Councils able to discharge their duty to homeless people

Councils will be allowed to discharge their duty to homeless
people by providing permanent housing in the private sector, under
new proposals being considered by the government, a conference has
heard, writes Simeon Brody from the
conference.

Director of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s
homelessness directorate Terrie Alafat said she wanted to “unpick”
the current understanding of settled accommodation.

She told the National Housing Federation annual conference in
Birmingham she wanted to investigate whether a suitable
accommodation offer to a homeless person necessarily had to be in
the social housing sector.

Alafat said the ODPM would consult local authorities about the
proposals before potentially going to ministers with
recommendations to change the homelessness legislation or
guidance.

The plans are likely to be met with suspicion by some in the
homelessness field who will question to security of tenure and
appropriateness of some private rented accommodation.