Freedom of information response
Housing Support For Care Leavers
I am writing to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 relating to support for care leavers for whom your local authority has corporate parenting responsibilities.
1) Are care leavers given any “reasonable preference” for social housing under your local authority’s social housing allocations policy?
2) How many priority bands or categories does your local authority housing allocation policy have?
3) Under your local authority’s social housing allocations policy, which priority banding would care leavers be given if they had no additional need or vulnerability?
4) Are there any circumstances or criteria in which care leavers from other local authorities can be assessed as having a local area connection under your local authority’s housing allocations policy, and if so, what are these circumstances or criteria?
5) What are the criteria or circumstances in which care leavers aged 21-25 can be assessed as in priority need for a homelessness duty?
6) Are there circumstances or criteria in which care leavers can be assessed as intentionally homeless, and if so, what are these circumstances / criteria?
7) Does your local authority have a joint housing protocol for care leavers across children’s services and housing services?
8) Does your local authority currently provide a housing guarantor scheme for care leavers, and if so, what are the eligibility criteria for this scheme?
9) Does your local authority currently provide a tenancy deposit scheme for care leavers, and if so, what are the eligibility criteria for this scheme?
1) YES
2) There are 5 bands
3) BAND 3
4) Local Area connection criteria
5) It is unlawful to have a blanket policy in relation to homelessness assessments relating to any specific cohort. Given this, the criteria for priority need for care leavers over the age of 21 are the same as those in the Housing Act 1996(as amended), the Housing (Priority Need) Orders, and relevant case law. The specific case law relating to the vulnerability assessment for any cohort of people who fall within a priority need category for which such an assessment is required is found in the case of Hotak, Johnson, and Kanu, and clarified in Panayiotou
6) The circumstances in which a person can be deemed to intentionally homeless, be they a care leaver or not, are defined with s191 of the Housing Act 1996(as amended). New Guidance has recently been released concerning Care Leavers especially and the Council is currently working between Housing and Social Care to assess the impact of this and what additional checks and balances are required in their cases where intentionality appears to be an issue
7) Yes
8) No
9) At present, eligibility for this would be that the Care Leaver is at risk of homelessness, or has become homeless. In some circumstances where neither of these are the case, but re-housing is required, Social Care and Housing discuss the case jointly and can exercise discretion in assisting Care Leavers into PRS accommodation through the scheme