Common Housing Registers Factsheet 6

Description	Common Housing Registers Factsheet 6
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Official Print Publication Date
Website Publication Date	August 19, 2005

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If you are leading on CHR development or are part of a working group that is considering the role of housing information and advice in the development of your CHR . . .
then this factsheet is here to help you.

What is the background?
. . . on Housing Information & Advice

Sections 19-21 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (as amended by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001) give local authorities and Registered Social Landlords ( RSLs) the duty to make rules, and to provide advice and information on those rules, governing:

Access to waiting lists
The priority of allocation of houses
The transfer of tenants from houses owned by the landlord to houses owned by other bodies, and
Exchanges of houses

In addition, section 2 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 introduced a new duty so that:

"Every local authority must secure that advice and information about

(a) homelessness and the prevention of homelessness, and

(b) any services which may assist a homeless person or assist in the prevention of homelessness,

is available free of charge to any person in the authority's area."

The Act also allowed for Scottish Ministers to issue guidance "as to the form and content of such advice and information". This guidance was issued in March 2002 and revised after September 2002, taking account of comments received. In summary, the guidance outlines that local authorities have responsibility on 3 levels:

As strategic bodies
As providers
As funders

This guidance also makes it clear that:

local authorities should ensure provision meets the standards set out in HomePoint's "Scottish National Standards for Housing Information and Advice Services"
the National Standards are applicable to housing information services across all sectors and should ideally be the required quality measure for local authority funded services
compliance to the National Standards, for both local authorities and RSLs will be tested by Communities Scotland, within the Single Regulatory Framework (see Activity Standard 4.6)
local authorities' responses to the new duty in respect of information and advice should link very closely with the development of homelessness strategies

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 also enhanced the duties of local authorities in respect of the advice and assistance to be given to non-priority need and intentionally homeless applicants (and to those who are threatened with homelessness). The 2001 Act amends the 1987 Act so that the advice and assistance to be furnished by local authorities must be "as prescribed by ministers" in the Homeless Persons Advice and Assistance (Scotland) Regulations 2002 ( SSI 414).

The requirement to provide quality advice and information is a recurring strand of the 2001 Act and is clearly relevant in other duties, such as the implementation of the Scottish Secure Tenancy and the development of a Tenant Participation strategy. It is also central to subsequent recommendations made by both the Housing Improvement Task Force ( HITF) and the Homelessness Task Force ( HTF).

. . . on Common Housing Registers ( CHRs)

The Scottish Executive is keen to promote accessibility and choice within the housing system and has introduced a clear policy on the development of CHRs within legislative and regulatory frameworks. Operation of a CHR within an area means people looking to the social rented sector for housing need only complete a single application form to be considered by all the landlords in that area, whether as a first-time applicant or as a tenant wishing to change homes.

The Executive has supported the delivery of CHRs with a £3 million funding programme for local authorities and a national support team which is working with social landlords within each local authority area to develop CHRs. Six areas now have operational CHRs - Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Perth & Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders and Glasgow - and it is expected that more will be up and running by the end of the current funding programme in March 2006. The Executive remains committed to the CHR approach as a way of simplifying and maximising access to social housing.

Don't panic! You shouldn't need to start from scratch . . .

While the above relates to the wider legislation in relation to housing advice and information, this is not necessarily all relevant to the development and delivery of Common Housing Registers. CHR partnerships should not have to start from scratch and should not have to deliver a wider housing advice and information strategy for their area of operation. This piece of work should already be well under way and will probably be closely aligned with Local Housing Strategies and Homelessness Strategies.

However, staff working within a CHR do need to be clear about housing options in their area and it should be recognised that giving this information and advice may develop a relationship which will lead to the need for other information and advice, and therefore an accurate signpost to a more appropriate advice provider. A Housing Options Guide should be the main source of information for frontline staff within a CHR.

In any case, where partners in a CHR are delivering housing advice and information, it is clear that they should be doing so in line with their local authority strategy and in line with the Scottish National Standards for Information and Advice Services. This factsheet will offer suggestions as to how best this can be achieved.

What makes an effective CHR?

To be effective, your CHR must be supported by the delivery of quality advice and information by all its partners. This advice and information should be free, easily accessible, accurate, consistent and appropriate to its target audience. It can also help to publicise and explain your CHR, its objectives, its partners and its processes. Housing information and advice can be a useful tool with which to build trusting relations with customers and better relationships with partners.

There is absolutely no doubt that the delivery of quality advice and information is central to implementing effective Common Housing Registers. The Executive's broader policy objective of simplifying and maximising access to housing will be more easily achieved if partners can explain more about each other's stock (including supply, demand and turnover) and more about each other's practices.

The CHR Guide, while stating that no two CHRs are the same, also identifies three essential components that must form part of every Common Housing Register:

One common application form
One database of applicants
One shared housing advice and information resource

In addition to these essential components, the CHR Guide identifies eight core functions that must be discussed by CHR working groups when deciding upon their CHR model. The very first of these core functions to consider is:

How will you deliver advice on housing options?

This is where it is essential for CHR partnerships to consider their customers - what they will require to know and how this will be delivered. You should consider who will deliver this advice, where will it be delivered, when will it be delivered and to what standard? This all means that you must also consider how you can ensure your staff, and the staff of all the partners, are trained and equipped to deliver this advice.

HomePoint and the Scottish National Standards for Housing Information & Advice Services

In 1995, following wide-scale consultation with a range of relevant parties, HomePoint agreed and published quality standards as a tool to use in the development of new information services or for reviewing existing services. These Scottish National Standards were revised in 2000 and address issues of Management, Planning, Accessibility and Customer Care, Service Provision, Competence and Resources.

Each of the six Standards comprises a set of indicators that highlight the evidence that services will need to demonstrate to ensure compliance. These indicators may differ depending on whether a Type I, Type II or Type III service is offered.

Type I - Active Information, Sign-posting and Explanation
Type II - Casework
Type III - Advocacy, Representation and Mediation

An early self-assessment exercise will help services to identify gaps in provision against the Standards.

Where services may already be operating to other general management standards (e.g. Investors in People), the Scottish National Standards provide a 'passport' for that section in the indicators for that Standard. This 'passport' signifies compliance. In addition to setting the benchmark for housing advice and information services in Scotland, the Scottish National Standards clearly define housing advice and identify both core skill-based and knowledge-based competencies for housing advisers.

The Scottish National Standards identify core competence for each type of service. Core competence as defined by HomePoint relates to generic skills. These skills may be applicable to other areas of work undertaken by an organisation, as well as those directly related to advice and information activity.

Against each of the 19 areas of housing law (as defined in Appendix 1), the Scottish National Standards identify the competence that individual advisers need to have. These adviser competencies provide a framework within which to develop the service and a tool to ensure that a high quality service is provided.

The Scottish National Standards require services to consider what processes are in place to manage and deliver the service.
It is also essential that serious consideration
is given to the supports that are in place to ensure the quality of advice that is delivered. Against each area of law therefore, there are also agency competencies.

Training opportunities

To ensure that advisers have the necessary knowledge-based competence within these areas of law, HomePoint has developed an innovative CD Rom training package. Currently supported and maintained by Shelter Scotland, the CD Rom incorporates multiple choice questions for Type I providers, sets casework questions for Type II and Type III advisers and certifies trainees on successful completion.

It is envisaged that use of this package should be preceded by an effective training needs analysis and should be used to supplement existing and additional methods of staff training.

Housing Options Guides

Understanding the importance of accurate and up to date information, HomePoint has delivered a template for local authorities to develop Housing Options Guides for their area of operation. This should be done in partnership with RSLs and advice providers in that area. Each Housing Options Guide identifies the main housing options available to homeseekers and provides useful information on supply and demand, on how to apply and on where to go for assistance, as required.

HomePoint has also developed a Scotland-wide Housing Options Guide and national database of advice providers, as well as hosting links to local guides via its website. For examples of good practice, see the HomePoint web site at www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk .

Help from the HomePoint Team

HomePoint is the team within Communities Scotland that is responsible for identifying and meeting the information needs of housing consumers and improving the quality of housing information and advice provision in Scotland. This is achieved by working with and supporting providers of information and advice from public, private and voluntary sectors.

The HomePoint Team is very knowledgeable about CHR development, having assisted with the development of the CHR Guide and provided support to the Scottish Executive's CHR Central Support Team and national implementation groups. HomePoint provides support and guidance to all organisations implementing the Scottish National Standards.

HomePoint is also currently working with the Scottish Executive's Justice Department and the Scottish Legal Aid Board to develop a National Quality and Advice Framework for Legal Advice and Assistance. A model is currently being piloted for Money Advice. There has been some lobbying to include employment advice too.

In summary, HomePoint's role in relation to the delivery of housing information and advice, including information and advice delivered as part of CHR, is to:

Help with interpretation and implementation of the National Standards.
Provide 'one to one' support to organisations implementing the National Standards.
Ensure the competence of advisers through appropriate training and certification.
Gather and disseminate good practice and fund appropriate advice-related initiatives.
Oversee appropriate audit and accreditation services so that organisations can evidence that they are providing a service that meets the National Standards.
Provide a web-based directory of information and advice providers in Scotland.
Provide a template for the development of a web-based Housing Options Guide and support and encouragement to develop local versions.

HomePoint's advice for CHR working groups . . .

HomePoint advises all CHRs to do what it calls a "Basic check on compliance with Organisational Standards". CHR working groups should ask themselves:

1. Do we have a clear idea of:

a. The remit and boundaries of our information and advice service? (i.e. to what level are we involved - just basic advice and information, or do we take on casework, diagnostic interviews and laying out options for people?)

b. Who we give advice to? (i.e. specific client groups and/or general provision?)

c. Why we have identified a need for that provision of service? (i.e. link to records of users, gaps in service, etc.)

2. Have we got support mechanisms in place for staff to undertake training and development and to refresh skills and knowledge through available resources and literature? Are there clearly delineated areas of responsibilities among staff and are they clear as to whom they should refer for guidance?

3. What referral arrangements, protocols and agreements are in place with other service providers? What knowledge exists on the housing information and advice of other providers so that judgements can be made about who staff should signpost clients to when they do not have the resources or knowledge to deal with an enquiry?

4. Are there established user feedback techniques and do these feed into the planning of the service provided?

5. How is recording of service-wide activity measured and does the organisation review its remit taking this into account? Is there any sort of review and evaluation process in place for the service itself, the advice and information given by staff, methods of delivery and access to the service by disabled people or those users whose first language is not English, depending on our perceived and actual users?

From theory to practice: summary of top tips

You must be very clear about what information is to be provided by your CHR partners and you must define clearly who will provide it. What are your boundaries?
All partners sho§uld take ownership of housing information and advice enquiries to avoid confused housing applicants going from 'pillar to post'.
There must be a robust referral process to organisations that provide advice and information over and above what your CHR partners provide - there must be good communication with these people so they know who you are referring to them.
You should assess what training is required and who will provide it.
You must ensure that every client gets consistent information and advice wherever they go and whomever they speak to.
User feedback is essential - this information must be used when reviewing the delivery of the service.
Ensure recording of service-wide delivery - information and advice has to be recorded and there needs to be clarity about what is being recorded. (This can impact on provision of resources - information to back argument to change/keep services - also clarifies who is receiving the service - are you missing anyone? What are you learning?)
Your CHR working group needs to be aware of activity elsewhere - it would be good practice to ensure that your CHR links into any advice & information working group that might exist.
A CHR can be used as evidence that you are meeting some of the Standards - i.e. interaction with other partners ( RSLs).

So, what should you do now?

First of all, get a copy of your local authority's Housing Advice & Information Strategy so that you understand the methods/structures which are already in place and of which you can make use.
In many cases, your local authority's advice and information strategy may be interwoven with the Homelessness Strategy or closely aligned to the Local Housing Strategy.
Speak to the lead officer with responsibility for information and advice within your organisation(s). Tell them about the CHR and ask for their advice on the best ways of informing and advising your customers.
Contact other CHR lead officers and operational CHRs to identify best practice. Don't re-invent the wheel.
Contact HomePoint to discuss your advice and information needs and seek essential assistance. This will help you to identify examples of good practice, access training opportunities and prepare for accreditation under the National Standards.

Contacts

Should you require any further clarification on the role of housing information and advice within your CHR, please contact Henry Coyle or Yvonne Wemyss from the CHR Central Support Team at the Scottish Executive or Eleanor Clark, HomePoint Co-ordinator at Communities Scotland.

Appendix 1

The 19 areas of Housing Law

HomePoint identifies 19 'areas of housing law' in which an agency's advisers should
be competent. Each organisation providing housing advice should decide upon the areas within its service remit. There is no requirement that any organisation should cover all 19 areas of law.

According to the Scottish National Standards, these 19 areas of housing law are:

Housing Benefit
Discrimination in Housing
Disrepair: Private Sector and Housing Associations
Disrepair: Public Sector
Harassment and Illegal Eviction
Homelessness: Priority Need
Homelessness: Non-Priority
Mobility and Transfers
Mortgage Arrears
Housing Options: General
Housing Options: Local Authorities
Housing Options: Private Rented Sector
Housing Options: Owner Occupation
Housing Options: Registered Social Landlords/Housing Associations
Relationship Breakdown
Rent: Private Sector
Rent Arrears
Repair and Improvement Grants
Security of Tenure

Scottish Government