this increased focus on training staff on dual diagnosis and hope that it will be rolled out across other sectors.

The Department of Health on linking Jobcentre Plus to drug advice and treatment services

The Department of Health has released Health Inequalities: Progress and Next Steps , which outlines the Government’s approach to hit the 2010 health inequalities Public Service Agreement targets.

It contains a commitment to develop a new partnership between the NHS and Jobcentre Plus to help benefit claimants who misuse drugs to access the right advice and, if necessary, refer them to specialist treatment and employment support.

We welcome the focus on increased training for frontline staff to be able to signpost individuals with substance misuse problems to appropriate support and advice. Any referals to specialist treatment and employment support would need to be carefully discussed and mutually agreed upon with the client.

New reports on mental health care in prisons

Policy Exchange has produced an independent report on the state of mental health care in prisons and Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health has released From the Inside: Experiences of Prison Mental Health Care

The reports highlight the need for increased joint case management and information sharing between the mental health, drug, housing and probation teams within prisons. They suggests that before release, these teams must link individuals to the appropriate support services within the community, otherwise former prisoners risk homelessness and social exclusion and are more likely to reoffend.

We know from our Survey of Needs and Provision (SNAP) that many prison leavers access homelessness services. We recognise the importance of preventative steps to help people address the issues that make them vulnerable to homelessness before their release, and better joint working in prisons and with services within the community.

The Healthcare Commission review of NHS acute inpatient mental health services

The Healthcare Commission has released a review of NHS acute inpatient mental health services , which suggests that mental health assesments must also look at a clients housing situation.

The review highlights how going into hospital can result in job loss, homelessness, financial problems and social isolation. Therefore, a person’s employment or education, and housing status and needs must be assessed and recorded in their care record. Advice and help to address social needs should be available on wards. The report found that out of 3,450 care records, only 88% included information on housing and needs.

We feel that it is vital that for all hospital treatment, accomodation status and needs are clearly recorded at the point of assessment, and that appropriate housing advice is available on the wards to prevent homelessness occurring at the point of discharge. Our Hospital admissions and discharge protocol helps areas to identify and overcome the local barriers to safe discharge for homeless people. So far it has been implemented in Liverpool, West Sussex, Leicestershire and Newcastle.

Communities and Local Government on Tackling Overcrowding

Communities and Local Government has published the lessons from their London pilot schemes on tackling overcrowding and sub-regional coordination . The report highlights the importance of:

• Understanding the scale and severity of overcrowding locally
• Freeing up under occupied properties
• Providing personal targeted advice for both overcrowding and under occupation moves
• Making modifications to property and engaging family members with relevant support services to improve overcrowded conditions
• Entering into arrangements with registered social landlords (RSLs) to increase total stock available
• Developing and presenting an effective evidence-backed business case to secure member-level and senior officer support within an authority.

We consider schemes that tackle overcrowding to be important in preventing homelessness. The frustrations of overcrowding and a lack of smaller units is a key cause of youth homelessness; effective allocation of properties can free up smaller units for those that need them.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation on delays and delivery of Housing Benefit

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has released a report on benefits, tax credits and employment services that explores the delays in delivery of Housing Benefit.

The Report suggests that waiting times have reduced for Housing Benefit, however, delays continue to arise when there are failures to provide, or there is mishandling of, applications and supporting evidence. It suggests that people accrue rent arrears as a result of delayed benefit payments.

We recognise that individuals who accrue rent arrears are at greater risk of homelessness and experience difficulty securing permanent accomodation while homeless. With the introduction of the Local Housing Allowance, Private Rented Sector landlords are likely to be less flexible around this issue as they will no longer have the security of direct housing benefit payments.

Department for Work and Pensions on supporting ex-prisoners in their lives after prison

The Department for Work and Pensions has published findings from an exploratory study on the attitudes and expectations of prisoners immediately prior to and following their release from prison. It highlights that up to a third of prisoners do not have permanent housing before their imprisonment and the same proportion lose their accommodation during periods in custody.

All local prisons are required to carry out a housing needs assessment of every new prisoner, including those serving short sentences. The report states that many prisoners felt that they had not received sufficient housing advice whilst in prison, and suggests that this can lead to homelessness upon release and an increased likelihood of reoffending.

Findings on criminal justice from our Survey of Needs and Provision (SNAP) also suggest that many people become homeless after leaving prisons. This highlights the need for greater coordination between the housing and criminal justice sector.

New report on how offenders, former offenders and their families can contribute to a more effective Criminal Justice System

The charity CLINKS has produced a new report on how offenders, former offenders and their families can contribute to a more effective Criminal Justice System

One highlighted example is peer-led housing advice in Prisons. St Giles Trust run a project that trains prisoners to NVQ3 in Advice and Guidance, so they can then identify those at risk of homelessness while they are in prison and put plans in place for them to obtain housing on release.

We support this focus on realising the potential of offenders, former offenders and their families to contribute to a more effective Criminal Justice System that is linked in to local housing and support services. Service user involvement is beneficial to the delivery of services and for the individuals involved.

Communities and Local Government on Managing the Impacts of Migration

Communities and Local Government has launched its report on Managing the Impacts of Migration: A Cross-Government Approach . Key actions include:

• Improving the data available on migration trends
• Funding for schools and capacity building among local service providers on working with incoming/emerging communities.
• Building cohesion through initiatives such as an online good practice portal and piloting Specialist Cohesion Teams within local authorities.

The Report makes link to our Action Plan to reduce rough sleeping amongst Central and Eastern Europeans in London. We consider that broader schemes to improve community cohesion and information sharing will help to prevent homelessness amongst new migrant groups. Many of the issues that affect rough sleeping migrants are broader than the homelessness sector and we welcome this initiative to look at some of these issues. More work is especially needed around migrants protection in employment and the quality of housing available to them.

Communities and Local Government on Communities in control

Communities and Local Government has released a new White Paper on empowering local communities . Key actions include:

• Providing funding to allow community led organisations that empower local people become more sustainable
• Supporting disabled people and those on benefits to take up volunteering opportunities
• Increasing access to information locally, by measures such as ensuring the internet is available to all
• Increasing community involvement in local planning, budgeting and commissioning
• Supporting those involved in social enterprises.

We welcome this increased support for community led organisations, social enterprises and volunteering opportunities that empower local communities and hard to reach groups. We are keen to see more ways to involve homeless people across the full range of citizens’ rights. There are lots of fantastic models for change already in place, for example, the Shekinah Mission’s Steady Work model in Plymouth that trains homeless people in the trades.

Previous edition of Policy Link:

Policy Link June 2008

Policy Link April 2008