Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group minutes: April 2024

Attendees and apologies

 

• Cllr Maureen Chalmers, Co-Chair, Community Wellbeing Spokesperson, COSLA
• Paul McLennan MSP, Co-Chair, Minister for Housing
• Alison Watson, Shelter Scotland
• Hugh Hill on behalf of Lorraine McGrath, Simon Community
• John Mills, ALACHO
• Mike Callaghan, COSLA
• Matthew Downie, Crisis UK
• Sally Thomas, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
• Maggie Brunjes, Homeless Network Scotland
• Aaliya Seyal, Legal Services Agency
• Ruth Robin, Healthcare Improvement Scotland
• Kate Polson, Rock Trust
• Shea Moran, Aff the Streets
• Jules Oldham, Scottish Women’s Aid
• James Stampfer, Change Team
• Michelle Major, Homeless Network Scotland

Also in attendance 

• Alice Hall, Scottish Government
• Janine Kellett, Scottish Government
• Karen Grieve, Scottish Government
• Pamela McBride, Scottish Government
• Louise Thompson, Scottish Government
• Emily Foster, Scottish Government

Apologies

• Janice Stevenson, LGBT Youth Scotland

• Susanne Millar, Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership

• Lorraine McGrath, Simon Community

• Angela Keith, SOLACE

Items and actions

Welcome

Cllr Maureen Chalmers welcomed everyone to the group, updated on actions from the previous meeting and confirmed that the group was content with the minute of the last meeting.

Presentation of the Supported Accommodation Task and Finish Group’s final report

Maggie Brunjes presented on the report and recommendations of the Supported Accommodation Task and Finish Group. The group recommends that supported accommodation is used as a settled rather than temporary housing option for the small number of people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, and who don’t want or can’t sustain a mainstream tenancy (including Housing First). Current estimates are that between 2-5% of households that become homeless require supported accommodation (approx. 796-1,964 people a year based on 2022-23 data). The majority of people are based in Glasgow and Edinburgh (60%).  The group’s view is that it needs dedicated capital funding.

Alison Watson said she would be worried about diverting AHSP funds given the current budget challenges. Matthew Downie and John Mills queried whether the homelessness route was the right route for this cohort of people given their health and social care needs. . The group recommends that a long-term plan should aim to improve the provision of existing accommodation, not necessarily to create more supported accommodation. There are also opportunities in the development of a National Care Service and working with health and social care partnerships.

HPSG members were very grateful for the efforts and hard work from the T and FG and were broadly welcoming of the report. However, there was a question whether the route to supported accommodation should be through homelessness or whether a health and social care response, or access via housing options, would be more appropriate. There was also a query on the evidence of outcomes to support policy development of supported accommodation.

There was acknowledgement that supported accommodation can be a good housing option for young people, including unaccompanied asylum seekers who may benefit from an option to integrate with others. Also cluster housing works as a model for some local authority areas and some frontline workers recognise there are opportunities to support vulnerable people in supported accommodation. 

Finally, the group recognised there are common themes with the recommendations contained in this report, and the recommendations in other task and finish reports.

Action: 

• COSLA to discuss report at Community Wellbeing Board meeting

Change Team – findings from roadshows

Michelle Major and James Stampfer presented the early findings of the Change Team roadshows, noting that further events were still to take place and a fuller report would be shared ahead of the next HPSG meeting.

The Change Team has translated the Ending Homelessness Together action plan into four themes (No Wrong Door, At Home, Good Vibes and People First). At the roadshow they asked participants to rate how close the homelessness sector is to achieving good outcomes under these themes. The results were less positive than last year’s roadshow, with all four themes receiving a lower score. However, there were also many examples of best practice shared at the events and the commitment and passion of the workforce was apparent.

Housing supply and funding challenges were the two most common issues raised along with the private rented sector becoming a less viable option in urban areas. The importance of trauma informed practice and creating meaningful relationships was noted along with barriers on sharing information due to a lack of understanding of GDPR.

There are different issues for rural communities where there are fewer services available to people (e.g. lack of PTSD support and translation services) but there was less pressure on housing stock, which was a bigger challenge in urban areas. There was also concern about the move away from face-to-face engagement and the reliance on phone calls and emails, which can be a barrier to making connections, forming relationships and the ‘stickability’ of services.

HPSG members then discussed the findings, noting that it is essential to have a sense-check and understand the drift in perception of how the sector is performing. There was recognition that short term housing supply issues are a key focus and house building cannot be the only solution to supply, but empty homes, voids and allocations are also viable options. Best practice can be used to identify how to maximise impact without requiring additional resources, as well as a focus on prevention of homelessness.

Action:

• Change Team to share more detailed report ahead of next HPSG meeting

Housing (Scotland) Bill

Pamela McBride gave an overview of the homelessness sections of the Bill and set out the principles behind the legislation as well as the expectations of how it will impact the prevention of homelessness. Pamela also shared next steps in the process, which includes detailed stakeholder engagement, parliamentary scrutiny and roundtables to inform operational guidance and training.

While HPSG members welcomed the Bill, there was concern about asking local authorities to do more when there is already pressure on homelessness services and a backlog of people living in temporary accommodation.

Action: 

• SG officials to meet with HPSG members upon request to discuss the Bill

Homelessness statistics

Janine Kellett set out the headline findings of the homelessness statistics between April and September 2023, which mirror trends across the UK. While there were no particular surprises in the statistics, they are disappointing and do not reflect the hard work being undertaken by the sector.

HPSG members agreed that systemic change is required and there needs to be collaborative actions identified to make the biggest impact most quickly.

Regular updates

John Mills gave the RRTP sub-group update. The last meeting focused on how to turn the dial on RRTPs and explored allocations. There is an in-person RRTP event in Dunfermline on 23 May (rescheduled from February due to bad weather).

Janine Kellett provided an update on the T and FGs. All four have now concluded and the SG has published responses to the first two – temporary accommodation and prevention. It will respond to the measuring impact report before summer recess and supported accommodation after summer recess.