Deciding on where and how you live and rights to stay in your home were concerns raised by Preston Learning Disability Forum. Rose Trustam was there
Demands to give people more of a say in the type of home they had and for stronger rights to stay put were made at Preston Learning Disability Forum’s first Housing Forum.
The event took place more than three decades after the north-west of England was at the forefront of developing supported housing for people resettled from long-stay hospitals.
The late David Brandon – Community Living’s first editor – was director of North West MIND in the early 1980s. He and Tom McClean, director of nursing services at Calderstones Hospital, a long-term institution, challenged a replacement hospital unit in Preston. They suggested a dispersed supported housing system, run by newly formed charity Integrate. Against the odds, the North West Regional Health Authority opted for this.
The authority went on to develop a model district service for resettlement, which was adopted by the region and later more widely (NWRHA, 1983).
Funding was transferred from health to social care for people moving into the community but only if they were moving into mainstream housing as secure tenants.
This policy, with the funding following the individual and giving people secure tenancies, transformed the whole way people thought about hospital resettlement.
Today: less choice, fewer rights
More than 35 years later, Preston’s Learning Disability Forum became concerned that tenancy rights as well as choices (if any) in housing had been reduced. It therefore opened up its regular meeting to some 60 people involved in housing and support to hear their views and about their experiences. This event was independently chaired by learning disability self-advocate Simon Cramp.
The forum’s original housing task group, which included the commissioner, intended to develop a database of supported housing vacancies. However, the database was open only to commissioning staff and it failed because people were not then aware of the range of vacancies included.
There was a feeling at this year’s event that choice had become more limited, with people being made only one offer of long-term housing.
In some cases, rents and shared support costs were underwritten by the local authority so people might, understandably, be steered towards these homes – even if they were not the most appropriate.
New supported homes
Recently, Lancashire County Council approved its Housing with Care and Support Strategy 2018 -2025 (2018). This proposed schemes of flats for 6-12 younger people within estate developments.
Housing people in supported flats on one site could save significant support costs but would tend to separate people from the community and, potentially, limit their ability to be part of it. It would also lend itself to more institutional practices.
There was concern that, without neighbours nearby and the scrutiny of the Care Quality Commission (which does not inspect tenancies), problems would be missed. It was feared that commissioners would decide to make savings by using these flats only for people with the highest needs who would also have the greatest vulnerabilities and risks.
Making more homes available
Preston City Council was willing to consider adding supported housing to Select Move, a choice-based allocations scheme covering Preston, South Ribble and Chorley.
Housing associations list vacancies on Select Move and people can register and view homes that are available. Clearly, while identities are kept confidential, care providers/supported housing landlords should be able to consider any applications with current tenants in shared housing.
Less security, higher rents
Many attendees were concerned about Lancashire’s strategy, which seemed to suggest people might have to move.
The local commissioner who attended said no one would have to move if they did not want to, and a representative from Advocacy Focus said people had rights under the Care Act to have someone to support their case.
However, only a month before the forum took place, the Lancashire Evening Post had reported that two men who had shared a house for nine years were being evicted with less than a week’s notice because care provider United Response was withdrawing from its contract with the council. Because tenure was separate from the contracted care service, the two men did not have to move.
What this incident and the forum meeting raise is the question of how far people’s rights have been eroded, and how these men risked their homes and support being totally disrupted.
It does seem to be the case that tenancy rights have been weakened and it is rare now for people to have assured tenancies. This can make them vulnerable.
Grant funding used to be available to support the extra costs of supported schemes, which kept rents reasonable. Today, supported housing schemes are often significantly more expensive with much less security of tenure – and rarely offer assured tenancies. Some supported housing landlords offer personalised support, but not all.
One of the most important findings on the day was that tenants were generally unaware of their rights around tenure, so a major follow-up will be the development of some easy-to-read guidance, thanks to Advocacy Focus’s development worker.
For a summary of the report from Preston Learning Disability Forum, see Community Living’s website at: https://www.cl-initiatives.co.uk
References
Lancashire County Council (2018) Housing with Care and Support Strategy 2018 -2025. http://council.lancashire.gov.uk/documents/s138807/
North West Regional Health Authority (1983) Services for People who are Mentally Handicapped: a Model District Service. Manchester: NWRHA
