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Carol MatthewsGood dialogue between the sector and the government is crucial
As social care needs increase, the need to keep dialogue open between the sector and the government is important, writes Carol Matthews
Starts at Home Day, the National Housing Federation’s annual spotlight on how supported housing transforms lives, as well as a recent study suggesting the number of people in the UK aged 85 or older who require round-the-clock care will almost double over the next 20 years, both highlight the explosion in social care needs.
Here at Riverside we awaited the government’s long-overdue announcement on the future of supported housing funding with bated breath. And we were more than relieved to see all the hard lobbying, alongside our sector peers, had paid off – not only for the business side of things, but for all our customers who rely on these services.
The fact that housing costs will continue to be met through housing benefit is fantastic and we are delighted the government has not only listened to the sector but were willing to work alongside us to ensure these vital services have a workable funding model.
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Most crucially, the funding announcement brings an end to the uncertainty we’ve worked under since the end of 2015, with the original proposal to cap supported housing rents at Local Housing Allowance levels.
Providers have finally been given the necessary assurance to grow supply, with many schemes – previously on hold – now being unlocked, as well as the confidence to re-invest to meet customer needs now and into the future.
Riverside, along with St Mungo’s, YMCA and The Salvation Army, has commissioned research looking at challenges for our supported housing customers claiming Universal Credit and how these can be overcome.
“Providers have finally been given the necessary assurance to grow supply, with many schemes – previously on hold – now being unlocked.”
We have urged the Department for Work and Pensions to look at the report’s recommendations, which we hope will help alleviate some of the uncertainty faced by our customers in light of the full-scale Universal Credit rollout and the prospect of moving existing benefit claimants onto Universal Credit.
In Riverside’s recent response to the social security advisory committee consultation on such proposals as part of ‘managed migration’, we put forward four key points: the importance of implementing migration on a geographical basis, sufficient advance notification of Universal Credit, data sharing and the systematic identification of vulnerable customers, and more time given for claims to be made and the necessary support to be implemented.
The negative impact of Universal Credit is still being seen by our customers each day.
Only a few weeks ago, I was on a whistle-stop tour of Cumbria with our brand new partner, Impact, and I was being told stories by Foyer colleagues of our teams having to feed customers through charitable donations and foodbanks while they were waiting for Universal Credit claims to be resolved.
In Carlisle, I saw charitable donation bags with chocolate, toiletries and some basic food products at a young persons scheme. In this day and age, this simply should not be happening.
We currently await the next big government green paper – this one focusing on social care funding – scheduled for publication in the autumn (although we shall see when it actually materialises if the Social Housing Green Paper is anything to go by).
Therefore it is essential we keep the dialogue between government and our sector open and continue championing the work we do to transform lives and revitalise neighbourhoods.
Carol Matthews, chief executive, Riverside
