Clause 16 - Duty of local housing authority to formulate a homelessness strategy
Homes Bill
2:45 pm
Mr Nick Raynsford (Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)
I am happy to agree with the right hon. Gentleman that we should focus our attention on policies that would secure an improvement. That is exactly what I seek to do. However, it is important that we should be scrupulously accurate in our use of statistics, and we should not bandy about allegations that cannot be substantiated.
In addition to the national issues that I have described, homelessness will always be brought about by local and personal factors. Those factors can be tackled only at the local level, and local authorities are best placed to co-ordinate efforts to tackle homelessness and to prevent it locally. That is why the Government's proposals for homelessness reform, set out in the Green Paper, included a policy of requiring local authorities to take a more strategic approach to tackling homelessness and the prevention of homelessness. Such a strategic approach will be effective only if it harnesses the efforts and activities of all the organisations operating in the authority's area that provide services and assistance to homeless people.
A partnership approach is central to our proposals. We require local housing authorities to take a multi-agency strategic approach to preventing and responding to homelessness. Our proposals set out the basis for such a strategy and require that it should be kept under review.
Many agencies are involved with homeless people and those at risk of becoming homeless, and it is important that the agencies work together to avoid duplication or gaps in provision. Local housing authorities should work with other authorities and agencies to conduct reviews and draw up strategies. We have in mind social services authorities or departments, health authorities and other health services, and those administering housing benefit, among others.
Registered social landlords will also be central to the development and implementation of homelessness strategies. In some areas, they provide the majority of social housing, and the transfer programme is increasing their importance.
The right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon referred to the large-scale voluntary transfer programme, which began as an initiative of local government. It was adopted and supported by the previous Government and we maintain a similar view. We believe that it can provide a useful means of attracting additional investment into areas where it is needed, and it contributes to the objective dear to our hearts of ensuring variety and pluralism in the provision of social housing rather than dependence on monopoly provision, which was one of the characteristics of the past. This opportunity is important; the difference between the parties is that our approach is voluntary. We believe that local authorities and their tenants should be free to pursue the option, should they want to, which I think was the view of the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon. The noises from Opposition Front Benchers imply that a Conservative Government would seek to transfer forcibly all council housing to other landlords. That is the impression that has been conveyed, but the hon. Member for Eastbourne may want to correct it.