8/6/2019 Response to Homelessness Consultation
1/4
.~ ..., ,\ ,\ ,\ j
\ j\ j
\ f
\ fI
The Scottish Parliament
Parlamaid na h-AlbaPhil Watt
Housing TeamCity of Edinburgh Council
Waverley Court
4 East Market Street
Edinburgh
EH88BG
5 July 2011
Dear Phil,
I welcome the opportunity to submit my views on the future of the Council's
Homelessness strategy. The following remarks are based on my own experience as
an advocate for three individuals with complex needs.
In that capacity, I attended one of the formal consultation events hosted by the
Council in Augustine's United Church earlier this month.
I must say at the outset that I was very disappointed that the format of the event was
not adapted to meet the needs of the client group.
As the audience was made up of predominately complex needs service users, the
reaction to such open ended questions as the ones prepared in the annex to the
consultation document was very hostile and apprehensive.
Some users felt that they could not answer the questions asked directly without
knowing more about the Council's proposed alternative. As a client group, these
individuals have a history of feeling let down by 'the system' and have a dim view of
institutions like local government and its ability to look after their interests first and
foremost. Their automatic response to speculative questions like those outlined in
the document is to fear the worst. Some of this reaction could have been avoided,
had the questions ruled out their worst fears.
I would hope that any future work with this client group will take their needs in to
consideration when the format of the consultation is developed.
That said, I would like to comment on a number of the issues raised.
8/6/2019 Response to Homelessness Consultation
2/4
Hostel Accommodation
I am concerned about the prospect of Hostel allocation being done exclusively at a
central location. I am aware that service users paramount concern is their own safety
and that they feel safer in some hostels over others.
Service users have expressed to me their concern that should the wish to decline the
offer of one hostel, because they've had a bad experience in it, they may not be
offered another option.
If the Council insists on pursuing this option in order to make more rational use of the
bed spaces then there must be a very clear statement made about the right of clients
to refuse one hostel over another.
Service user's ability to exercise choice is critical. It is predominately about safety,but there is also a secondary aspect to it which involves choosing not to stay in a
hostel where past experiences could compound their propensity to revisit bad habits.
There was also concern about what would happen should a service user be banned
from a hostel. If they are banned from one, and the allocation policy is determined
centrally, does that mean that they could be automatically banned from them all?
There is also an issue about service users with dogs. Will their ability to access
hostel accommodation be affected in anyway by this proposed change in provision?
Private Rented Sector
The client group were concerned about the prospect of any wholesale move to
Private Sector tenancies. Such a move, they felt, would leave them insecure as there
was not the same degree of security of tenure.
The preference would be for council housing or housing association tenancies and
they were concerned about the impact on their long term eligibility for such provision
should they be settled in a private let.
There is also a concern about their long term prospects should a private let become
a permanent fixture. For example, an individual living in a private let, paid for by
housing benefit would not be able to earn enough money to sustain the tenancy
should they take up employment on the national minimum wage.
Moving to a system of private lets is therefore likely to park people on benefits
indefinitely. This might lessen the pressure on the local authority's books, because
the cost would be picked up by DWP, but it is not in the interests of the client and
that should be the Council's paramount concern.
8/6/2019 Response to Homelessness Consultation
3/4
Furthermore, how would the relationship with the Landlord or letting agent be
defined? Could landlords evict tenants without the knowledge of the Council? What
mediation or support services would be available to support clients in their tenancy in
this environment? How would complaints about victimisation and anti-socialbehaviour be handled?
There was also a great deal of concern about the prospect of shared
accommodation. Would clients have a say over who they lived with? Can they refuse
to share and still be offered an alternative? Should they want to share, are they in a
position to determine whether that is actually in their own best interests.
There is clearly an issue regarding housing benefit changes and their potential to
require individuals under the age of 25 to share, but it is not necessarily a given that
such a policy would apply to individuals with complex needs and the Council should
be wary of assuming that is the case when it draws together it's Homeless Strategy.
Visiting Support
The clients I work with are incredibly supportive of a system which seeks to support
individuals in their own homes, but they do not think such support should be limited
to a six month period.
Some of the service users I have worked with, have incredibly complex needs andwill require indefinite support to sustain their tenancies. They openly admit that
should that support be decreased, removed or time limited then they are in serious
danger of slipping up and jeopardising all they have done to move on from periods of
addiction and difficulty in their lives.
The Council may have increasing pressures on it's budgets, but it would be
absolutely foolish to think that money can be saved in this area. Should the removal
of support from these individuals lead to failed tenancies, the costs of dealing with
the increased impact on our hospitals, police and prison services will be far greater.
It is completely ridiculous to think that a system of volunteers and befrienders could
deal with the emotional and social support this client group need. They view this type
of support as critical to the prevention of homeless ness agenda and I could not
agree more.
The success of the complex needs support service is that it provides emotional,
social and practical support in one service as part of relationship with a project
worker over a sustained period of time. Only in that context can the necessary levels
of trust be developed. Continuity of care is key.
8/6/2019 Response to Homelessness Consultation
4/4
Many of these individuals spend their lives reciting their past in order to try and move
on. It is incredibly difficult for them to do so and the private nature and sensitivity of
that information is extremely high. Why should they share that level of detail about
their life history with a volunteer who many not come back the next week?
The service users that I work with view such a suggestion with complete and utter
shock and contempt and is the worst example of how this generic consultation
exercise should have been reconsidered in light of the needs of this particular group
of clients.
Is the Council the best provider?
The clear and unequivocal answer to this question from the client group and from my
own experiences is no. The Council appears to be too preoccupied with cost saving
measures and closing case files to concern itself primarily with the interests of the
individuals in need of support.
There is a wealth of expertise and experience within the voluntary sector in
Edinburgh, built up over a number of years, all of which would be lost should the
Council seek to move all of its provision in-house.
Such a move would require serious, public and independent discussion about the
appropriate levels of accountability and transparency necessary to make it work.
Clients already feel that this consultation exercise has been driven by the need to
save money over the need to improve the quality of care. Until that perception has
been addressed with real and credible action, there will continue to be serious
hostility towards the council's role in providing these services directly.
Thank you for the opportunity to consult. I look forward to receiving feedback on the
consultations deliberations.
Yours sincerely,
Cc: Cllr Paul Eadie
Cllr Ewan Aitken
Cllr Cammy Day
Sheila Gilmore MP