NDTi believe in people having choice and control over where they live and the support that they receive. Through our work across the UK with older people, people with learning disabilities and people with mental health problems it has become clear that despite the range of housing options that exists for people with support needs, there is still an over reliance on traditional forms of housing and support such as residential or nursing care.
Although current health and social care policy and legislation emphasises person-centred approaches and use of community based options (e.g. the Care Act 2014), and discourages residential settings which are segregated from family and communities, this does not appear to be having a significant impact on current patterns. Indeed, it appears that we are currently seeing a shift away from options that offer choice and control, towards more traditional residential care – with these developments being implemented on the rationale that residential care is lower cost.
The housing and support model on its own cannot lead to or block people’s inclusion in the community, as that is also significantly influenced by the staff and management practice of the support provider. However, the model can influence the possibility of community inclusion being achieved. The extent to which a person’s housing is part of the community, appearing physically and visually to be no different to that of other citizens, will impact on how the person is seen by other community members and thus the potential for them being accepted as an equal community member. Transport links and local employment opportunities also need to be taken into account.
There are indications that alternative housing and support options which, we argue, offer greater levels of social and community inclusion, choice and control can be provided at comparable or lower cost than residential care, but the evidence is both minimal and limited in quality.
We therefore welcome this paper, which sets expectations for local authorities and commissioners and offers certainty for investors and providers which will stimulate the market.
We welcome the proposal that local authorities work with other agencies to identify local need and set a strategic plan stating how they will meet the identified need. We agree that this should link with other plans that involve tenants of supported housing, including social care, health, education and employment. We also welcome the suggestion that plans should take a collaborative approach and include a range of organisations, tenants, families and communities.
We believe that the following recommendations will support the effective implementation of the ambitions in the supported housing consultation.
We are grateful for the opportunity to comment on the supported housing consultation.
The proposals to plan and deliver supported housing strategically and transparently are welcome.
Thank you for taking the time to subscribe.