Communities and Local Government and the Housing Corporation announced the creation of a new joint London homelessness action team, to support the work of the capital's local authorities and housing associations in preventing and tackling homelessness.
Based within the Corporation's London Field Office, the homelessness action team will be made up of senior level staff from local authorities and housing associations. A number of key appointments have already been made and recruitment for the final positions is underway.
The team will take on the existing good practice work of Communities and Local Government in relation to London local authorities, increasing the expertise and experience focused on this work. The team will also be responsible for promoting and sharing good practice amongst housing associations across London, with a particular focus on homelessness prevention.
With over 60,000 households in London living in temporary accommodation, both Communities and Local Government and the Housing Corporation see this new team as critical in preventing and tackling homelessness.
Housing Corporation Chief Executive, Jon Rouse, said:
"With an aim to halve the numbers of households living in temporary accommodation by 2010, this vital partnership between local authorities and housing associations will play a critical role in achieving this."
Housing Minister, Yvette Cooper, said:
"We are committed to supporting boroughs in the capital to help them meet our target to halve the use of temporary accommodation in London, as is being achieved across rest of the country.
"This joint venture between us and the Housing Corporation will cement the relationships between local authorities and housing associations, and will step up the support available to help families out of temporary accommodation in the capital. But ultimately we need to build more homes. That is why we have changed the planning rules to make clear we need more new family homes in London, and across the country."
Unlocking the potential supply of properties in the private rented sector to combat homelessness is the aim of a new project sponsored by the Housing Corporation.
The Corporation's recent Homelessness Strategy sets out a commitment to the better use of existing homes, both social and privately owned, and providing more homes for rent for people in housing need. This includes encouraging housing associations to work with the private sector, to reduce the use of temporary accommodation. The new project will look at how associations and private landlords work together, and at the barriers to closer working.
The Corporation has commissioned management consultancy Campbell Tickell to research what is happening on the ground and report back on good practice that will help deliver more homes for rent. The report will also include a 'toolkit' of ideas and resources to help associations and private landlords work together.
Housing Corporation Director of Policy and Communications, Matt Leach, said:
"Some housing associations and private landlords have a strong track record of working together to make homes available for homeless people, but some find it a difficult and uncertain area. We are committed to changing that. This project will help us do so."
An expert advisory group for the project will shortly hold its first meeting. A survey of housing associations, landlords and others, will be carried out during February, followed by further research. The project report will be published later this year.
Any organisation or individual who has useful information or ideas to feed into the exercise is invited to email the project team at holly@campbelltickell.com.
French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, confirmed that Paris had copied Scotland's legally enforceable right to housing, and promised to introduce a similar measure throughout France. This led to a flurry of media activity as representatives of the French press and TV swept into Edinburgh to learn about how things were done in Scotland's capital.
Councillor Sheila Gilmore, Executive member for Community Safety and Housing at the City of Edinburgh Council found herself facing a string of interviews as French journalists queued up at the City Chambers.
Councillor Gilmore said that although the attention was unexpected she was nonetheless pleased that policies developed in Scotland had been recognised abroad:
"Social Justice, and issues such as the right to decent housing, is at the heart of Scottish thinking on how a society should organise itself and that is obviously something that the French are interested in.
"We showed them some of our facilities for homeless people and talked about the similarities, and the differences, between the two capital cities.
"Ultimately, what makes a difference for both our countries is the supply of affordable housing. France built 430,000 new homes last year, 140,000 of which were social housing.
"Here in Edinburgh we need to build 12,000 new affordable homes over the next ten years but only have the funding for 3,000.
"We are talking to the Scottish Executive about this impending crisis because it would be ironic if the lessons that we have learned in Edinburgh were applied in Paris but ignored at home."
