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Presented by Christine Robinson

To what extent do organisations work together to provide housing services for military veterans, in Scotland?. Presented by Christine Robinson. The Presentation Outline. Current issues on veterans & housing. The demographics of the armed forces. Veterans’ homelessness & housing services.

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Presented by Christine Robinson

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  1. To what extent do organisations work together to provide housing services for military veterans, in Scotland? Presented by Christine Robinson

  2. The Presentation Outline • Current issues on veterans & housing. • The demographics of the armed forces. • Veterans’ homelessness & housing services. • Policy & practice in Scotland. • The theoretical framework to guide the research. • The study design. • Conclusion.

  3. Two examples of media reporting Soldier fears return to UK will mean homelessness The soldier - who was awarded the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen was told that there was no housing available for him and his family and he would have to go on the homeless list until a house became available. Published on Friday 22 July 2011 in the Scotsman. Pte Stinger, triple amputee injured in Afghanistan housed by Thurrock Council in an unsuitable for wheelchair use 6th floor flat.

  4. Armed Forces Demographics • Just under 175,000 people in the UK armed forces: • Navy 20%. • Army 58%. • RAF 22%. • 14% are women. • 10% are commissioned officers (MOD, 2011). • 12% annual outflow (Defence Management, 2011).

  5. Homelessness & Veterans • 3% (2009-2010) of rough sleepers in London were veterans (Parliament, 2011). • A survey of clients in hostels & day centres in Glasgow 2009 found that 12% were veterans (Poppy Scotland, 2009). • Of 357 respondents to a survey, 14% of Scottish veterans reported homelessness compared to 4% for the rest of the UK (Poppy Scotland, 2009).

  6. Veterans & homelessness • Loss of tied housing, employment and social networks. • Homeless legislation traditionally prioritised families over single people. • Army veterans are more likely to encounter housing problems than their RAF or Navy counterparts (Johnson et al, 2008). • They are socially & educationally disadvantaged pre-enlistment (Johnson et al, 2008).

  7. Alcoholism • Alcoholism may predispose veterans to homelessness. • Homeless veterans are more likely to have alcohol addiction than the overall homeless population (Johnson et al, 2008). • The Lancet in 2010 stated that “there was not an epidemic of mental health problems in those that had been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, however this group are at risk because of hazardous drinking, both before and after deployment”.

  8. Impact on services • US literature identified that veterans’: multiple deployments, substance abuse, unemployment & traumatic brain injury are likely to make a significant impact on new homeless services for veterans in NY (Henderson et al 2008:8). • UK has similarly identified that the nature of current military operations could mean “that the next decade and beyond will be an important time for the armed forces welfare sector” (Royal United Services Institute, 2010:1).

  9. Policy & Practice Current housing advice from the Scottish Government is that “you should give applications from ex-service personnel fair and sympathetic consideration. You should give ex-service personnel the same priority for housing as those with a similar level of housing need” (Scottish Government 2008).

  10. Broader policy context • Key to the reform on the future delivery of public services in Scotland, is for closer partnership working both within the public sector but also between the public, third and private sector (The Christie Report, Scottish Government, 2011) . • The military covenant (MC) is to be enshrined into law. • In Scotland the size of the army is likely to increase substantially by 2020 (HM Forces, 2011).

  11. Partnership working • Intrinsically makes sense, sharing resources providing the best outcome for service users. • Difficulties - lack of accountability & incompatible working relationships. • Carmel et al (2008) argue that collaborative governance is a sophisticated method of state control of the third sector. • Little research on the benefits to service users.

  12. Theoretical framework The theoretical framework adopted to guide this study is Stoker G (1998) ‘5 Propositions of Governance’. The next 5 slides relate the study and the current literature to each proposition to validate the choice of framework for this research.

  13. Proposition 1 - Institutions and actors that are drawn from but also beyond government

  14. Proposition 2 – Blurring of boundaries and responsibilities • For example there has been a move towards social landlords embracing a wider role including tackling antisocial behaviour. This has resulted in “ongoing disputes between police, housing and social work officers’ at the neighbour level about what forms antisocial or criminal behaviour they were respectively responsible for resolving” (Anderson 2011:47).

  15. Proposition 3 – Power dependencies • No one organisation can easily command, although one organisation may dominate. (Stoker, 1998:22). • Within network relationships groups can form and the weaker and less resourced group can be marginalised (Hudson, 2004:81) • Consensus on a problem = strengths networks non-consensus = weakens networks. • Difficulty in achieving ‘ideological consensus’ (Hudson, 2004).

  16. Proposition 4 – Autonomous self-governing networks • Stoker (1998) argues that whilst self-governing regimes “are seen as more effective than government-imposed regulation” the dilemma it creates is one of accountability. • Billis (2010:12) discuses the disquiet felt by many about organisations (such as hybrids) that do not have “explicit clarity of accountability either to the state or the market” (Billis, 2010:12).

  17. Proposition 5 – government steering and control tools • The move from government (top-down) to governance (bottom-up) has resulted in government adopting more sophisticated control mechanisms. • Audit and regulation. • (Carmel et al, 2008:156) argue that the control tools used on the third sector “tends to institute them as technocratic and generic service providers. In doing so it renders their specific social origins, ethos and goals absent”.

  18. The Study Design • Individual case studies. • An on-line survey with military veterans to gain a service users perspective. • Focus group feedback to organisations involved in the research to increase external validity. • Mixed method multi-strategy design. • The epistemology will be largely interpretative.

  19. Case Studies • The case studies will be selected from the following organisations: • The public sector – a local authority housing provider. • The hybrid sector (an RSL). • A mixed funded organisation that provides housing advice. • A military charity housing provider. • And possibly the MOD resettlement services.

  20. Case Studies • The case study will use multiple sources of evidence and methods (Yin, 2003): • Documentary analysis. • Interviews (questions framed by the theoretical framework) - participants are likely to include policy makers, practitioners, committee members or directors. • direct or participant observation (dependent on negotiated access with organisations).

  21. In summary • Old problem – the 1824 poor vagrancy act was a response to returning veterans from the Napoleonic wars begging in the streets (British Legion, 2010). • Also contemporary - media stories are used as a stick to beat the establishment. • Some veterans are experiencing high levels of social exclusion & homelessness. • Plus on-going and recently concluded military operations are likely to impact on veterans welfare systems for decades in the future.

  22. Conclusion • The timing for this research is optimal given: • Homelessness legislation in Scotland is being enhanced and the MC is being enshrined into law. • A key principle to the biggest reform of the welfare state in Scotland is related to organisations working together. • The size of the army is likely to double or even treble in Scotland by 2020.

  23. References • Carmel E & Harlock J 2008, Instituting the ‘third sector’ as a governable terrain: partnership, procurement and performance in the UK, Policy & Politics vol 36 no 2 155-71 • Defence Analytical Services and Advice 2011, Armed forces quarterly manpower Statistics, http://www.dasa.MoD.uk/application/newWeb/www/apps/publications/pubViewFile accessed 9/5/11 • Fear Nicola T, Margaret Jones, Dominic Murphy, Lisa Hull, Amy C Iversen, Bolaji Coker, Louise Machell, JosefinSundin, Charlotte Woodhead, Norman Jones, Neil Greenberg, Sabine Landau, Christopher Dandeker, Roberto J Rona, Matthew Hotopf, Simon Wessely 2010, The Mental Health of UK Military Personnel Revisited, The Lancet, Volume 375, Issues 9727, p:1666 • Henderson, C. Bainbridge, J. Keaton, K. Kenton, M. Guz, M. Kanis, B. 2007,The Use of Data to Assist in the Design of a New Service System for Homeless Veterans in New York City, Psychiatry Q, 79 pp3-17 • HM Forces 2011, Defence Minister Liam Fox confirms army plan for Scotland,http://www.hmforces.co.uk/news/articles/8027-defence-minister-liam-fox-confirms-scotland-army-plan accessed 19/8/11 • Hudson, B. 2004, Analysing network partnerships, Public Management Review, 6, (1), 75-94 •  Johnsen, S. Jones, A. Rugg, J. 2008, The experience of ex-service Homeless personnel in London, University of York, Centre for Housing Policy, York • MOD 2011, Launch of the Armed Forces Community Covenant, http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/DefencePolicyAndBusiness/ArmedForcesCommunityCovenantSchemeLaunched.htm accessed 25/1/12

  24. References • New York City Department of Homeless Services 2009, A Second Progress Report on a New Way Home for Veterans Experiencing Homelessness in New York City,http://www.nyc.gov/html/dhs/downloads/pdf/vets_ProgReport2009.pdf accessed 15/2/10 • Parliament 2011, http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110906/text/110906w0007.htm accessed 15/2/12 • Prime Minister’s Office 2011, Military Covenant to be enshrined in law http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/latest-news/2011/05/military-covenant-to-be-enshrined-in-law-63907 accessed 17/5/11 • Royal United Services Institute 2010, Whither Welfare? Structuring Welfare in the Military Community, www.rusi.org/downloads/assets/whither_April_2010.pdf accessed 12/5/11 • Rummery K 2002, Towards a theory of welfare partnerships, in edsGlendinning, Powell & Rummery, Partnerships, New Labour & the governance of welfare, The Policy Press, Bristol • Scotsman 2011, Soldier fears return to the UK means homelessness http://news.scotsman.com/aberdeen/Soldier-fears-return-to-UK.6806128.jp accessed 24/7/11 • Scottish Government 2011, Commission on the future delivery of public services http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/06/27154527/1accessed 9/1/12 • Stoker, G. 1998, Governance as theory: five propositions, Oxford, Blackwell Publishers   • Yin R 2003, Case Study Research, Case Study Research Design and Methods, London, Sage

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