AQW 482/16-21
Mr Andy Allen MBE
Ulster Unionist Party
East Belfast
Tabled Date: 02/06/2016
Answered On Date: 16/06/2016
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities what measures he is taking to address homelessness.
Answer:
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive is the lead agency for responding to homelessness in Northern Ireland and has certain statutory duties under the Housing (NI) Order, 1988 to individuals or households who present to them as homeless or are threatened with homelessness. These duties extend from advice and assistance to a full accommodation duty depending on an individual’s circumstances and vulnerability. The 2016/17 Homelessness budget funded by my Department and administered by the Housing Executive is over £35.5 million. The funding for the provision of homelessness services is £8.25million and £27.3million provides homeless related support services through the Supporting People programme. The Housing Executive’s strategic approach to dealing with Homelessness is the current Homelessness Strategy, 2012 – 17 which has an overall vision of eliminating long term homelessness and rough sleeping by 2020 and focuses on prevention and early intervention. The Housing Executive is developing a Housing Options model as a key prevention approach for delivering its Homelessness services. The Housing Options Model will examine an individual’s circumstances and choices in the widest sense when they seek housing advice to ensure that the housing solution is tailored to the specific needs of the individual with the necessary support provided where appropriate. The Housing Executive’s strategy for tackling homelessness has a stated aim to end the need to sleep rough. Rough sleeping linked to homelessness is a complex issue that goes much further than my Department’s responsibilities. It includes general health and social care provision for those sleeping rough, support for alcohol and drug dependency and managing mental health issues. Tackling homelessness linked to rough sleeping requires a number of organisations in the statutory and voluntary sector to work together. Rough Sleeping in Northern Ireland largely occurs in Belfast and to a lesser extent in Londonderry. In recent years in Belfast there has been a growing visibility of street activity including street drinking, begging and rough sleeping leading to a perception that the need to sleep on the street is on the rise. In 2015 a Belfast Street Needs Audit was commissioned by the Housing Executive to look at rough sleeping. The Housing Executive published the final report earlier this year. Following the report’s findings, two interagency groups have been established, one led by the Housing Executive to address the needs of identified chronic rough sleepers and the other, led by Belfast Community Safety Partnership will address the issues of street begging and street drinking. This work is now underway. In March 2016, following a number of street deaths in Belfast City Centre, the former Social Development Minister, established an inter-Ministerial sub group with the former Ministers of Health and Justice to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. A subsequent action plan was developed and endorsed by previous NI Executive colleagues. A number of key actions that are now complete include increasing hours of funded street outreach; extending the crash bed facilities in Belfast and re-examining the access arrangements for homeless hostels. Medium term actions around the availability of treatment and support services for homeless people with complex needs and a potential further roll-out of Housing First wraparound support services for vulnerable people are due to be complete by end March 2017.
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