VODG housing network: key points from meeting

1.    Grant funding programme for specialist and supported housing Leanne Keltie from the Greater London Authority manages the London mayor’s investment in housing. She gave an overview of the funding for supported and specialist housing in the city. The slides from her presentation are in the resources section. They key priority is to provide more affordable and more homes to meet specific needs with as much choice as possible. The draft plan sets out specific targets such as 10% of all new build dwellings to be for wheelchair users, with the remaining new builds being accessible or adaptable. There are four capital programmes for specialist and supported housing ·      Care and support ·      Homelessness ·      Moving on ·      Affordable homes Plus a specific programme for the NHS Transforming Care. Leanne will send Jane the contact details of the lead person for this. The care and support programme is biggest at £100m+ however, only registered providers can be funded. Leanne confirmed that if more money than the thresholds set out in the grant programme are needed for a development the GLA is open to having a conversation. Each development scheme will be assessed on its own merit and in recognition of higher land prices and construction costs in London. There is also a balance to be struck between the level of grant and affordable rent levels. The GLA are developing more small sites and projects that are attractive to smaller builders. They are looking for more sites and working with local authorities to release more public land The care and support programme is not oversubscribed, opportunities still available for funding. The GLA have introduced the Open Project System (OPS) to streamline the bidding process for providers.  Although they would always prefer to have an early initial conversation about a project before a bid is submitted. Experience has shown that early engagement is important and the GLA can broker relationships across the partners. Member questions and discussion included: Concerns about affordable rents and comparable market rent set by housing regulator. A valuer may be able to assist, but often there are no local comparators to benchmark against. A further issue is finding relevant comparator for specialist housing, as this is a different market. For example, specialist housing, especially for people with a learning disability can mean that rent is a lot higher. This is a national issue which needs to be addressed. The balance of homes provided for people with disabilities with older people. This is a wider concern as it often feels that the priority is homes for older people and younger people are tagged on. Whereas an integrated approach is needed form the outset. More work can be done on larger development sites integrate people with disabilities. This is a question for local authorities, especially where the LA is responsible for housing and social care. Member experience suggests that they don’t often have these types of conversations. Does the funding apply to new build only? Leanne confirmed that the grant monies can be used for repurposing and modelled building. With the care and support fund is possible to use other Homes England funding? Leanne explained that there would be no reason to do this as the GLA would look at scheme in the round. Members agreed that it would be good to have a broader discussion about funding for housing in Transforming Care. Including someone form the NHS social finance providers and mortgage providers. Also, to share examples and good models/approached used amongst members. Leanne is also interested in these areas and would be keen to attend a future meeting where these topics are being discussed.2.    Management Agreement Renewals with Housing Associations - current issues and actions Maria Mills invited members to discuss their experiences of management agreement renewals. There was a mixture of experiences in the room. Some have had agreements terminated with no negotiation and/or notice which appears to be financially driven. Others have experienced similar issues with leases. Both have a significant financial impact on those members involved. One of the key aspects to define is the type of agreement members are involved in. For example, service level agreements between organisations, management agreements on behalf of tenants, tenancy agreements on behalf of tenants. Members report that some housing providers are changing management agreements to lease agreements. Members discussed how they can share information and keep others informed of what is happening through this network It is useful to look at the big picture and take the regulators view into account. For example, when it is possible to challenge a registered provider demand. The CQC view is that there should be a clear separation of housing and support services. Some mainstream housing associations lack an awareness or understanding of what social care providers do and what the people they support may need. Promoting the tenant voice is a central element to improving awareness and understanding. For example, there is often a mismatch between the timescales for refurbishments set out by the registered provider and what an individual may need. In terms of repair and maintenance obligations, the fabric of the building will usually be the responsibility of the landlord, although some may be more flexible. In addition, the threshold for defining minor repairs is increasing. It would be useful to invite the regulator to a future network meeting to discuss how this can be improved to minimise the disconnect. Members report that many of their services are (financially) marginal and have been squeezed over a long period of time. Some report that they are walking away from projects and handing back contacts. Understanding and managing the risk of certain types of agreements is crucial during the negotiation stages. Trowers & Hamlins have a team able to support members with this. Support providers are also under pressure from CQC in how vacancies are managed and how decisions are made about who comes into the service. CQC’s approach is that if the support provider makes the decision that means the service is a non-regulated care home. The guidance for the Reach standards was published on 21 October https://paradigm-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/A-Practical-Guide-to-The-Reach-Standards-2019-compressed-1.pdf which may help. It would also be useful to have a collective viewpoint on this incorporating rights and choice in a sustainable and viable way. The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MHCLG) publishes guidance next about the future direction of supported housing, including minimum standards and expectations. Local authorities will need a strategy for supported housing. 3.    Peer support and member issues Members had an open discussion on pressing issues that were not on the agenda. The recycling of grants is a hot topic, particularly from the NHS as needs can change. The timescales can also be a factor if they are two short, it makes it difficult to invest in property. Members agreed that it would be good to invite someone from NHS England to a future meeting. One member spoke about the challenges of working with a housing provider and property developers to develop services new services. A particular concern is how these arrangements are funded given low local authority rates and the payment of the management fee. Other members have identified that supported living contracts seem to vary a lot across local authorities. This can be influenced by the type of relationship organisations have with commissioners, but again this is variable. There is sometimes a lack of understanding between the parties involved. Housing providers need to understand the issues for care and support providers and vice versa. How we achieve this would be a good addition to a future agenda. 4.    Legal update Kyle Holling from Trowers & Hamlins updated the network on the proposals for the repeal of section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. The consultation on the changes closed on 12 October and there is no timescale for the Government response. The proposed changes may mean that landlords are less likely to rent to vulnerable people and their ability to pay the rent will be open to greater scrutiny. For providers with properties that are not freehold the change could lead to long term fixed leases with no release clause. Stuart Brown (also from Trowers & Hamlins) spoke to members about the public contracting and procurement regulations and how they may change after Brexit. Local authority grants Members are reporting that the local authorities they work with have expressed a lower appetite for risk in the future. This is concerning as new and more innovative models of support are developed. Social value expectations Some local authorities are setting a high threshold for the demonstration of social value. This can make it a challenge to evidence for organisations that have been set up for social purposes. It feels as if the essence of the Social value Act is being lost. The slides from Kyle and Stuart are in the resources section below. 5.    Housing benefit information sharing Revised guidance on current regulations is due to be released in the near future. This does not reflect a change to regulations. 6.    Terms of reference for the network This item was deferred to the next meeting.

Please send any ideas and suggestions for topics for meetings to Jane [email protected] Dates for 2020 will be confirmed as soon as possible.