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NEWS AND POLICY UPDATE:

Spring 2004

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

HOUSING

  • REVISED DECENT HOMES GUIDANCE PUBLISHED
    The ODPM has published new guidance on application of the Decent Homes Standard. This includes advice on linking decent homes to the wider regeneration agenda and also to disability issues. The 2002 Spending Review extended the Decent Homes Standard to cover vulnerable households in the private sector. This new Guidance includes information on the implementation of the targets set for improving this private sector stock. (A related Briefing is available from Care & Repair England.) www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_housing/documents/
    page/odpm_house_027427.hcsp

  • THE FUTURE OF DISABLED FACILITIES GRANTS
    During a debate in the House of Lords in January it was stated that a review of the future of the Disabled Facilities Grant would be undertaken shortly. An announcement about process and timescales is expected soon.

  • BARKER REVIEW ON HOUSING SUPPLY -FINAL REPORT
    This review for the Treasury sets a high level agenda for housing. Recommendations include:

    • Investment of £1.2-£1.6 billion to deliver 23,000 additional social sector homes per annum
    • Merging regional planning bodies and regional housing boards
    • Affordability should be major factor in investment and land release decisions
    • Replacing Right to Buy with lower cost scheme/ use of more RtB revenue for social housing

    Details: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

  • REGIONAL HOUSING STRATEGIES - DEADLINE EXTENDED
    ODPM has given regional housing boards an extra year to put together their funding proposals for 2006/7 and 2007/8. The deadline is now April 2005, and one of the aims of the extension was to give time for extra consultation. So there is still the opportunity to ensure that older people's housing issues and private sector disrepair are adequately addressed in regional strategies.

  • SUPPORTING PEOPLE
    The independent review into Supporting People funding has concluded that the £1.8bn spending on SP does not represent value for money. On the burning question of whether services that used to be funded through social services and other streams had been 'shunted' into SP, the report notes that whilst a proportion of the SP costs are the responsibility of others, it was not able to put a figure on this amount without detailed analysis. It comments that there may be a case for differentiated funding for specific groups including people with learning difficulties, older people, those with mental health problems & homeless groups.

    Full report: www.spkweb.org.uk in 'General Documents and Discussion/Supporting People Review'.

  • REVIEW OF THE HOUSING CORPORATION COMPLETED
    Following ODPM's 'end to end' review it has been concluded that the Corporation will retain its core functions of investment and regulation. There are also hopes that the arrival of the new chief executive, Jon Rouse, formerly of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, will help to secure a solid future for the organisation.

  • MERGER OF DEPARTMENTS AT ODPM
    The Social Exclusion Unit, the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit and the Homelessness Directorate (which has responsibility for Supporting People) are to be merged into the Tackling Disadvantage Group. Head of the Unit will be Richard McCarthy, who is also set to take responsibility in ODPM for the Housing Corporation.

  • FURTHER INFORMATION FROM THE ENGLISH HOUSE CONDITIONS SURVEY
    A series of detailed Bulletins have been published following on from the major EHCS report (publ. July 03). These can be accessed at www.odpm.gov.uk/ehcs.

    A comprehensive review of the future of housing information collection (including current EHCS and Survey of English Housing) is being carried out for ODPM, with the results of this expected soon.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE NEWS

  • ACCESS AND SYSTEMS CAPACITY GRANT 2004-5
    The aim of this grant is to help more older people live at home and also to build up community based services. The total amount of the grant for next year is £457m. One element of the grant is support for home improvement agencies to provide hospital discharge schemes, for which purpose there is a notional allocation of £6.4m. Like other specifically mentioned areas this is not strictly ring-fenced. Note that it is within the local authorities' power to allocate more than the notional amount to HIA related services. Details: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/07/33/53/04073353.PDF

  • DEPT OF HEALTH ANNOUNCES EXTRA CARE HOUSING SCHEMES
    The first 16 schemes to benefit from the £87m DH funding for Extra Care housing have been announced. These will be developed in Brighton & Hove, East Riding, Enfield, Havering, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire, Peterborough, Staffordshire, Stoke-On-Trent, West Sussex. Haringey, Salford, Swindon, Warrington, and Worcestershire. Bids for schemes in Warrington, Gateshead, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Leeds were identified for pre-allocation from the 2005/6 fund. Over 200 bids for funding were submitted.

    This leaves £58m for the next round of bidding, due to start in Summer 04

    A toolkit for commissioners and providers (Developing and Promoting Local Extra Care Housing Strategies) is availabe from the Change Agent Team Housing Learning and Information Network. Go to www.dh.gov.uk then search for 'Housing LIN'.

  • WANLESS REPORT ON PUBLIC HEALTH - DISAPPOINTMENT AT LACK OF HOUSING REFERENCE
    'Securing Good Health for the Whole Population' calls for action on prevention of illness, particularly with regard to changing people's behaviour, but there is barely a mention of the impact of housing and environmental conditions on health. There is disappointment in the housing sector at this omission, particularly as this is a Treasury report and therefore influential in terms of spending plans. Report is available on www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.

  • CHOOSING HEALTH? A CONSULTATION ON IMPROVING PEOPLE'S HEALTH
    Dept of Health has announced a consultation (deadline 28/5/04) on how to improve the nation's health and well-being. As with Wanless, the headline focus is on what are seen as health problems that people can prevent by changing their behaviour, but there is an opportunity to raise the issue of housing and environment by commenting on the document. www.dh.gov.uk and go to Consultations.

  • REDUCTION IN PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR PCTs
    The Commission for Health Improvement has reviewed the indicators and ratings process for Primary Care Trusts. As a result, a set of 42 performance indicators has been issued, which is five fewer than was published for the first round of PCT star ratings in 2002/03. Amongst the indicators dropped this year are the death rates from accidents for all ages. There are new categories including indicators on health equity, child protection and infant health. Details: www.chi.nhs.uk

MONEY

  • FREE ENERGY SAVING LIGHT BULBS FROM NPOWER
    Organisations who are in touch with 'priority group' households (those receiving a range of welfare benefits) are being invited by npower to help them to distribute free energy saving light bulbs (4 per household). This would be an ideal additional service to offer via handyperson services, especially where they could fit the bulbs in difficult to reach locations. Call 01905 340499 or email savingsforlife@npower.com

  • GRANTS FROM ROSPA FOR HOME SAFETY SCHEMES
    RoSPA is inviting applications from not for profit organisations for funding to support community based Home Safety projects throughout the United Kingdom. It has £175,000 available and will award grants of between £10,000- £15,000 for 12 month projects. Specific conditions apply - details and application form: http://www.rospa.com/CMS/viewarticle.asp?article=4074&scheme=7 or contact Ian Gordon, RoSPA Housing Policy Officer at igordon@rospa.com, Tel: 0121 248 2103.

  • FINDING CHARITABLE FUNDS FOR INDIVIDUALS
    Individuals can call a national Helpline (Association of Charitable Organisations - 01707 651 1777) which can put them in touch with a charity that is most likely to be able to help them. To speed up the search they ask people to have information to hand about where they live, place of birth, family background, work history, armed forces links, religious affiliation, membership of a trade union or professional association.

  • PENSION CREDIT - HELP TO ENCOURAGE TAKE UP IN YOUR AREA
    DWP have produced a leaflet 'Pension Credit - pick it up, it's yours' explaining how to apply for the credit. See www.thepensionservice.gov.uk for details.

  • EXEMPLAR FUND
    The decision about which voluntary organisations have been awarded Exemplar Fund money has been announced but the details about bidding for the futurebuilders fund are still not out. Organisations need to check www.hm-treasury.gov.uk and be ready to make a bid at short notice.

  • GUARDIAN SURVEY REVEALS LOW LEVEL OF CORPORATE GIVING
    Whilst the public thinks that a quarter of charitable income comes from companies, the reality is that it is just over 4%. Just 0.2% of pre-tax profit is donated to charities compared with 1% in the US.

NEWS

  • OLDER PEOPLE - INDEPENDENCE AND WELL-BEING: The Challenge for Public Services
    Action is needed at many levels to encompass a new approach to older people that promotes independence and well- being. This is the conclusion of new research by the Audit Commission and Better Government for Older People. Five informative reports covering topics ranging from Assistive Technology to Older People - a Changing Approach are available, plus the above summary report. See www.audit-commission.gov.uk/olderpeople or Tel 020 7828 1212.

  • DIRECT PAYMENTS FOR OLDER PEOPLE
    Older people receiving direct payments feel happier, more motivated and have an improved quality of life, concludes a new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Other studies have shown that whilst direct payments have become more widely used amongst younger disabled people, the take up has been lower amongst older people. There is clearly scope here for those who work with older people to look at new ways of supporting this option. www.jrf.org.uk/redirect.asp?url=findings/socialcare/234

  • NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE OLDER PEOPLE'S HOUSING STRATEGY
    Only a handful of local housing authorities have published detailed older people's housing strategies. The Newcastle upon Tyne strategy is particularly welcome as it is rooted in the views of older people themselves. Help to stay in your own home was one of the important principles emerging from the 'Listening Event' for older people and has been incorporated into the strategy www.newcastle.gov.uk

  • EQUITY RELEASE INFORMATION
    As well as the very useful Age Concern England factsheet - Raising Income or Capital from your Home (www.ageconcern.org.uk) local advisers may also find the following helpful. Financial Services Authority Factsheet: 'Raising money from your home' www.fsa.gov.uk/consumer/pdfs/raise_home.pdf Also see BBC Radio 4 - Money Box Programme about this issue news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/moneybox/default.stm

    This News and Policy Update is produced by:
    Care & Repair England 3rd Floor, Bridgford House, Pavilion Road, West Bridgford NOTTINGHAM NG2 5GJ Tel: 0115 9821527 Fax:0115 9821529
    E.mail:info@careandrepair-england.org.uk
    www.careandrepair-england.org.uk

    Every effort has been made to ensure the information above is correct. However, Care & Repair England cannot accept any responsibility for errors and omissions.

    Previous Newsletters
    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Winter 2003/04 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Winter 2002/03 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update briefing paper (Spring 2003 edition) can be viewed here.