Responses to government consultations
Government consultations offer a formal opportunity for
organisations and individuals to feed in their views on government
proposals. Centrepoint responds to a broad range of consultations
on policy developments that affect homeless young people.
2012
Centrepoint's response to the revised London housing
strategy
This consultation responds to the Mayor of London's
plans for housing in the capital, urging the Mayor to do more to
ensure that young people have access to the stable, affordable
housing they need to prevent repeat homelessness.
Centrepoint response to proposals for 16-19 programmes of
study
Centrepoint response to 16-19 funding formula
review
These consultation responses cover Centrepoint's concerns over
the government's implementation of Alison Wolf's report on
vocational education. They show how in some cases the government
has not been loyal to the Wolf report and, in others, is not
sufficiently prioritising learning for disadvantaged young
people.
2011
Centrepoint's response to the consultation on anti-social behaviour
reforms
This response sets out Centrepoint's views on two
proposed changes to housing-related sanctions for criminal or
anti-social behaviour. The first seeks to change the rules
so that social housing tenants can be evicted for offences
committed anywhere rather than just in their local area as is
currently the case. The second aims to speed up the eviction
process for social tenants who have committed previous offences. We
reject the first proposal but offer limited support for the
second.
Centrepoint's response to the draft directions to the social
housing regulator
This consultation response sets out Centrepoint's position on
the government's reform of social housing and the guidelines
by which social housing is to be allocated post-reform. We
propose a way to safeguard security of tenure while still
ensuring fair allocation and set out the case for a
clearer set of standards to apply across all social landlords.
Centrepoint and the Centrepoint Parliament's response to
the Department for Education's call for views on the
'positive for youth' discussion papers
Positive for youth is the Department for Education's strategy
for young people in the UK. In the response from Centrepoint and
the Centrepoint Parliament, we stress the importance of
housing, and opportunities for education and training for
young people, as well as commenting on the Government's
plans to create a National Citizen Service for 16 year olds.
Centrepoint's response to the Soical Security Advisory Committee's
consultation on proposals to extend the shared accommodation rate
restriction of local housing allowance to those aged
25-34
This consultation response sets out Centrepoint's opposition to
the government's plans to raise the age at which people receiving
local housing allowance can access self-contained accommdation to
35. We draw on our experience resettling young people into the
private rented sector to highlight the problems we foresee with the
government's plans.
Centrepoint's response to the Department for Education consultation
on the replacement of the education maintenance allowance (EMA)
funding for 16-19 education and training
This consultation response (and the separate
response from the Centrepoint Parliament) sets out the
importance of proper financial support for homeless young
people in education and training. We welcome the protection of
young people on income support amongst the groups who are entitled
to funding under the proposed changes and suggest a number
of improvements.
Centrepoint's response to the Department for Work and Pensions call
for views on the replacement of community care grants and
crisis loans for living expenses with local
support
Many of the young people that Centrepoint works with rely upon
the social fund for financial support in times of extreme need or
crisis. The government's proposed changes risk
dramatically reducing the support available by giving local
authorities control over how much money is spent on the social
fund in their area. Centrepoint's response makes
recommendations to preserve the safety net the social fund
provides while ensuring provision is tailored to individual
circumstance.
Centrepoint's response to the Department of
Health consultation on the new public health strategy 'Healthy
Lives, Healthy People'
Homeless young people are disproportionately likely to have poor
physical and mental health compared to their peers. Centrepoint's
response to the government's public health consultation stresses
the need to recognise tackling homelessness as an important part of
building a successful public health strategy.
Centrepoint's response to the Department for
Communities and Local Government consultation on the 'Local
Decisions' green paper proposals for social
housing
Research conducted by the University of Sheffield in partnership
with Centrepoint and five other organisations shows that young
people who move on from homeless services into social housing are
more likely to be successfully resettled than those who move into
the private rented sector. Centrepoint encourages the government to
ensure that its reforms do not endanger the security or
affordability of social housing for vulnerable young people.
Centrepoint's submission to the Education Select
Committee 16-19 participation inquiry
Centrepoint encourages the committee to recognise the challenges
faced by homeless young people in accessing further education. In
meeting these challenges, Centrepoint stresses the importance of
direct financial support, as was previously offered through the
Education maintenance allowance (EMA).
2010
Centrepoint's submission to the Social Security Advisory Committee
on changes to housing benefit
Centrepoint urges the committee to carefully consider the impact
that the changes to housing benefit will have on homeless young
people. Young people already receive 20% less jobseeker's allowance
an income support than those over 25 and thus are particularly
vulnerable to the proposed cuts.
Centrepoint's response to the Department of Work
and Pensions consultation '21st Century
Welfare'
Centrepoint welcomes the government's efforts to support people
into work but urges caution when introducing more conditionality to
ensure that vulnerable young people are not unfairly
penalised. It is important to support young people to develop
the appropriate skills and training they need to move into and
sustain a job.