This report and its appendices provide information to support the Health, Care, and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee’s scrutiny of the council’s services to meet the housing needs of working age adults with additional needs.

The committee considered a report on Supported housing for working age adults with additional needs.

 

The slide pack was published as part of agenda: Link to the Appendix 1 for Supported housing for working age adults with additional needs. The slides presented by the officers are outlined below (in italics), with the principal points noted below.

 

A The Head of Service Living Well introduced the presentation on Supported housing for working age adults with additional needs.

 

B The Head of Service Living Well presented:

 

What is supported living / housing?

 

b.1 It was noted that supported living as a flexible service model offering tailored support for independence under the Care Act 2014.

 

b.2 There are differing models for supported living and they may include individual or shared housing options.

 

Objectives of this Scrutiny Meeting

 

Current care and support by primary client group

 

b.3 The total number of people living in supported living is 185 and are broken down into the different categories according to primary client group.

 

Future demand based on identified need – 18+

 

Future provision and demand continued

 

b.4 It was noted that there is approximately 17 people who may need a Supported Living, residential or nursing service when they transition to Adults services.

 

b.5 Development of a commissioning strategy for working age adults in 2025/26 will include accommodation needs and will be aligned to the new Supported Housing strategy.

 

C The Strategic Housing Manager presented:

 

Housing Market Area Needs Assessment – Future Demand

 

c.1 There is a Housing Market Area Needs Assessment conducted every five years and the current assessment covers the period of 2020-41.

 

c.2 There has been a large increase in the number of older people with dementia and mobility problems whilst changes for young people are smaller. This reflects the projections that older age groups are expected to see the greatest proportional increases in population.

 

c.3 Regarding accommodation, the Corporate Director Community Wellbeing added that the focus is on the flexibility of accommodation being built/taken on through RPs so that homes exist for people of different conditions. The numbers that exist, as represented in the slide, help to inform future plans but are adaptable if they change.

 

Sourcing Accommodation in Herefordshire

 

c.4 It was clarified that as a non-stock holding local authority, the council is reliant on Registered Providers (RP) for housing stock and it works closely with a range of RPs to try meet demand.

 

c.5 In order to secure accommodation for a range of vulnerable groups, the Strategic Housing Team works in collaboration with social care.

 

c.6 In response to a comment on the opportunity of building suitable accommodation for different vulnerable groups, the Corporate Director Community Wellbeing noted that there will likely be a mixture of provision.

 

Applying for Affordable Accommodation

 

c.7 It was noted that there is a balancing act between negotiating accessible homes as part of the overall affordable stock. Regulations for homes are moving on all of the time and there are a lot of homes that can be adapted, if needed. However, that is different from having a fully wheel-chair accessible unit of accommodation, for example.

 

Supported Housing Strategy

 

c.8 This work will be developed in partnership with other council teams, stakeholders and people with lived experience of these services.

 

c.9 It does not sit on its own and it is aligned with other work such as the commissioning strategy. Therefore, while it is separate in terms of having it by legislation, it is not a standalone piece of work as it informs other such pieces of work. The aim is to have the Supported Housing Strategy complete by the end of the year.

 

c.10 It was added that a supported living framework went live on 1^st September 2024 which has a number of providers, both new and existing, on the framework. Therefore, there is a wider scope of providers that can be chosen from to any future schemes and supported living services.

 

c.11 It was confirmed that the strategy will be county-wide but the team works hard to listen to what people tell them regarding where they want to live.

 

Provider perspective and views of people with lived experience – introductions

 

D The Registered Manager Shared Lives presented:

 

Herefordshire Shared Lives

 

d.1 Shared Lives offer long-term arrangements where people live on a long-term basis with other people, short breaks, and shared days.

 

d.2 The team assess the Shared Lives carers in depth and then support them on an ongoing basis. There is a minimum of quarterly support and monitoring visits and reviews.

 

d.3 Recruiting more Shared Lives carers is a high priority due to a certain amount who have/will be retiring.

 

d.4 In relation to a comment about what training and support is provided to Shared Lives carers, it was noted that an in-depth process is started to vet people and get to know them in understanding what they can offer. They are then put through all of the training and once the carers are known well with a better understanding of what their skills and strengths are, and a referral is received, and the needs are identified then the right Shared Lives carers will be matched to see if it is a possibility. If additional training is required, outside of the usual training, then this will be provided.

 

d.5 The team supports and monitors those households and if there are any concerns then they are referred back to the social work team or any health professionals that are needed.

 

d.6 In relation to a comment about Shared Lives providing a large number of places for people to live in and whether it should be prioritised over other supported housing solutions, it was added that there is a balance in which investment is still needed in planning and looking at other alternatives. Whilst Shared Lives has been positive, it will not be the answer for everybody and so it is important to have the choice for people depending on their needs and wants.

 

Accelerating Reform Funded Project

 

d.7 It was clarified that the Accelerating Reform Fund is a pot of money to support local authorities to develop innovative services which Shared Lives has been recognised as being.

 

d.8 Work is ongoing with the Transformation and Improvement Team to raise awareness Herefordshire Shared Lives.

 

d.9 The webpages have been updated and recently, work has been done with Shooting Reels to create some videos with households involved in Shared Lives.

Following the presentation, the Vice-Chairperson invited Chris Beckingham-Paul (Aspire Living) to speak. The principal points include:

 

i.                Chris Beckingham-Paul noted that Aspire Living has been working in Herefordshire since 1987 and currently provides support to people with learning disabilities across multiple counties including Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

 

ii.              Currently over 350 people are being supported by Aspire either in the community or in single occupancy or shared households.

 

iii.             Aspire currently deliver a range of 8,000 hours of support per week.

 

iv.             The latest overall CQC rating is Good and was Outstanding in the ‘responsive’ category.

 

v.              From a supported living perspective, currently 66 people are being supported in 18 supported living houses, delivering in the region of 3,000 hours per week.

 

vi.             Support can range from targeted support, based on the needs of each individual, or 24-hour support can be provided. The aim is to promote independence and ensuring that those supported have as much choice and control over the decisions they make in their lives.

 

vii.            Aspire also believes in the principle of ‘just enough support’ where people are not over-supported as this can create dependency. The ethos of Aspire is to provide enough support to promote greater independence and either see support levels reduce or see people move on to greater independence.

 

viii.          Work has been done to develop a partnership approach in working with colleagues across Herefordshire Council. It has not been easy due to a constant turnover of people in key positions such as within the Commissioning team and the Operational team.

 

ix.             However, in the last year-to-eighteen months, things have got a lot better and this has been fed back to CQC and the Corporate Director Community Wellbeing has done an excellent job in the time she has been in post at the council.

 

x.              Currently Aspire are working very closely with the Commissioning team and with the Head of Service Living Well and other colleagues including looking at the Learning Disability Strategy.

 

xi.             Aspire is keen to work with Herefordshire Council to look at future demand to look at improved strategic planning and identifying what support and accommodation solutions may be required in the future.

 

The draft recommendations were then read out by the Statutory Scrutiny Officer, and the following resolution was agreed by the committee.

 

Resolved:

 

That Herefordshire Council:

 

1.              Brings forward an Accommodation with Care Strategy to aid the reduction in cost pressures in the Health and Wellbeing Directorate.