Monitoring Homelessness Prevention Duncan Gray & Dr. Andrew Waugh

Purpose To discuss and get your reactions to:- a) The need to gather statistical data on housing options at national level. b) Options for doing this and our preferred approach. Is the proposed approach:- –Sensible? –Feasible in a reasonable timescale? To get your advice on proposed next steps.

Outline: Our views on Why monitor homelessness prevention? What information should be collected? How would it be implemented? Questions and discussion. –Feel free to interrupt as we go.

Why?

Why?: Information needs at different levels/ stages Within team –Case management. –Service management. Within council –Strategic planning: Housing Need and Demand Assessments. –Senior management, members and public. National and Parliament –Scottish Housing Regulator. –Statistical publication and reporting.

Why national level information? Key priority identified by most at stats user group. Standard set of basic statistical information useful for:- –Regulator/ self assessment/ risk based assessment. –Sharing information about what works and why? Discharges public accountability for operation of policy:- –Parliament/ public/ voluntary bodies.

Social landlords work together to ensure that: –people looking for housing get information that helps them make informed choices and decisions about the range of housing options available to them –tenants and people on housing lists can review their housing options. Social landlords ensure that: –people at risk of losing their homes get advice on preventing homelessness.

What?

What? Hierarchy of needs Everything starts with case management. –Basic detail needed to manage each case. –Supplementary detail to give context. At more strategic levels within the council and nationally. –Standard, regular summaries to track and report progress. –The facility to drill down to explore/ explain changes in trend and odd patterns.

Sorts of strategic questions What prevention/ option actions are most effective for which groups? How can we assess and respond to an external shock. [e.g. HB changes] What is driving the reduction in homeless applications? [response to gate keeping concerns.] What are the main characteristics of affordable housing need? [Impact on LHS/ HNDA].

What to collect: Our thoughts Basic Demographic Information –Number of adults and children –Age of Head of Household –Ethnicity and other equalities groups? Circumstances surrounding the approach Local Authority Action or Actions Outcomes –Homeless Application –Tenancy/ Returned to previous accommodation, etc…

How?

How: Possibilities Options include. –a) Summary information similar to English ‘ Homelessness prevention and relief statistics’? –b) Electronic data capture at case level. i) Extend the HL1 to cover all housing options cases. ii) Separate data capture for housing options cases.

Summary information (HL2 style) For –Not much cost to Scottish Government. Against –Cost to councils in assembling the information from your systems. –Consistency/ comparability of data. –Can’t support further analysis, e.g. for Regulator.. –Won’t answer the basic question of who is benefiting and in what ways. [Unless we ask for lots of tables.]

Case based. For –No costs to councils in assembling the data. –Better able to maintain consistency/ comparability. –Supports further analysis. –Identifies who benefits from what interventions. Against –Initial set up effort/ cost. Easiest for councils at the earliest stage of implementing case management systems. [What is current position?] –Effort in correcting errors.

Extend the HL1? –HL1 is about the operation of the homelessness legislation. –Bringing all of housing options/ prevention in to the same system would cloud the distinction. Homelessness Prevention Work Other Outcomes

Outline of our preferred approach Simple case based data capture based on outcomes. –Quarterly (or continuously). –1 record for each case where there is an outcome in that quarter. –No attempt to link cases over time. [Unless sustainability of outcomes/ repeats is seen as an issue.] –Capture basic information about household/ circumstances/ housing options actions/ outcome.

Things to be decided (1) Should we gather and publish national level statistics on housing options? Summary or case based? If summary: How much detail in summary table(s). If case based: What electronic data capture method(s) to use?

Things to be decided (2) What constitutes an outcome? –Only cases where a need has been resolved; or should ‘advice only’ cases be included? How should we classify housing options actions? How should we classify existing circumstances/ perceived housing need of those assisted? What demographic detail is needed? –Age/ sex/ HH type/ Equalities categories.

Next steps? Depending on today’s discussion:- –Update paper to housing statistics user/ provider group in April. –Get the Minister’s and CoSLA (ALACHO?) views. –Possible paper to 2012 Steering Group.

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