Tricarboxamidas derivadas de OPE asimétricas

As discussed in more detail in the preceding literature chapter on homelessness, Housing Options and homelessness prevention activities have been seen as having a key role to play in reducing the incidence of homelessness in Scotland. Since the widespread implementation of these approaches began in 2010, little information has been gathered on those who have not went on to make a homeless application. This led many to conclude that a critical element of the picture around housing need and homelessness in Scotland was being missed, most notably the Infrastructure and Capital Investment (ICI) Committee who recommended in 2012 that a monitoring tool should be developed for tracking homelessness prevention activity. The PREVENT1 return went live in April 2014, and statistics are available for one financial year (2014-15) at the time of writing. This return gives details on the demographics of households approaching local authorities for Housing Options and homelessness prevention assistance, the kind of prevention activities being carried out and the outcomes for households seeking assistance.

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In total, 58,825 approaches were made to local authorities in Scotland for assistance with housing options. Analysis of the data reveals that demographic information for those seeking assistance is relatively consistent with that for homeless applications for the same period, however those making approaches tend to be slightly older than those applying as homeless, with 32% of those seeking homelessness prevention assistance being aged over 40 compared to 28% of those applying as homeless. With regard to household types, this was again broadly similar, however a higher proportion of single people made approaches for Housing Options than those applying as homeless – with this group accounting for 76%

of all approaches, compared to 66% for the same period (Scottish Government, 2015b).

Considerable variance currently exists as to how housing options and homeless prevention activities are administered at a local level, with some authorities reporting that almost all of those applying as homeless have been through Housing Options (6 authorities reported this at more than 90%), while some authorities have reported very few homeless applicants being given a Housing Options interview (9 authorities reported less than 20% of HL1 applicants receiving Housing Options first) (Scottish Government, 2015f). At the same time, the proportion of those seeking assistance under Housing Options who later went on to make a homeless application equally varies greatly between authority areas, with some authorities reporting more than half went on to make an application (Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire) while others reported this at less than 20% (Argyll and Bute, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire). Overall, the number of Housing Options and homelessness prevention approaches that resulted in a confirmed homeless application was 42% for Scotland as a whole based on 2014-15 PREVENT1 data (Scottish Government, 2015b).

Despite this variance it is important to recognise that there is nevertheless likely to be considerable overlap between those making approaches under housing options and those applying as homeless. The Housing Options and homelessness prevention agendas were conceived to run in parallel to homeless applications and as further guidance becomes available to local authorities in the operation of these approaches - as well as data collection ‘bedding in’ - we will be better able to determine the impact Housing Options and homelessness prevention activities are having.

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Previous tenures of Housing Options/Homelessness Prevention approaches

With regard to the tenures from which households approached local authorities for Housing Options or homelessness prevention assistance, these statistics told a similar story to the HL1 Data on homeless applications. As may be seen in Figure 5.6 below, the PRS accounted for a significant proportion of approaches for assistance, at around 18% of all approaches for Scotland as a whole. Approaches for assistance from the social rented sector were also significant, at around 19%. This indicates that while households in the social sector may very well be experiencing housing need, this need does not as often translate into a homeless application. As was the case with homeless applications, informal and temporary arrangements could be seen to contribute significantly to those seeking assistance.

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Figure 5.6: Tenure of those seeking Housing Options and homelessness prevention assistance, 2014-15⁵

(author’s analysis of Scottish Government PREVENT1 data, 2015) It is also worth noting that the proportion of approaches local authorities received from households in the PRS varied considerably, with some authorities recording a level far higher than the Scottish average. South Lanarkshire, for instance, recorded 1,240 approaches for assistance, of which 35% were from the PRS. West Lothian similarly recorded a significant role for the PRS, with 26% of their 1,545 approaches coming from this tenure (Scottish Government, 2015b).

5 The categories used in the PREVENT1 report have been grouped and summarised in a different manner from the HL1 data, and as such are not directly comparable. This data is presented to give an indication of trends rather than as a direct comparison. The property type of "From temporary accommodation" includes Hostel (unsupported), Bed & Breakfast, Caravan / mobile home, Long-term roofless and Long-term sofa-surfing. A property type of "Other" includes Own property - Shared ownership / Shared equity / LCHO, Lodger, Shared Property – Private Rented Sector, Shared Property – Local authority, Shared Property - RSL, Supported Accommodation, Not known / refused and Other.

19%

18%

36% 4%

5%

6%

12%

Social rented sector

Private rented sector

Owner occupation

Friends and family

Temporary accommodation Institution

Other

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Use of the PRS in responding to Housing Options approaches

With regard to the type of assistance received by those accessing Housing Options assistance, for the 58,825 approaches in 2014-15, a total of 117,375 prevention activities were carried out. The five most commonly used types of assistance during 2014-15 are presented in Table 5.7 below.

Table 5.7: Five most common prevention activities in Scotland, 2014-15

Prevention activity N %

General housing advice, information and assistance 41,260 70%

Client informed of rights under homelessness legislation

30,045 51%

Other⁶ 24,930 42%

Assistance in accessing alternative accommodation 5,315 9%

Access to Rent Deposit Guarantee scheme 5,040 9%

(Source: Scottish Government Prevent1 data, 2015) It can be seen that the PRS again had a small but significant role in meeting housing need, with RDG schemes being offered to 9% of those seeking assistance, while the PRS was often one of the ‘alternative accommodation’ households were assisted in accessing.

This role for the PRS may be seen in the rehousing outcomes displayed in Figure 5.7. Of the 41,310 cases closed in 2014-15, 5% of these were accommodated in the PRS as a result of the prevention approach taken by the local authority. This was higher than the proportion accommodated in the social rented sector, although a high proportion – 51% - went on to apply as homeless following Housing Options interview. These re-housing outcomes again demonstrate the importance of informal housing solutions, with ‘friends and family’ having a key role to play in meeting households needs, while a substantial proportion of those applying – around 29% - were able to maintain their current accommodation as a consequence of the assistance received under Housing options.

6 ‘Other’ includes mediation, outreach work, independent financial advice, assistance with benefits claim/accessing DHP, liaising with landlords, referral to various other services, assistance with applications and so on.

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Figure 5.7: Final housing outcome for households seeking Housing Options advice, 2014-15

(Source: author’s analysis of Scottish Government PREVENT1 data)

5.5 SUMMARY

It may be seen then that while legislative shifts in homelessness policy and practice in Scotland have had some impact on the scale of statutory homeless applications in recent years, the demographic characteristics of those making statutory homeless applications have remained remarkably consistent. At the same time, there has been a clear narrowing between the number of applicants and the number of acceptances. This can to some extent be explained by the abolition of priority need, but in the context of considerable reductions in presentations since 2010-11 this raises questions about how the statutory homelessness system is operating in practice. The same period of time has also seen the introduction of Housing Options and homelessness prevention approaches at a local level, and this substantive reduction has been attributed to their ‘increasingly robust implementation’

(Fitzpatrick et al., 2015), with the suggestion of ‘gate-keeping’-like behaviours in some authorities’ practice (Scottish Housing Regulator, 2014) . The relative stability of demographic characteristics in spite of the substantial expansion of rights, coupled with the narrowing between applications and acceptances in the context of reducing applications suggests that no one group is being disproportionately disadvantaged, rather that those who would have previously been found to be ‘not homeless’ or ‘non-priority’ may be increasingly diverted away from making homeless applications and towards alternative

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housing solutions. Data on the operation of the Housing Options approach remains limited, but it appears from the statistics published so far that while formal presentations have reduced, requests for assistance have stayed consistent in recent years if formal applications are counted alongside Housing Options approaches, a view supported by Fitzpatrick et al. (2015). Use of the PRS to meet the needs of statutory homeless households may be seen to have increased in recent years, but it nevertheless continues to only play a minority role in meeting the needs of statutory homeless households. These trends are discussed in more depth in the discussion chapter (Chapter 8).

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6. Local authorities, homelessness and the PRS –