Category: Reports

Ambitious Scots programme to counter misery caused by UK immigration policy must now be scaled up

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More than 1,200 people in Scotland received vital support in the first year of an ambitious programme to end destitution caused by UK immigration policy, a new report reveals – against a backdrop of rising asylum seeker evictions and fears of the return of “lock-change” eviction tactics. Fair Way Scotland said 1,205 people excluded from state support accessed its services in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, including 730 who received casework support in an effort to regularise their immigration status and protect them from being made homeless or forced on to the streets.  

Six people were accommodated by the partnership in Glasgow with linked £50 weekly cash payments because they were excluded from all forms of public support. Sixty people in Glasgow, 291 in Edinburgh and 21 in Aberdeen accessed support and advice.

But efforts to house others – including European nationals without settled status after Brexit – will require additional independent funding available to finance accommodation, amid intense pressures on housing supply amplified by global events.

The report from Heriot-Watt University’s I-SPHERE institute, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, calls on the UK Government to overhaul their hostile immigration policies and commit to ending destitution by design. It also urges the Scottish Government to show clearer political leadership by setting out concrete plans to fully mitigate the harm these policies create.

Ministers must deliver on their commitment to helping people with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) or Restricted Eligibility (RE), as set out in the Green-SNP cooperation agreement, authors said, while praising the public sector for doing as much as possible to protect people before Fair Way Scotland launched.

The report also highlights the key role Registered Social Landlords can play in providing social housing to the partnership – citing the example of Maryhill Housing Association in Glasgow, which has already pledged ten flats, some of which are already occupied. 

Fair Way Scotland works to provide people with safe housing in community-based properties, with linked cash payments, access to legal advice and other support including a helpline. Preventing destitution helps people to regularise their immigration status and access work or statutory support where permitted.

The report’s author Beth Watts-Cobbe, Senior Research Fellow at I-SPHERE, said: “Our report shows the distance travelled in the first year of the partnership despite political and economic uncertainty, tight council budgets and high housing demand, and the priorities ahead. 

“Intolerance of rough sleeping and destitution is a marker of a civilised society. The UK and Scottish Governments will rightly be judged on taking the harms experienced by those with No Recourse to Public Funds or welfare support seriously.”

Deborah Hay, Senior Policy Advisor (Scotland) at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “Destitution should never be a tool of public policy. Yet, the UK Government is doing just that by locking people out of essential support, inflicting needless misery on thousands of people who want to make Scotland their home.

“Fair Way partners have demonstrated that ending destitution in Scotland is possible, despite the challenges. Scaling up Fair Way is now critical given rising demand for help, but mitigation programmes like this shouldn’t be necessary. The UK Government must commit to an urgent change of course and end destitution by design.”  

Sabir Zazai, CEO of Scottish Refugee Council, said: “Safe housing and legal advice is more important than ever as the UK Government continues to pursue hostile policies and deny people their basic human rights.

“As we see a deeply concerning rise in people seeking protection being evicted from their homes, this report highlights some of the proactive ways people at risk of homelessness can be supported.”

Publication of the evaluation comes after a reported sharp rise in eviction cases going through Glasgow Sheriff Court brought by Home Office accommodation provider Mears Housing.

It follows a Home Office decision to shorten the eviction process for people seeking asylum in dispersal accommodation, raising concerns among campaigners that lock-change evictions previously used by Serco could resume. Serco’s policy between 2012 and 2019 meant locks on people’s homes could be changed without notice if they were no longer eligible for asylum support, effectively forcing them into immediate street homelessness.

Coalition calls for private sector to play greater role in ending homelessness

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Private landlords could play a far greater role in helping to end homelessness in Scotland, according to a new report from a coalition of homelessness and housing experts.

Releasing its new report, the Everyone Home collective set out how the private rented sector could become a more accessible option for people experiencing homelessness looking for a settled, secure place to live.

The Collective, made up of nearly 40 third sector organisations and academics, strongly welcomed the Scottish Government’s commitment to build 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, a mid-term commitment that would result in the delivery of 38,500 social homes by the end of this parliament in 2026.

But while social housing plays a key role in helping people end their homelessness, the private rented sector is very rarely an option.

In its new report, the group found that widening access to support and advice in private lets would help make the private rented sector more accessible to people experiencing homelessness.

It called on the Scottish Government to promote the role it sees the PRS playing in meeting current and future housing need, setting out a clear vision for the size and role the sector should play in the future tenure composition of housing in Scotland.

It also urged the Scottish Government to support local authorities – in guidance and in practice – to work productively with the PRS to reduce and resolve homelessness.

Incentives for landlords should also be considered, with the aim of improving PRS quality, access and affordability, which also to appeal to landlords who rent to lower income households.

It also recommended targeted, proactive approaches to homelessness prevention for groups which may be at greater risk of eviction, alongside the use of Scottish Government social security powers to top up support for those subject to Local Housing Allowance shortfalls in PRS who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Sarah Walters, head of best practice at homelessness charity Crisis, said: “Social housing plays a vital role in helping people end their homelessness. But while for many people a social tenancy is the right option, with better support we know the private rented sector could play a far greater role in helping people find a safe, secure place to live.

“With numbers of people trapped in temporary accommodation at an all-time high, and with a shortage of affordable housing in Scotland, we need to use every option available to us and the private rented sector can help. People experiencing homelessness deserve the same choice and control as anyone else, but we know that they are far too often locked out of the private rented sector. By reducing barriers and providing support, we can help people end their homelessness and strengthen our communities.”

Maggie Brünjes, chief executive of Homeless Network Scotland, said: “There are many factors that influence the choices we make about our housing. From size and type, to location and accessibility, to time and cost.

“People who experience homelessness must have access to the same range of housing options as other members of the public. For some people, the private rented sector offers the right choice, in the right place at the right time. For this reason, it is in everyone’s interest to work together to ensure the PRS is a viable and affordable option.”

A ‘route forward for the private rented sector’ (Everyone Home collective; Aug 2023) is available to download here. For a briefing and to discuss the route-map, a webinar is being held on 24 August, 10.30-11.30 with speakers including Patrick Harvie MSP. To join the webinar please register here.

Over-representation of ethnic minorities experiencing homelessness: new policy paper 

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A new policy paper published by the Centre for Homelessness Impact calls for specific interventions to relieve and prevent homelessness among people from ethnic minorities to address stark inequalities among people who are assessed as homeless. The report, written by Nissa Finney, Professor of Human Geography at the University of St Andrews, highlights how inequalities experienced by different ethnic groups across the UK contribute to higher rates of homelessness, including that black people are more than three times as likely to experience homelessness as white people in England and twice as likely in Scotland. 

The paper urges local authorities and accommodation providers to focus on systemic inequalities in housing provision and says governments should bring race equality approaches to homelessness programmes. Read the paper here.

Help homelessness closer to home

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As people are forced to leave their homes behind in all parts of Scotland, and across many parts of the world, it can be easy to feel powerless – and difficult to know where to help. On World Homeless Day (10 October 2022), people who play a role in their local community are being urged to ‘think global – act local’ to help everyone in Scotland to have a safe place to call home.

The call coincides with the launch of findings from a test-of-change programme exploring what happened when two communities in Glasgow – Pollok and the Gorbals – set about to prevent homelessness and to share what they designed and discovered.

All homelessness starts in a community. But not all communities are at equal risk. The cost-of-living crisis and the social and economic impact of the pandemic will lead to more pressure on communities and more people becoming homeless. Work to protect homes and prevent homelessness is needed across many different fronts – including more focus at a community level.

Homeless Network Scotland wanted to test a new approach to tackle this uneven distribution of homelessness risk, at the heart of the places most affected by it. The test was to understand what happens when ‘subject experts’ collaborate with ‘local experts’ and ‘lived experience’ experts to combine knowledge, insight and problem solving at a local level.

Scottish Community Development Centre and Unity expertly guided this exploratory place-based approach and, with thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund, the partnership were able to support local people to target local investment too. 6 local partners and anchor organisations led the design and delivery of proactive new initiatives – Bridging the Gap, Dawsun, Glen Oaks Housing Association, New Gorbals Housing Association, Spider Arts and SWAMP.

All partners believe that less applications for help with homelessness were made to the local council from both communities during the period of the programme. 6 key themes and 8 key considerations have also been highlighted to help kickstart more place-based approaches to prevent homelessness earlier, and closer to home.  This includes :

  • That the enormous goodwill to help people often centres around towns and cities. But all homelessness starts in a community and acting local, in a range of different ways, can help prevent homelessness earlier, and closer to home.

  • Community Planning Partnerships should include ‘preventing homelessness’ as a priority outcome in Local Outcomes Improvement Plans and Locality Plans.

  • To harness the position and expertise of community groups and structures to:
    • Ask about housing and
    • Act to protect homes and prevent homelessness.

A place-based approach means elected members, community planning partnerships, community councils, other local governance and decision-making structures — along with the wealth of local services, groups and networks. Together we can protect homes and prevent homelessness earlier, and closer to home.

View the results of the test-of-change programme and read a blog from David Ramsay from Homeless Network Scotland. Interested in what your place can do? Get in touch for a chat with the team at Homeless Network Scotland on 0141 420 7272 or email hello@homelessnetwork.scot

Staying In

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All homelessness starts in a community. But not all communities are at equal risk. Homeless Network Scotland wanted to test a new approach to tackle the uneven distribution of homelessness risk, at the heart of the places most affected by it. We set about to test what happens when ‘subject experts’ collaborate with ‘local experts’ and ‘lived experience’ experts to combine knowledge, insight and problem solving at a local level. And, with thanks to the National Lottery Community fund, to understand how local investment would be targeted too. David Ramsay from Homeless Network Scotland blogs about what was designed and discovered.

Wawl, can’t believe that’s been 3 years since we launched this project. It’s been an amazing and definitively eventful time, as Covid struck just as we got the project up and running, which meant there was a delay to the project.

So let’s get back to where it all began (I think there is a song in that ).

As an organisation we have been working in local communities across Scotland promoting a placed based approach to preventing homelessness at a local level.

A placed based approach embraces a whole community and the assets that already exist in that area, so you’re right “this is not rocket science and isn’t new.” But what is new is the focus on homelessness prevention.

One question I always ask myself? Is using the language of homelessness prevention a barrier for other services out with housing to get involved in trying to protect people’s homes? If you think so, what language should we all adopt?

Homeless Network Scotland and others had a shared understanding that some of the answers to protecting people’s homes and tackling housing issues are in the community themselves, and each community is different so may need a slightly different approach. Having the flexibility to deal with the slightly changing priorities of each community is one of the main benefits to a place-based approach as the usual response is either, a local authority or national strategy.

Thankfully the National Lottery Community Fund also had the same vision as us and wanted to try and test new ways which would change culture and practice within a local setting and we were able to secure funding to test our ideas across 2 different areas in Glasgow.

We worked in partnership with Unity and Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) to deliver a new test-of-change in Greater Pollok and Gorbals which are both in the south of Glasgow. As this was the first time in Scotland that anyone had piloted a test-of-change focusing on prevention, I’m sure you can imagine I was full of excitement and slightly nervous as I wanted this to be a success.

Our approach was simple and not hard to replicate. First thing we did was create a panel of local people who either lived or worked in the area and who had a passion for supporting the local community. once you have a group of people who have the same objectives and goals it makes things so much easier.

Also, another valuable contribution was from the partners involved as well. This was crucial in moving the project forward at the right time. No one has all the answers (though my partner may disagree) the knowledge and expertise from Unity and SCDC really gave the approach we adopted so much more meaning. I also learned so much more about working with people which I’ll take forward onto the next project.

The Staying In project funded 6 organisations across both areas, this included housing associations, anchor organisations and small charities. The range of services varied which was a benefit to the local community. The value to the people who engaged with the organisations was simply the right support was on offer at the right time. I would like to see more people have this choice and control over who they engage with and not a one size fits all local authority response.

We want this to be rolled out across other areas, so it’ll be important that the right amount of time and support is allocated to smaller charities and organisations to fully get behind this approach. Its important everyone is involved throughout each stage of this process and buy in comes from health, criminal justice, local authorities, and Scottish Government. Everyone has a part to play in their local community and let’s do more of what working and keep people Staying In their local area if that is what they want.

The most important thing is that this programme achieved exciting things. We believe that less applications for help with homelessness were made to the local authority from both communities. We also discovered 6 key themes from this programme that we believe could be of interest to other place-based initiatives or inform local responses to homelessness – or could merit further research or development. And we have pointed to 8 key considerations for local partners.

Many thanks to everyone who was involved in this project and let’s hope this model can be replicated and rolled out across Scotland soon.

David

Read the full evaluation here.