Memorandum from Foundations (SPP 61)

Summary

 

1. Supporting People has had a positive and direct impact on the home improvement agency sector. It has:

§ strengthened funding streams

§ strengthened the commissioning of home improvement agency services in many areas,

§ reconnected commissioners and providers with the need to focus on the people who live in properties rather than thinking about property condition as the beginning and end of their responsibilities, and

§ raised quality standards considerably within the sector.

 

2. Further, Supporting People has had clear benefits for home improvement agency clients. It has enabled many vulnerable people who are often not eligible or able to easily access statutory and other services to continue to live independently in their own homes for longer.

3. This response encourages the committee to look at how we can ensure that the positive features of the Supporting People programme and essential services provided by home improvement agencies are not lost.

4. The is a clear need for research into the benefits of home improvement agency services and other housing intervention services provided to people living in their own homes. The Government can play a direct role in supporting, shaping and sponsoring such research initiatives.

5. The proposed pooling of Supporting People funding into Area Based Grants needs to be monitored, and subsequent spending assessed. The measurement of specific outputs could ensure that money continues to be spent on services for vulnerable people.

6. There is potential for local area agreements and the new local government landscape to provide stable, longer-term funding through a joint commissioning process involving housing, social care and health authorities. This is achievable in some local authority areas, but our experience in supporting the home improvement agency sector with its struggle for funding suggests that this may not be the case for the majority.

7. The main advantage for our sector when compared to other SP services is that home improvement agencies are not tied down to accommodation-based services so they should be able to move quickly to design new services to meet identified needs in their communities.

 

Background

 

This response has been prepared by Foundations, the national body for home improvement agencies in England. Foundations has held the contract as national body since 2000 and is appointed by Communities and Local Government to:

§ develop capacity and expand home improvement agency services

§ provide advice, training and support to home improvement agency staff

§ represent the sector in discussions with government and other stakeholders, and

§ promote and raise the profile of the sector.

Home improvement agencies are local, not-for-profit organisations dedicated to helping older people, people with disabilities, and vulnerable people to live in safety and with dignity in their own homes. Home improvement agencies are focused on ensuring that existing housing is fit for purpose and that vulnerable people, predominantly homeowners, are able to continue living independently as long as possible. Their work helps to achieve the objectives of Communities and Local Government, the Department of Health and other government departments.

There are currently 230 home improvement agencies in England providing services in approximately 90% of local authorities. Locally they may be known as Care & Repair or Staying Put agencies. The majority of agencies are operated by housing associations, a lesser proportion are provided 'in-house' by local authorities, while others are small independent organisations, usually with charitable status.

Together home improvement agencies deliver services for around 240,000 people every year. This includes housing advice and information, practical help such as handyperson services, and the co-ordination of substantial repairs and adaptations. They are responsible for delivering approximately half of all DFG-funded property adaptations in the country. They work as agents for their clients, negotiating with statutory services, managing complex grants processes, detailed work specifications and building contractors.

The funding arrangements for home improvement agencies have changed several times in the sector's history, with the most recent of these being the change from a revenue grant paid by national government to Supporting People funding paid by local authorities. Unlike many recipients of Supporting People funding, home improvement agencies also have to gather income from elsewhere in order to provide viable services. Supporting People provides approximately 30% of their income, local authority housing departments provide 22%, income from fees and trading provides 33%, and the balance is provided by health, social services and charitable sources.

Home improvement agencies could still be regarded as unusual within the field of support providers funded by the Supporting People programme because:

§ their work is predominantly with low income, older and vulnerable homeowners

§ their services are not accommodation-based, and

§ the support offered is time-limited and focused on resolving specific housing issues.

Home improvement agencies provide vital services to a large numbers of vulnerable people in comparison to the majority of accommodation-based housing support services.

 

In this response, we have chosen to focus on the areas of Supporting People policy which have the most relevance to the home improvement agency sector at this time. Rather than comment on specific commitments, we wish to provide feedback and insight on the success of the Supporting People programme generally. Our response is based on observations made by members of the Foundations team and their discussions with a number of home improvement agency managers within the sector.

The extent to which the Government has delivered on the commitments it made in Independence and Opportunity: Our Strategy for Supporting People

Supporting People has strengthened funding for the home improvement agency sector and encouraged the setting up of new home improvement agency services in areas which had previously lacked provision. It has strengthened the commissioning of services in most areas, with Supporting People teams often providing a fresh perspective on home improvement agency commissioning. This is particularly the case with two-tier authorities where housing departments were reluctant to develop home improvement agencies in addition to existing grants teams.

Supporting People has also reconnected a lot of commissioners and providers with the need to focus on the people who live in properties rather than thinking about housing condition as the main extent of their responsibilities. This has enabled and encouraged the development and growth of home improvement agencies and their services beyond the traditional role of administering and processing Disabled Facilities Grant applications.

Supporting People has raised quality standards considerably within the sector. The home improvement agency Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) and the Quality Mark scheme delivered by Foundations based on the QAF have proved to be valuable tools for improving service quality and professionalism within the sector.

Keeping people that need services at the heart of the programme

 

We believe that, in respect of home improvement agencies and their clients, the Supporting People programme has been successful in achieving this broad objective. The most successful driver for this has been the publication of Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods, the government's strategy for housing in an ageing society, which created a clear direction for the sector moving forwards, and an ambition for home improvement agencies to become "the 'hub' around which older people exercise choice about their home environment". This statement of intent has acted as a catalyst to inspire the sector, give it greater confidence, and has also directly influenced many Supporting People commissioners.

Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods also announced additional funding for the development of handyperson services, many of which will be provided by home improvement agencies and offer real opportunities for growth at a time when many public services face funding uncertainties and the prospect of funding cuts. Another policy objective arising from this strategy document, the Future HIA project, has provided a platform for healthy debate within the sector about the future direction of services and how best to meet the needs of clients. The project has also served to increase the profile of the sector nationally amongst housing, health and social care professionals.

 

Enhancing partnership with the third sector

Approximately 15% of home improvement agencies are independent, third sector organisations, most of which are small and restricted to one geographical area of operation. There are continuing concerns regarding the burden placed on smaller home improvement agencies by tendering processes under Supporting People.

Another substantial concern which has been raised by independent agencies is that of contracting arrangements within some administering authorities. Although the majority of home improvement agencies have two- to five-year contracts in place for the provision of services, some authorities have no written contract in place with their home improvement agencies and funding is only committed on an annual basis. This places these agencies in a very insecure position, particularly at the point where decisions about funding services are likely to switch to different departments and personnel within local authorities, and goes against the government's desire to see three-year contracts between local government and third sector organisations become the norm.

 

Delivering in the new local government landscape

While the Government has been successful in embedding the objectives of Supporting People within the national indicator set, we have concerns about the low take-up of indicators directly relating to Supporting People by local authority departments, and the poor take-up of indicators relating to the needs of older people more generally. Take-up of specific National Indicators relating to Supporting People has been mixed. Only 14% of local strategic partnerships have adopted indicator 139 which relates to older people being supported to live in their own homes.

Several home improvement agencies have reported real opportunities for developing new services in response to local needs and priorities arising from the local area agreement framework and their links with members of local strategic partnerships. However, we have also been advised that local authority commissioning in some areas remains a closed process, where partners from the voluntary sector such as home improvement agencies are shut out of opportunities to influence debate and the decision-making process.

 

A number of good practice examples already exist of home improvement agencies being jointly commissioned to deliver services that impact across housing, health and care agendas, as well as other agendas such as home security.

 

Increasing efficiency and reducing bureaucracy

 

Over the lifetime of the Supporting People Programme, there is general agreement that greater efficiency has been achieved, particularly in terms of service monitoring and review.

 

The implications of the removal of the ring-fence

 

The main risk to home improvement agencies arising from the removal of the ring-fence stems from the fact that they are very different to other housing support providers. Whilst the sector faces some of the same challenges and opportunities as the social rented sector, its role as a provider of services to people living in their own homes means it is not able to protect funding to the same extent as the social rented sector.

 

Accommodation-based support services such as sheltered housing are more visible because there is a stable client group needing support on an ongoing basis. Home improvement agencies primarily deliver preventative services which aim to reduce or remove future health and social care needs. Home improvement agency clients tend to be much less visible. Much of a home improvement agency's work prevents a crisis occurring, thus reducing health, social rented housing and care costs later on.

 

There is a potential loss of expertise in housing-related support as Supporting People teams within local authorities are, most likely, absorbed into adult social care departments. Home improvement agencies may also be at a disadvantage here, as it is far easier for a social care professional to draw parallels between the care planning process which takes place within their discipline and the type of low level support offered to sheltered housing tenants than it is for them to come to terms with the very practical approach taken by agencies which often focuses action on the physical fabric of the home rather than on the individual.

Another concern is the combination of un-ringfencing Supporting People at a time of economic recession. There is a potential for local authorities to cut funding for non-mandatory services such as those provided by home improvement agencies in order to meet wider budget constraints. This has already been reported to Foundations by two home improvement agencies since the removal of the Supporting People ringfence at the beginning of April.

If home improvement agency funding decisions are to be made within social care departments in future, evidence is needed that preventative services such as those offered by home improvement agencies really do benefit health and save money.

 

There is a body of research which outlines the potential savings of adaptations and other housing-related measures when compared to potential health and care costs at a late date. Evidence suggests a causal link between housing conditions and mental health, notably depression amongst older groups. However, measuring the precise impact of preventative services is notoriously difficult and there is currently a lack of research into the health benefits of home improvement agency services. Reviews of existing research into the effects of housing interventions on health have concluded that there is a need for further studies.

Without Supporting People teams, the lead commissioners of home improvement agencies will be social services and health, so the home improvement agency sector will be increasingly looking to position itself as a provider which has beneficial health outcomes, with prevention and early intervention being the key strengths. However, there remain issues of, firstly, evidencing the benefits (that is, cost savings), and secondly, communicating this effectively to health commissioners.

Our recommendations

Care must be taken to ensure that the protections given to housing-related support services generally during the transformation process of Supporting People into Area Based Grant also safeguard the interests of home improvement agencies and their vital services to vulnerable clients.

 

Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) offers a possible safeguard to ensure that the needs of older homeowners are not ignored and that home improvement agency services are given priority in future. However, we would like to see further detail of the relationship between the CAA and the setting of priorities within local area agreements (LAAs), particularly the point at which it ensures that the housing needs of older and vulnerable homeowners within the community are being addressed.

 

The need for research into the benefits of home improvement agency services is clear. A number of initiatives have been started at a local level, looking at the quantifying the costs and benefits of decent homes work and adaptations. The Government can playa direct role in supporting, shaping and sponsoring such research initiatives.

 

The proposed pooling of Supporting People funding into Area Based Grants needs to be monitored and subsequent spending assessed. Measuring specific outputs could ensure that money continues to be spent on services for vulnerable people.

 

Compiled by Malcolm Ramsey
Communications, Policy and Research Manager
Foundations

May 2009