National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability 2011 - 2016

allows for the development of targeted interventions to address homelessness and toprevent it from occurring in the first place. The homeless strategy contains a number ofspecific actions at both local and national level. Actions relating directly to people with adisability include commitments to:• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the preventative actions of this strategy,particularly among people leaving institutional care;• Arrange for the development of national guidance on addiction, mental health andother treatment services for people while homeless;• Ensure that the National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability and theongoing work of the Cross Department Team on Sheltered Housing for Older Peopletake into account and make provision for the needs of people who are currentlyhomeless; and• Consider these strategies in the context of informing future national policy on thehousing of people with multiple needs and challenging behaviours.2.24 The National Homeless Strategy Implementation Plan, drawn up in consultation withrelevant parties through the National Homelessness Consultative Committee and adopted bythe Cross Department Team on Homelessness, was launched in April 2009 and provides arobust framework to guide the action required at national level to promote and supporteffective implementation locally. It sets out a sequence of strategic aims, key approaches,priority actions and constituent/supporting measures necessary for implementation of theoverall Homeless Strategy, and indicates appropriate lead roles, timelines, key performanceindicators and linkages to relevant local actions. Sections 36 – 42 of the Housing(Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 were enacted on 1 February 2010 which placed thelocal homeless action plans on a statutory basis. Statutory Regional Joint HomelessnessConsultative Fora were established and they adopted regional action plans by mid 2010. Areview of the Homeless Strategy, as provided for in the Programme for Government, isexpected to be completed during Autumn 2011.33