Burnley Homelessness Review 2013 – 2018

June 2013

Prepared By

Jon Cook

Contineo Consulting ltd

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Summary

This document forms the review of needs and services that will inform the Burnley Homelessness Strategy for 2013 – 2018.

Homelessness in Burnley has fluctuated over the last decade. From the peak reached in 2001/2, homelessness fell steadily to reach a low point in 2006/7 before climbing again between 2007 and 2009 only to fall back again sharply to new lows between 2009 and 2011.

There was a marked increase in 2011/12 but in 2012/13 the housing advice team saw a decrease on the 2011/12 figure - a total of 62 households were found to be homeless in priority need - a decrease of 25%.

Acceptance figures show a very notable decline when expressed as a percentage of the total presentations; from an average 55% in 2001 to 22% in 2012.

There has been a significant rise in the number of presentations made by non-priority homeless people aged 18 to 35 in the last two years.

In 2007 the three main causes of homelessness were:

Parents, relatives or friends no longer willing to accommodate (57%);

Relationship breakdown with and without violence (17%);

Termination or other reason for loss of Assured Short-Hold tenancy (14%).

In 2012 the three main causes of homelessness were the same but the percentage ranking had significantly changed to:

Termination or other reason for loss of Assured Short-hold Tenancy (30%); Relationship breakdown with and without violence (23%) Parents, relatives or friends no longer willing to accommodate (22%).

The most notable changes have been:

the dramatic reduction in the number of young people being made homeless due to effective preventative work – there has been an over 25% fall in the number of 16 and 17 year olds accepted

the significant rise in the number of people losing Assured Short-hold tenancies ; the emergence of mortgage arrears as a cause of homelessness an almost 20% increase in the number of homeless families accepted

There is strong evidence of good practice across the Borough. The Council and its partners have developed a range of interventions that effectively address identified issues.

The introduction of Universal Credit has the potential to be the factor with the single biggest impact on homelessness since the 2002 Homelessness Act came into force and the strategy will need to be updated to take account of this.

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Contents Page 1. Review Methodology 6 2. Homelessness Statistics 8

1. Presentations and Acceptances 2. Causes of Homelessness 3. Homeless Groups 4. Inward Migration

3. New Legislation, Government Initiatives and Local Policy Changes 14

1. Universal Credit 2. Bedroom Tax' 3. Single Room Rent 4. Repossession Prevention and Mortgage Rescue Schemes 5. Making Every Contact Count – The ‘Gold Standard’ 6. Lancashire Single Homeless Initiative 7. Provision for 16 and 17 year olds 8. Supporting People 9. B-with-Us Allocation Policy

4. Organisation and Agency Profiles 19

1. Burnley Borough Council

Housing Advice

Housing Benefit

Landlord Accreditation, Selective Licensing and Tenant Accreditation 2. Calico Homes

3. Mental Health and Housing Team 4. Emmaus Project 4.5 5. Stepping Stone 6. East Lancashire Women’s Refuge 7. Young People’s Service 8. Inspire Project 9. Revolution Project 10 S.M.I.L.E Mediation Service 5. Multi Agency and Cross Borough Working 25 1. Multi Agency Working

2. Cross Borough Working 6. Gaps in Provision 26

1 Young people including care leavers 2. Families and pregnant women 3. Offenders 4. People with a mental illness or handicap

5. People with an addiction to drugs or alcohol 7. Priorities for the Action Plan 28

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1. Review Methodology

The review was carried out between April and June 2013 using a mixture of research techniques:

A ‘desktop’ review of relevant documents

‘Face to Face’ consultations with key stakeholders

Analysis of responses to electronic questionnaire and feedback from Calico Floating Support Staff

‘Action research’ – facilitating developments during the research stage

1.1 Desktop Review

The following documents have been reviewed:

Burnley Homelessness Strategy and Action Plan 2008 – 2013 Calico Homes Financial Inclusion Strategy 2012 and Six Month Report Lancashire County Council Information Bulletin - Care and Urgent Needs

Scheme Burnley Borough Council Equality Analysis and Impact Assessment –

Localisation of Council Tax Support Scheme Burnley Borough Council Information Bulletin – Discretionary Housing Benefits Burnley Borough Council Information Bulletin – Exceptional Hardship Payments Department for Communities and Local Government – Making Every Contact

Count

B-with-Us Allocation Policy January 2013

1.2 Face-to-Face Consultations

Consultations have taken place with the following:

Burnley Borough Council Housing Advice Manager and Staff Team

Burnley Borough Council Landlord Licensing & Accreditation Project Officer

Burnley Borough Council Housing Benefits Manager

Emmaus Project (Adult Supported Housing) Manager

Mental Health and Housing Liaison Team Manager and Staff Team

Calico Homes Supported Housing Manager

Calico Homes Income and Financial Inclusion Manager

Calico Homes Floating Support Manager

Calico Homes Development Manager

LCC Children’s Social Care Area Manager

Probation Service Senior Probation Officer and Accommodation Officer

Youth Offending Team Manager and Staff Team

Revolution Project (Lancashire Constabulary) Manager

Young People’s Service Area Manager

East Lancashire Women’s Refuge Manager

Inspire (Drug and Alcohol Service) Service Manager

Stepping Stone (Young People’s Supported Housing) Manager

Foundation Deputy Area Manager

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Respondents were asked to describe their organisations and comment on areas of practice they felt were working well and those that needed further development.

1.3 Email Questionnaire

Eight completed replies were received from the electronic questionnaire, the agencies that responded were:

Muir Group Housing

YMCA Housing

Foundation

Stepping Stone Project

Open Door Project

Calico Floating Support

Emmaus

Community Restart

Information from the comments made has been incorporated into the review under the relevant headings.

1.4 Feedback from Calico Floating Support

Floating support staff gave written feedback outlining areas of success and those they thought needed improvement. Information from the comments made has been incorporated into the review under the relevant headings.

1. 5 Action Research

In three instances the research undertaken has led to developments taking place before the strategy is published:

A referral protocol is being developed between Elizabeth Street Project and the Pennine Lancashire Mental Health and Housing Team and the Revolution Project.

A specialist provider has been engaged to help prevent eviction due to mortgage arrears

A funding bid is being prepared for a prison though-care housing officer

Where an action has been identified as a result of data analysis or consultation it has been recorded in bold italics in the relevant section of the review.

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2. Homelessness Statistics

2.1 Presentations and acceptances

Homelessness nationally was at a very high level prior to the passing of the Homelessness Act in 2002.

Homelessness in Burnley reached a peak in 2001/2 with 630 presentations leading to 328 households being given a full duty under the legislation.

There has been a great deal of fluctuation in the number of people presenting to the Council and the number accepted. The graph structure resembles more a rollercoaster than a linear descent.

The number of presentations and acceptances then fell steadily to reach a low point in 2006/7 (175 presentations, 53 acceptances) before climbing again between 2007 and 2009 only to fall back again sharply to new lows between 2009 and 2011.

There was a marked increase in 2011/12 (368 presentations, 83 acceptances) but in 2012/13 the housing advice team assessed 274 people: a decrease of 26% on the 2011/12 figure and a total of 62 households were found to be homeless in priority need – a decrease of 25%.

The acceptance figures show a very notable decline when expressed as a percentage of the presentations however from an average 55% between 2001 and 2005; and average of 30% between 2005 and 2009; to an average 22% between 2009 and 2012.

The data show that presentations and acceptances have been increasing over the last three years and that there has been a significant rise in the number of presentations made by non-priority homeless people aged 18 to 35 in the last two years. It is at present unclear exactly why this is happening but it may be related to the rise in the number of failed tenancies in the private sector. Action: Carry out research into possible links between loss of private sector accommodation and homelessness.

The number of intentionally homeless applicants has remained very low.

The tables below illustrate the trends in presentations and acceptances, the status of non-priority homeless people and the ages of those presenting to the Council as homeless.

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Table 1: Homeless Presentations and Acceptances

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

2001/2 2002/3 2003/4 2004/5 2005/6 2006/7 2007/8 2008/9 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13

Presentations Accepted as Priority Homeless

Table 2:‘Non Priority’ Homelessness

0

50

100

150

200

2008/9 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13

Non Priority Homeless Intentionally Homeless

Table 3: Presentations by Age

0

50

100

150

200

250

2008/9 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13

Age 16 & 17 Age 18-35 Age 35+

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2.2 Causes of Homelessness – changing trends

In 2007 – the year before the last strategy was published – the three main causes of homelessness were:

Parents, relatives or friends no longer willing to accommodate (57%); Relationship breakdown with and without violence (17%); Termination or other reason for loss of Assured Short-Hold tenancy (14%).

In 2012 the year before the new strategy is published the three main causes of homelessness were the same but the percentage ranking had significantly changed to:

Termination or other reason for loss of Assured Short-hold Tenancy (30%); Relationship breakdown with and without violence (23%) Parents, relatives or friends no longer willing to accommodate (22%).

The three most notable changes are:

the dramatic reduction in the number of (young) people being made homeless as due to parents, relatives or friends being unable or unwilling to accommodate;

the significant rise in the number of people losing Assured Short-hold tenancies either through termination or ‘other’ reason;

the emergence of mortgage arrears as a cause of homelessness

There is a rise in the number of people being made homeless due to relationship breakdown with violence - acceptances due to breakdown in relationships accompanied by violence have increased numerically from 8 in 2008 to 11 in 2012 – but nonviolent breakdown is also a significant factor

The very significant drop in the number of homeless cases due to parents, relatives or friends being unable to accommodate the applicant indicates that effective prevention work is being undertaken, especially with young people (see notes to table 5 below).

It is to be expected that there would be a rise in the number of private sector tenants presenting as or becoming homeless due to the increased reliance on that sector to provide accommodation and the impact of the single room rent restriction which is shortly to be widened to affect childless people aged 34 and under.

The recent rise in homelessness due to mortgage arrears – there were no cases between 2005 and 2007 but eleven cases between 2011 and 2012 – is not unexpected given the rise in the number of repossessions and decrease in the number of referrals to the Mortgage Rescue Scheme (see under ‘mortgage rescue below for more detail).

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2.3 Homeless Groups – changing trends

The most significant changes are:

an almost 20% increase in the number of homeless families accepted an over 25% fall in the number of 16 and 17 year olds accepted a100% increase in the number of people with mental health problems accepted

The rise in the number of families accepted as homeless may be connected to the rise in homelessness caused by breakdown of private sector tenancies. As mentioned above, the private sector is now used much more than it was when the previous strategy was published both as a source of temporary and longer term accommodation. Further research is needed however to ascertain whether or not this is the case.

The 25% drop in the number of 16 and 17 year olds accepted indicates strongly that prevention measures are working well.

The increase in the number of people with mental health problems presenting as homeless is likely to be due to the fact that there has recently been no dedicated housing officer in post within the Community Restart Team. This situation is set to change however as an officer will shortly be recruited.

Tables 4 and 5 below show the causes of homelessness and the groups most affected.

Apparent anomalies between the data in Table 4 and Table 5 can be explained by the fact that the cause of homelessness may not always be the reason for acceptance of duty. For example: a woman with children fleeing domestic violence would be awarded a homelessness duty because of her status as a family; a single woman with no children would be accepted if the Housing Advice Service considered her to be vulnerable due to domestic violence.

2.4 Inward Migration

At the outset of the review a potential concern was voiced by the council concerning ‘inward migration’ – homeless people from other Lancashire borough and other areas of the country being drawn to Burnley because of the range of high quality services available.

Agencies did not report any significant influx of service users but were unable to produce reliable data to evidence this.

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Table 4 Causes of Homelessness 2007 and 2012

Cause of homelessness

2007 Number & %

2012 number & %

Parents no longer willing to accommodate 16 (34%) 7 (10%)

Other relatives or friends no longer willing to accommodate 11 (23%) 9 (12%)

Total 27(57%) 16 (22%)

Non violent relationship breakdown 0 6 (8 %)

Violent breakdown of relationship 8 (17%) 11 (15%)

Total 8 (17%) 17( 23%)

Racially motivated violence or harassment 0 0

Other forms of violence or harassment 2 (4%) 2 (3%)

Mortgage arrears 0 5 (7%)

Rent arrears – local authority accommodation 0 0

Rent arrears – housing association accommodation 0 0

Rent arrears – private sector accommodation 0 4(5%)

Total 0 4 (5%)

Termination of Assured Short Hold tenancy 5 (10%) 8 (11%)

Other reason for loss of Short Hold tenancy 2 (4%) 14 (19%)

Total 7 14% 22 30%

Required to leave NASS accommodation (Asylum Seekers) 0 0

Left prison / on remand 1 (2%) 2 (3%)

Left hospital 0 2 (3%)

Left institution or LA care 0 2 (3%)

Left HM armed forces 0 0

Other (emergency returning from abroad etc) 2 (4%) 1 (1%)

Total 47 83

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Table 5 Priority Need Categories 2007 and 2012

Category of priority need 2007 Number & %

2012

Emergency 2 (4%) 4 (5%)

Family 7 (15%) 28 (34%)

Pregnant (no other children) 1 (2%) 4 (5%)

Aged 16 or 17 17 (36%) 7 (8%)

Aged 18 – 20 formally in care 5 (11%) 5 (6%)

Vulnerable due to:

Old age 0 0

Physical disability 0 5 (6%)

Mental illness or handicap 4 (9%) 15 (18%)

Drug dependency 0 1

Alcohol dependency 0 2

Being a former asylum seeker 0 0

Having been in care 1 (2%) 1

Leaving armed services 1 (2%) 0

Having been in custody / on remand 1 (2%) 0

Fleeing domestic violence 2 (4%) 5 (6%)

Fleeing other violence 0 5 (6%)

Other special reason 6 (13%) 1

Total 47 83

Source: Burnley Borough Council P1E returns.

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3. New Legislation, National Initiatives and Local Policy Changes

3.1 Universal Credit

Recent research by Sheffield Hallam University found that local authority areas in the North will see some of the largest cuts in income due to government welfare reform.

The average loss in benefit to claiming households in Burnley will be £688.00 per year against a national average of £470.00. (Source: Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research).

The introduction of Universal Credit (UC), when and if it happens in Burnley, has, in the views expressed by professionals consulted, the potential to be the factor with the single biggest impact on homelessness since the 2002 Homelessness Act came into force

The inclusion of housing costs within the single payment made to claimants has the potential to increase homelessness as a very significant number of tenants in the Borough (up to 75% of those occupying social housing and 50+ % of Calico Homes tenants) currently have their rent payments made directly to their landlords and this will no longer necessarily be the case under UC.

The Government recently released details that under its Universal Credit reform a mechanism that automatically recovers rent arrears from universal credit payments will be introduced alongside direct payment of housing benefit to tenants. Landlords will be able to contact the Department for Work and Pensions to request benefits designed to cover housing costs are paid to them once a prescribed level of rent arrears is reached. (Currently eight weeks). The government has also extended the pilot project from one year to 18 months to allow it to look more closely at the protection that is needed for landlords and tenants.

In January 2012 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) established a programme of Direct Payment Demonstration Projects (DPDPs) to pioneer the direct payment of Housing Benefit (HB) to social rented tenants.

Evaluation of the pilots commissioned by CLG has shown that tenants participating in were mostly unsupportive of direct payments. The policy was generally viewed as being pointless and an unnecessary burden on people on low incomes. These views were reflected in tenants’ projections about how they would cope: 31 per cent of respondents thought they would cope poorly on direct payments and 38 per cent said they would find it difficult to manage their finances.

According to data released by DWP in December 2012, rent collection rates are lower in all Project Areas than before the DPDPs. Some tenants who have never had rent arrears before are now in arrears.

Burnley Council has an arrangement with Calico Homes - which is by far the largest local social landlord in Burnley – and a weekly transfer is made between the Council and Calico whereby Housing Benefit for 37.5% of tenants is paid direct to Calico. Under UC this arrangement will cease and concern has been voiced as to the potential effect this will have on arrears and possible consequent evictions and homelessness

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Action: Update homelessness strategy after UC has been in place for six and twelve months

3.2 ‘Bedroom Tax’

From April 2013 all current and future working age tenants renting from a local authority, housing association or other registered social landlord will be subject to the spare room subsidy rule or ‘bedroom tax’

The size criterion in the social rented sector will restrict housing benefit to allow for one bedroom for each person or couple living as part of the household, with certain exceptions.

Calico Homes report approximately 300 households currently under-occupying without sufficient means to cover the shortfall in HB.

It has been recognised that the legislation may cause households currently under-occupying to downsize thus putting pressure on one bedroom properties which are already scarce in the Borough. More than one respondent has cited the lack of one bed accommodation as a growing problem in Burnley.

As with Universal Credit these changes are yet to be felt in Burnley but the Housing Benefit team and the major social landlords are making plans to address this potential issue as well. No precise details are available at present.

3.3 Single Room Rent Restriction

From the 1st of January 2012 the single room rent restriction has applied to single people under the age of 35. Again, the full extent of the changes are still to be felt although the ruling has been in place for almost 18 months but it is expected that this will have some impact on homeless presentations – if not duties – in 2014.

One possible outcome of the Single Room Rent restriction may be the increase in the number of single people aged 34 and under opting to share accommodation. This would help to take the pressure off one bedroom accommodation (there are many more two bedroom houses in Burnley) as well as benefiting the tenants. The Housing Benefit manager has advised that separate agreements could be made for each sharer which would provide security for the remaining tenant if one left. Discretionary Housing Payment may also be utilised to cover short term void loss whilst the landlord seeks another tenant. Action: Carry out research into development of short term private sector accommodation for young single people

To help ameliorate any future problems posed by the ‘Bedroom Tax and the Single Room Rent Restriction, the government has provided an uplift of £140,000 for Discretionary Housing Payment to help smooth the transition between the current payment systems and the new.

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3.4 Repossession Prevention Fund and Mortgage Rescue Scheme

There were 89 evictions carried out in Burnley as a result of mortgage arrears in 2012; an increase of 20 against 2011. This is noteworthy as Burnley and Pendle now rank as the boroughs with the second and third highest increase in possessions nationally. Six households were awarded a full homeless duty in Burnley in 2011 and five in 2012 due to mortgage arrears.

Shelter runs a court desk service at Burnley County Court. This service provides help and advice to households facing repossession by landlords as well as mortgage lenders.

The government has funded two national schemes to prevent homelessness caused by eviction due to mortgage arrears: the Repossession Prevention Fund and the Mortgage Rescue Scheme.

3.4.1 Repossession Prevention Fund

In April 2012 the government awarded Burnley £30,000 to be used to provide small loans to households in mortgage arrears. The purpose of the loan being to:

‘top up’ lender write down on Mortgage Rescue Cases where the household is in negative equity

reduce mortgage arrears where lenders can not apply forbearance measures due to the level of arrears

reduce, or part settle, second charge actions where that charge had been taken out against the property for security

avoid imminent eviction

The scheme contains many criteria that must be met in order for the household to qualify and is regarded by the housing advice manager to be administratively cumbersome: data from government sources show that there were no loans made to householders under this scheme in 2012.

3.4.2 Mortgage Rescue Scheme

The Mortgage Rescue Scheme (MRS) is intended as a 'last resort' scheme for households facing eviction. There are two strands to the scheme: ‘mortgage to rent’ and ‘shared equity’.

A ‘Registered Provider’ (RP) which is a housing association, is involved with both strands; under the mortgage to rent strand the RP buys the house and rents it back to the householder, under the shared equity strand, the householder retains partial ownership.

The Housing Advice Manager reports that MRS is also cumbersome and resource intensive to administer with too many restrictive criteria attached to it make it a really

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useful tool for preventing eviction. This is borne out by data obtained from government sources which show that referrals to MRS fell from 18 in 2011 to 7 in 2012 and only one referral led to a successful ‘rescue’.

Burnley has now engaged with a specialist mortgage repossession prevention agency and will be piloting a low cost ‘payment on results’ service that is designed to cut through red tape and ensure that, wherever possible, householders facing mortgage arrears are helped to keep their homes without taking on more debt.

3.5 The Gold Standard - Making Every Contact Count

The Gold Standard is based on the ten 'local challenges' set out by government in the “Making Every Contact Count: A Joint Approach to the Prevention of Homelessness” document, produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government in August 2012. The targets are to:

1. adopt a corporate commitment to prevent homelessness which has buy in across all local authority services

2. actively work in partnership with voluntary sector and other local partners to address support, education, employment and training needs

3. offer a Housing Options prevention service, including written advice, to all clients 4. adopt a No Second Night Out model or an effective local alternative 5. have housing pathways agreed or in development with each key partner and

client group that includes appropriate accommodation and support 6. develop a suitable private rented sector offer for all client groups, including

advice and support to both clients and landlords 7. actively engage in preventing mortgage repossessions including through the

Mortgage Rescue Scheme 8. have a homelessness strategy which sets out a proactive approach to preventing

homelessness and is reviewed annually so that it is responsive to emerging needs

9. not place any young person aged 16 or 17 in Bed and Breakfast accommodation 10. not place any families in Bed and Breakfast accommodation unless in an

emergency and then for no longer than 6 weeks

Burnley BC has either met in full or is making significant measurable progress towards meeting all of the above targets and will be applying for 'Gold Standard' recognition. Action: Apply for ‘Gold Standard’ accreditation.

3.6 Lancashire Single Homeless Initiative

Lancashire has been awarded government funding to develop housing options for ‘non priority’ homeless people.

A steering group has been meeting to discuss viable options and has decided that the funding will be used to deliver a private sector access scheme in Pennine Lancashire that will shortly be put out to tender.

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This will be a welcome addition to the range of initiatives available in the Borough; as the graph on page 9 shows, ‘non priority’ homeless people make up the majority of homeless cases (other than where a full duty is awarded, see graph below) dealt with over the last five years.

3.7 Provision for 16 and 17 Year Olds

The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) has made funding available to Lancashire authorities to develop existing provision for young people aged 16 and 17.

Pennine Lancashire has a budget of £60,000 and a group representing the local authorities has met to discuss options and agree a service delivery plan.

Homelessness prevention is strongly emphasised in the Pennine Lancashire proposal – as noted above, Burnley is already very successful in preventing youth homelessness – and the service will enhance this aspect of provision.

Precise details of the service are not as yet available but it is highly likely that the production of an easily understood information leaflet will feature as will training for housing needs staff in family mediation.

3.8 Supporting People

Respondents report a forthcoming alteration to current Supporting People contracts whereby providers of accommodation based support such as Stepping Stone and East Lancashire Women’s Refuge will be able to offer short term ‘transitional support’ to service users who are moving on to independent living.

This will help provide a ‘seamless service’ between the support offered whilst in supported accommodation and that provided by the Calico Homes floating support service.

Concerns were voiced however regarding possible cuts to the SP budget in 2014/15.

3.9 B-with-Us Allocation Policy

B-with-Us is the name of the sub regional Choice Based Lettings Scheme that provides almost all social housing in Pennine Lancashire under one allocation policy.

Burnley joined the scheme in 2010 and Calico Homes stock is now allocated under the common allocation policy which has recently been updated.

A move on protocol with B-with-Us has been developed to help residents in supported accommodation to have better access to social housing.

The most significant change to the policy in terms of its possible impact on homelessness is the minimum age for a tenancy being raised from 16 to 18. Whilst there are sound legal reasons for this it will exclude all young people under the age of 18

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(except statutorily homeless 16 and 17 year olds, young pregnant women and parents) from social housing.

The effect of this has already been felt by the Stepping Stone Project which now has to look increasingly to the private sector for move-on housing. The shortage of one bedroom accommodation in the private sector lends weight to the argument for developing more shared accommodation for young people.

Another significant change to the policy is that it now gives priority to ex-service personnel. This was largely a result of intense lobbying by the Burnley Housing Advice staff team.

4. Organisation and Agency Profiles

The Council provides a range of legally prescribed and discretionary services. It is helped by a range of public and voluntary sector agencies and organisations whose work brings them into contact with homeless and potentially homeless people.

The work of the Council, its five major housing provider partners and three organisations with an interest in housing is briefly described below with particular reference to good practice.

4.1 Burnley Borough Council

4.1.1 Housing Advice

The Council has a legal duty to administer procedures under the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Act 2002.

The housing advice team comprises a manager and three officers complimented by a dedicated homelessness prevention and re-housing officer.

The team carries out homelessness enquiries and other procedures for dealing with homelessness contained in the Acts. The team also carries out prevention activities (alone and in partnership) and provides a housing options service. On average, the team carries out 4 housing Advice/homeless interviews each day.

The manager attends and facilitates the Burnley and Pendle Homelessness Forum, represents Burnley on the Lancashire Homelessness Forum and sits on all relevant local committees. The housing advice service is well publicised on the Council website

The team also administers the private sector bond scheme which is designed to help people secure rented accommodation in the private sector whether via letting agents or private landlords in circumstances where they cannot afford to pay a bond. The scheme will offer landlords or letting agents a bond guarantee of up to 4 weeks rent.

Burnley Borough Council will provide a written guarantee to the landlord that if at the end of the tenancy there is loss, damage or theft from the property we will reimburse them up to the value of the guarantee.

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The Lancashire Drug and Alcohol Action Team recently provided a grant of £15,000 to

the five Pennine Lancashire Boroughs to develop an enhanced bond scheme to assist

clients recovering from drug and alcohol addiction to access the private rented sector.

Burnley received £5,790 as it was acknowledged there are more clients needing the

enhanced scheme in Burnley than any other area.

Burnley Council funds Safe Space (a voluntary sector project based in Pendle) to deliver

a programme working with year 11’s in school and trying to raise awareness of

homelessness

Housing advice has made contact with the Burnley Street pastor service enabling better signposting for homeless people.

4.1.2 Housing Benefit

The Housing Benefit (HB) service administers all Housing and Council Tax Benefits across the Borough.

Burnley has been awarded £200,000 – an increase of £140,000 – from government to provide short term financial support under the Discretionary Housing Benefit’ rules, to households affected by the consequences of welfare reform.

The various types of shortfall that DHP can cover are:

reductions in HB or UC where the benefit cap has been applied

reduction in HB or UC for under-occupation in the social rented sector

reduction in HB or UC as a result of Local Housing Allowance restrictions

assistance with rent payments to prevent a household becoming homeless while the housing advice team explores options

reduction in HB or UC due to the Single Room Rent restriction

The HB team provides an ‘outreach service’ at the Contact Centre (see below under ‘good practice’) and could increase this, as well as offering advice on non HB entitlements, but there is a lack of capacity and access to the Department of Work and Pensions ‘portal’ would also be required.

4.1.3 Landlord Accreditation & Selective Licensing / Good Tenant Scheme

The Burnley Accredited Landlord Scheme is serviced by a dedicated officer of the council.

There are 152 landlords registered with the scheme and 27 are working towards accreditation.

The selective licensing scheme in Trinity ward will end in October 2013. There has been a 54% reduction in anti-social behaviour since its adoption and a proposal has been put forward for it to be continued for a further five years. The Council has opened a consultation process and has asked for views to be submitted by the 4th August 2013.

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The scheme has been successful in contributing to the reduction of Anti-Social Behaviour in the area.

The tenant accreditation scheme is now effectively defunct due to the cessation of funding in 2010. If selective licensing is continued it may be possible to develop a generic tenant/landlord referencing/accreditation scheme. It may also be possible to re-introduce a form of tenant accreditation using the new private sector initiatives currently under discussion.

Action: Update the homelessness strategy following the consultation period.

4.2 Calico Homes

Calico is the Large Scale Voluntary Transfer (LSVT) Company that manages the old Burnley Borough Council stock of 4,700 properties.

Pre-tenancy checks are carried out to ensure new tenants are in receipt of all appropriate benefits and have support if required before a new tenant moves in. Tenancies are monitored by Neighbourhood officers who conduct regular visits and spend up to 70% of their working time on their ‘patches’. All new tenants are visited within six weeks of the commencement of their tenancies.

An ‘Intensive Neighbourhood Management’ scheme is being developed in parts of the Borough with a high concentration of younger tenants. Three pilots are being delivered and the scheme will be rolled out across the Borough if it proves successful in reducing noise nuisance and anti-social behaviour.

Calico Homes has responded to the potential challenges posed by the introduction of

Universal Credit by increasing rent officer staffing levels and creating an in-house

‘money wise’ service to provide financial advice to Calico tenants.

A Financial Inclusion Strategy was produced in April 2012. The strategy has a number of

targets which are very briefly listed below:

Increasing take up of basic bank accounts and the number of customers paying

for rent and service charges through bank accounts

Increasing the use of the internet to access financial products and services

Introducing a money “health check” for all new tenants

Improving access to affordable credit

Developing relationships with credit unions

Delivering a Passport to Housing course for prospective tenants

Undertaking energy efficiency works to properties to reduce fuel bills

Calico is developing its own furniture and white goods ‘store’ that will enable new tenants to access essential household equipment and furnishings. This scheme will run ‘in tandem’ with the existing scheme provided by the Open Door Project.

Calico manages the Elizabeth Street Project which provides short term supported accommodation – on average a resident spends 20 weeks with the project – to 16 single

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people and four families. The project is funded by Supporting People and has a contract due for renewal in early 2014.

The Elizabeth Street Project provides ‘round the clock’ support and each resident is allocated a key worker. Residents will soon be able to access opportunities in education, training and employment and the project has five staff members trained to deliver the ‘Passport to Housing’ course. Until recently all referrals to the project were channelled through the Council housing advice service but referral pathways are now being developed with local providers.

The Elizabeth Street Project is working with agencies to develop referral pathways. Action: Develop referral protocols for Elizabeth Street Project.

Calico also delivers floating support services to vulnerable people across the borough under a contract with the Lancashire Supporting People Partnership.

4.3 Mental Health and Housing Team

The purpose of the mental health and housing service is to provide a dedicated resource to prevent homelessness and provide early intervention when homelessness is threatened. Located within the Community Restart office in Burnley, the team has been in existence since 2010

The team provides a housing ‘brokerage’ service as well as support that compliments that provided by other agencies such as Calico floating support – enhanced support from the team can be provided for up to six months after a client moves into independent accommodation.

Referrals to the team are channelled through the ‘single point of access’ mental health service gateway: clients must be registered with community mental health services to access support from the team.

The team also works with staff on the psychiatric in-patient wards of Burnley and Blackburn hospitals to facilitate smooth discharge procedures.

The team has identified two outstanding needs:

training in housing law for support workers identification of a ‘named contact’ within the B-with-Us Choice Based Lettings

Scheme

The team is funded by Lancashire County Council and the five Pennine Lancashire boroughs that it serves until end of March 2014, future funding is now being reviewed in the light of further government cutbacks.

Actions:

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Monitor funding decisions from local authorities and Lancashire County Council regarding the future of the team

Provide training in homelessness legislation to mental health and housing support workers

Identify a named contact within the B-with-Us Choice Based Lettings scheme

4.4 Emmaus Project

The Emmaus project in Burnley – part of a nationwide service – provides supported accommodation and employment opportunities to single homeless adults.

There are 24 beds in the main part of the building and 6 detached ‘move on’ rooms which are currently empty; this has a financial implication for Emmaus as well as reducing the supply of supported accommodation. Action: Explore possibilities for bringing empty rooms at Emmaus back into use

As well as providing accommodation Emmaus operates a ‘social enterprise’ – recycling and selling furniture and white goods through its shop premises – which gives residents useful work to do and helps break dependency on benefits.

As part of a national organisation, Emmaus does take referral from other areas than Lancashire and it was recognised that, on occasion, a resident may disengage from the programme at Emmaus and present to housing needs. A protocol is needed to prevent this happening. Action: Agree procedure between Emmaus and housing needs to provide the best options for service users who disengage.

4.5 Stepping Stone

Stepping Stone provides supported accommodation to young people aged 16 – 25 in 22 flats across three sites in Burnley.

The project is funded by Supporting People under a contract due for renewal in early 2014.

Referrals come mainly from the Burnley area via the Council housing advice team or the Elizabeth Street Project. Accommodation is provided for up to two years and occupancy rates approach 100%.

Stepping Stone provides transitional support to residents who have moved on and this has been recognised by the Supporting People Partnership which has indicated its willingness to look at a contract variation whereby Stepping Stone would be paid for providing this service.

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4.6 East Lancashire Women’s Refuge

Safenet– which has recently become a subsidiary company of Calico - operates the Burnley Women’s Refuge: which, with 20 rooms is the biggest refuge in Lancashire providing accommodation and support for women and children affected by domestic violence.

There is a specific focus on supporting women and children affected by the violence resulting from forced marriage supported by multi-lingual staff.

Safenet delivers a community outreach service that provides advice and support to up to 30 women deemed to be at risk of domestic violence.

A two bedroom house that can be used to house families with male children aged over 15 has recently been set up and a second property will shortly be commissioned.

Additional funding has been given to Safenet for the staff to provide training in schools which will enable teachers and classroom assistance to recognise signs of domestic abuse in pupils. This will allow agencies to become involved at the earliest opportunity and put measures into the home, not only helping the parent and potentially preventing them from becoming homeless, but ultimately assisting to prevent the young person becoming homeless when they leave school.

Safenet can now provide transitional support to women and children who are leaving the refuge. This service will dovetail with the floating support being provided by Calico and has been funded by the Lancashire Supporting People Partnership as a result of the recent review of service provision.

Burnley Council funds Safenet to provide a sanctuary scheme which helps women at risk of domestic violence and harassment to remain in their own homes if they wish. The scheme provide additional security measures such as window and door locks, security lighting and CCTV camera’s to be fitted to the home.

4.7 Young People’s Service

The main involvement of the Young People’s Service in homelessness prevention and service provision is with the joint protocol for 16 and 17 year olds. This is discussed below under ‘Gaps in Provision’.

4.8 Inspire Project

Inspire is the name given to the East Lancashire Community Drug and Alcohol Service currently being provided by Crime Reduction Initiative which is a voluntary sector charity.

Inspire does not at present have any housing for clients in Burnley but there is a ‘recovery house’ for abstinent clients in Rossendale and the agency does have plans to develop this area of its service.

Inspire runs a housing ‘clinic’ on a weekly basis from their office in Westgate.

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4.9 Revolution Project

Revolution is a partnership between Lancashire Constabulary, the Community Safety Partnership and the Lancashire Probation Service.

It works with Prolific and Priority Offenders and people leaving prison. There is a housing officer attached to the team and Revolution manages one supported accommodation unit (provided by Calico), housing two clients in Burnley.

4.10 S.M.I.L.E. Mediation Service

A family and young person centred mediation service was commissioned by the Council but there has been little activity and demonstrable effect on homelessness prevention recently. Action: Review the current need for this service

5. Multi Agency and Cross Borough Working

5.1 Contact Centre

The contact centre is acting as a hub for a variety of housing related advice services making it easier for the public to access high quality advice on a drop in basis:

Calico Homes provide a money advice service

Calico Floating Support provides a ‘quick access’ service every Wednesday morning

A specialist Housing Benefit advisor is provided by the Council on a daily basis

A housing advice service provided by SHELTER is available every Monday morning

5.2 Financial Inclusion Task Group

The introduction of Universal Credit will undoubtedly have a major impact in Burnley. Agencies are already ‘gearing up’ for implementation and the challenges it will create:

A multi-agency group is meeting to discuss options available when Universal Credit takes effect in Burnley.

The group has agreed to share information about their services to enable effective

signposting to take place and to agree a plan of action. Options under consideration

include:

Radio marketing publicising Help Direct as a source of advice

Instigating a direct payment scheme via the Credit Union

Creating Welfare Rights pages online, hosted by Burnley Council and Calico

websites

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5.3 Offender Accommodation Group

A group has been convened to discuss accommodation (or the lack of) for people

leaving prison as this is recognised as an area of development that needs to be

addressed (see below). The group is facilitated by the Burnley Community Safety

Partnership and is attended by housing needs/options team managers from Burnley,

Pendle and Rossendale.

5.4 Burnley and Pendle Homelessness Forum

Burnley and Pendle share many social issues that affect housing and also increasingly share services so a forum has been convened for the two boroughs and their partner agencies to share practice and ideas. The group meets quarterly.

5.5 Hospital Discharge Protocol

The hospital discharge protocol between the Pennine Lancashire authorities is still in

place and meetings are held to monitor progress. There were three homelessness duties

awarded due to ‘hospital discharge’ in 2012. It is not clear however whether these

discharges were from general wards or psychiatric in patient units. If the latter this

situation is likely to have arisen due to the staff shortage in the mental health and

housing team.

6. Gaps in Provision

The review has highlighted much good practice but there are areas of provision identified during the review process that are either un-developed or require updating.

6.1 Young People Including Care Leavers

As has been recorded above, homelessness amongst young people aged 16 and 17 has been very significantly reduced but there remain the issues of an increase in the number of young people aged 18+ presenting to housing advice and the changes in the B-with-Us allocation policy that will disbar all but a very few 16 and 17 year olds from social housing.

A joint protocol between Burnley Borough Council Housing Advice and Lancashire County Council Children’s Social Care was agreed in 2011 which outlined the duties of each organisation when a 16 or 17 year old presented as homeless. The protocol worked well initially – A multi-agency group met to discuss individual cases and an emergency telephone number for Children’s Social Care was made available – but became less effective due to a change in management in Children’s Social Care. A new manager is now in post however and a meeting between the respective agencies is being planned to update the protocol and any procedural documents stemming from the update.

A ‘young person friendly’ leaflet has now been produced outlining the options for young people facing homelessness.

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The Housing Advice Team has seen a very marked increase in presentations from care leavers aged 18 – six in the last quarter – which is more than in all of the previous twelve months Actions:

Monitor presentations from care leavers aged 18 and liaise with Children’s Social Care Leaving Care Team to implement prevention measures if necessary

Revisit and update the protocol for homeless 16 and 17 year olds

6.2 Families and pregnant women

There has been a significant rise in the number of households containing children or a pregnant woman presenting to the Council and being awarded a homelessness duty.

It is unclear as to exactly why this may be but it is possible that these households are also represented in the statistics showing an increase in the breakdown of Assured Short-Hold Tenancies as a cause of homelessness.

6.3 Offenders

The criminal justice agencies all report frustration with attempts to obtain suitable accommodation for their clients. Despite a great deal of rhetoric from successive governments there appears to be little or no change in the situation since the first homelessness strategy was published in 2002.

The Revolution Project report that 77% of its service users are without suitable accommodation and recent data obtained by the police from HMP Forest Bank indicate that there are at the time of writing 29 people currently in prison who will not have suitable accommodation available to them upon release.

There is acknowledged lack of understanding of the powers and duties of the housing advice service and this frequently leads to clients making wasted journeys to and from the housing advice office.

Problems with information sharing on risk assessments were also cited as stumbling blocks to better multi-agency working

All relevant agencies agree that there is a clear need for a housing worker to act as a link between prisons and accommodation providers on the ‘outside’. Action: Identify a potential funding stream and make a bid for funding to employ a prison link housing worker to ‘broker’ accommodation for people leaving prison.

6.4 Women Fleeing Domestic Violence

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Since the closure of Burnley Women’s Aid the women’s refuge has seen a dramatic increase in referrals from the Police for safety planning for women who don’t want refuge provision at the present time. This is causing strain on its capacity to deliver its core services.

6.5 People with a mental illness or handicap

The hiatus in service due to the long term absence of the housing worker has caused some problems particularly around hospital discharge. It is hoped therefore that a new worker will be in post in the near future.

6.6 People with an addiction to drugs or alcohol

There is still insufficient ‘bricks and mortar’ provision for people suffering from addictions.

7. Priorities for the Action Plan

The priorities below have been identified from the review and will form the action plan in the strategy:

Seek funding for a housing link worker to broker suitable accommodation for people leaving prison

Re-visit and update the joint protocol for homeless young people aged 16 and 17

Carry out research into possible links between loss of private sector accommodation and homelessness

Update the homelessness strategy after UC has been in place for six and twelve months

Update the homelessness strategy following the Selective Licensing consultation period

Update the homelessness strategy after the funding decision has been made concerning the mental health and housing team. If funding is made available then:

Provide training in homelessness legislation to mental health and housing support workers

Identify a named contact within the B-with-Us CBL scheme for the mental health and housing team

Explore possibilities for bringing empty rooms at Emmaus back into use

Agree procedure between Emmaus and housing needs to provide the best options for service users who disengage

Develop referral protocols for Elizabeth Street Project with mental health and housing team and Revolution Project.

Apply for ‘Gold Standard’ accreditation

Carry out research into development of short term private sector accommodation for young single people