The burning question

The number of people gathering outside the council’s homelessness department was reported to have swelled as the news spread. Concerned colleagues, friends and well-wishers were quietly greeting one another, trying in their different ways to offer comfort and support.

Some read passages from the code of guidance, others swapped anecdotes about the ruling that had brought them together.

Tension rose when someone produced a copy of the Local Authority (Contracting Out of Allocation and Homelessness Functions) Order 1996 and the shout went up to burn it.

Fortunately, the council premises were subject to a smoking ban and the cries abated. Everyone was waiting for news about the critical condition of the local authority’s homelessness review officer.

Many reminisced about the past. There were fond memories of 1997 when the notion of internal homelessness reviews became reality and the first review officers proudly took up their posts.