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Strengths and weaknesses of the resettlement of single homeless people: the FOR-HOME evidence Tony Warnes and Maureen Crane University of Sheffield Making Research Count, University of Keele 9 December 2010. Topics. The FOR-HOME study The main findings The practice and policy implications

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  1. Strengths and weaknesses of the resettlement of single homeless people: the FOR-HOME evidenceTony Warnes andMaureen CraneUniversity of SheffieldMaking Research Count, University of Keele 9 December 2010

  2. Topics • The FOR-HOME study • The main findings • The practice and policy implications ________________________________________ The study was designed and implemented in partnership with six homelessness sector organisations …

  3. Partner organisations Funded by Economic and Social Research Council

  4. Study design and data collection • The sample: 400 single homeless people resettled into independent accommodation by the collaborating organisations. Two clusters: London, and Nottingham / Leeds / Sheffield (Notts/Yorks). • Semi-structured interviews conducted immediately before being resettled, and after 6 and 15/18 months. Key-worker also completed questionnaire at baseline. • Interviews from June 2007 to November 2009.

  5. The main findings

  6. Housing tenure by region

  7. Housing outcomes at 15/18 months by region Notes: Excludes four who had died. Among those described as homeless, 12 were staying with relatives / friends, and 20 had returned to streets or hostels.

  8. Housing outcomes at 15/18 months by tenure Excludes four who had died, and 25 for whom it is unknown if they were still in a tenancyon. ‘No tenancy’ includes those staying with relatives or friends, sleeping rough or who had been readmitted to a hostel, and in a hospital or drugs rehabilitation unit..

  9. Type of accommodation in which resettled by housing outcome at 15/18 months

  10. Resettlement works for most, but many also have problems Basic furniture and equipment not possessed when moved in

  11. Averagerent arrears (£) at 15/18 months by tenure

  12. Percentages with debts over time (£)

  13. Percentages with tenancy support

  14. Practice and policy implications

  15. Resettlement preparation • Many of those resettled have only a sketchy idea of the challenges they will face – and a few are over-confident. Preparation could be improved with: • More attention to personal financial projections and planning • More peer advice from those who have recently been resettled • More active help with obtaining basic furniture (or with loans of camp-beds, hobs or microwaves)

  16. Resettlement support • Many people run into financial problems, and among those who lose a job or go into full-time education, these can quickly turn from manageable to severe Advice and support could be improved with: • More targeting of tenancy support to those who are most inexperienced and vulnerable • More continuity of treatment programmes for drug and alcohol dependency and problems • More intensive support of those who move into the private-rented sector or into high rent properties

  17. Our warm thanks to … All the respondents who participated in this study over a very long time. Sarah Coward, the Research Associate, who carried out the majority of the interviews in Yorks/Notts. Ruby Fu, Camilla Mercer and Louise Joly who have helped massively with running the project and coding the data. The freelance interviewers – Gary Bellamy, Paul Gilsenan, Louise Joly and John Miles. Members of the Management Committee: David Fisher (Broadway), Caroline Day and Jennifer Monfort (Centrepoint), Peter Radage and Rachel Harding (Framework), Julie Robinson and Tony Beech (St Anne’s), Simon Hughes and George Miller (St Mungo’s), and John Crowther and Debra Ives (Thames Reach), and to all their colleagues who have been Link Workers or have otherwise assisted with recruitment and tracking.

  18. Implications for resettlement of recent government announcements on Housing Benefit, social security benefits, Support-ing People, and social housing tenancies.Tony Warnes andMaureen CraneUniversity of SheffieldMaking Research Count, University of Keele 9 December 2010

  19. The Coalition Government’s ambitions • Reduce public expenditure • Reduce the ‘size of the state’ • Reduce welfare dependency – ‘welfare to work’, and improve life chances of the most disadvantages • Protect the most vulnerable; reduce homelessness • Promote social enterprise

  20. Housing benefit changes The problem Rapid increase in cost of HB in recent years, ‘largely a result of steep increases in private-sector rents driven by economic factors and the severe shortage of housing. Between 97/98 and 07/08, the average private-sector rent rose by 63%, from £79/week to £129/week. For many years, HB has been taking the strain of rent increases.’ ‘The cost of HB is expected to rise to £20 billion this year with the Local Housing Allowance (LHA), a form of HB in the private-rented sector (PRS), costing £2.6 billion in 2009-10’. Source: Crisis 2010. Housing Benefit. Policy Briefing, Crisis.

  21. Housing benefit changes The proposals Three phases of LHA cuts have been announced. From April 2011, it will be capped at from £250 per week (1 bedroom property) to £400 (4 bedrooms). In October 2011, the LHA will be set at the 30th percentile level of local rents (currently the 50th percentile). From 2013/14, the allowances will be up-rated using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) not local rent comparisons. The effect will be to rein in LHA payments and reduce the ability of people on low incomes to live in higher rent properties and areas. form of HB in the private-rented sector (PRS), costing £2.6 billion in 2009-10’.

  22. Housing benefit changes Government determined to press ahead. Proposals being examined by HC Social Security (DWP) Committee BBC: 30 November 2010 Housing benefit cap delayed for current claimants • Ministers have confirmed Housing Benefit caps will be delayed for people who already claim it. • The new £400-a-week limit was due to begin from April 2011, with another cut in benefit rates due in October, but existing claimants are to be given until January 2012 to give them time to negotiate lower rents, or move.

  23. Supporting People (SP) programme The problem SP was introduced in 2003. The initial funding of £1.8 billion was to be used to support the delivery of housing-related support (i.e. housing with support) to vulnerable people, including: • homeless people; • older people; • people with learning difficulties • offenders; • people with mental health problems; • refugees • young people leaving care; • teenage parents • women experiencing domestic violence; • vulnerable gypsies and travellers; Value for money has improved. The overall value of the grant has fallen since the start of the programme. In 2008/09 the total grant was £1.686 billion but the numbers of service users supported nationally slightly increased and quality has improved (Audit Commission Supporting People Review 2009).

  24. Supporting People (SP) programme The proposals Over the next spending review period (2011-15), the SP budget will be reduced by £6 billion (11.5%, lower than many other CLG programmes). The government stresses that it wishes to protect support for vulnerable people, but as local authorities have to implement an estimated 10 per cent budget cut in 2011-12, SP is changing from an area-based to a formula grant, and it is no longer ring fenced, it may be expected that ‘less intensive’ services such as floating support for formerly homeless people will be disproportionately cut.

  25. The role of social housing The problem • Greatly reduced investment in social housing compared with 30 years ago. • Increasing shortage of ‘affordable’ or low cost housing • Growing waiting lists -- there are nearly 5 million people on waiting lists for social housing. A quarter of a million social homes are ‘overcrowded’, while 400,000 are ‘under-occupied’ (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_192629) for formerly homeless people will be disproportionately cut.

  26. Consultation runs for 8 weeks from 22 November to 5pm on 17 January 2011 Photo credit: http://www.timothyfoster.co.uk

  27. The role of social housing The proposals • Rents for new social housing tenancies will be at 80 per cent of local market rents. Rents for existing tenants will not be changed. • a new "local authority flexible tenancy" with a minimum fixed term of two years for new tenants, although councils "would be free to set a fixed term of 10 years, 20 years or longer". A key feature is that a household's changing circumstances should be periodically assessed to see if requirements need to change – with housing associations having to evict people if they refuse to go.

  28. Implications for the resettlement of homeless people

  29. Implications for the resettlement of homeless people • More reliance on private-rented sector • Less housing space and quality (lower LHA/HB) • Shorter tenancies • Less incentive for a homeless person to live independently? • Likely to increase abandonments and returns to homelessness? • Difficult to sustain the high success rate of resettlement during 2007-09

  30. Contact details Tony Warnes: a.warnes@sheffield.ac.uk Maureen Crane: m.a.crane@sheffield.ac.uk www.shef.ac.uk/sisa/research/fields/homeless

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