In February, Councillor Jane Meagher chaired the first meeting of a new Homelessness Task Force appointed by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee – see the committee report here. The remit of the group is to build on existing prevention work, reduce the number of people rough sleeping, accessing temporary accommodation and living in insecure accommodation.
To increase the supply of quality council led temporary accommodation provision, reducing the reliance on bed and breakfast. And to ensure that appropriate support is available for all people who require it. A very informative presentation was delivered outlining the current context of Edinburgh’s affordable housing programme, an increasing population and the local housing pressures. A copy of the slides are available here.
We are always reviewing the training courses we offer. We’d appreciate your help to shape our training offer. Please take 5 mins to complete a short survey by Friday 17 March at 5pm – and we’ll throw in a *free training place in a course of your choice if you do.
*Please note the free training offer is limited to 2 delegates per organisation on completion of the full survey.
Come and visit our Learning Lounge and see what is currently on offer for 2023 – new courses are being added across the year.
Closer to home:a place-based approach to preventing homelessness
All homelessness starts in a community, so a place-based approach to preventing it happening is part of a wider shift towards employing assets that already exist in communities to improve wellbeing, address poverty and prevent homelessness. The learning experience will connect the causes and drivers of homelessness with the local knowledge and services that can provide an early warning approach using a simple two-point technique. It is designed for professionals working with people at risk or those who come into regular contact with members of the public.
Rough guide to homelessness policy & legislation in Scotland
This course looks in detail at existing and recent housing and homelessness policy and legislation in Scotland and how it intersects to create a world-leading safety net for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Since 2017, the influence of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG) and the Scottish Parliament’s Inquiry on Homelessness has led to the Scottish Government/COSLA High-Level Plan to End Homelessness. We will examine legislation while identifying and analysing local challenges in implementation. This learning opportunity will broaden your knowledge and understanding of current policy and legislation designed to prevent, alleviate and ultimately end homelessness in Scotland. Presented in a rough guide format.
The unequal risk: equality in housing and homelessness
The Equality Act 2010 brought together over 100 pieces of legislation dating from 1970 to 2007 to provide a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all. We know that experiences of the housing system, including risk of housing crises and homelessness, are varied and we need to understand these differences so we can more effectively prevent and tackle homelessness. This session aims to help build your confidence in talking about, and acting on, diversity, equality and inclusion, representing the diverse communities of people affected by housing, homelessness and poverty issues.
Preparing for future challenges and opportunities means adapting and getting ahead of the curve. We know change happens when we change together. We also know that time means everything. We can help your team with topics such as:
Should housing associations, membership bodies and other organisations within the sector be looking to increase diversity among staff and board teams? Why is it important? And what resources are available for those looking to attract a broader range of backgrounds and experiences?
Joining this podcast are Lara Oyedele, the current president of the Chartered Institute of Housing, who is seeking to raise awareness of the importance of racial diversity within the leadership of the housing sector with her CIH presidential campaign, ‘In My Shoes’, Callum Chomczuk, the national director for CIH Scotland and chair of the internal EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) group which for the past two years has been working to improve EDI throughout CIH and its membership, and Fash Fasoro, the CEO of social enterprise DataKirk. Fash helped organise the recent Scottish Black Talent Summit and offers insight on how to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
In January, Patrick Harvie MSP set out to Parliament the Scottish Government’s proposals for the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 beyond 31 March. Subject to the approval of Parliament, changes to the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Act will mean that from 1 April 2023:
if landlords choose to increase private rents, they will be capped at 3%;
the safeguard for private landlords will be amended, allowing them to apply for increases of up to 6% to help cover certain increases in costs in defined and limited circumstances;
enforcement of evictions will continue to be prevented for all tenants except in a number of specified circumstances;
increased damages for unlawful evictions of up to 36 months’ worth of rent will continue to be applicable;
the rent cap for social sector accommodation will be expired, following a voluntary agreement being reached on an agreed approach to rent setting for 2023/24 that ensures that rents remain affordable but still support continued investment in the sector;
the rent cap for student accommodation will be suspended, recognising its limited impact on annual rents set based on an academic year.
These temporary measures are intended to be extended to 30 September, provided they remain necessary, with the option to extend for another six-month period if required. As announced in December 2022, the social sector rent freeze is being replaced with agreements from landlords to keep any rent increase for 2023-24 well below inflation. The first report on the implementation of the legislation, covering the period 28 October to 31 December 2022, was also published in January. Read it here.
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