Four year deadline on homelessness (Inside Housing)

Scottish local authorities have been given four years to increase the number of
homeless families deemed high priority.Communities minister Malcolm Chisholm has told councils that by 2009 they must cut by 50 per cent the number of households that they assess to be of lowest need for accommodation.



The new target was part of Mr Chisholm's long awaited statement to the Scottish
Parliament on how the sector will meet its legislative commitment of housing all
unintentionally homeless households regardless of their circumstances by 2012.



'This is an administrative rather than a legislative target,' he said. 'Its
purpose is twofold - to ensure that we maintain a steady pace towards 2012 but
also to identify particular problems in local areas.'



Councils must now report annually on their delivery of their homelessness
strategies, including their progress towards the 2012 target. Mr Chisholm also
announced a review of allocations policy, and a new funding pot to support
homelessness prevention strategies.



But he said concern about a rapid increase in the number of homes being
allocated to homeless families in the run up to 2012 had been exaggerated, and
the housing sector should 'keep the issue in proportion'.



Gavin Corbett, head of campaigns at Shelter Scotland, said the new 2009 target
was within the reach of the Scottish sector. 'I think it is achievable,' he
said. 'It's in the scope of housing associations and authorities together to do
that.'



But he warned that Mr Chisholm needed to give local authorities more direction
on how it might be achieved, such as whether certain age groups should be
prioritized in the move towards offering all homeless

families accommodation.



A close eye must be kept on authorities to check they are pulling their weight,
he added. 'We're asking Communities Scotland if they can take on a different
monitoring role to ensure we can pick it up if there are examples of authorities
that aren't making progress towards 2009.'



The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations welcomed the review of
allocations policy, including section 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Act, following
fears from its members that associations would be flooded with homeless
allocations from councils.



David Alexander, director of Alexander Consulting, said the minister had done
little to pick up the recommendations of the homelessness task force on
cross-departmental support for the 2012 target.



'One thing that strikes me is that it's not just up to housing providers to
deliver on the housing targets,' he said. 'Up to this point it does seem as
though it has fallen to housing providers to do this. It does appear to be very
much a departmental statement - Malcolm Chisholm speaking with the remit he has
rather than overlapping into other ministers' remits.'



Nick Fletcher, policy and practice officer at the Chartered Institute of Housing
in Scotland, said: 'My initial reaction was that it was quite basic. It talks a
lot about guidance and change to the way structures work, but

my concern was that there was a lack of recognition about housing supply issues.'



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*Published: 06 January 2006*

*by Hannah Fearn *