Tsar Falls From Grace

Elevated from obscurity at Centre Point by Tony Blair, I've never been a fan of loud-mouthed Louise Casey and not at all sure what her successes have been during her many high-profile posts over subsequent years. Always ambitious, I hadn't even noticed she was one of Boris Johnson's cronies recently elevated to the Peerage following her return to being the homeless 'Tsar'. The government ''guff'' from May:-

A specialist taskforce has been created to lead the next phase of the government’s support for rough sleepers during the pandemic.

Spearheaded by Dame Louise Casey, the taskforce will work hand-in-hand with councils across the country on plans to ensure rough sleepers can move into long-term, safe accommodation once the immediate crisis is over – ensuring as few people as possible return to life on the streets.

The taskforce will also ensure the thousands of rough sleepers now in accommodation continue to receive the physical and mental health support they need over the coming weeks while they continue to self-isolate from the virus.

Over 90% of rough sleepers known to councils at the beginning of the crisis have now been offered accommodation where they can remain safe during the crisis – helping protect themselves and others from contracting the virus.

This has been backed by £3.2 million in targeted funding to help councils get as many people off the streets as possible, with a further £3.2 billion additional funding for councils to help them continue to respond to the pandemic and support their communities – including their vital work helping those sleeping rough.

Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:

"By working closely with councils, charities, faith groups and health providers, we have offered accommodation to over 5,400 people who were sleeping rough at the beginning of the crisis: that’s over 90% of known rough sleepers. This national effort has potentially helped to protect thousands of lives.

As the country prepares for the next phase of the battle against coronavirus, Dame Louise Casey will spearhead a taskforce to provide us with expert advice and knowledge to put in place a long-term plan to stop as many vulnerable people as possible from returning to life on the streets."

Dame Louise Casey said:

"The storm of COVID-19 has affected us all in many, varied and sometimes deeply tragic ways - we know that it is a virus that does not discriminate. Due to the incredible efforts by people in local councils, charities, hotel staff and the public, many rough sleepers have been brought in and off the streets.

Much has been done, and there is much still to do. We have all had to respond to this crisis with a deep resolve but also innovation – in bringing people inside, there is now a real opportunity to address the health and social needs of these individuals and if we can stop them going back to the streets. This, like so much over the last few weeks, will take a huge national effort and I’m pleased to be able to be part of that."

--oo00oo--

We all know Boris is one for gesture politics rather than considered action and her appointment was probably just a bit of further 'window dressing' rather than part of any concerted effort to deliver on his stated aim last December of eliminating street homelessness.  

Anyway, Louise has suddenly thrown in the towel and nobody seems to know why. With absolutely no knowledge as to the reason, I simply invite readers to consider for one moment the likely outcome of a meeting of minds should she find herself in the same room as Dominic Cummings. For some reason I have this vision of her finding reason to give him a good slap. This from the Guardian:-

Fears over 'vacuum' as top UK homelessness adviser steps down
The government’s top adviser on homelessness has stepped down unexpectedly, sparking fears of a strategy vacuum as hundreds of thousands of tenants face possible eviction over rent arrears accrued during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dame Louise Casey told housing and campaign groups on Wednesday that she had stepped back from her role, which involved leading a specialist taskforce set up in May to prevent a return to widespread rough sleeping after thousands of people were helped off the streets in March and April.

After being awarded a crossbench peerage last month she said she now wanted to make her “contribution to public service” from the House of Lords, according to a note circulated to sector leaders. “This seemed like the right moment to step back, especially as the country looks to gear up to the ‘new normal’,” she wrote.

Jon Sparkes, the chief executive of charity Crisis, was informed by Casey of her decision. “We urge minsters not to leave a leadership vacuum. With the economic impact of the pandemic pushing more people into homelessness, we must redouble our efforts, otherwise we risk rates of rough sleeping rising with all the human misery this entails.”

Casey has not yet commented publicly on the move. One housing sector source said they understood she had been urging a different approach to the lifting of the evictions ban this weekend which would offer greater protection. But it is not known if this was a factor in her decision.

Charities and campaigners are bracing for the lifting of the ban, which they warn could lead to hundreds of thousands of people made homeless. Labour and charities including Shelter and Crisis are calling for it to be postponed. Crisis said it was taken by surprise by Casey’s move. It said the government’s strategy was to meet its target of ending rough sleeping by 2024 and it was unclear who would now lead that effort. “This is a deep concern,” said Matt Downie, the policy director at Crisis. “What we need now is coordinated action across government with the leadership and assertiveness of someone like Louise Casey.”

There are signs that rough sleeping is increasing again, in a trend that is likely to be exacerbated by rising unemployment as the recession bites. Figures from the homelessness charity Streetlink this week showed that alerts by members of the public about rough sleepers increased by 36% year on year between April and June 2020, reaching 16,976. Notifications were also higher than the previous quarter.

In February, Casey was appointed to review the government’s rough sleeping strategy before the impact of the pandemic became clear. Her role quickly morphed into crisis management. As well as helping arrange thousands of hotel and temporary accommodation spaces to get rough sleepers indoors, she was credited with securing an additional £105m for more permanent accommodation for those people to move into.

Nearly 15,000 people were helped under the government’s Everyone In initiative. Casey previously advised the Blair government on homelessness and in her latest role reported to Boris Johnson and the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick. Sources said it remained possible that she could take part in the original review of the government’s rough sleeping strategy if it restarted.

Jenrick said: “I would like to thank Dame Louise for her contribution at such a challenging time, which has led to so many rough sleepers being helped off the streets and kept safe from coronavirus. Her work leading the rough sleeping taskforce will ensure as many people as possible who have been brought in do not return to sleeping rough. Our plans for longer-term accommodation – 3,300 homes this year alone – and tailored support, backed by half a billion pounds of funding this year and next, will help us to meet our commitment to end rough sleeping once and for all.”

Official homelessness statistics published on Thursday showed there were nearly 5,000 tenants in England threatened with section 21 “no fault” evictions between January and the end of March before lockdown, a 25% increase on the previous three-month period.

Campaigners warned that many of these tenants, who were able to stay in their home throughout the pandemic after the government issued a temporary eviction ban on 18 March, will face having to leave their home when the ban ends on Sunday.

Section 21 enables private landlords to repossess their properties without having to establish fault on the part of the tenant, in some cases enabling them to re-let the property at a higher rent. It has been criticised for giving too much power to landlords. The government promised in 2019 to scrap it, but has not yet done so.

Polly Neate, the chief executive of Shelter, said: “Today’s figures show private renters were already badly affected by homelessness when the pandemic was just taking hold. Thousands more renters have since had their lives turned upside down as the country descends in economic free fall.”

Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow housing secretary, said: “These figures highlight the urgent need to extend the evictions ban, to avoid thousands more people being made homeless in the run-up to winter.”