The Scottish Executive set up the Homelessness Task Force in 1999, members were drawn from the Executive, Housing Associations, Health Boards, Social Work, Department of Work and Pensions, Academics and others with an interest in housing, such as Shelter and The Scottish Council on Single Homeless. They were “to review the causes and nature of homelessness in Scotland; to examine current practise in dealing with cases of homelessness in Scotland; and to make recommendations on how homelessness in Scotland could best be prevented and, where it does occur, tackled effectively” (Scottish Government, 2002). This report recognised that given the wide range of issues which lead to homelessness, there was never going to be a single answer. The potentially
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(Scotland) Act 2003 placed a duty on landlords and lenders to give advance notification to the relevant local authority that a tenant or homeowner was at risk of losing their home due to eviction. This allowed Councils time to contact the potentially homeless client in advance of the court action to evict to offer advice and assistance on issues such as mortgage or rent arrears and to offer possible solutions.
The Housing Options approach to housing issues has been strongly supported by the Scottish Government who, since June 2010 have funded the five regional Housing Option ‘Hubs’ which have been established to develop housing options through sharing best practice, together with joint training activities and research programmes. Argyll
and Bute is part of the Tayside, Fife and Central HUB and has recently piloted a Housing Options questionnaire to gather feedback from clients on their experience of applying for housing and whether they felt the information provide either on the HOMEArgyll website or by staff met their needs and helped them make an informed choice about their housing options. In 2015 all of the HOMEArgyll partners implemented a shared I.T system which includes a Housing Options self-assessment …show more content…
The Argyll and Bute Advise Network was one such idea which has had input from many partners, led by A&BC Housing Services.
The desire to provide a holistic service, with specialist advice available to those who needed it, to make interagency client referrals in a fast and secure manner, and to record the interventions taken to assist the clients were the main drivers in developing what is now a very successful system.
Launched in its current form in 2012, it is used regularly by the public and partners alike. For the general public it provides a Directory of Services in the area including direct contact information. For those agencies who are members of the network it allows for information to be securely passed from one partner to another. In relation to preventing homelessness, for example, the midwifery service will identify those with a potential housing problem and complete the short referral form, sending it via the network to Housing Services. This allows Housing staff to contact the client and offer them an appointment to discuss the problem further with a view to finding a solution. It is also used by Housing Services to referral clients to other appropriate assistance, such as Welfare Rights or Women’s
(Scotland) Act 2003 placed a duty on landlords and lenders to give advance notification to the relevant local authority that a tenant or homeowner was at risk of losing their home due to eviction. This allowed Councils time to contact the potentially homeless client in advance of the court action to evict to offer advice and assistance on issues such as mortgage or rent arrears and to offer possible solutions.
The Housing Options approach to housing issues has been strongly supported by the Scottish Government who, since June 2010 have funded the five regional Housing Option ‘Hubs’ which have been established to develop housing options through sharing best practice, together with joint training activities and research programmes. Argyll
and Bute is part of the Tayside, Fife and Central HUB and has recently piloted a Housing Options questionnaire to gather feedback from clients on their experience of applying for housing and whether they felt the information provide either on the HOMEArgyll website or by staff met their needs and helped them make an informed choice about their housing options. In 2015 all of the HOMEArgyll partners implemented a shared I.T system which includes a Housing Options self-assessment …show more content…
The Argyll and Bute Advise Network was one such idea which has had input from many partners, led by A&BC Housing Services.
The desire to provide a holistic service, with specialist advice available to those who needed it, to make interagency client referrals in a fast and secure manner, and to record the interventions taken to assist the clients were the main drivers in developing what is now a very successful system.
Launched in its current form in 2012, it is used regularly by the public and partners alike. For the general public it provides a Directory of Services in the area including direct contact information. For those agencies who are members of the network it allows for information to be securely passed from one partner to another. In relation to preventing homelessness, for example, the midwifery service will identify those with a potential housing problem and complete the short referral form, sending it via the network to Housing Services. This allows Housing staff to contact the client and offer them an appointment to discuss the problem further with a view to finding a solution. It is also used by Housing Services to referral clients to other appropriate assistance, such as Welfare Rights or Women’s