Summary of activities 2014-2015. Advice & Support - Consultancy Calls to our housing consultancy...
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Transcript of Summary of activities 2014-2015. Advice & Support - Consultancy Calls to our housing consultancy...
Advice & Support - Consultancy
Calls to our housing consultancy lines increased by 12%
….that’s 13,515!
Those calls produced 11,315 new and repeat enquiries, 11% more than last year
Altogether we sent 9472 confirmation of advice emails
Call time has increased slightly, with an average call taking 30 minutes
Use of the online call back service has increased too, we had 442 online call back requests, 68% more than last year
Top 10 presenting problems*
Landlord dispute/problem/other; 1671
Assistance needed:
Homeless-ness advice general; 611
Possession action: s21/other mandatory;
609
Tenancy deposit
problem/ dispute; 398Assistance
needed: Challenge of homeless-ness deci-sions; 394
Rents: ar-rears; 370
Assistance needed: Help with homeless
application; 316
Dampness/disrepair;
302
HB / Local Housing Al-
lowance; 288
Possession action: Rent ar-rears; 276
*not including ‘other’
Assistance needed:
Homeless-ness advice general; 683 Assistance
needed: Help with homeless
application; 482
Possession action: s21/other mandatory;
409
Landlord dispute/prob-
lem/other; 339
Being threatened/ is at risk of
eviction; 133
Assistance needed: Chal-
lenge of homeless-ness deci-sions; 133
Possession Action: s21;
112
Reason seek-ing accom-modation
help: ineligible for help due to
immigration status; 104
Tenancy deposit problem/ dispute; 103 Reason seeking accom-
modation help: relationship breakdown; 93
NHAS Consultancy Line (bureaux and agencies)
Local Authority Housing Advice Line
Training
In 2014-15 we have:
Delivered 280 face-to-face courses to 3981 advisers Over 4687 e learning or bite size sessions Reviewed and updated 5 courses from our bureau and agency programme
and produced a new Housing Update course Produced 2 new Bitesize, and reviewed a further 7 Carried out 7 reviews and updates on Local Authority training and rolled out a
new Security of Tenure course Delivered 34 webinars, that included developing a new Out of Hours: Best
Practice webinar, and the AST:S21 Notices – an overview webinar Developed 3 new briefing sessions Oversaw the migration of NHAS bitesize on to a new platform, this involved
reviewing and reproducing the entire bitesize catalogue ready for launch in April 2015
Advisers trained (F2F) – all members
Q1 Apr - Jun 2014 Q2 Jul - Sept 2014 Q3 Oct - Dec 2014 Q4 Jan - Mar 20150
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
723 533 492 1050
272
377307
262
Bureaux/Agencies LAs
Ad
vise
rs t
rain
ed
Course Topics
Homelessness Advice Next Steps; 10
Housing Advice & Relationship Breakdown; 27
Housing and Welfare Reform; 29
Housing Assistance for Persons From Abroad; 11
Housing Foundation ; 94
Hlessness Casework Skills, 6
Housing Update Course; 7
Mortgage Arrears & Budgeting; 6
Mortgage Arrears & Possession Process; 7
Possession Proceedings for Rented; 20
Rented Housing Issues Made Clear; 2
Rented Housing Next Steps; 15
Courses delivered - Bureaux and agencies
Advising Non Priority Clients; 8Basic
Mortgage Debt Ad-vice; 8
Housing Advice for Housing
Options; 10
Persons from
Abroad; 30
Relationship Breakdown,
DV & Hlessness;
16
Security of Tenure; 7
Welfare Re-form for
Rented Ac-commoda-
tion; 16
Young People, Hlessness & Housing
Options; 7
Advising & Assisting
Non Priority Households;
5
Spare Room Subsidy; 1Student
Union Tenancy Deposits;
2
AST Section 21 - An
overview; 5
Advice on tenancy deposits,
2
Out of hours; 5Preventing Mortgage Repos-
sessions; 1
Persons from abroad:
changes to benefit enti-tlement; 13
Local Authority Face to face Webinars: Agencies and Local Authorities
Development – Training for Bureaux & Agencies
New face-to-face courses developed
Security of Tenure
Housing update course
New bite size
Challenging homelessness review decisions
Social housing tenancies
Briefings
Private Rented Sector tenancies briefing for all audiences
S21 and Tenancy Deposits briefing for all audiences
Allocations and Homelessness briefings for Citizens Advice
Webinars
Out of Hours best Practice
AST S21 notices – an overview
Course reviews – Training for Bureaux & Agencies
Bitesize & Self Study:
Applying to suspend a warrant of possession
Mortgage possession self-study pack
Localism bite size
Courses amended, reviewed, updated
Rented Housing Next Steps
Homelessness Advice Next Steps
Housing Assistance for Persons from Abroad
Housing and Relationship Breakdown
Housing and welfare reform Mortgage arrears & budgeting
Mortgage arrears and possession process
Development – Local Authority Training
Face to face course reviews
Housing Advice for Housing Options
Persons from Abroad
Young people: homelessness and housing options
Bitesize
The bitesize elearning platform was migrated and this included development of a new hosting site, as well as a review of all the existing materials and reproducing the content with new elearning software ready for launch in April 2015
Mortgage Debt Advice & Housing Debt Casework
Lenders had commenced possession proceedings in 40% of cases
Homelessness was prevented in over 1215 cases,
In October 2014, the Mortgage Debt Advice service became the Housing Debt Casework service. This wasn’t just a change in name, the service broadened to include more 2nd tier work and to also provide advice on welfare benefits and rent arrears, alongside mortgage debt.
Between October and March we:• provided support with 108 welfare benefits cases• Handled 104 2nd tier advice calls
A large number of cases were about interest only mortgages coming to the end of their fixed term and no means to pay off the capital loan
Mortgage Debt Advice – referrals April to Sept 2014
Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14
Local authority 51 29 21 21 15 24
Helpline * Shelter Services 104 136 137 149 68 80
Registered providers 16 13 7 6 6 5
Returning clients 21 21 20 16 23 24
Lenders 1 0 0 1 0 0
OVAs 26 25 13 13 14 29
25
75
125
175
225
Cas
es o
pen
ed
Housing Debt Casework – referrals Oct 2014 to Mar 2015
Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15
Local authority 19 24 14 13 11 22
Helpline * Shelter Services 61 72 54 101 64 71
Registered providers 2 2 1 0 0 0
Returning clients 27 21 13 15 11 23
CAB 12 7 3 9 9 15
OVAs 28 17 20 20 31 25
10
30
50
70
90
110
130
150
170
Cas
es o
pen
ed
Mortgage Debt Advice Outcomes – April to Sept 2014
Case stopped on advisers recom-mendation; 27
Cl advised & taking action self/with 3rd pty help; 182
Client loses accommoda-tion no other outcome
possible; 18
Homelessness delayed; 110
Client referred on ex-ternally/ internally; 17
Homelessness prevented; 162
One-off case - client informed of all op-tions; 90Permanently re-housed; 27
Other outcome; 150
Outcome unknown; 19
Permanent existing accomm retained; 445
Temporary Accommodation Secured; 8
Housing Debt Casework Outcomes – Oct to March 2015
Case stopped on advisers recom-mendation; 30
Cl advised & taking ac-tion self/with 3rd pty help;
182
Client loses accommoda-tion no other outcome
possible; 8
Homelessness delayed; 76
Client referred on ex-ternally/internally; 8
Homelessness prevented; 44
One-off case - client informed of all op-tions; 77
Other outcome; 87
Temporary Accommoda-tion Secured; 3
Outcome unknown; 20
Permanent existing accomm retained; 259
Permanently re-housed; 14
Mortgage Debt Casework - most common presenting problems
Affordability problems; 33
Arrears: mortgage; 337
Eviction (bailiffs war-rant): Mortgage; 255
Possession action: Mortgage arrears; 318
Possession action: Rent arrears; 72
Housing Debt Casework - most common presenting problems
Affordability prob-lems; 113
Arrears: mortgage; 247
Arrears: rent; 25
Eviction (bailiffs warrant): Mortgage; 104
Possession action: Mortgage arrears; 185
Possession action: Rent arrears; 13
Welfare benefits problems; 93
Information Resources
Housing and homelessness information in AdviserNet
Housing Matters and additional factsheet (bi-monthly)
Adviser magazine (bi-monthly)
Updated of publications e.g. dealing with mortgage arrears
Monthly e-bulletins to members
www.nhas.org.uk
Bi monthly updates for Housing Matters providing you with leaflets on the Out of Hours emergencies, Tips on temporary accommodation, Habitual Residence test, Mutual exchange, Health & Safety at home, Homelessness: 16 & 17 year olds and articles covering New rules for EEA workers and jobseekers, Tackling rogue landlords, Liverpool Family Support Service and Keeping homeless families together
Monthly email bulletin updates to all members and introduced HTML bulletin form from January 2015
Advisor magazine – contributed regular housing articles to this bi monthly publication
Developed or updated housing information items on AdviserNet
Development – Agency Membership
39 new members signed up34 local advice agencies and 5 national organisations
Overall membership included170 OVAs 19 Nationals34 Student Services26 Young peoples’ organisations
Membership154 expressions of interest in membership9 expression of interest meetings26 existing agency meetings11 presentations to potential, new and existing members
New members – local voluntary organisations
Gregory’s Place Barnardo’s Project
CommuniCare
Royds Community Association
New Era Enterprises Ltd
West View Advice & Resource Centre,
DSU (De Montfort Uni)
Framework,
My Sisters Place
Stonham Worcester
Teesside University
Canvey Island Youth Project
St Petrock’s
Just for Kids Law
Nomad
SUBU Advice (Student Union Bournemouth Uni)
County Community Projects,
The Oaklea Trust,
University of East London Students’ Union
Talking Money
Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network,
The Single Homeless Project
Croydon Drop in
Coast and Country
Moving on Durham
Swanswell,
Holme Wood Advice Service,
Kiveton Park Independent Advice Centre
Worcester University Union
Birmingham City University Student Union
Lancaster and District Homeless Action Service Ltd
East European Advice Centre,
EDP Exeter,
Manningham Project,
New members – national organisations
Christians Against Poverty
The Debt Counsellors Charitable Trust
DePaul UK
P3
Crisis Skylights
Resources
129,438 website visits
Top web pages for members:
Voluntary agencies Local Authorities
Training & Events Information & Resources
Face to face courses Training & Events
Bitesize Housing Advice factsheets
Housing Advice factsheets LA Housing Advice Line
Consultancy Housing Matters
NHAS website work
We migrated the website content to a new platform in April 2014 and continued to redevelop the site navigation to improve user’s experience. We also started the migration of the Improving Outcomes for Young People site, which will join the NHAS website in 2015.
A new Local Practice library has been added to showcase and share various NHAS audience local ideas and practice, 4 were added to the library in the final quarter:• Orbit: Sustainability Checker & guidance • Wigan Housing: Pre tenancy training workshop and pre/post
tenancy 121 advice & support• Ebor Gardens Money Buddies• Breathing Space (Wakefield Council)
youngpeopleoutcomes.org.uk
This website is a resource to help professionals working with young people on housing, homelessness and other issues.
It is designed to help frontline advisers, local authorities and their partners work together to prevent and tackle youth homelessness, recognising that safe, decent and affordable housing underpins achievement of other positive outcomes - whether these relate to education, training, employment, health, or safer communities
Follow us on twitter Improving Outcomes @1O4YP
Visits to the site have grown hugely:• 12,507 website visits, more than double compared with last year• 32,422 page views:• 21,427 visits to the ‘Advice for advisers of young people’ page• 3,623 visits to the ‘Delivering services for young people’ page
Best practice workshops delivered by Citizens Advice
Between January and March Citizens Advice delivered 7 workshops (against a target of 6) in; Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, York and London.
The workshops used practical examples and case studies and attendees were supported to draw out good practice, appropriate use of referrals, identifying action that can be taken by the client, the bureau and the courts at each stage:
Notices, grounds & defences (secure and assured)
Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) – offences and options/defences
Other tenancies Introductory, Family Intervention Tenancies, Demoted; homelessness duty related; starter tenancy.
Human Rights or public law defences & Article 8 proportionality threshold
Other Grounds for possession Exploring those other grounds for possession for secured and assured tenancies not necessarily linked to rent arrears or antisocial behaviour e.g. breach of tenancy, under occupation etc.,
Outcomes
We have continued our work in finding out about the outcomes for you and your clients. The percentages below are based on the members that replied to our request for information on outcomes from NHAS support:Consultancy Lines
100% of those that responded advised that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service received. Likewise 100% of those responding would use the Consultancy Line again.
Approximately 90% of those that responded felt that the advice was very helpful towards progressing their client’s case.
Out of 39 responses that gave details of an outcome - 9 client’s secured accommodation (23%), 3 were able to stay in their current home (8%) and the vast majority of respondents (82%) felt their client had increased understanding of their rights and options
Training for Local Authorities90% of those that completed the survey said their confidence in dealing with the
training topic had increased, both immediately after training and the majority sustained this 3
months on
65% said that they had been able to apply the knowledge gained
90% said they had cascaded information they had learnt on to colleagues
Feedback
Consultancy Line: survey sent with confirmation of advice (COA)
Overall - 10% return rate
94% would use the service again
90% felt that the advice given was clear and helpful to the client
78% felt more confident in dealing with our current case and similar cases in the future
Training
Agency training – 95% (average) rated the course as good or excellent, 95% (average) rated the trainer as good or excellent
LA training - 93% (average) rated the course as good or excellent, 96% (average) rated the trainer as good or very good
89% that attended local authority training would recommend the course they attended
95% that attended local authority training thought the course level was appropriate
This was my first time using this service and was truly impressed. The consultant was absolutely brilliant. Not only in the informative answers but also with kindness,
patience and empathy. The advice given surpassed my own knowledge and gave me outlets and guidance to best support my client. It was concise and came in a surprisingly quick timeframe. I am most grateful for
not only the service but also the Consultant. (Advice Agency)
(Your trainer) came and did our Persons from Abroad training yesterday and the feedback from the team was that the
training was outstanding. I just wanted to say thanks for sorting this for us; the team feels much more confident about
tackling eligibility issues now..(Local Authority)
FeedbackMortgage Debt Advice / Housing Debt Casework
97% of LA’s that responded said that people they spoke to were friendly and informative.
94% of LA’s that responded said that they would refer cases to the service again.
94% of end users that responded said that MDA staff were friendly and approachable.
94% of end users that responded said that advice was explained clearly to them
97% of end users that responded said that they were happy with the service.
92% of end users that responded said that the service had a positive impact on their case.
Annual member survey
100% agencies were likely to recommend to a colleague
90% agencies are happy the training is meeting their organisation’s needs
76% agencies said they would find our Housing Debt Casework service useful
25% agencies said the extended consultancy line hours would benefit their service
the service remains highly thought of in a challenging, unpredictable environment
Excellent. Extremely supportive and reassuring. Not only
professional, but friendly and helpful. Got the job done! Thank
you.(HDC Client)