The homelessness statistics published today, covering the period from April 2023 to March 2024, demonstrate a significant and continued need for housing support services in Scotland.

Overall, the number of homeless households has risen 3% to 33,619 households. The proportion of households reporting at least one support need was 51%, which although is similar to the last few years, is a marked increase from the 33% reported in 2007-2008 when data collection began. The most common support needs identified were mental health problems, and basic housing management/ independent living skills.

All local authorities have a duty to conduct a housing support assessment for households who are assessed as homeless, where it has reason to believe that support would be beneficial. As in 2022-23, the most recent statistics show that in 22% of cases where there was a duty to assess, no assessment took place, and no support was provided. Furthermore, support was not provided for 5% of cases where a support need was identified.

Overall, housing support was provided in 38% of all cases. It is disappointing that the provision of housing support has not improved, given the significant number of people with identified support needs. Housing support has significant economic and social benefits to help people stay safe and well in their homes and maintain a tenancy after being homeless. Today’s homelessness statistics show that action must be taken to ensure that everyone in Scotland who needs it, is supported to live as independently as possible.

Housing support services are essential to enable some people to exercise their rights to obtain and keep a home, to live independently and to participate in the life of their community. While the new prevention duties proposed in the Housing Bill signal an opportunity to improve support for people experiencing homelessness, successful implementation of these duties will require effective partnership working between partners in housing, health and social care.

As announced by Homeless Network Scotland, the Supported Housing Task and Finish Group, appointed by Scottish Government and COSLA, publishes its final report today, recommending that national and local emergency plans should prioritise work focused on reducing temporary accommodation and the better targeting of shared and supported forms of housing.

The Task and Finish Group, co-chaired by Homeless Network Scotland chief executive Maggie Brunjes and Scottish Federation of Housing Associations policy lead Eileen McMullan, provides recommendations to the Scottish Government, local authorities and housing providers to create a model that enables social landlords to remodel or reprovision existing models of supported housing.

Yvette Burgess, Unit Director, represented the Housing Support Enabling Unit on the group.

The report recognises that most people can build and live their lives in an ordinary home as part of an ordinary community, but that supported housing should be available for a very small proportion of the population who are unable or don’t want to live in mainstream housing. Importantly, this should be a settled housing option for as long as someone wants it, and therefore breaking the stigma of ‘homeless’ supported housing altogether.

The review was informed by evidence from expert contributors on housing and support themes, a survey of 19 local authorities providing supported accommodation across Scotland, case studies of existing good practice, and lived experience expertise.

Key recommendations from the evidence-led review include:

• An ideal model of supported housing offering a self-contained home in a smaller-scale setting, with its own bathroom and cooking facilities, easy access to great support, some common space, and consistent quality standards.
• Maximising security of tenure for tenants plus fair funding arrangements to make sure no one is stuck in a life-limiting ‘benefit trap’ created by high rents.
• Moving to a joint funding and commissioning model between health and social care partnerships and local authorities, to break the ‘care group’ stigma attached to supported housing’s legacy as shared ‘homeless’ accommodation.

The report also recommends that housing and support providers work with the local authority and HSCP on an integrated plan for supported housing in each area to improve provision.

You can read the full report and a summary report on the Homeless Network Scotland website.

The Housing Support Enabling Unit has responded to the Finance and Public Administration Committee’s Inquiry into proposed National Outcomes, which closes today (28 June).

The review of the National Outcomes is a key opportunity to improve joined-up policymaking around housing and social care in Scotland. The current proposals for new housing and care outcomes are welcomed, but there must be acknowledgement of the intersection of people’s housing needs and their care and support needs.

The current proposals may leave people who need support to maintain their own tenancy in a gap between the proposed housing and care outcomes. The Housing Support Enabling Unit recommends that the housing outcome includes explicit reference to the support required by some people to exercise their right to adequate housing. Housing support promotes the wellbeing of people by enabling people to live at home as independently as possible.

The Housing Support Enabling Unit supported the previous joint call from Crisis, the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers, Chartered Institute of Housing and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations for a new outcome in the National Performance Framework focused on home and housing support:

‘We all have good homes we can sustain: Everyone has a home to live in that is good quality, affordable, and suitable to their needs, and can access the support they need to live in it.’

The Finance and Public Administration Committee has expressed the expectation for the National Outcomes to be the ‘golden thread from which all other policies and strategies connect to delivery on the ground’.

In order to meet this expectation, we recommend broadening the proposed care outcome to ‘care and support’ to better reflect the breadth of social care and support services, experiences and people supported.

Clear links between the new proposed housing and care outcomes will be important for more effective joint working, and in order to support fair work across social care and housing.

You can read the full consultation response here.

The Housing (Scotland) Bill was published on the 27th of March. Informed by three public consultations, the Bill will now be scrutinised by the Scottish Parliament. The Bill, Financial Memorandum, and Policy Memorandum are available here.

The Unit responded to the joint Call for Views from the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee and the Social Justice and Social Security Committee: HSEU Response to the Call for Views

The Unit’s response to the Call for Views focused on the provisions in the Bill around Homelessness Prevention and housing support. Overall, the Unit is supportive of an improved focus on the prevention of homelessness across public bodies. It is important that the proposed ask and act duties take account of the housing support needs of people facing homelessness.

With housing support as a key preventative tool to enable people to maintain independent living and their own tenancy, providers are supportive of proposals to improve early intervention. By providing support that is responsive to people’s individual needs, housing support can help avoid escalation and reduce demands on statutory services. The prevention of homelessness is not only a housing issue, and to effectively prevent homelessness, there must be effective partnership working between housing, health, and social care.

Duty on Local Authorities to Assess Housing Support Need and Availability of Services

Provisions in the Bill include a requirement that local housing strategies must include an assessment of the housing support needs of people in the local authority and the availability of housing support services in relation to homelessness. The Unit is supportive of this proposed new duty, with providers expressing concern around current access to support. However, in the current proposals, it is unclear how this local authority assessment would be linked with the ask and act duty, or provision of services. Housing support providers have reported that a lack of consistent approaches in service provision brings challenges for providing effective support. Many providers have received funding on a year-on-year basis, which doesn’t allow strategic planning, and results in uncertainty of service provision and employment.[1]High-quality support relies on relationship-building and trust, which is facilitated through adequate and sustainable funding. A local authority assessment of housing support need and availability of services could be used to provide multi-year funding for necessary services to meet local need.

New Prevention Duties

The Bill also contains new ‘ask and act’ duties, to work towards a more shared responsibility for preventing homelessness. This will mean that relevant public bodies will ask about a person’s housing situation and act to avoid them becoming homeless wherever possible.

Early intervention is beneficial, not only for the people who are supported to maintain independent living or their own tenancy, but also from a cost-savings perspective. However, it is crucial that the ‘ask and act duty’ includes asking people facing homelessness about their housing support needs.

While the new prevention duties are promising, it will be important for relevant bodies to have proper resource to allow for training and action to reduce the threat of homelessness. The support work undertaken by housing support providers is specialist and person-centred. While there is some recognition in the proposals and financial memorandum that housing associations already undertake tenancy sustainment work, the proposals do not take into account the current funding pressures facing housing associations and other providers of housing support. Furthermore, the support needs of some people facing homelessness will go beyond the scope of the often short-term tenancy sustainment offered by housing associations, and will include more complex mental health needs. Research from the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence found that the funding sources of housing support services are often not clear [2].  Housing support funding has been cut, and tenancy sustainment and support activities are not sustainable without a clear funding source. Housing support providers anticipate more approaches for support in relation to the duties. In addition, housing associations that provide housing support and will be subject to the proposed ask and act duties, may be required to expand existing housing support services, in order to minimise the threat of homelessness. Therefore, the ask and act duties for relevant bodies must be properly resourced, with adequate funding to enable housing support provision to support independent living.

The Unit will continue to engage with the parliamentary process of the Housing Bill.

[1] https://www.ccpscotland.org/hseu-news/what-is-the-impact-of-the-current-system-of-funding-housing-support/

A new publication from the Housing Support Enabling Unit highlights the varied and valuable role of housing support workers in Scotland.

The briefing explores the work undertaken by housing support workers, their qualifications and professional development, and the scope of the role through case studies informed by conversations with housing support workers working in different services across Scotland. The briefing has been written to improve understanding and recognise the experience and skill associated with the role.

‘Housing support workers can help people access health or social care services, support people to become involved in activities, and assist people to achieve their own goals.’

The briefing concludes that the expertise, passion, and enthusiasm of housing support workers underpins high-quality relationship-based support. This support enables people to live independently in their homes and communities, and therefore must be properly recognised and championed. It is important that services are sustainably funded to a level where the workforce can be supported through pay, training, and professional development. Without sustainable funding of services, support providers struggle with the recruitment and retention of housing support workers that underpin high-quality support.

In response to the publication, Amanda Miller, Director of Community Services Eildon Housing Association and Chair of the Unit’s Executive Committee says …. ‘as health, social care and housing face unprecedented demand and pressure, it is more important than ever to understand the role that housing support workers play in helping people to live and thrive in their communities.  Our ask of policy makers is to ensure sufficient recognition of the role and adequate funding is in place so that everyone has access to these services when they need them.’

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and the Housing Support Enabling Unit hosted a webinar focusing on the complex funding arrangements of preventative housing support. Participants represented housing associations, local authorities, third sector providers of housing support and other stakeholders.

HSEU and SFHA were pleased to be joined by Jennifer Wallace, Director of Customer Experience at Trust Housing Association and David Smith, Partnership and Planning Manager in Homelessness and Housing Support at Edinburgh Council.

Yvette Burgess, Director of HSEU, set the scene with a presentation about recent research into the social and economic benefits of housing support. The Centre for Collaborative Housing Evidence (CaCHE), jointly commissioned by SFHA, HSEU, SCLD, Hanover Scotland, and Blackwood Homes and Care published research earlier this year which concluded that there are complex funding arrangements that underpin housing support in Scotland. The report found that while the net benefits of housing support are evident, it was difficult to piece together a ‘public finance story’ of housing support, with more needing to be done to increase the visibility and map funding streams.

‘It is a major research challenge… to attempt to track down all of the public finance strands relating to contemporary Housing Support in Scotland…One can easily spend a few hours digging around official sources without being able to piece together the public finance story in a satisfactory way.’ -CaCHE Report on the Economic Benefits of Housing Support. 

With this context, Jennifer Wallace then presented on accommodation-based housing support at Trust. The presentation reflected on the challenges posed by a lack of consistent approach in contracts and service provision. Many contract awards have been agreed on a year-on-year basis with a lack of strategic planning. Jennifer reflected on the uncertainty of service provision and employment that can be caused by complex funding arrangements. The organisational impacts include increased difficulty to allocate voids, less opportunity to explore new service models and developments, and issues of recruitment. These difficulties experienced in the commissioning and funding of Trust’s accommodation-based housing support services are concerning because of the challenges they pose to the positive preventative impacts of Trust’s service. Through the presence and relationship between tenants and the onsite team, small changes in an individuals’ health and wellbeing can be noted earlier to maximise early intervention and prevention to someone entering hospital or a care home. The flexible service enables reduction in social isolation, mental, and physical health and supports people’s desired outcomes to live independently while maintaining safety and security.

David Smith, spoke about his experience at Edinburgh council in the commissioning of homelessness and rough sleeping services. David reflected on how the commissioning process in Edinburgh had been improved through awarding 10 year contracts for the third sector, with simplified KPS, focusing on reducing repeat homelessness. The commissioning process includes a focus on co-production involving service users.

Discussion with participants then focused on the experience of funding of housing support both from providers and local authorities’ perspectives.

What might a better funding system look like?

Participants discussed the potential for longer-term contracts to enable long-term planning and continuity of services. Participants agreed that there should be more consistency across local authorities, with the commissioning process including consultation with the people using services. There were also suggestions for a move away from framework agreements which have caused problems in some areas. Providers of housing support voiced frustration at the current lack of understanding of where funding for services sits. There was also agreement that more sharing of good practice and communication between local authorities would be beneficial.

How can the adequate funding of housing support help support independent living and the prevention of homelessness?

Participants agreed that effective housing support services rely on relationship-building and trust which is facilitated through adequate and sustainable funding. If providers of housing support services are able to create longer-term plans, there are also greater opportunities to explore new service models and development. Through more sustainable funding, housing support services are more able to focus on early intervention and preventative work, to enable people to live independently and stay safe and well in their communities.

HSEU is supporting Scottish Housing Day 2023. The theme for this year is celebrating housing as a career. There are many opportunities for a career within Housing Support. Working in Housing Support could see you supporting older people; disabled people; people with a learning disability; people who are facing homelessness; people experiencing addictions; people with mental health problems; or women facing domestic abuse.

Below are some resources to learn more:

• What is housing support?

Information from the Housing Support Enabling Unit about the purpose and scope of housing support.

• CIH Job Profile: Supported Housing

The Chartered Institute of Housing has produced a job profile for a supported housing worker. This includes information about the tasks of a supported housing worker, as well as information about qualifications and useful skills and experience.

• Care to Care

Information from Scottish Government about social care careers, including housing support. You can download a free career guide.

• SSSC Case Studies

The Scottish Social Services Council has case studies of different roles within housing support to learn more about the scope of roles available.

Commissioned by the Housing Support Enabling Unit, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities (SCLD), Hanover Scotland, and Blackwood Homes and Care, a new report from CaCHE suggests that Housing Support has strong economic and social benefits, particularly in relation to preventative public finance savings.

The report suggests that there is a broad range of qualitative and practice evidence supporting the role of Housing Support in securing, accommodation, care and other services. This evidence frames Housing Support as an enabler to facilitate positive health & wellbeing, and social outcomes for people, preventing recourse to more intense interventions.

The report also examines the wide range of Housing Support activities, and suggests that Housing Support is funded by multiple sources of funding, which are not always visible. The diversity of funding arrangements and activities within Housing Support mean that more needs to be done to quantify these benefits. This will aid in highlighting the important role of Housing Support and the need for secure funding to sustain and extend capacity.

Recommendations

The report concludes with recommendations for next steps and further research:

1.  More needs to be done to map and increase data/statistics to strengthen the model of preventative Housing Support.
2.  Develop a national partnership approach to further understand the outcomes and economic benefits associated with Housing Support, to increase its impact.
3.  Increase visibility of Housing Support by constructing well-defined areas of budgetary activity.

The report and an easy-read summary of the report can be viewed here. The authors of the report, Prof Ken Gibb and Dr Vikki McCall have also produced a video discussing the report. The research partners, HSEU, SFHA, SCLD, Hanover Scotland, and Blackwood Homes and Care, are eager that the report is used as a basis for further discussion about the economic and social benefits of Housing Support. The partners are keen to continue engagement with commissioners, funders, and providers of Housing Support so please share with your networks and get in touch with any feedback or contributions at hs.unit@ccpscotland.org.

On the 1st of November, at the first session of the Better Futures Annual event, HSEU announced the winning entries of the 2022 No Place Like Home Photography Competition. Now in its 12th year, the photography competition continues to celebrate the achievements and the experiences of people using housing support services in Scotland.

The judging panel this year included representatives from organisations including the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Housing Options Scotland, Homeless Action Scotland, Scotland’s Housing Network, the Scottish Social Services Council, and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.

The judges were impressed with all the entries which demonstrate the diverse ways that people use housing support to achieve their own goals. HSEU would like to thank all the entrants and their support workers for taking part this year. All of the 2022 entries are able to be viewed on Flickr.

Click here to see the 2022 No Place Like Home Winner’s Leaflet: 

Amy Haggerty, supported by Threshold Glasgow (Crossreach)

Andrew, Keiran, John, and Bobby, supported by Threshold Glasgow (Crossreach)

Cindie Maclennan, supported by Key Housing

Gemma Ferrie, supported by Falkirk Council

Anton Gallagher and Paige Bain, supported by Threshold Glasgow (Crossreach)

Shaun Cullen, supported by Community Lifestyles (featured below)

Better Futures is an outcomes-monitoring tool used by housing support providers throughout Scotland.   Its unique scoring system enables support workers to create individually tailored support plans, and to update and track progress over time.  As well as its usefulness as an outcomes-monitoring tool for supported people individually, the information gathered can be aggregated and reported, enabling services and providers to understand and articulate the impacts and outcomes of the services they provide.

This year’s event consists of four individual online sessions examining different themes with a common thread – ways in which Better Futures contributes and can help.

Session 1: Tuesday 1st November 10.30am – 12.00pm

The opening session considers Better Futures, Regulation and the Scottish Government’s Data Strategy.  It will open with presentations to winners of the annual ‘No Place Like Home’ photography competition, which celebrates the achievements and experiences of people who use housing support services in Scotland. The session will then move on to a presentation from the Care Inspectorate focusing on how services can demonstrate quality in line with regulatory requirements, before the Scottish Government will take the lead in setting out ways in which digital systems can contribute to a new national data strategy for health and social care.

Session 2: Thursday 3rd November 10.30am – 12.00pm

The second session in the event series will take the form of a demonstration of the Better Futures system, led by Fraser White from the Housing Support Enabling Unit, supported by Alexander Rae, an experienced Better Futures user from South Ayrshire Council.   The demonstration is designed not only to showcase the system to potential new users, but also to enable existing users to gain insights into other providers’ utilisation of the tools it offers for supporting people and articulating impacts and outcomes.

Session 3: Wednesday 9th November 10.00m – 11.30am

DigiFest 2022 is a Scottish Digital Health and Care Ecosystem learning event delivered by the Scottish Government’s Digital Health and Care Directorate, its steering group partners and the European Connected Health Alliance.  The third Better Futures event session in the series is a DigiFest satellite session focused on harnessing digital technology to tackle homelessness, and will be delivered by Simon Scotland and the Housing Support Enabling Unit. The session will focus on how online recording systems can support collaborative working and help to achieve positive housing, health and social care outcomes for people facing homelessness.  It will include examples that demonstrate how Better Futures supports collaborative working, information sharing and outcomes demonstration, as well as reducing paperwork and duplication, and generally supporting people who are facing homelessness.

Session 4: Thursday 10th November 10.30am – 12.00pm

The concluding session in the annual event series is concerned with Commissioning for Outcomes.  The Independent Review of Adult Social Care recommended that commissioning and procurement of social care needs to move away from contracting through price based competitive tenders to commissioning for outcomes. Social care contracts will need to change to become focused on outcomes for individuals and not ‘time and task’. Contracts for social care will need to be more individualised and bespoke to enable support to meet the person’s outcomes and needs. Ethical procurement of social care will be based on more collaborative approaches to contracting and involve families and supported people and providers in the process.   Neil McKechnie will update attendees on CCPS’s work in taking this forward and is keen to gain input and feedback from sector colleagues.

How to join us:

Book your place at sessions 1, 2 and/or 4

Book your place at session 3 (DigiFest)

For more information about the event as a whole or any of the individual sessions, please email hs.unit@ccpscotland.org.