Welfare Reform on the Web (January 2010): Social housing - UK
£500 for snoopers who trap cheating neighbours
R. Winnett
Daily Telegraph, Dec. 1st 2009, p. 6
Reports on government plans to offer cash rewards of £500 to the first 1000 people who inform the authorities that neighbours are misusing council houses. Whistleblowers will receive cash rewards for successfully identifying tenants who are illegally sub-letting their properties as part of a new scheme to combat fraud.
Choice and control in specialist housing: starting conversations between commissioners and providers
S. Vallelly and J. Manthorpe
Housing, Care and Support, vol. 12, Sept. 2009, p. 9-15
In 2008/09 Housing 21 engaged older people and other groups with an interest in sheltered and extra care housing in a debate about the implications of the personalisation agenda for current and future housing, care and support services. Based on the findings of the consultation exercise, this article explores the possible impact of the personalisation agenda on the commissioning of extra care housing and how housing and care providers can respond to the new challenges.
(De)constructing a policy 'failure': housing stock transfer in Glasgow
A. Kearns and L. Lawson
Evidence and Policy, vol. 5, 2009, p. 449-470
The transfer of Glasgow's council housing stock to an independent landlord, the Glasgow Housing Association, and its management by a network of local housing organisations have been widely depicted as policy failures by politicians, journalists, housing practitioners, tenant campaigners and some academics. This article looks at whether or not the characterisation of the Glasgow housing stock transfer as a failure is justified. It goes on to explore how and why commentators arrived at their conclusion that the policy had failed. The label of 'failure' is rejected, but policy deficiencies are identified and these weaknesses are related to the nature of the politics involved in the formation and oversight of the policy.
Personalisation: implications for housing providers: issues in supporting housing research, policy and practice
D. Walden
Housing, Care and Support, vol. 12, Sept. 2009, p. 5-7
This article looks at what the personalisation agenda means for social housing providers, for instance tailoring support to people's individual needs to enable them to live full and independent lives. The Social Care Institute for Excellence says that housing providers must focus on giving people more choice about how and where they want to live, and be committed to ensuring that housing is well-designed, flexible and accessible. This article presents a number of case studies showing how services are responding to the personalisation challenge.
Personalisation and housing: connections, challenges and opportunities
J. Head
Housing, Care and Support, vol.12, Oct. 2009, p. 37-43
This article explores the challenges posed to supported housing services by the personalisation agenda. Possible responses to these challenges include a re-emphasis on listening to what residents want, an honest appraisal of the implications of user choice, especially in services such as extra care, and asking whether users might still be asked to choose a 'package' of core services, in order to retain sustainable models that will support other people. The article then describes the Housing Associations' Charitable Trust's Up2Us project, a key initiative to put supported housing tenants centre stage in commissioning and purchasing care and support.
Supporting People Programme 2005-2009
Audit Commission
2009
This review of the Supporting People programme covers its impact, the government's response to the Audit Commission's 2005 report, an assessment of ongoing and new challenges, and options for overcoming identified barriers. The report concludes that the programme has been successful and that housing-related support service providers have responded well to the new regime that replaced the multitude of funding streams that preceded it. The programme is also notable for achieving success in involving service users and delivering significant savings and efficiency gains. However, there is a risk that the removal of the ringfence grant will lead to the budget being redirected to other service areas. The review includes detailed recommendations on how to mitigate this risk.
The TSA's proposed national regulatory standards and the implications for tenants with care and support needs
T. Wood
Housing, Care and Support, vol. 12, Sept. 2009, p. 26-29
The new regulatory body for social housing, the Tenant Services Authority, has published the results of its national consultation with social housing tenants and landlords and has produced draft standards for the regulation of landlord/tenant relations. This article examines the proposed standards and suggests how they could be developed in relation to tenants requiring care and support.