Several notes/rantlets*
There will be a new prescribed Section 8 Notice Seeking Possession in force from 6 April 2016. The regulations and new form 3 can be found here. This is a prescribed form, so must be used.
A ‘where we are now’ story on homelessness involving a certain very central London Council came out on twitter today. A very pregnant woman was found to be intentionally homeless, the council discharged duty and terminated temporary accommodation just two days before her due date. The woman was thrown out of temporary accommodation and was on the street yesterday (Tuesday). The police had to put her up overnight. An advice centre saw her today and found out that the housing options team (the homeless unit) had completely failed to follow both protocol and their statutory obligations in that no reference or information about the applicant or the impending eviction had been passed to Children’s Services. The council did subsequently, and I quote, ‘apologise for the omission’. Because it is exactly like accidentally not putting that enclosure in with the letter.
And the Govt response to the Commons Work & Pensions Select Committee report on local welfare safety net (including DHP) has been released. The select committee is not impressed. And neither am I. The response on DHPs (on which, I must disclose, I gave evidence, and on which the committee made some strong recommendations) at 14-43 is not only fatuous, but in some regards factually wrong. For example:
Where someone applying for a DHP believes that they have been treated wrongfully, they can ask the authority to review its decision and ultimately also have recourse to judicial review proceedings.
There is no review mechanism for a DHP decision. None. Nada. It is JR or nothing. And if the DWP believe that is a decent mechanism for dealing with errant DHP decisions, they are yet more Wednesbury irrational than the decision at issue.
*A diminutive or infant rant