4. ANALISIS DE LOS TIPOS
4.6 PREVARICACIÓN ESPECÍFICA
Citizens Advice Bureau dealt with:
Clients 5,688
Problems 18,126
The main problem areas were:
Benefits 8,708 48%
Debt 3,716 26%
Housing 1,266 7%
Employment 1,320 7%
Key housing issues:
44 % 56
%
Disabled Not Disabled
96 % White BME 43 % 57 % 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% Client Profile
3.2.
P
R EVENTH
O MELES S NES SW
H ER EVERP
O S S IBLE AN DP
R O VIDES
US T AINAB LES
O LUT IO NSSome households will experience homelessness. Rough sleeping is a very visible form of homelessness, however homelessness does not mean living on the streets and many people’s experiences of
homelessness are out of view. Homelessness applies to those who, for many different reasons,
suddenly lose their home or are forced out of their home through personal or domestic circumstances and ‘hidden homelessness’ can refer to people who have no choice but to share their family or friend’s accommodation, which is often unsuitable and unsustainable.
There will always be instances of homelessness which result from crises such as fire or flood, but more commonly, structural factors, such as the housing market and poverty affect the ability of individuals to avoid homelessness and to find their own solutions. Homelessness is also often linked to some other aspect of personal crisis.
The Council has a statutory duty to provide assistance to certain categories of homeless people; the legal provisions are contained in the1996 Housing Act and the Homelessness Act 2002. If a household is considered to be homeless, the Council’s duty can include providing emergency or temporary accommodation in the short term until a settled home is identified.
In the Vale of Glamorgan:
Over 6000 people approach the Council for advice each year.
The number of people being assessed as homelessness grew each year between 2009 and 2012, from 277 households to 365 per year. The number started to fall in 2012-13 due to an increased focus on prevention.
The most common reasons for homelessness are; the loss of rented or tied accommodation, being asked to leave friends or families homes, moving on from institutional care and fleeing domestic abuse.
Most people who are accepted as homeless are single people.
Figure 9- Cases of Homelessness in the Vale of Glamorgan50
358 315 296 434 277 325 365 305 167 162 219 279 185 235 245 200 0 100 200 300 400 500 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
Decisions taken on homelessness
Changes to Homelessness
The continuing Welfare Reform changes and the introduction of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 will have an impact on homelessness and the Council’s response. A summary of the changes in relation to homelessness include:
Welfare Reform - Removal of the single room subsidy, means that homeless households in receipt of Housing benefit are restricted to a property of the appropriate size; many families with
children that would have moved into a 3-bedroom property are restricted to 2-bedrooms and single people are restricted to one-bedroom properties. The shared accommodation rate for people under the age of 35 means that they only receive HB for a room in a shared property. The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 – ‘Priority need’ groups are being removed and the Council’s duty
to prevent homelessness will be extended from 28 to 56 days. This means that prevention activity can begin earlier and that homeless households can be offered affordable accommodation in the private rented sector, no longer limited to identifying social rented accommodation.
The impact on the homelessness service and how the Council will mitigate against these changes will be discussed in each of the following sections.
Preventing Homelessness
The Welsh Government believes that homelessness wherever possible must be prevented and this is also an objective of the Vale of Glamorgan Council. People who are either threatened with
homelessness or consider themselves to be currently homeless can approach the Council for assistance. Where possible the Council will work to prevent the household becoming homeless by assisting them to remain in their home or find a suitable alternative. A range of preventions tools are utilised by the Housing Advice Team:
Providing assistance with bonds and rent in advance to move to an alternative property. Working with landlords to maintain tenancies that are at risk.
Contacting mortgage companies to prevent or delay repossession proceedings. Referring the tenant/homeowner for housing related support.
Assisting to identify alternative accommodation.
Advice and action in partnership with the Environmental Health (Housing) Team concerning illegal evictions and harassment.
There has been a noticeable change in focus in tackling homelessness in the Vale of Glamorgan; an increased focus on prevention is having a positive effect:
The number of households being prevented from becoming homeless increasing, from 75.5% in 2011-12 to 83.7% in 2012-13.
The number of statutory homelessness acceptances falling significantly for the first time in over 5 years (see Figure 9).
An independent review of the service in 2012 found:
There has been a significant improvement in tackling homelessness in the Vale in the last 12 months.
Prevention of homelessness is becoming more embedded and the there is a committed
management team that works closely to make good use of the resources available to the Council. Focus on prevention having a very positive effect, with the number of statutory homelessness
acceptances falling significantly for the first time in over 5 years.
The service has the potential to be one of the best services in Wales.
Preventing Homelessness, the Challenge Going Forward
The challenge now is to build on this excellent foundation. Some prevention tools are not consistently used. In particular more work is needed directly with private landlords who issue notice on tenancies, which is now becoming the biggest causes of homelessness.
In terms of young people threatened with homelessness, home visits to parents need to be structured to ensure prevention options are available where there are genuine pressures and tackling collusion where there is no belief that the homeless exclusion is genuine.
The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 extends the duty for prevention work from 28 to 56 days; this is a positive change, giving the Council longer to address issues which may result in homelessness. Improved housing advice and work to prevent homelessness will be developed and improved in line with the identified needs of the community and be included in the intention to set up a housing solutions service in the Vale.