Homelessness Prevention Duties: Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment

Summary of assessment findings

While the new duties could be applied to anyone in Scotland who currently has rights to access statutory support, the changes will give increased opportunities for vulnerable individuals to be identified upstream, and supported, through their contact with a range of relevant bodies. This may result in averting the experience of possible trauma which is a likely outcome of becoming homeless.

The inclusion of domestic abuse measures in the duties (and the commencement of provisions in the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 (“2021 Act”)) may positively affect women and children who are victim-survivors of domestic abuse. The duties will require social landlords to have a domestic abuse policy, which outlines how they will meet the housing needs of women experiencing domestic abuse, include supporting them to stay in their own home, if that is what they want. This complements the provisions within the 2021 Act which gives social landlords greater control to transfer joint housing tenancies to a domestic abuse survivor, should this be desired, thus reducing the risk of homelessness for women in this situation.

Evidence indicates that women earn less on average than men^[16], are less likely to be paid the Living Wage^[17] and are more likely to not be working due to looking after children or the home^[18]. This may lead to women having a lower independent income. Whilst there may be income pooling within a couple with a high-income and low-income earner, there will be an unequal reliance on the sharing of income to maintain their standard of living^[19]. Evidence^[20] also shows us that there are some types of households with children who are at a higher risk of being in poverty. These include households more like to be headed by women (such as single parent households, and those with a child under one (for which the mother tends to do the vast majority of the caring), or households where the mother is aged under 25^[21]. As poverty is a structural factor which can lead to homelessness, the prevention duties will create opportunity for people at risk of homelessness to be supported as early as possible with the aim of preventing future homelessness in the instance of someone who is at risk of homelessness, and/or result in the housing of that individual, if they are homeless.

No changes are being suggested to the proposals as a result of the assessment. This is because the prevention of homelessness duties will benefit anyone in any group who currently has rights to access support, who is homeless or threatened with homelessness, therefore addressing inequalities and creating a fairer Scotland.

Evidence gaps

The statutory national statistical collections, HL1 and Prevent1, for which data is collected by local authorities and published by the Scottish Government, provide information on all stages of the homelessness process including applications and assessments, the circumstances from which households become homeless and the characteristics of the homelessness population. Subject to the outcome of the ongoing review of homelessness data collections, being led by Scottish Government analysts, this information will continue to be gathered. It is recognised that existing statistical collections do not specifically provide intersectional analysis on poverty, SIMD and homelessness/risk of homelessness and that there may be additional (or alternative) information we would wish to capture when the prevention duties are implemented.

A further recognised gap in the evidence is that of hidden homelessness. The Scottish Government recently completed an international evidence review^[22] into hidden homelessness and the populations that may be likely to experience it, and we have commissioned research into housing insecurity and hidden homelessness, which is due to conclude later in 2024. Analysts are collaborating with the Office for National Statistics, who are investigating novel methods of capturing information on a UK-wide basis about hidden homelessness groups, which will complement the Scottish Government commissioned research and when combined, will give us a much stronger evidence base.

Additionally, work across Government and with stakeholders to consider the collection of quantitative data on any new prevention duties will also provide an opportunity to consider how best to use qualitative data to measure impact at an appropriate time after the duties are in place.

Sign off of the Fairer Scotland Assessment template

Name: Alice Hall

Job title: Deputy Director Better Homes Division