Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that the Council, at its meeting on 1st July, had passed the following motion on Homeless Status, which had been proposed by Councillor Hargey and seconded by Councillor Walsh:

“This Council commends the #FDANODELAY campaign and recognises that people living in hostels and other temporary/emergency accommodation across our society are homeless and deserve to be legally recognised as such by having Full Duty Applicant status awarded.

The Council calls upon the NIHE’s Chief Executive to meet with an all-Party delegation to outline the measures which the NIHE will now take to accurately audit the extent of the problem regarding homeless people who are not recognised as such and what steps will be taken to remedy these oversights.”

            The Democratic Services Officer reviewed the response which had been received from Mr. Bailie and reminded the Committee that it had, on 10th September, agreed that the matter should be placed on the agenda for this meeting, given that Mr. Bailie would be in attendance to address other issues. 

            It was reported that Ms. M. McMahon, representing the #FDAnoDelay/Homeless Not Voiceless Campaign, together with Ms. J. Carberry, had sought approval to address the Committee. 

            The Committee agreed to hear from Ms. McMahon and Ms. Carberry and they were welcomed by the Chairperson.

            Ms. McMahon informed the Members that the #FDAnoDelay campaign sought to ensure that people who found themselves to be homeless and living in temporary accommodation were recognised as being in priority need of housing and awarded Full Duty Applicant status. She reviewed the ongoing difficulties being experienced by homeless people in relation to securing accommodation and stated that Mr. Bailie’s response had been unsatisfactory and had provided them with no reassurance.

            Ms. Carberry explained that she had been homeless since March, 2019 and was currently living in a hostel outside the City, away from her family, friends and support network. She referred to the four criteria for assessing homelessness referred to within Mr. Bailie’s response and pointed out that she, like others, had met those criteria, yet had failed to secure Full Duty Applicant status. It was only when she had lodged a human rights based complaint that her case had been reassessed and she had attained Full Duty Applicant status. She confirmed that the #FDAnoDelay campaign was neither calling for the adoption of a blanket approach to awarding Full Duty Applicant status nor for a change in legislation but was requesting that Mr. Bailie engage fully with the Council and with the campaign group to ensure that the Housing Executive met its obligations regarding homelessness.

            With the permission of the Chairperson, Councillor Ferguson affirmed her support for the #FDAnoDelay/Homeless Not Voiceless Campaign and raised concerns around the legal test underpinning the homelessness scheme.  She expressed her disappointment at Mr. Bailie’s response to the Council’s motion and at the fact that he had failed to meet with the campaign group, despite being invited on several occasions to do so.

            Mr. Bailie explained that any person who was deemed to be homeless was subjected to a robust legal test, which was fairly and equally applied. He pointed out that the Housing Executive sought at all times to meet its legal obligations and stressed that no one who was entitled to Full Duty Applicant status would be refused it, providing that all of the required information was available. He added that officers would be content to meet with Ms. Carberry to determine if lessons could be learned and that he had no issue with homelessness being raised at the Committee meeting or through another forum.

            Mrs. Hawthorne informed the Committee that the homelessness scheme was a statutory scheme and that it was administered by the Housing Executive, in accordance with the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1998. She pointed out that the Housing Executive funded a number of organisations, including Housing Rights, to support applicants through the process and those who disagreed with an outcome had a statutory right of appeal, including through the court. They could avail also of the Housing Executive’s complaints process and, ultimately, could contact the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman.

            After discussion, the Committee agreed that an all-Party delegation from the Council should still meet with the Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to discuss in greater detail the issues which had been raised.