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NEWS AND POLICY UPDATE:
Spring 2003

This briefing is aimed at the providers and commissioners of housing related services for older and disabled people

HOUSING & REGENERATION

  • GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES LARGE SCALE INVESTMENT IN HOUSING, PLANNING AND COMMUNITY REFORM
    The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has published Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future, setting out an action programme for housing and community regeneration. There are significant allocations of funds, including £5bn for the building of affordable homes, £2.8bn to bring council homes up to a decent standard, and £22bn to improve housing and communities. A specific target of helping 80,000 vulnerable households in the private sector to make their homes decent by 2005 (plus a further 130,000 by 2010), is being set.

    There is to be an extra £30m pa in both 2004/5 and 2005/6 to 'help local authorities support new ways to fund repairs and improvement to the homes of low income/vulnerable homeowners/ tenants, especially older people'. This money will form part of the single regional housing pot (see below) and it is understood that LAs will have to bid for funds. One speculation is that, in the spirit of 'joined up government', it might well be that 'new ways' could include support for handyperson services or those linked to hospital discharge services so that this housing money links to the achievement of other government targets.

    From 2004 housing funding and other related allocations will be made following recommendations from the proposed new Regional Housing Boards. This marks a significant change in the way that housing and related priorities are set, with a shift to a regional focus.

    Overall the document makes limited reference to older people - an issue which needs to be monitored given the regional shift in financial control of housing resources and the economic regeneration focus of the Regional Development Agencies. www.odpm.gov.uk/communities/plan/main/01.htm or order (free) from 0870 1207 405

  • HOUSING RENEWAL GUIDANCE
    It is anticipated that ODPM will issue this before the end of March, with very few changes from the original consultation document. One important addition will be further explanation of the application of the decent homes target to vulnerable private sector householders.

  • NEW GUIDANCE FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES ON PREPARING OLDER PEOPLE'S STRATEGIES
    When the Government set out its vision for the future of housing for older people in 'Quality and Choice for Older People's Housing: A Strategic Framework '(2001, DETR/DH) it noted that guidance to assist local authorities in producing their local strategy for older people's housing was being commissioned.

    That guidance, Preparing Older People's Strategies, has recently been published. It provides a broader framework for linking housing, health, social care and other local strategies and includes a sample template identifying key issues to be addressed by a local strategy, sources of data and information, plus some case examples.

    A welcome aspect of the document is its encouragement for engaging older people as partners in shaping the strategy, and the mention of ensuring that a strategy should address the needs of all older people across tenure.

    See www.housing.odpm.gov.uk/information/
    olderpeople/strategy/index.htm     or order from ODPM Free Literature, 0870 1226236.

  • SUPPORTING PEOPLE
    With the April start date for Supporting People nearly here there has been a last minute flurry of publicity following the allocation of £1.4 billion to meet the cost of Supporting People. Whilst this was the actual amount requested by local authorities to meet the costs of existing services, this allocation is only for 6 months during which time LAs have to review contracts and make savings averaging 2.5%. There are also concerns about the future of new schemes in the pipeline as most local authorities have said that they face a shortfall in the amount of money allocated for these.

    What is emerging is a picture of the level of SP resources only being able to meet the costs of services which have been supported by Transitional Housing Benefit ie. those for social housing tenants. Fears remain that Supporting People will therefore fail to adequately assist people across tenure and vulnerable owner-occupiers could again lose out. Much will depend on the outcome of contract reviews and the application of a needs based formula for allocation of resources from 2006.

  • RIGHT TO BUY CHANGES
    ODPM have announced that maximum Right to Buy discounts will be lowered in 41 LA areas in the southeast in order to tackle severe shortages of rented housing and discourage profiteering. www.odpm.gov.uk/news/0303/0034.htm

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE NEWS
  • EXTRA MONEY FOR HOME IMPROVEMENT AGENCIES (HIAs) INCORPORATED INTO ACCESS AND SYSTEMS CAPACITY GRANT
    Details have been announced about the mechanism for distribution of the £9.5m allocated to HIAs by the Department of Health (DH). This money has not been ring-fenced but has been incorporated into the Access and Systems Capacity Grant (ASCPG) and spread across all social services. In 2003/4 there is £1.6m available for HIA services aimed at enabling them to become a 'key player in the provision of services to older people on discharge from hospital'. The average allocation is £10,000, rising to just over £25,000pa for 2004/5 and 2005/6 if the same formula is applied.

    There is Guidance from DH about how the ASCPG should be spent, although three star or excellent authorities have no conditions attached to their grant.

    An important consideration is the use of the bulk of the ASCPG - £125.8 m compared with £1.6m for HIAs. The aims of this grant are to help more older people to live at home, to help to reduce delayed discharge and to enable SS to meet a new PSA target: 'Improve the quality of life and independence of older people so that they can live at home wherever possible, by increasing by March 2006 the number of those supported intensively to live at home to 30% of the total being supported by social service at home or in residential care.'

    There is clearly scope here for core money to be used to support housing related services aimed at enabling older people to continue to live in their own homes in the owner occupied sector. See www.doh.gov.uk/jointunit/
    delayeddischarge/lacdocument.pdf

  • HOSPITAL DISCHARGE FINES: DELAYED IMPLEMENTATION
    Despite almost universal opposition to the introduction of a system of fines for social services if there is a delay in discharging a person from hospital, the Community Care (Delayed Discharges) Bill is being progressed. Amendments were tabled in the House of Lords but the only significant concession is a delay in implementation of the recharging system until October 2003.

    A growing worry is that more older people could be discharged to care homes rather than being supported to return to their own homes as organising adaptations and a care package can take longer. The counter argument to this is that there are not enough places available in care homes. A challenge for housing sector providers is to try to work with social services to use the extra money available for improved hospital discharge to create more intermediate care facilities and better systems for supporting people in their own homes. www.doh.gov.uk/jointunit/
    delayeddischarge

  • NEW HOSPITAL DISCHARGE WORK BOOK MENTIONS HOUSING
    The DH has issued revised good practice guidance to the Hospital Discharge Workbook - a key reference document for those in the health sector. 'Discharge from hospital: pathway, process and practice' (2003 DH) includes a 3 page appendix on housing (p94-97) which notes the potential role of HIAs and cites 'On the Mend' (2002 Care & Repair England). http://www.doh.gov.uk/hospitaldischarge/ch6app1.htm

  • NEW FORMULA FOR ALLOCATING SOCIAL SERVICES FUNDING
    As previously detailed, the Government has made more money available to social services (averaging 6%). However, a revised formula for distribution of national funds has been introduced which creates winners and losers, and results overall in broad shift of resources to the north. London has been particularly affected by the changes. The County Council Network claims that the formula has also moved money from older people's services to children's services. For information on local government finance see www.local.odpm.gov.uk

  • MORE MONEY FOR DISABLED FACILITIES GRANTS (DFGs)
    There is to be an increase in the national allocation of money for DFGs, up from £88m in 2002/3 to £99m in 2004/5. This amount constitutes 60% of the cost of the DFGs with LAs having to meet 40%. For the allocations for each LA see www.housing.odpm.gov.uk/local/hsg/
    dfgallocations/index.htm    .

  • NEW ADAPTATIONS GUIDANCE
    Joint DH/ODPM draft Guidance has been issued in relation to delivery of adaptations. There are 3 documents:

    • Delivering Adaptations: Responding to the Need for Adaptation - An Overview
    • Delivering Adaptations: A desk guide
    • Delivering Adaptations: Good Practice System Review Checklist

    They provide advice to LAs on how an efficient housing adaptations service can best be organised, particularly with regard to delivery in reasonable timescales.

    Deadline for comments: 2nd May 2003. See 'Housing Adaptations for Disabled People' at : www.housing.odpm.gov.uk/information/index17.htm or order from 0870 1226 236

  • PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE ABOUT DISABLED FACILITIES GRANTS
    Sheffield MP Helen Jackson used an adjournment debate to call for a fast track system for installation of level access showers. The debate has raised the profile of issues around adaptations and Tony McNulty MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State with responsibility for housing has agreed to a meeting.

  • DEPARTMENT OF WORKS AND PENSIONS TAKES OVER CARE DIRECT
    The DH's Care Direct pilot project, aimed at improving access to information, advice and services via a single telephone helpline is to be developed into a national service by the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) under the working title of 'the Third Age Service'.

MONEY
  • NEW GUIDES TO CHARITABLE FUNDS
    Whether you are looking for money for projects or individuals, the Directory Of Social Change guides to charitable funds are a very useful source of information. They have recently launched updated editions of their Guides to Trusts (Vols 1,2,3) and their Guide to Grants for Individuals in Need. They also produce information about Trusts on CD-ROM and have launched an on-line subscription service. For details contact 020 7209 5151 or see www.dsc.org.uk

  • GROWING POVERTY AMONGST OWNER OCCUPIERS
    A new study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation demonstrates that half of all people living in poverty in Britain today are home-owners. Although the poverty rate in the owner-occupied sector is lower than in other tenures, the relative size of the sector (70% of households are now owner-occupied) means that 50% of people living in poverty are owner-occupiers.

    92% of the state support for housing costs for low income households goes to people in the rented sector and only 8% to poor owner occupiers - a questionable imbalance. The research concludes that the social distribution of poverty and the way in which tenure is sometimes used as a measure of relative disadvantage or advantage (and hence influences the targeting of resources), should also be reconsidered.

    Poverty and Home Ownership in Contemporary Britain, R Burrows, The Policy Press For digest see JRF Findings Jan 2003 www.jrf.org.uk

  • FUTURE OF LOTTERY FUNDS FOR COMMUNITY PROJECTS
    It is looking increasingly likely that the merger of the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund will go ahead, despite widespread concerns in the voluntary sector that small, independent groups could lose out in such a move and government priorities could increasingly influence priorities for allocation of grants.

  • WATCH THIS SPACE - ACTIVE COMMUNITY UNIT BUILDING CAPACITY GRANT
    The ACU has not yet decided how to spend the £80m available for building the capacity of the voluntary sector to deliver public services (details in News and Policy Update, Autumn 02). A draft strategy is due out by the end of April. www.homeoffice.gov.uk/comrace/active/index.html

NEWS
  • DATA PROTECTION SCAM
    Bogus agencies are contacting organisations requesting £95 for registration under the Data Protection Act. Full warning available at www.dpr.gov.uk/donotbemisled.html

  • INCLUSIVE HOUSING IN AN AGEING SOCIETY: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES
    This book brings together people from the worlds of architecture, social science and housing studies to look at the future of living environments for an ageing society. It looks beyond accommodation and care to examine the wider picture of how housing can reflect the social inclusion of people as they age. Edited by Sheila M. Peace and Caroline Holland, School of Health and Social Welfare, Open University £18.99 Details from www.policypress.org.uk

  • THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME?
    A robot that functions as a nurse, friend and security guard has been launched in Japan as a home aid to people who live alone. It can remind people when to take medicine, eat and sleep and has a 10,000 word vocabulary. The metre high 'Wakamaru' has cameras embedded as eyebrows and patrols the home to provide 24hour surveillance, alerting hospitals or security firms if a problem arises. (Source: Community Care 13-19 Feb 2003)