The absence of a national approach to combat homelessness could have tragic consequences

Today I met with colleagues from some of the country’s larger homelessness charities, at a gathering organised by Homeless Link, one of our trade bodies. Amongst the themes discussed were those that come up at many meetings I attend these days, including severe funding restrictions, the “race to the bottom” as far as pricing tenders (“the race is over”, said one colleague from an area that has had cuts of over 80% in its Supporting People budget), and the risk to the quality of services.

One issue that struck me was a comment by someone I admire a great deal who said that any discussion around a minimum standard for homelessness services would rapidly become the default position. He spoke of the danger of a provider then going beyond ‘poor’, such as happened with the Winterbourne homes for men and women with learning difficulties.

All providers have their own ‘bottom line’ beyond which they won’t go, but there was a recognition that there are other agencies (not all exclusively in the private sector) who might bid at domiciliary care rates, where ‘support’ is reduced to a mere attendance as workers (inexperienced and untrained), and even volunteers, dash from one appointment to another.

The inevitable consequence will be an erosion of quality, increased turmoil for those with mental health problems, exploitation of those who are vulnerable, anti-social behaviour by some, and (in extreme cases) death through neglect.

The scenario was presented that in these circumstances, workers and volunteers are particularly at risk (a la Jonathan Newby), and clients might be overlooked, possibly with tragic consequences.

What is shocking about the current state of affairs is that, for the first time since 1968 (the year of Cathy Come Home and the setting up of homelessness charities including Shelter and BHT itself), there is no national funding framework. The ring fence for support services was removed by the previous government, and the devolution of funding to local commissioning bodies, is resulting in huge differences in provision across the country.

Notwithstanding the principles of Localism, there are groups of vulnerable people whose well being cannot rely on the vagaries of local funding decisions and where a national safety net is required, not least homeless men and women.

When we have a spate of deaths on the streets, there will be a mad panic to put something in place. Why not do this in a planned and co-ordinated way that will prevent man of these deaths in the first place?

What is clear is that the situation in Brighton and Hove and in East Sussex is so much better than in many places across the country, not least because of the all-party support there has been over the past few years for protecting services for homeless and vulnerable men and women. Long may that continue, particularly in these difficult times.

Will 2013 and the introduction of Universal Credit see an improvement or worsening in arrears, bad debts and evictions?

 

One of the biggest challenges for all providers of rented accommodation, either in the social or private sectors, will be the impact of further welfare reform, in particular the introduction of Universal Credit and payments direct to tenants.  For tenants, there will be an increase in their responsibilities and consequences for not getting it right.

A new YouGov survey published today by Shelter has estimated that 1.4 million Britons are falling behind with the rent or mortgage payments.  The number of people struggling to pay their rent or mortgage each month has increased by 44% over the past year, to 7.8 million people.  The research also reveals that over the past year:

• almost a million people used a payday loan to help pay their rent or mortgage
• 2.8 million people used an unauthorised overdraft to help pay their rent or mortgage, and of those 10% did so every month.

There is a wide political consensus on the need for welfare reform.  Many of the objectives of Universal Credit are laudable, not least the implementation of the system and the ambition that work should always pay.  I have a particular concern: that the implementation on the ground will result in problems for claimants and landlords alike.  There have been warnings that the systems necessary will not be in place nor robust enough.  The pilots on payments to tenants have not been encouraging and there have been worrying increases in arrears.

The government, MP’s and the DWP have had sufficient warnings about the state of readiness.  Reassurances have been given at each turn.  I hope they are right.  However, I know from BHT’s own research, the expectation that claims be made online are a long way from reality in spite of work being done with social housing tenants.  Only a few of us are doing much for tenants in the private rented sector who are particularly vulnerable.

The consequences of significant problems in the implementation of Universal Credit, to claimants and landlords alike, are grim.  Tenants will get into arrears and face eviction. An increase in arrears and bad debts, will see some associations failing.  Housing associations have been reviewing their risk maps, with welfare reform now at the top of their risk registers.  Private landlords will become even more reluctant than they are at present to offer tenancies to claimants.

The Shelter / YouGov survey shows the situation before the impact of welfare reform.  I hope that in a years time the simplified system will see an improvement in arrears and evictions.  Sadly I think the situation will have only worsened.  I sincerely hope to be proved wrong.

14 people and organisations, local and national, who are worth following on Twitter

Today I ran a workshop at BHT Sussex on effective use on Twitter. One of the exercises we did was to reflect on who the participants felt tweeted best. The first person mentioned was Emma Daniel of the Brighton and Hove Community and Voluntary Sector Forum, and there was a general consensus that Emma (@Huxley06 on Twitter) had interesting things to say, her tweets were lively, and she gets into some interesting conversations.

The others commended (in no particular order) were:

National
@Shelter: does what others try to do, but Shelter does it well. It gets a balance between being informative and offering practical help;
@SocietyGuardian: a reliable source of information, interesting conversations and comments;
@ThirdSector: stories, news and views relevant to our sector;
@RSPCA_official: provides a really good learning tool on how to use social media;
@WstonesOxfordSt: tweets that make up a story, very original (particularly how staff now have to spend an hour each day practicing penalties);
@big_ben_clock: predictable, repetitive, makes me laugh;
@campbellclaret: Alistair Campbell has an understanding of traditional and new media like few others, and is generous in his promotion of others;
@JeremySwain: the CEO of ThamesReach is one of the original thinkers in the homelessness sector, a true leader.

Local to Brighton & Hove and East Sussex
@brightonargus: comprehensive news from Brighton and Hove;
@BHcitynews: independent news and views for Brighton and Hove;
@BrightonHoveBus: useful real time information on road works, delays, etc.
@demsoc: the Democratic Society tweets on local, national and international politics in an interesting and sometimes quirky fashion;
@davemarthur: radical, makes me laugh out loud (also into cricket…!).

Tomorrow I will write about a 15th, how @SallyBercow made my day!

Housing benefit changes to damage private landlords

In recent months there have been many warnings that changes to housing benefit entitlement would lead to an increase in homelessness. It is not just the ‘usual suspects’ (Shelter, Crisis, HomelessLink, BHT) giving these warnings. Evidence collated by Templeton LPA, a specialist practice of LPA Receivers*, shows that the number of court orders to evict tenants is up by 11%.

In the quarter from October to December 2011, 24,966 tenants in England and Wales faced eviction notices – up 11% from 22,558 in the same quarter a year ago. In the same quarter of 2011, there were nearly 11,400 tenants over two months in arrears – up 18% from the same period of 2010. At the end of 2011 there were 78,970 tenants in England and Wales in severe arrears.

I have consistently warned that the changes in housing benefit entitlement, currently being introduced, will see a significant increase in rent arrears and, consequently, homelessness.

Having proceeded in spite of warnings and evidence of increasing homelessness, the government might yet be persuaded to reconsider its policies because of the impact on private sector landlords.

There are 26,300 buy-to-let mortgages in severe arrears, more than five times as many compared with 2006.

Paul Jardine, director and receiver at Templeton LPA, said: “A growing minority of renters are falling deeper and deeper into payment difficulties, and the number of severe arrears cases is rising.”  He said buy-to-let mortgage arrears are yet to feel the impact of growing severe tenant arrears and evictions, but this would change this year.

In areas like Brighton and Hove, where the private rented sector accounts for 25% of all housing, it is the most important sector for addressing housing need. Undermining confidence in the private rented sector would be catastrophic.

*Law of Property Act Receivers act for banks and private lenders who have secured their loans by a Legal Charge (mortgage) on a property. Under the terms of the Legal Charge the lender can appoint a Receiver to deal with a property when the terms of the mortgage are not being met – usually when repayments and interest are not being paid.

The usual and the not-so-usual suspects

Sometimes I feel that those of us who are seen to be making dire predictions about the impact of government policy are dismissed as being the ‘usual suspects’. “Of course he would say that, wouldn’t he”, I suspect people say, or at least think. I know that I have not been silent on the impact of changes to housing benefit.

So when you see the prediction that reform of housing benefit is likely to result in 40,000 households losing their homes and potentially becoming homeless, it might be dismissed as alarmist. If this forecast includes a warning that the £270 million savings in housing benefit would probably be offset by increased spending to tackle homelessness, some might say, “there he goes again”.

But these dire predictions are not coming from Shelter, Crisis, BHT, or any of the other ‘usual suspects’. They come from officials at the Department of Communities and Local Government in a letter to the office of the Prime Minister. The DCLG is responsible for government housing policy and strategy and don’t make forecasts like this lightly.

As I have said on many occasions before, the changes to housing benefit entitlement, combined with an increased pressure on the private rented sector, and reforms to legal aid, a ‘perfect storm’ is being created that will see many people ending up homeless including living on the streets, having to move back in with parents or sofa-surf with family and friends.

It is not too late for the government to turn back from this folly. The consequences otherwise for too many men and women and children is appalling.

Welfare Benefit changes and cuts to Legal Aid are creating a ‘Perfect Storm’

A report by Shelter and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) highlights government plans to reform housing benefit will price low-income households out of a third of local authorities in England, pushing them into areas of high unemployment.

This is something BHT has been warning about for many months, and I was on BBC Sussex talking about the issue this morning.

What is happening is that a ‘perfect storm’ is being created, the coming together of several measures that will result in households being forced out of accommodation and high rent areas, with Brighton and Hove being particularly badly hit.

But first the good news. The government is listening. A proposal to reduce housing benefit entitlement by 10% for those who have been on Job Seekers Allowance for 12 months has been withdrawn. What we hope for now is that the government will listen to concerns about the ‘£500 cap’. This cap is the total amount, equivalent to the average household weekly income, that a household can be paid in benefits. The first benefit to be withdrawn will be housing benefit.

This will result in unemployed households having to make difficult decisions about priorities – new shoes for a child or making up the shortfall in rent. We can expect to see rent arrears increasing and, consequentially, an increase in evictions for rent arrears. The duty, and the cost, to house a family with children will then pass to children services of local authorities at a time when cuts are having to be made. This, together with changes to the eligible amount of housing benefit payable, is part of the ‘perfect storm’.

Some say that these households will have to move to areas where there is cheaper housing. The Department for Work and Pensions says that it is trying to achieve a “fairer” system. But given that there will not be rented accommodation in the Brighton area that is affordable under the new model (other than social housing and under the new social housing arrangements that soon will not be ‘affordable’) I have to ask if it is fairer to expect households, born and brought up in Brighton, to have to move out of the south east. Children will lose contact with grandparents, have to change schools, lose friends, have their lives really disrupted.

The other key aspect of ‘perfect storm’ is the cuts to legal aid. Going is entitlement to receive legal help for welfare benefit and debt problems, and legal help for housing issues will be limited to avoiding imminent homelessness. Going will be the skilful brokerage between landlords and tenants that seek to mediate solutions acceptable to landlords and affordable to tenants. Greater burdens will be placed on local authorities. The cuts in legal aid will be a short term financial gain for the Treasury but a loss – loss – loss situation for landlords, tenants and local government.

But to finish on a positive note, I am confident that government will continue to listen, and I am full of praise for local MP’s such as Simon Kirby, Mike Weatherley, Caroline Lucas and Amber Rudd who have been raising various issues with Ministers and in the House. There is time for a rethink, although I recognise in testing financial times it will be difficult to make a change, but a change is needed otherwise the cost, financial and human, will be too great.

Housing and homelessness is top of politicians’ agendas so please, George Osbourne, don’t cut house building

In a survey carried out by Shelter, 72% of the 150 new Members of Parliament questioned, said that housing was one of the top three problems raised by their constituents, and 49% saying it was the most common problem raised.

The specific issues raised included the long wait for social housing, difficulties getting onto the property ladder, and overcrowded homes.

If anything, the situation is going to get worse.  I am hoping that the measures being announced later today by the Chancellor will spare housing and homelessness from the cuts, although I fear that investment in new social housing is one of the quickest and most certain ways a government can reduce expenditure. 

Cuts to housing programmes will have medium and long term impact on communities and on families, particularly in areas like Brighton and Hove, Eastbourne and Hastings.  A major development project in Rye Valley could be at risk. 

Already 10,000 people want to leave Brighton (according to a survey by the City Council) because they can no longer afford to live here.  And housing costs are the single biggest factor.

The Coalition Programme for Government says deficit reduction is the highest priority.  But I appeal to George Osbourne not to sacrifice investment in house building.