- Questions that remained unanswered:
1. Why did John Milne MP state that, ‘ the council can’t act to find you a new home until
the day you are actually evicted’?
2. Is the basis of his understanding as a result of what was happening within the
housing department at HDC whilst he was Deputy Leader of Horsham District
Council , a role he had until he was elected as our MP?
3. Was it simply a mistake or misunderstanding of the housing legislation?
4. If it was a misunderstanding has John Milne now checked his understanding and if
different to his stated understanding can we expect a correction to appear in his next
County Times column?
5. What is John Milne and HDC doing about the individual/individuals who he identified
as having been stuck in temporary accommodation for 5 years?
6. Why is Horsham Lib Dem cabinet member for housing unaware of the council’s
homelessness policy in this most critical of areas?
7. Why is the cabinet member for housing unable to answer our questions directly?
8. Why did the Lib Dem cabinet member for housing instead of answering our
questions suggest we contact the Lib Dem MP for Horsham?
In the article , ‘ The bureaucratic madness of the housing crisis’ published on-line
on June 3 rd, Horsham Lib Dem MP, John Milne claimed in relation to those who are under threat of eviction that ‘ under the rules we all have to follow…. the council can’t act to find you a new home until the day you are actually evicted’
Below is an extract from a letter published in the County Times on 12 th June by Horsham
Labour Party member Carol Hayton questioning Horsham’s MP’s understanding of the
relevant legislation.
‘It’s not clear which rules Lib Dem MP John Milne is referring to, but these are certainly not rules included in the government’s homeless prevention legislation. Under the Homeless Reduction Act 2017, local authorities have a duty to work with an applicant to prevent homelessness for up to 56 days prior to the threatened eviction date. So someone who finds themselves in need of support 56 days from the date of their eviction should approach the council as soon as possible. The council has a duty to provide help from that point, not, as John Milne claims, only from the day of eviction.
If the rules that John Milne refers to are being applied by Horsham District Council, the body with a duty to implement government rules on homelessness prevention, John Milne, as MP and as a former member of the Lib Dem administration running the council, should look into this and work with his Lib Dem colleagues to ensure that council acts in accordance with legislation. He should similarly investigate why they are, as he claims placing people in temporary accommodation and forgetting about them. ‘
Since John Milne’s assertion that the council are not allowed to act on behalf of anyone in
fear of being evicted until the day of eviction, we first spoke with the cabinet member for
housing on Horsham District Council and have now exchanged a number of emails.
Rather surprisingly the cabinet member’s first response identified that they did not know whether HDC was complying with all relevant guidelines but we were assured that they would ask the housing team. We then received a second email which ignored our questions and stated that, ‘The work of the housing team to prevent homelessness is something that HDC is incredibly proud of. It regularly goes above and beyond what it is required to do to support residents facing homelessness.’ This .is good news but didn’t answer our question and then we were told by the cabinet member for housing again rather surprisingly that, ‘ If you have questions about John’s article I suggest you contact his office directly.’
We do have questions about John’s article because our MP appears to be suggesting that Horsham District Council’s Housing team is not following government guidelines when seeking to find accommodation for those who are in danger of becoming homeless. We did though believe it to be reasonable to contact the Cabinet member for Housing in the meantime to find out what exactly was going on in HDC.
We have of course contacted John Milne’s office as the cabinet member of housing suggested and we look forward to receiving a response to our questions.
We believe that being under threat of homelessness is a frightening and stressful experience. Those who apply to their local MP for help should not be given incorrect advice that will only make that stress even greater.
We also believe that in the spirt of open government and transparency that our elected representatives and in particular those with specific cabinet responsibilities must be able to engage in an open and transparent manner, even when this may be uncomfortable to do so. It is disappointing that so far neither the Lib Dem cabinet member for housing or Horsham’s Lib Dem MP have felt it necessary to respond in full to our questions.
We will keep working to ensure that the information provided to John Milne’s constituents on this most important of subjects is correct and we continue to obtain a full response from the cabinet member for housing so we can be assured that Horsham District Council is discharging its responsibilities in line with Government guidelines. The most recent email we have received from them is that , ‘ Yes I Can absolutely confirm that our housing team meets its legal duties.’ That was not the question we asked.
