1. Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 Preparing for the Duty to Refer
Kent Housing Group HRA Workshop
28th September 2018

2. Homelessness Reduction Act – strengthening statutory duties to improve prevention and relief of homelessness
Code of Guidance
MHCLG support for implementation of the Act
Reforming data systems
Secondary Legislation

3. The role of HAST
Supporting the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act; including having a particular focus on improving outcomes for single people and rough sleepers
Supporting areas to develop their homelessness strategies and governance with a focus on preventing homelessness through collaboration across public services
Providing targeted challenge and support to help struggling areas to improve their practice and performance
Supporting the development and sharing of effective practice, working alongside our Trailblazer areas
Providing intelligence from local areas to inform on-going policy development.

4. HRA Duty to Refer
Duty to Refer - from 1st October 2018 certain public bodies will have a new ‘Duty to Refer’ with consent, their service users who are homeless or threatened with homelessness to a local authority of their choice.
To ensure that services are working together effectively
Working together to intervene earlier to prevent homelessness
Specified public bodies but others can still make a referral
Homelessness Code of Guidance Chapter Four
Commitment to Refer for housing associations
Central and local arrangements

5. Duty to Refer
Public Bodies with Duty to Refer from October 1st 2018 are:
(a) prisons;
(b) youth offender institutions;
(c) secure training centres;
(d) secure colleges;
(e) youth offending teams;
(f) probation services (including community rehabilitation companies);
(g) Jobcentre Plus;
(h) social service authorities;
(i) emergency departments;
(j) urgent treatment centres; and,
(k) hospitals in their function of providing inpatient care.
(l) Secretary of State for defence in relation to members of the armed forces
Local authorities and partners are encouraged to build referral protocols and procedures with ALL service providers that can help identify and support people threatened with homelessness

6. Working towards a voluntary Duty to Refer or a ‘commitment’ to refer
For those agencies not subject to the duty to refer it is still possible and helpful to refer early to prevent homelessness.
National Housing Federation – a ‘commitment to refer’ for housing associations. See : 
An example is West Midlands Housing Associations Partnership (WMHAP), with a commitment in principle given to:
Support West Midlands to be an exemplar region in implementation of Homelessness Reduction Act
Voluntary commitment to collaborate to prevent homelessness and relieve
Ambition to work towards no-one being made homeless from social housing
Task group set up within WMHAP to develop the above further

7. Local arrangements under the Duty to Refer
Local authorities and the public sector partners locally which are subject to the Duty to Refer may wish to consider:
Whether a cross-authority referral form could be developed
How to enable easy access to agencies to the form
Training and briefings with local agencies so there is shared understanding of the new legislation, the legal duty and importance of early referrals, the legal requirement for consent and how to address any issues/problems
The revising of existing protocols or creation of new ones (example hospital discharge)
Duty to Refer address list for all local housing authorities
Guidance for public bodies now published

8. MHCLG news
A Ministerial Taskforce will bring together ministers from key departments to provide a cross-Government approach to rough sleeping and homelessness prevention
A Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel made up of homelessness experts, charities and local government, will support the Ministerial Taskforce
A national strategy, as part of its commitment to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it altogether by 2027
Rough Sleeping Initiative with funding for 83 areas, £11m RSI money unallocated, Trailblazer programmes and Rough Sleeping Grants
Housing First pilot Areas
London Training Academy spaces offered to high demand areas in South East and East of England
Further funding – PRS Access Fund soon, Move on Fund out now, Local Digital Fund out now
Expanded HAST team

9. Contact email for enquiries Hast@communities.gsi.gov.uk
ANY QUESTIONS?
Contact for enquiries