Homelessness Strategy

Under the provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 local authorities are required to produce a Homelessness Strategy.

A draft of the strategy was submitted to the Scottish Executive (Homelessness Team) and Communities Scotland (Director of Regulation and Inspection) for comment and observation. The feedback received has been incorporated in the final version of the strategy.

Work on implementing and delivering the Strategy commenced on 1 April 2003. Communities Scotland Regulation and Inspection Division will assess the implementation of the strategy in due course.

If you wish to comment on the strategy please e-mail housing@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Aberdeenshire Council Homelessness Strategy 2003 - 2006 (1.2mb)

Background

Under the provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 local authorities are required to produce a Homelessness Strategy.

In developing Homelessness Strategies local authorities are required to follow guidelines issued by the Scottish Executive and an "Assessment Framework" produced by Communities Scotland. Furthermore, authorities have also been advised to produce strategies, which take account of the Homelessness Task Forces Final Report. This is the basis of new homelessness legislation in the form of the Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003. The Aberdeenshire Strategy has been written taking due account of these requirements.

Work on implementing and delivering the Strategy commenced on 1 April 2003. Communities Scotland Regulation and Inspection Division will assess the implementation of the strategy in due course.

Homelessness in Aberdeenshire

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 requires each local authority to carry out an assessment of homelessness in its area.

The research carried out by Dr Love of the Robert Gordon University involved a study of service providers and a detailed analysis of the statistical returns to the Scottish Executive on homelessness applications, the HL1 data, for the years 1997 to 2002. In addition a survey of homeless people funded from the Rough Sleepers' Initiative was also carried out in 2001.

The scale and nature of homelessness has changed little over the last five years and the key features are:

between 1,200 and 1,300 households present as homeless each year
single parents and young persons 16-24 are the largest categories representing approximately 33% and 25% of all presentations respectively
single persons households make up 50% of presentations
the commonest reasons for becoming homeless were parents, friends or relatives no longer offering accommodation and dispute with partner at 33% of all applications in each case

Implications

Area Implications

This Strategy is an Aberdeenshire document, which relates to all areas. Although it is acknowledged that homelessness takes different forms in different parts of the (six political areas of the) local authority and 'solutions' to homelessness will reflect area differences.

Policy Implications

This is Aberdeenshire's first full Homelessness Strategy and as such brings the Council's homelessness policies together in one document.

It is very much a corporate strategy and integrates with other relevant council strategies and plans. Also, it is a strategy developed with the interest and support of the local authority's strategic partners in the wider community.

Staffing Implications

A Policy Officer has been employed to assist in preparing the Strategy and will be fully involved in its implementation and progress monitoring.

Additional officers (3 FTE) will be employed within local housing teams to manage temporary accommodation provision and seek new housing opportunities amongst other duties.

The costs of the above posts are being met from the funding granted by the Scottish Executive as detailed in the following section. Increased workloads are forecast as an outcome of the new duties and further additional staffing may be required as a result.

Financial Implications

To deliver the strategy and meet the homelessness provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 and the requirements of Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003 will have significant financial implications. Without additional funding it is anticipated that certain proposals may not be achievable.

The additional financial burden on local authorities has been recognised by the Scottish Executive and the Council has been allocated funding to assist meet the requirements of the legislation as follows:

2002 / 03 - £445,500
2003 / 04 - £569,500
2004 / 05 - £596,600
2005 / 06 - £596,600

The funding received to date has been used for a variety of projects including development of the Strategy, additional temporary accommodation provision and necessary staffing. Particular emphasis is being placed upon the use of this finance for the prevention of homelessness.

Key Aims and Objectives

The key aims of this strategy are:

To maximise the prevention of homelessness in Aberdeenshire
To ensure that those households and individuals who do become homeless are given the help they need to obtain and sustain a home of their own.

Objectives

Objective 1

To work with partner organisations to develop and continuously improve the quality of homelessness services available in Aberdeenshire.

Objective 2

To ensure an integrated Housing Information and Advice service is developed for everyone including homeless persons and those at risk of homelessness.

Objective 3

To develop awareness of homelessness issues through schools and further education establishments.

Objective 4

To seek to provide training programmes to maximise the employment opportunities of homeless people and those at risk of homelessness.

Objective 5

To ensure that information, advice and services are available that specifically provides for the needs of vulnerable groups and that good lines of communication exist with the relevant establishments and agencies involved with these groups.

Objective 6

To work towards reducing the number of evictions throughout all sectors.

Objective 7

To seek to ensure that housing management in the social rented sector is geared towards preventing homelessness and making maximum use of the existing stock.

Objective 8

To seek through the Local Housing Strategy provision of a range of good quality affordable housing for rent, which aims to meet a variety of identified needs.

Objective 9

To work in partnership with other statutory and voluntary organisations so that no one has to sleep rough in Aberdeenshire by the end of 2003.

Objective 10

To provide a range of suitable, high quality temporary accommodation throughout Aberdeenshire.

Objective 11

To seek to provide support for those homeless people with multiple needs who are not ready for independent living or where a strong risk of becoming homeless exists.

Objective 12

To work towards a full assessment being made of each homeless person's housing and support needs.

Objective 13

To provide sufficient refuge and other accommodation and support for those individuals and families surviving domestic abuse.

Objective 14

To work in partnership with NHS Grampian in the development and implementation of the Health and Homelessness Action Plan 2002 -2005 for Aberdeenshire.

Objective 15

To work with relevant organisations and agencies to assist homeless people and those at risk of homelessness in obtaining adequate furnishings.

Objective 16

To maximise the support provided through the Supporting People Strategy and available financial resources to the benefit of homeless people and those at risk of homelessness.

Objective 17

To develop and implement a monitoring framework in order to evaluate the Strategy.