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NEWS AND POLICY UPDATE:

Summer 2008

Information for the providers and commissioners of housing related services for older and disabled people

HOUSING

  • CHANGES TO DISABLED FACILITIES GRANTS IMPLEMENTED
    New Regulations concerning the administration of Disabled Facilities Grants came into force on the 22nd May 2008. These follow on from the changes announced in February 2008 and cover:

    • Increasing the maximum amount of grant from £25,000 to £30,000
    • Updating the figures to be used for assessing a person’s eligibility for a grant. Amend current passporting provision to include applicants in receipt of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and recipients of Working or Child Tax Credit where gross taxable income is less than £15,050.
    • Making provision for disregarding working tax credit and child tax credit payments as income and earnings. (planned for the autumn)
    • Bringing access to the garden within the scope of the disabled facilities grant.
    • Providing a general consent giving Local Authorities the discretion to impose a charge on adapted, owner occupied properties if the home is sold within ten years. Where the cost of the DFG exceeds £5,000 the limit of the maximum charge will be £10.000.

    The relevant Statutory Instruments are available on the Office for Public Information Website (www.opsi.gov.uk ) See: Grant Limit - SI 2008 No. 1189 and Test of Resources - SI 2008 1190 The new General Consent can be view, in pdf format, here.

  • KEEPING AGEING AND DISABILITY ON THE SOCIAL HOUSING AGENDA
    With the impending arrival of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the ending of the Housing Corporation, efforts are being made to ensure that ageing and disability are part of the new HCA’s agenda. Amendments to the Housing and Regeneration Bill have been put forward (supported by Care & Repair England) to make provision of accessible and inclusive housing a specific role of HCA. The Housing Corporation’s new strategy for housing and population ageing, Investing for Lifetimes, reinforces the key messages in the national Government Strategy for housing and an ageing society, Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods>/I>, and will hopefully set the policy agenda for the new HCA. www.housingcorp.gov.uk/upload/pdf/Investing_for_lifetimes_20080402124908.pdf

  • OLDER PEOPLE NOT FEATURING IN MOST LOCAL AREA AGREEMENTS
    I&DeA have been tracking the selection of indicators for inclusion in the 150 Local Area Agreements. Their initial assessment has revealed that relatively few of the indicators relating specifically to older people are being selected. The main housing and older people indicator, NI 138: satisfaction of people over 65 with both home and neighbourhood, is a shared priority in only 7 areas. NI 137: healthy life expectancy at age 65 was selected in 14 areas. www.idea.gov.uk

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE NEWS

  • FUNDAMENTAL REVIEW OF SOCIAL CARE PROVISION
    The Department of Health has started the process of reviewing the responsibilities of the individual, the State and the family with regard to providing care and support. The initial discussion paper (“The case for change – why England needs a new care and support system”) asserts that population ageing means that the current level of government funding of care and support is not sustainable, nor is it delivering a flexible, personalised service. A six month public debate was launched by the Prime Minister in May which will contribute to the content of the Social Care Green paper. www.careandsupport.direct.gov.uk

  • REVIEW OF SOCIAL SERVICES ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
    Following on from a report by the Commission for Social Care Inspection earlier in the year, which found that the majority of Social Services were only helping those with critical or substantial needs, Department of Health Minister for Care Services, Ivan Lewis, asked the Commission to undertake a fundamental review of the eligibility criteria used to determine older and disabled people’s rights to care services. The review is expected to be completed by the autumn. www.csci.org.uk

  • NEW SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL CARE RESEARCH GETS £3M FROM DH
    The new School will be part of the National Institute for Health Research and will receive £3 million funding a year for the next 5 years. The aim of the School is to increase the evidence-base for adult social care practice and its first call for research proposals is now open. www.nihr.ac.uk/programmes_school_for_social_care_research.aspx

  • DEMENTIA IN THE NEWS IN ANTICIPATION OF NEW GOVERNMENT STRATEGY
    A range of organisations are raising the profile of dementia in the lead up to the publication of the government’s consultation on the new National Dementia Strategy (expected Summer 2008).

    • A report from the Kings Fund about the increasing cost of mental illness highlights the financial implications of escalating levels of dementia, set to rise by 61% to nearly a million people within 20 years. The report calls for earlier diagnosis and treatment of dementia and research into cost-effective treatments. www.kingsfund.org.uk/media/mental_illness_in.html

    • Age Concern England is holding a conference about older people and mental health in July (Mental health and well-being in later life - Moving forward) which includes sessions on dementia.

    • The Care Services Improvement Partnership’s Telecare LIN has published a Briefing for commissioners, providers and planners about telecare services that are available in England to support people with dementia, their carers and families. www.integratedcarenetwork.gov.uk/_library/Resources/Telecare
      /Support_materials/Telecare_LIN_Briefing_-_Dementia_April_2008_4.pdf

    • The Alzheimer’s Society has launched a new campaign to raise awareness of dementia, its symptoms and the importance of getting an early diagnosis. “Worried About Your Memory?” aims to help people to work out whether their forgetfulness, or that of a friend or relative, is due to poor memory or the beginning of a medical problem and encourage them to seek medical advice. www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/news_article.php?newsID=282

MONEY

  • TAX CHANGES FOR LOWER INCOME HOUSEHOLDS
    Many pensioners will be affected by the recent changes to the income tax system. From April 08 the 10% rate of tax ends and a 20% rate of tax will be applied to income below the higher rate threshold (40% rate applies above this). Because of the protests that followed this change, £600 has been added to the personal allowance specifically for the tax year 08-09 (ie. not an ongoing increase). The threshold at which someone starts to pay higher rate tax will be reduced by £600 so that higher rate tax payers will not gain from this measure. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/it.htm

  • SMALL PENSION TAX TO BE APPLIED THIS YEAR
    For more than 20 years pension providers were told not to bother collecting any tax on "small" pensions - normally those around £1,000 a year or less – even where the recipient of the pension might be liable to pay tax. When the Government announced plans to end this arrangement retrospectively older people’s organisations campaigned to stop this. The government has now said it will not tax small pensions received in 2007-08 but will impose the tax from April 08. This affects over 400,000 older people who could face an unexpected tax bill of up to £300. www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/moneybox/7429030.stm

  • UPDATED MONEY FACT SHEETS FROM AGE CONCERN
    To bring them up to date with the April 08 welfare benefits upratings, Age Concern England have published amended factsheets, including their ‘Brief Guide to Money Benefits’ and ‘Housing Benefits and Council Tax Benefits’. www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/factsheets.asp

  • HELP FOR PEOPLE FACING FUEL POVERTY
    Escalating fuel prices are pushing more people into fuel poverty. Following on from the higher winter fuel payment announced in the March 08 Budget (in Winter 08-09 people 80yrs+ will received £400, those of 60+ will get £250), the Government has announced a number of further measures. It is seeking powers to share data with energy companies about the location of low income households so that people can be offered the lowest energy tariff. However, the proposals do not directly address the issue of the high tariffs on pre-payment meters which a number of organisations have been campaigning about for some time. www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2008/energy-0530.htm

  • SOCIAL ENTERPRISE FUNDING FOR CROSS SECTOR HEALTH RELATED INITIATIVES
    The Department of Health has launched an ‘Innovation for Life Challenge Fund’. This is a discrete funding stream from within DH Social Enterprise Investment Fund. Strategic Health Authorities (SHA) have been invited to bid for up to £100,000 revenue funding (for each SHA) to support the commissioning of innovative cross-sector social enterprise solutions that can meet local health and well-being challenges and to tackle health inequalities. www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/
    Dearcolleagueletters/DH_084716

  • LLOYDS TSB FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES NEW FUNDING CRITERIA
    One of the largest funders of small voluntary sector groups, the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales, has published its new funding guidelines, with a streamlined and simplified application process. There is now a single funding objective – ‘to fund work that helps disadvantaged people to play a fuller role in the community’. Details: www.lloydstsbfoundations.org.uk

NEWS

  • ISSUES OF INHERITANCE
    Inheritance, particularly of wealth resulting from home ownership, has become central to welfare and social policy, especially with regard to potentially meeting the costs associated with population ageing. The International Longevity Centre UK has published a report, ‘The Age of Inheritance’, about the changing patterns of wealth transfer which is a useful source of information on this issue. www.ilcuk.org.uk/files/pdf_pdf_56.pdf

  • PAYING THE TRUSTEES OF CHARITIES
    The Charity Commission has published guidance on the circumstances in which it is lawful to pay trustees. www.charitycommission.gov.uk/publications/cc11.asp

  • NEW DISABILITY RIGHTS HANDBOOK PUBLISHED
    The latest edition of the comprehensive guide to benefits, tax credits and services for people (all ages) who are disabled or have a health condition is now available. Available on CD (£24.50) or book (£21). www.disabilityalliance.org/drh33.htm

  • LIFEBOOK – A WAY OF KEEPING IMPORTANT INFORMATION IN ONE PLACE
    Age Concern England has launched ‘Lifebook’, a way of enabling older people to organise key information in one place. This is also potentially very useful for family members and friends who may need to access information in an emergency. The Lifebook records a range of essential information, ranging from where a person keeps important documents in their home, to who their insurers are. A paper copy can be ordered, or there is an online service which enables any family member (using the older person’s secure password) to access the information via their own computer. Both the paper version and the online service are free. www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/LifeBook.asp

  • MERGER OF HELP THE AGED AND AGE CONCERN ENGLAND COMES A STEP CLOSER
    After many months of negotiations the boards of trustees of Help the Aged and Age Concern England have publicly announced that they are now formally consulting with their partners, including the 353 local Age Concern Groups, about a merger. They will be making decisions over the coming months with regard to the creation of a new charity that will eventually replace the two organisations. A final decision is expected to be made by both existing boards of trustees in September 08.

    This News and Policy Update is produced by Care & Repair England
    The Renewal Trust Business Centre, 3 Hawksworth Street, Nottingham, NG3 2EG
    Tel/ Fax: 0115 950 6500
    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.

    Care & Repair England is an Industrial and Provident Society with Charitable Status Reg 25121

    Previous Newsletters
    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Spring 2008 edition) can be viewed here

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Winter 2007 edition) can be viewed here

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Autumn 2007 edition) can be viewed here

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Summer 2007 edition) can be viewed here

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Spring 2007 edition) can be viewed here

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Winter 2006 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Autumn 2006 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Summer 2006 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Spring 2006 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Winter 2005 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Autumn 2005 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Summer 2005 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Spring 2005 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Winter 2004/05 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Autumn 2004 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Summer 2004 edition) can be viewed here.

    • The Care & Repair England News and Policy Update (Spring 2004 edition) can be viewed here.

    • 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.