Welfare Reform and the Street Level Bureaucrat in homelessness services

Local authority housing option teams (LAHAS’s) are a perennially lean service and the recent austerity agenda and corresponding rise in households at threat of homelessness mean resources are stretched to the limit. This article draws on Michael Lipsky’s street level bureaucrat conceptual framework to seek an understanding of how frontline practitioners interpret and deliver policy directives in a challenging political environment whilst assessing their ability to influence service outcomes. It will discuss the results of a baseline national survey and follow up interviews with a selection of LAHAS practitioners in England. It was reported that effective service provision for all who required it was becoming increasingly difficult, which in turn fostered an environment in which unlawful gatekeeping practices could thrive. Further, it was found that a service user’s position may be additionally weakened due to the new powers conferred in the Localism Act. In summary, if a household seeks statutory housing assistance, they may be unwittingly entering a bureaucratic lottery, whereby availability of accommodation or organisational led priorities may dictate the outcome.