Clause 10 - Persons claiming to be homeless who are at risk of violence
Homelessness Bill
6:00 pm
Ms Sally Keeble (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions; Northampton North, Labour)
I welcome the intervention from the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham because it provides an opportunity to place on record some details of the provision and the arguments around it.
The Housing Act 1996 includes provisions that ensure that people who are at risk of domestic violence if they remain in their current home must be treated as homeless on the grounds that it is not be reasonable for them to continue living where they are. Housing authorities are also prevented from referring a homeless case to another local authority if the applicant or any member of his or her family would be at risk of domestic violence in the district of that other local authority. The provisions provide important safeguards for people who have experienced domestic violence or who are at risk of it. Regrettably, the number of people who face such distress is by no means insignificant. Labour Members in particular have substantial experience of working with such people.
However, violence can be motivated by other things and may come from different quarters; the perpetrators are not always members or ex-members of the family. Racially motivated violence in particular can be a depressingly familiar fact of life for far too many people, and the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham referred to some discussions about that. No one should have to live under the shadow of violence, whatever its motivation. There is no rationale for distinguishing between a risk of domestic violence and any other form of violence.
Clause 10 will extend the protection currently provided for homeless applicants at risk of domestic violence to applicants at risk of any violence. Clause 10(1) will amend section 177 of the 1996 Act to provide that it would not be reasonable for an applicant to continue living in accommodation if there were a probability that that would lead to any form of violence against the applicant, a member of his or her family or anyone else who might be expected to live with the applicant. That includes racial violence.
Clause 10(2) will amend the conditions of referral as set out in section 198 of the 1996 Act. They provide the criteria that determine whether one housing authority can refer a homeless case to another. Currently, the conditions are not met if applicants or anyone who might reasonably be expected to live with them are at risk of domestic violence in the district of the other authority. Clause 10(2) will extend that safeguard and provide that the conditions for referral of a homelessness case are not met if applicants, or anyone who might reasonably be expected to live with them, have suffered violence in the district of the other authority and there would be a probability of further, similar violence if the victim returned to that district.
The hon. Member for Bath asked about consultation on the provisions. This Committee and the other processes in the House offer the opportunity to explore the Bill's wording. We will, of course, consult widely on the code of guidance. The explanation given this afternoon provides more detail about the way in which the clause will operate and gives me some reassurance that it extends to racially motivated violence. The clause includes important protections for the victims of violence.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 10 ordered to stand part of the Bill.