Response to Homelessness Consultation

8/6/2019 Response to Homelessness Consultation

1/4

.~ ..., ,\ ,\ ,\ j

\ j\ j

\ f

\ fI

The Scottish Parliament

Parlamaid na h-AlbaPhil Watt

Housing TeamCity of Edinburgh Council

Waverley Court

4 East Market Street

Edinburgh

EH88BG

5 July 2011

Dear Phil,

I welcome the opportunity to submit my views on the future of the Council's

Homelessness strategy. The following remarks are based on my own experience as

an advocate for three individuals with complex needs.

In that capacity, I attended one of the formal consultation events hosted by the

Council in Augustine's United Church earlier this month.

I must say at the outset that I was very disappointed that the format of the event was

not adapted to meet the needs of the client group.

As the audience was made up of predominately complex needs service users, the

reaction to such open ended questions as the ones prepared in the annex to the

consultation document was very hostile and apprehensive.

Some users felt that they could not answer the questions asked directly without

knowing more about the Council's proposed alternative. As a client group, these

individuals have a history of feeling let down by 'the system' and have a dim view of

institutions like local government and its ability to look after their interests first and

foremost. Their automatic response to speculative questions like those outlined in

the document is to fear the worst. Some of this reaction could have been avoided,

had the questions ruled out their worst fears.

I would hope that any future work with this client group will take their needs in to

consideration when the format of the consultation is developed.

That said, I would like to comment on a number of the issues raised.


2/4

Hostel Accommodation

I am concerned about the prospect of Hostel allocation being done exclusively at a

central location. I am aware that service users paramount concern is their own safety

and that they feel safer in some hostels over others.

Service users have expressed to me their concern that should the wish to decline the

offer of one hostel, because they've had a bad experience in it, they may not be

offered another option.

If the Council insists on pursuing this option in order to make more rational use of the

bed spaces then there must be a very clear statement made about the right of clients

to refuse one hostel over another.

Service user's ability to exercise choice is critical. It is predominately about safety,but there is also a secondary aspect to it which involves choosing not to stay in a

hostel where past experiences could compound their propensity to revisit bad habits.

There was also concern about what would happen should a service user be banned

from a hostel. If they are banned from one, and the allocation policy is determined

centrally, does that mean that they could be automatically banned from them all?

There is also an issue about service users with dogs. Will their ability to access

hostel accommodation be affected in anyway by this proposed change in provision?

Private Rented Sector

The client group were concerned about the prospect of any wholesale move to

Private Sector tenancies. Such a move, they felt, would leave them insecure as there

was not the same degree of security of tenure.

The preference would be for council housing or housing association tenancies and

they were concerned about the impact on their long term eligibility for such provision

should they be settled in a private let.

There is also a concern about their long term prospects should a private let become

a permanent fixture. For example, an individual living in a private let, paid for by

housing benefit would not be able to earn enough money to sustain the tenancy

should they take up employment on the national minimum wage.

Moving to a system of private lets is therefore likely to park people on benefits

indefinitely. This might lessen the pressure on the local authority's books, because

the cost would be picked up by DWP, but it is not in the interests of the client and

that should be the Council's paramount concern.


3/4

Furthermore, how would the relationship with the Landlord or letting agent be

defined? Could landlords evict tenants without the knowledge of the Council? What

mediation or support services would be available to support clients in their tenancy in

this environment? How would complaints about victimisation and anti-socialbehaviour be handled?

There was also a great deal of concern about the prospect of shared

accommodation. Would clients have a say over who they lived with? Can they refuse

to share and still be offered an alternative? Should they want to share, are they in a

position to determine whether that is actually in their own best interests.

There is clearly an issue regarding housing benefit changes and their potential to

require individuals under the age of 25 to share, but it is not necessarily a given that

such a policy would apply to individuals with complex needs and the Council should

be wary of assuming that is the case when it draws together it's Homeless Strategy.

Visiting Support

The clients I work with are incredibly supportive of a system which seeks to support

individuals in their own homes, but they do not think such support should be limited

to a six month period.

Some of the service users I have worked with, have incredibly complex needs andwill require indefinite support to sustain their tenancies. They openly admit that

should that support be decreased, removed or time limited then they are in serious

danger of slipping up and jeopardising all they have done to move on from periods of

addiction and difficulty in their lives.

The Council may have increasing pressures on it's budgets, but it would be

absolutely foolish to think that money can be saved in this area. Should the removal

of support from these individuals lead to failed tenancies, the costs of dealing with

the increased impact on our hospitals, police and prison services will be far greater.

It is completely ridiculous to think that a system of volunteers and befrienders could

deal with the emotional and social support this client group need. They view this type

of support as critical to the prevention of homeless ness agenda and I could not

agree more.

The success of the complex needs support service is that it provides emotional,

social and practical support in one service as part of relationship with a project

worker over a sustained period of time. Only in that context can the necessary levels

of trust be developed. Continuity of care is key.


4/4

Many of these individuals spend their lives reciting their past in order to try and move

on. It is incredibly difficult for them to do so and the private nature and sensitivity of

that information is extremely high. Why should they share that level of detail about

their life history with a volunteer who many not come back the next week?

The service users that I work with view such a suggestion with complete and utter

shock and contempt and is the worst example of how this generic consultation

exercise should have been reconsidered in light of the needs of this particular group

of clients.

Is the Council the best provider?

The clear and unequivocal answer to this question from the client group and from my

own experiences is no. The Council appears to be too preoccupied with cost saving

measures and closing case files to concern itself primarily with the interests of the

individuals in need of support.

There is a wealth of expertise and experience within the voluntary sector in

Edinburgh, built up over a number of years, all of which would be lost should the

Council seek to move all of its provision in-house.

Such a move would require serious, public and independent discussion about the

appropriate levels of accountability and transparency necessary to make it work.

Clients already feel that this consultation exercise has been driven by the need to

save money over the need to improve the quality of care. Until that perception has

been addressed with real and credible action, there will continue to be serious

hostility towards the council's role in providing these services directly.

Thank you for the opportunity to consult. I look forward to receiving feedback on the

consultations deliberations.

Yours sincerely,

Cc: Cllr Paul Eadie

Cllr Ewan Aitken

Cllr Cammy Day

Sheila Gilmore MP

Documents

Response to Homelessness Consultation