72.This section inserts section 81A into the 2014 Act. Section 81A(1) identifies applicants who are exempt from referral under section 80 of the 2014 Act (as amended by this Act).
73.Section 81A(2) of the 2014 Act inserted by this section provides that an applicant will be exempt from referral if the applicant, or any member of the applicant’s household, would be at greater risk of suffering abuse if they were referred to another authority or fall within a category of persons the Welsh Ministers may prescribe by regulations.
74.Section 81A(3) of the 2014 Act inserted by this section prevents the referral of applicants in custody who have been notified under section 63 of the 2014 Act (as amended by this Act) that a duty is owed to the applicant under section 66 or 75 of the 2014 Act (as amended) and a period of two weeks has ended following that notification. Sitting alongside section 80(2B) of the 2014 Act (inserted by section 11 of this Act), this limits a local housing authority’s ability to refer someone in custody to no more than two weeks after making an initial decision on entitlement to a duty.
75.Section 81A(4) of the 2014 Act inserted by this section provides that an applicant can only be subject to a referral under section 80 of the 2014 Act (as amended) once in relation to the same application.
76.Regulations made under section 81A(2)(b) of the 2014 Act inserted by this section are subject to the Senedd approval procedure.
Commentary on Sections Part 1 - Homelessness Section 13: Exemption from referral to another local housing authority