Homelessness Prevention Duties: Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment

Summary of aims and expected outcomes of the policy

The aim of the Homelessness Prevention Duties is to strengthen housing and homelessness rights and re-balance the system away from crisis intervention in favour of early prevention activity, through the introduction of an ‘ask and act’ provision on specified relevant bodies, so as to identify people at risk of homelessness earlier and enable them to access the support they need; as well as to make changes to existing homelessness legislation to require local authorities to intervene at an earlier stage to prevent homelessness.

The duties will make preventing homelessness ‘everyone’s business’, widening the statutory responsibility for preventing homelessness from local authority homelessness services to specified relevant bodies that may come into contact with households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

Individuals identified as being at risk of homelessness who interact with relevant bodies should be made aware earlier of the available person-centred support which could prevent them from moving into homelessness. Recognising that some individuals facing homelessness can also be vulnerable to other wider social harms such as poverty, addiction and mental health issues, it is intended that averting homelessness may have positive outcomes on these other vulnerabilities.

By preventing homelessness from happening, through earlier intervention, we expect to prevent the trauma and disruption to, for example, schooling and support networks that so often ensues, as well as decrease use of temporary accommodation, which has significant funding impacts on public services. This funding can then be used to improve public services for everyone.

The duties will support the following outcomes within the National Performance Framework^[1], which are fundamental to the ambition to end homelessness in Scotland:

• We respect, protect and fulfil human rights and live free from discrimination.
• We tackle poverty by sharing opportunities, wealth and power more equality.
• We live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe.
• We grow up loved, safe and respected so we can realise our full potential.