Government seeks views on supported housing and changes to benefits
The government is seeking views on its plans for the supported housing sector and changes to housing benefits.
The feedback will inform its promise to implement the measures set out in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023.
The changes include the introduction of a locally led licensing regime for supported housing across England and new national supported housing standards.
As part of the consultation, the government wants to hear about changes to housing benefits to help ensure the reforms deliver good-quality supported housing, as well as value for money for the taxpayer.
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Rick Henderson, chief executive of the sector membership body Homeless Link, said “We are delighted that the consultation has finally arrived.
“We know that the implementation of this legislation will be hugely significant for many homelessness services. We will be ploughing through the details and then talking extensively with our member organisations to make sure that their views are represented and heard by the government.”
The consultation comes in the same week as Inside Housing spoke to the manager of a hostel for homeless people with complex support needs, who resigned over “insurmountable” and “systemic” issues facing this sector.
Her experience followed research by the National Housing Federation which revealed that patients ready to be discharged collectively spent almost 300 years stuck in mental health hospitals in England last year due to the severe shortage of supported housing.
The opening of the consultation comes after the government was criticised by MPs around a month ago for making no progress in improving the oversight of the supported housing sector.
This was the view of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which had previously expressed concerns that gaps in regulation mean landlords can provide costly, sub-standard housing with little support, supervision or care.
The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act became law in August 2023. However by the end of 2024, the act had not been put into practice.
PAC is “not persuaded by MHCLG’s [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government] argument that it still cannot commit to any form of timetable for implementing the provisions of the act” and called for it to be implemented as quickly as possible.
The government has said it “is committed to ensuring a sustainable supported housing sector which enables vulnerable people and those with disabilities to live as independently as possible within the community”, but it also “needs to ensure the system delivers value for money”.
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