Chronic homelessness and Universal Credit on the agenda at the Housing Advice Practitioners forum

The next meeting of the Housing Advice Practitioners’ Forum will be held on Tuesday 25th June at 2.30pm at Housing Rights. If you or your organisation are a member of Housing Rights and you give advice on housing matters, then this is the ideal event for you to come along and learn about the latest developments in housing legislation, case law, policy and practice.

What’s on the agenda?

Chronic Homeless Action Plan

We’re delighted that Helen Hicks and Richard Tanswell from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive will be coming to the forum to brief members on the NIHE’s Chronic Homelessness Action Plan. The draft Plan is out for consultation and sets out to ‘End Homelessness Together’ through developing appropriate responses to address the needs of the population in Northern Ireland who are experiencing chronic homelessness. If you give advice on homelessness it would be really useful to come along and hear the NIHE’s plans, learn how to respond to the draft plan and have the opportunity to have any queries answered directly by the experts.

Universal Credit update

The next big issue on the agenda is Universal Credit, including the fantastic work of the Cliff Edge Coalition NI in raising awareness about the imminent planned ending of the benefit mitigations. We’ll also look at the Westminster Joint Inquiry into Welfare Policy in NI and any future changes to UC. There will also be opportunity to discuss our shared experiences of dealing with UC and mitigation advice queries.

About the Housing Advice Practitioners Forum

Helping to keep our members up-to-date with the latest information on housing legislation, policy and practice is an important part of the work of Housing Rights and a key function of the Policy and Practice Team. One way in which we do this is through the Housing Advice Practitioners’ Forum. All member organisations are invited to the Forum and, as it is a benefit of membership, it is free to attend.

Forum meetings will include a topical presentation from an outside body, followed by updates on what is happening in housing including the latest legislation and case law. The Forum also provides an opportunity for member organisations to raise their own clients’ housing queries with Housing Rights’ specialist advisers.

If you are a member and would like to attend the Forum please contact Policy and Practitioner Support Officer, Sharon Geary.

To find out about becoming a member, contact Communication Officer, Claire Moss.