Liverpool city council will spend £948,000, over two years, from a Government grant to help prevent people from ending up in a position where they are at risk of losing their home.

According to the Liverpool Echo, a report to the council this Friday (August 4^th) will recommend using the money to increase the number of staff in the Housing Options Service that helps people find new accommodation, and providing more outreach support for vulnerable people. This is in addition to the council’s existing budget of £10.8m for homelessness, which is spent on a range of interventions including temporary accommodation and housing as well as help for rough sleepers and people with complex needs.

But while welcoming the additional cash, cabinet member for housing Cllr Frank Hont reiterated the complexities of Liverpool’s homelessness issues – which includes so-called “professional beggars” operating in the city centre, who he says are “conning” people out of money.

Mr. Hont told the Echo: “The most visible sign of homelessness is rough sleeping but this is just one aspect of homelessness and a small minority of the 6,000 households that we help every year. The vast majority of people on the streets have turned down the offer of temporary accommodation, usually due to complex needs such as substance misuse or mental health issues. “In addition, we know there are also professional beggars who come to Liverpool to con shoppers and workers out of their hard earned money by pretending to be homeless.”

“This is a hugely complex issue but one we are resolutely focused on tackling, whether it is identifying and helping those who are at risk, working with partners such as the Whitechapel Centre to help rough sleepers into new accommodation or encouraging people to contact us through the No Second Night Out programme if they see someone sleeping on the streets.”

Councillor Paul Brant, health and social care chief, said: “We have taken great care to protect homelessness services from reductions in funding despite the huge cuts that we have faced in recent years but it is a struggle due to welfare reforms and austerity which have left many more people vulnerable.”

The grant comes in two lots, with £448,800 in 2017/18 and £499,634 in 2018/19. “We will be using this additional funding to prevent people from becoming homeless rather than picking up the pieces when somebody has lost their home and I would like to thank our staff who have worked hard to secure this valuable extra money,” said Cllr Brant.

In a bizarre turn of events, rough sleepers in Oxford have been warned they must remove their possessions from doorways or face fines of up to £2,500.

Community protection notices were placed on homeless people’s possessions last week, ordering that they must remove their belongings or be prosecuted for “unreasonable” conduct. The notice, issued under the legislation designed to tackle anti-social behaviour, accused rough sleepers of “causing an obstruction […] that may constitute a hazard” and leaving their belongings unattended on any land that is “not rightfully” theirs without written permissions from the landowner.

It warned that if people with no fixed abode failed to comply by the following morning they would be committing an offence that could lead to court action and a maximum fine of £2,500.

Oxford City Council said the presence of the bags was blocking fire escapes in a particular part of the city and therefore posing a risk to those working inside, saying lockers are available for homeless people to store their belongings. But local Green Party Councillor David Thomas told The Independent the rough sleepers affected struggled to find a viable alternative, with only a “limited” amount of storage space currently provided by the council.

He claimed using legislation designed to prevent anti-social behaviour against homeless people was a “disproportionate” use of the council’s power. “That legislation is designed to tackle anti-social behaviour, not to harass the homeless over their bags. It’s disproportionate power. People get confused between the definitions of annoying and anti-social,” said Mr Thomas.

“Homeless people affected told me they understood it was a safety issue, but they don’t have a viable alternative on where to store their things. In the local night shelter there’s very limited lock up space, but nowhere near enough to give people dignity. “A few months ago the council did start a discussion about providing more lock-up space, but nothing has happened since.”

The action follows a controversial Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) introduced in 2015, which was designed to tackle “persistent types of anti-social behaviour”. It has been condemned for its frequent use in targeting the homeless.

Mr Thomas said that amid growing rates of homelessness in the city, such orders against rough sleepers failed to tackle the root of the problem. “Oxford City Council has a history of using anti-social legislation against rough sleepers. They’re a bit quick off the mark, and this is a very easy piece of legislation for the council to administer,” he said. “Homelessness is a rising problem in Oxford, and the true figures are often underestimated. It’s a bit like a cat and mouse game, the council keeps moving them on and it’s a waste of time and resources.”

Claire Dowan, chief executive of local charity Oxford Homeless Pathways, which works with a number of rough sleepers in the area, said viewing homelessness in the city from an “anti-social” perspective failed to look at the root causes.

“My questions is: why are these dispersal orders needed? We’re talking about a very vulnerable client group, and what needs to be addressed is how we can accommodate and care for them and address some of those social issues,” she told The Independent. “It should be about the root causes. We’re looking at vulnerable people who often don’t have any alternative and need help. If you look at homelessness from the perspective of anti-social behaviour, you aren’t looking at the real issues behind it.”

Nobody has yet commented on how a homeless person will be able to pay a £2,500 fine!

Having gained royal assent in April the Homeless Reduction Act is poised to have a major bearing on how local authorities tackle one of this decade’s biggest social issues.

Compared with seven years ago, more people are sleeping rough, more are in temporary accommodation and, it’s thought, more people are ‘sofa surfing’ or simply coping without a permanent home. The Act requires councils to now intervene sooner if anyone is threatened with homelessness and do more to help everyone without a home, not just those classed as ‘priority need’.

At the heart of the legislation are two new duties. A preventative duty requires councils to assist anybody who is threatened with losing their home in the next 56 days (up from 28 days), while a relief duty requires councils to help anyone without a home to find one. Public authorities must refer to a council any client they work with who is homeless or at risk of it.

At present, most support is given to ‘priority’ cases such as pregnant women, families with dependent children or anyone fleeing their home due to violence. These are normally offered temporary accommodation – typically hostels or bed and breakfast – until a permanent home is available.

In future, councils will still be able to withdraw support if people fail to co-operate and do not show they are making their own efforts to find a home. There is also still no guarantee that even priority cases will be offered a home with a social or private landlord. But there appears to be a renewed willingness to accept more needs to be done on the part of government (which is offering councils £61m over two years) as well as local authorities.

Last December, the number of households in temporary accommodation in England stood at 75,740 – up 10% on the previous year. The most recent rough sleeping figures, based on local authority headcounts and estimates last autumn, showed 4,134 people sleeping rough – more than double the number in 2010.

Supporters are quick to stress the new measures will not solve homelessness overnight. Alice Ashworth, senior policy officer at the housing charity Crisis said: “The act provides support for people who are currently cut out of the system.” According to Ms. Ashworth, the Act should mean people are helped to mediate with a landlord or their family, rather than sent away ‘to sleep on the streets.’ She added: “Some councils tell people to come back when they’re actually homeless. They wait until people turn up at the council with their suitcases.”

A report last year by the House of Commons communities and local government committee identified three main reasons for the increase in homelessness – lack of social housing; high private sector rents; and welfare cuts.

But Steve Bullock, Labour mayor of Lewisham and executive member for housing at London Councils, has little doubt that, by offering £61m over two years, the DCLG has seriously underestimated costs. Lewisham estimates the extra burdens will amount to £2.4m in its borough alone. “We share the ambition of dealing with these problems on a day to day basis,” he says. “Our anxieties are around costs.”

Most homes built by councils and housing associations since 2013 are for ‘affordable rent’ (up to 80% of market rents) and are unaffordable for many households. Last year, just 6,800 homes were built for social rent in England compared with 39,560 in 2010/11.

Bullock believes all governments must share the blame for the shortage of social housing and subsequent reliance on private landlords. “You can’t excuse the last Labour government but it’s an issue that’s not been addressed properly since 2010,” he says.

The new duties, which mirror changes made in Wales two years ago, may not be introduced in England until early next year. Guidance is awaited from the DCLG, while 28 trailblazer authorities are being funded until 2018/19 to trial the new duties.

Andrew Walker, researcher at the Local Government Information Unit, says they will pose an enormous challenge for councils with success depending greatly on resources. “You need more staff available. You need a different interface with the public,” he says. “It means using data more intelligently.”

Faye Greaves, policy and practice officer at the Chartered Institute of Housing, says the Act has the potential to reduce the numbers receiving little or no help, especially single people, and will introduce consistency across local authorities. The issue of whether somebody has made themselves homeless intentionally will not kick in until much later. “People who might have been turned away with a list of hostels and private landlords will have a legal right to more help and more consideration,” she adds.

Those expecting significant results may have to be patient, but there is at least the prospect of fewer people relying on a sleeping bag in a shop doorway. “This is an act to reduce homelessness,’ says Greaves. ‘It’s not an act to eliminate it.”

A group of housing providers on Merseyside have teamed up with local authorities to combat cannabis use in rented accommodation. They have launched a campaign – ‘Use it? Lose it!’ – to warn tenants they risk being evicted from their home if they use or grow the illegal drug.

Registered housing providers including Riverside, Liverpool Mutual Homes (LMH), Plus Dane, Adactus, Cobalt, One Vision, Pier Head, Contour, Your Housing and South Liverpool Homes (SLH) are working alongside Liverpool City Council, Merseyside Police and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service in the crackdown. Posters and leaflets will be distributed to tenants across the area as part of the initiative, which follows a series of house fires in the region caused by cannabis farms.

Donna Kelly, regional director at LHT, is leading the campaign and says: “Cannabis use in rented properties, particularly those with communal areas, can be a real nuisance to residents. Not only is it illegal, it is also often linked to other anti-social behaviour. While we are always here to offer support to residents with drug problems, we are also concerned about the impact of cannabis use on the wider community.”

“This campaign sends out a clear message to those using illegal drugs: we take this matter very seriously and will take the appropriate action to protect other residents – including eviction.”

Mark Wiggins, Liverpool local policing superintendent, adds: “Growing cannabis is not a victimless or low level crime and Merseyside Police is committed to bringing the people responsible to justice. Our communities can help us stop these groups, who are only interested in making money from turning houses and flats into potential death traps.”

“Nobody wants to live next door to these houses and we would ask that if you believe someone is using a property for this purpose, please tell us so we can take positive action and find those responsible for setting them up.”

But, according to a report in The Mirror, in the small print of every tenancy agreement there is a line that could see you evicted if you’re caught in possession of cannabis. The line: “We will not tolerate anti-social behaviour,” goes beyond vandalism or noise pollution.

The decision to smoke cannabis, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), breaks three standard terms and conditions which are common to most tenancy agreements. These include: “Not using the property for illegal or immoral purposes; not consuming illegal substances; and, subject to the landlord’s consent, not smoking in the property.”

Charlotte Herring, from the UK housing association, said: “If we suspect cannabis smoking we will alert the police, in case it is part of a wider investigation, and investigate ourselves. In general, if we prove cannabis smoking, we will both give a warning and offer support to help the resident to stop.” She added that legal action is a ‘last resort’.

If you are caught, your landlord has the right to contact neighbours and housing officers for advice, issue a formal warning, notify the police, refer you to a support group, and ask the courts for a conviction order. Neighbours are encouraged, if they wish to report it, to speak to a housing officer (if the property is council-owned), or the landlord directly (if it is a private house). Landlords are encouraged to do background checks, via references, on tenants, as well as inspecting the property every quarter.

Also, under Section 8 of the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) it is an offence to allow others to use your premises to smoke cannabis. So, even if you don’t use cannabis yourself, letting your mates skin up in your house or flat could see you evicted and/or facing criminal charges.

A Cardiff cafe is selling vouchers to customers that can be used to buy a homeless person a meal – and so far hundreds have been sold!

Granny Mac’s, on City Road in Cardiff, has sold hundreds of the vouchers that customers can pass onto a homeless person to use in the café. The scheme was all the idea of manager, Leeann Edwards, who read about similar schemes at other cafes and wanted to give it a go herself. They started four months ago after they saw homeless people on the street outside the cafe and wanted to do something to help.

So, for £3.80, customers can buy a ‘Mini Mac breakfast’ to give to those who may not have eaten for days – but the cafe will bump it up to a large breakfast for free. There are also different vouchers available – from bacon rolls to hot drinks and different sized breakfasts – so everyone can buy one to fit their budget.

Leeann said: “I’m not from Cardiff and when I started working here, I noticed there’s a lot of homeless people in City Road especially. I must have read it a long time ago about cafes doing it. I know they [customers] don’t really want to give money to people, they’d rather give them food. Not everybody’s got £3.80 and I understand that and I understand that people do want to give back to the community, so what I thought I’d do is I’ve just ordered a stand where I’m going to put different vouchers in.”

 

After working in youth clubs in deprived areas and at residential homes for people with mental health problems, Leeann wanted her new job at the cafe to get the community involved. She said: “I thought let’s come up with some ideas to make things a bit different to give back to the community, because I like to do charity work and that’s when we came up with the vouchers.”

But it’s not the only plan she has. Leeann now wants to offer the cafe, which is shut from 3pm, as a venue for people with autism to have parties. She said she would provide the cafe for free if the people brought along their own food.

She said: “I’m hoping it will take off.”