​Government confirms plan to give councils powers to refer homeless people to registered providers

The government has announced it will bring forward plans to give councils powers to refer homeless people to registered providers.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced yesterday it will amend legislation currently going through parliament designed to ensure social housing goes to those who need it most.

It said: “Through the Social Housing Bill, councils will be given new powers to refer homeless households to private registered providers of social housing, strengthening collaboration between housing associations and councils, helping to reduce reliance on temporary accommodation and improve access to housing for those in greatest need.” According to the Guardian, Angela Rayner will announce in her Labour party conference speech later this morning that housing associations would not be able to reject the direct referrals without a good reason.

The bill will also introduce a requirement for registered providers to notify other social landlords before selling homes outside the sector to give them a chance to buy them.

A new “duty to collaborate” will also be introduced, requiring non-housing public services to work more closely together to identify people at risk of homelessness and consider what action they can take within their existing responsibilities to help prevent homelessness

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “It is also important that housing associations are able to respond to the changing needs of existing residents, so we look forward to working with government and councils to get the detail right on these proposals, while strengthening local partnerships to help more families access a safe, secure and affordable home.

“Housing associations sell a small number of unsuitable or uneconomic properties each year to release funds for new development or to improve existing homes. Government figures show that sales of housing association homes to buyers outside the social housing sector make up less than 0.2% of all social homes. We support a fair and proportionate requirement to notify councils about disposals, as many housing associations already do, to ensure as many homes as possible remain as social housing.”