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Government to fund supported housing pilots in bid to improve standards
The government will fund five new supported housing pilots in a bid to improve standards in the sector.
Ministers have made £3m available for projects in Birmingham, Hull, Blackpool, Bristol and Blackburn.
The pilots will focus on short-term supported accommodation and run until the end of March 2021. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) hopes the pilots will help “improve quality, enforcement, oversight and value for money in supported housing”.
They aim to test different approaches to scrutinising standards in supported housing and are intended to “improve quality of non-commissioned provision in priority areas”, the government said, in reference to accommodation which is not directly commissioned by councils and other public agencies.
Such measures “will not impact good quality, legitimate providers,” it added.
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MHCLG and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will also publish a new national statement of expectations (NSE) that sets out the standards and value for money the government wants to see from supported housing accommodation.
An NSE on supported housing was first promised in October 2017 as part of a consultation on future plans for funding the sector.
Rough sleeping and housing minister Kelly Tolhurst said: “Providing good-quality homes to people who have been homeless, or who are unable to live independently, is fundamental to our support for vulnerable people
“I know that most supported housing providers already provide a good service and it is right that we expect standards to be high. My statement today sends a strong message to providers that don’t meet our benchmark that they need to shape up.
“The pilots we are funding will explore different approaches to supported housing, to further raise the quality of service across the country.”
Supported housing is mostly intended to help older people live independently, but it also refers to accommodation for people with disabilities or those at risk of homelessness, including those fleeing domestic abuse.
Standards in some forms of supported housing have recently come into question – particularly non-commissioned short-term accommodation for homeless people, where very high rents may be charged and paid by the government through housing benefit.
The Regulator of Social Housing has declared multiple housing associations providing this type of accommodation non-compliant, including Prospect Housing, which was issued with a G4 grading for governance last week.
Baroness Stedman-Scott, Lords minister for the DWP, said: “Supported housing has the power to change the lives of the most vulnerable people in our communities for the better.
“Backed by £3m, we will work with experienced partners to make sure that, across the board, this vital support is up to scratch.”
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, welcomed the announcements.
She added: “Supported housing plays a vital role in our society, ensuring that thousands of people have the home and support they need to live independent and healthy lives.
“We must continue to invest in it and develop it, including building more supported housing to help more people access these desperately needed services.”
