Homelessness in 21 st Century Neil Morland

Legal definition of homeless S.175, Part 7, Housing Act 1996 describes the legal position of homelessness and threatened with homelessness A person is homeless if he has no accommodation available for his occupation, in United Kingdom or elsewhere, which he – Is entitled to occupy by virtue of an interest in it or by virtue of an order of court – Has an expressed or implied licence to occupy, or – occupies as a residence by virtue of any enactment or rule of law giving him the right to remain in occupation or restricting the right of another person to recover possession – He has accommodation but cannot secure entry to it – He has accommodation but it consists of a moveable structure, vehicle, or vessel designed or adapted for human habitation and there is no place where he entitled or permitted both to place it and reside to in it A person shall not be treated as having accommodation unless it is accommodation which it would be reasonable for him to continue to occupy A person is threatened with homelessness if it is likely that he will become homeless within 28 days

Levels of homelessness

Who is homeless?

A definition of rough sleeping The Government defines rough sleeping as – People sleeping, about to bed down (sitting on/in or standing next to their bedding) or actually bedded down in the open air (such as on the streets, in tents, doorways, parks, bus shelters or encampments). People in buildings or other places not designed for habitation (such as stairwells, barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, stations, or “bashes”) – People in hostels or shelters, people in campsites or other sites used for recreational purposes or organised protest, squatters or travellers are not included in the definition – Bedded down is taken to mean either lying down or sleeping. About to bed down includes those who are sitting in/or near a sleeping bag or other bedding

Levels of rough sleeping

Who is sleeping rough? A continuing flow of ‘new’ rough sleepers Entrenched rough sleepers resistant to service provision Migrants without recourse to public funds, including Eastern Europeans not in work Predominantly male (88%) and usually White (77%), though more likely to be from ethnic minorities than 10 years ago Usually aged between 25 and 45 years (only 7% under 25, 28% over 45) Have a range of support needs (48% alcohol, 41% drugs, 35% mental health) Often have an institutional history – 39% have been in prison (though not necessarily recently), 12% in care and 5% in the armed forces

Causes of homelessness The causes of homelessness can operate on at least four levels – Economic – debt, unemployment – Housing – overcrowding, unfit – Interpersonal – relationships, crime – Individual – health, education These interact with each other in complex and often unpredictable ways No one of these levels is assumed to be ‘logically prior’ to any of the others For families and ethnic minorities economic and housing factors will be the primary causes of homelessness, with interpersonal and individual factors being the secondary causes. For rough sleepers and young people the primary and secondary causes will be reversed

Reasons of homelessness

Where homeless people live

Experiences of people are homeless Experience Percent Median Age Abused solvents, gas or glue 23% 15 Thrown out by parents/carers 36% 17 Left local authority care 16% 17 Had sex/engaged in sex act in exchange for money, food, drugs or place to stay10% 17 Involved in street drinking 53% 18 Used hard drugs 44% 19 Had a period in life when had six or more alcoholic drinks on a daily basis 63% 20 Had a period in life when very anxious or depressed 79% 22 Injected drugs 27% 22 Admitted to hospital because of a mental health issue 29% 26 Made redundant 23% 26 Begged (asked passers-by for money in the street or another public place) 32% 28 Evicted from a rented property 25% 28 Experienced bankruptcy 6% 29 Home was repossessed 6% 34 A long-term partner died 10% 43 Attempted suicide 38% - Engaged in deliberate self-harm 30% - Charged with a violent criminal offence 27% - Victim of sexual assault as an adult 14% - (Base) 452 -

Experiences during childhood Truanted from school a lot 50% Didn’t get along with parent(s)/step-parent/ carer(s) 38% Suspended, excluded or expelled from school at least once 36% Ran away from home and stayed away for at least one night 34% Violence between parents/carers 27% Parent(s)/step-parent/carer(s) had a drug or alcohol problem24% Badly bullied by other children 22% Physically abused at home 22% Brought up in workless household 21% Family was homeless 16% Spent time in local authority care 16% Sexually abused 16% There was sometimes not enough to eat at home 15% Neglected 15% Parent(s)/step-parent/carer(s) had a mental health problem 15% (Base) 452

Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness Housing Minister Grant Shapps MP has established a Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness, including the following government departments: – Ministry of Defence (veterans) – Business Innovation and Skills (adult skills) – Department of Health (health and care services) – DWP (housing benefit) – Ministry of Justice (criminal justice system) – Home Office (police and immigration) – Department for Education (children and youth services)

Nationwide strategy to end rough sleeping: No second night out Helping people off the streets Helping people to access healthcare Helping people into work Reducing bureaucratic burdens Increasing local control over investment in services Devolving responsibility for tackling homelessness

Localism Bill Localism Bill – Published it on 13 December 2010, it contains measures to: – Devolve powers to Councils – Establish new rights for communities – Reform planning – Reform housing – Incentivise economic growth DCLG have published a paper asserting that changes in behaviour, expectation and culture a required for the measures in the bill to be successful

‘Big Society’ The Big Society is about helping people to come together to improve their own lives. There are three parts to the Big Society agenda: – Community empowerment – Opening up public services – Social action The Office for Civil Society, works across government departments to deliver a number of key Big Society programmes, namely: – The Big Society Bank – National Citizens Service Pilots – Community Organisers – Community First

Impact of Localism and the ’Big Society’ on homelessness Savage cuts will leave people sleeping rough on the streets. The coalition government is presiding over a social disaster as funds that helped support people into housing are cut by councils Patrick Butler, Journalist The government is protecting the homeless from council cuts. We have a long-term commitment to support the most vulnerable in this country Grant Shapps, Minister of State for Housing & Local Government