Sitra bulletin no 5 2014 published by Sitra

bulletin THE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH HEALTH, CARE AND SUPPORT

expertise, training & consultancy in housing with health, care & support

2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; NO.5

Inspiration arising from great despair

The Revolution will be improvised

Digital inclusion for older people

Beyond four walls

Building Bridges www.sitra.org

One-page profiles

When is an old tenancy new?

Contents 03 04

CEO’s Comment In America, we found inspiration arising from great despair In May this year, a group of managers from St Mungos Broadway took part in a study excursion for the charity’s “emergent leaders”, to see how homelessness services operate in the USA. The trip was generously funded by the London Housing Foundation. Kirsty Telford reports.

The Revolution will be improvised Debbie Sorkin reports on how Systems Leadership projects around the country are bringing together housing and care providers, commissioners and service users in order to integrate services.

Active Online: Digital inclusion for older people Helen Rowe, Research and Innovation Lead at Viridian Housing, and Kelly Klein, CEO of Student@Home, talk digital inclusion: the importance of pilot schemes, and using technology to tackle social isolation, illiteracy and undiagnosed dementia.

Beyond four walls

Building Bridges

Martin Mellors, Head of Supported Housing at GreenSquare Group, discusses how adjustments to job roles in older people’s services can improve health and wellbeing.

Cover Story

One-page profiles in Casa Support Sitra’s intern Luke Smith shares key learning from his visit to Casa Support that have been using one-page profiles as part of their personalised support offer.

Live Case Studies Sitra’s Training Manager Stephanie Hill discusses ‘Live Case Studies’, a fresh approach to training which enables participants to learn through illustration and experience.

When is an old tenancy new? Sitra’s Roselee Molloy answers members’ questions about actions to follow when a fixed term tenancy lapses into a statutory periodic tenancy.

Commissioning for choice and control Sitra’s Burcu Borysik reports from the recent scoping study looking into current strategies and practices in commissioning personalised housing related support.

Universal Credit Sitra's Geoffrey Ferres brings members up to date with the snails' pace roll out of the Universal Credit.

Sitra Training

Sitra Staff Chief Executive Vic Rayner Deputy Chief Executive Lisa Harrison Policy Officers Geoffrey Ferres Roselee Molloy Lauren Sadler Policy and Research Co-ordinators Dani Cohen Burcu Borysik

Training and Events Manager Stephanie Hill Contracts Officers Anna Robertson Wendy Green Business Support Lana Lewis Sarah Pink (Maternity leave) Head of Finance & Central Services Berihu Mohammed

EU Funding and Finance Officer Ray Naicker Finance Assistant Sharelle Hunt Office Co-ordinator Gill Cotton Central Support Monica Antolin Membership Co-ordinator Rory Desch

If you would like to receive the bulletin in large print or in other accessible formats, email post@sitra.org

Contributors

Sitra Offices

To discuss advertising opportunities within the bulletin, please email post@sitra.org

London 3rd Floor, 55 Bondway London SW8 1SJ Telephone: 020 7793 4710 Fax: 020 7793 4715 Birmingham BVSC, 138 Digbeth, Birmingham B5 6DR Telephone: 0121 678 8891 Email: geoffreyf@sitra.org Southampton Fairways House, Mount Pleasant Road, Southampton SO14 0QB Telephone: 023 8023 0307

Editorial To contact the editor please email burcub@sitra.org.

Submissions and queries If you have any comments, queries or suggestions, a letter for publication or wish to submit a news story or article please contact us via one of the methods opposite.

expertise, training & consultancy in housing with health, care & support

02 bulletin

Charity Reg No 290599 Company Reg No 1869208 ISSN 0956-6678 Sitra is partly funded by DCLG.

2014 No.5

www.sitra.org

CEO’s Comment Live and learn... We have entered the season of party conferences and the early stages of Election 2015 fever. As pundits around the UK produce digests and analysis of what the party speeches ‘really’ mean, the Bulletin gives you a flavour of how adept our sector is at transforming rhetoric to reality by sharing great content on putting learning into practice. The US is attributed with leading the way in changing significant sections of the UK charitable and homelessness practice. We often look to the States to identify new approaches to fundraising, innovations in delivery and research. The London Housing Foundation is committed to supporting learning from other people and other societies, and our first article looks at the experience of six ‘emergent leaders’ from St Mungo’s Broadway who travelled on a study tour to both Portland and San Francisco. The lessons learned are incredibly poignant, highlighting the very tight balancing act between inspiration and being overwhelmed by the scale of the homelessness in the cities they visited. The UK has it’s own fair share of balancing acts, and Debbie Sorkin of the Leadership Centre talks about how Systems Leadership can be applied to achieving engagement and success in the local vision. Housing is one of the solutions, and systems leadership proponents are encouraging our sector to get round the table with other strategic leaders to learn and share responses to ‘wicked’ issues. Read about how housing associations have been engaged in integration and drives to improve health and wellbeing.

Vic Rayner Chief Executive Email: vicr@sitra.org

We have huge amounts to learn from the success of our members in taking forward new ways of working. Tackling loneliness and isolation of older people regularly hits the headlines, and it is great to hear about ways in which Viridian and Greensquare have changed their offering to meet this need. I particularly enjoy the contrast between the stories showing how different strategies – one focussing on technology, the other on workforce – can create a common set of outcomes – around engagement, independence and connection. Sitra has taken the ‘live and learn’ mantra to a new level with the introduction of our new training offering – Live Case Studies. These fantastic co produced and co –delivered sessions are led by co trainers with lived experience breathing new life into the core learning. This fast paced interactive learning sessions show how important our ongoing commitment to coproduction is, and how much we all gain from taking a fresh look at old challenges. It feels like a lot of my time is spent talking to other parts of the public sector about how much housing related support has to contribute to their agendas, so it is refreshing to have some input from Public Health England, sharing news of resources that housing staff can pick up to support their work with people with alcohol problems. Sharing research and evidence around the impact of prevention is critical. Finally, we provide you with a couple of updates on information you need to know! Sitra is keeping a close eye on development in the welfare reform debate, and this latest copy brings news of the continuing roll out of Universal Credit. It also focusses in on tenancies – highlighting recent case law and the implications for members. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” Albert Einstein

About Sitra Sitra is a membership organisation championing excellence in housing with health, care and support. Membership benefits include discounts on all services and events, access to free advice, an annual subscription to the bulletin and regular briefings on key policy developments in the sector. Sitra works with local and central government to ensure that the needs of its members are recognised, understood and met by resource providers. If you would like to join Sitra please contact the Membership Administrator on 020 7793 4710 and ask for an application form, or download one from www.sitra.org Content ©2014 SITRA (Services) Ltd except where stated, All right reserved. All images © individual photographers & illustrators. Opinions expressed by individuals writers are not necessarily those of Sitra or the magazine’s Editorial Team. E&OE. Design: Aquatint BSC 020 8947 8571 www.aquatint.co.uk

Keep up to date with our Blog Keep up with developments and add to the debate at Sitra CEO’s blog at www.sitraceo.wordpress.com

THE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH CARE, HEALTH AND SUPPORT

sadness of seeing so many people openly suffering with undiagnosed and untreated physical and mental health conditions. Being given a roof was not enough Permanent housing in Single Room Occupancy hostels (SROs) was the most common option for housing for individuals and families, but we heard stories of low quality standards in these properties, which were built more than a century ago and were in desperate need of modernisation. There is no one to advocate for improving their living conditions and public action appear to be the only way that rogue landlords were shamed into carrying out much needed repairs.

In America, we found inspiration arising from great despair In May this year, a group of managers from St Mungos Broadway took part in a study excursion for the charity’s “emergent leaders”, to see how homelessness services operate in the USA. The trip was generously funded by the London Housing Foundation. Kirsty Telford reports. Choosing our destinations Our group settled on the two destinations of Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, California. Both cities were known for having large homeless populations, were home to innovative, specialist and grassroots organisations and were working hard to fulfil their 10 year homelessness strategies, despite being in the grips of a housing crisis.

Overwhelmed by the reality ‘Despite San Francisco having a population one tenth of the size of London’s, the 2013 official street

04 bulletin

2014 No.5

count showed on just one night there were 4,315 “unsheltered” adults and youth, compared to 543 in London’ Rough sleepers seem such a ‘normal’ part of the community that we saw families eating their picnic on a bench next to someone bedded down and children scooting around people asleep on the floor, with needles abandoned in the cracks in the pavement. Even those of us who work directly with homeless people were overwhelmed by the stories, living conditions and the sheer scale of the issue, along with the terrible

The trip gave us a valuable opportunity to compare with the UK’s supported housing approach, that is tailored for specific needs gives opportunity for people to move ‘onwards and upwards’ as they recover from homelessness. We are also proud of the thinking behind ‘Places of Change’ and ‘Psychologically Informed Environments’. Despite the challenges, we saw a great deal of hope – and community was vital Both cities showed the importance of community ownership and concern for the homeless people in their area. We saw the concept of ‘neighbour in need’ as a strong strand throughout most of the charity work and were inspired by the sheer volume of volunteers who gave their time, passion and energy to help. One charity, St Anthony’s, was proud to be a central part of the Tenderloin and had branded lampposts with their flags throughout the neighbourhood. We saw that everyone and everything was appreciated as having a value and a role while the leading charities employed over 50% of their staff with ‘lived experience’. Grassroots services There were also strong activist groups in both Portland and San Francisco, usually led by people

www.sitra.org

with lived experience of homelessness and/or other support needs. These groups often had a clear political mission e.g. to achieve a Homeless Bill of Rights, to prevent evictions etc.; and were directed by their membership with great community support behind them. The use of peer advocacy and client involvement was common and several groups had established encampments, tent cities and designated daytime sleeping areas for rough sleepers. Fundraising and leadership The majority of the charities we saw sought operational funding through fundraising, corporate philanthropy and grants. They also placed a high value on gifts in kind, pro bono support and volunteering. We saw that achieving sustainable private funding had an enviable positive impact on a charity’s ability to innovate and be creative according to client need, particularly in helping them “ride the wave” during challenging economic times. In the best charities, we found dynamic, engaged and motivated leaders, from the trustees and chief executives, right through to project managers, who were able to distil their charity’s aims and ambitions in just a sentence or two.

City Library Social Worker Programme We believe that the number of homeless people using public spaces such as libraries, churches and parks is an area our charity should look at more closely to enable us to support the hidden homeless. The City Library social worker programme employed a social worker to support rough sleepers using the library as a place of safety, alongside a team of people with lived experience, to help them address their needs and refer them into housing.

2 3

Buried in Treasures Project Many of the people we help struggle with hoarding tendencies, which can lead to health and safety issues in their home, or put them at risk of eviction by landlords. The Buried in Treasures project put the power back in the hands of the client, with support from peers, to help them recognise their hoarding, minimise risk and equip them with

the tools to manage in the long term. Meeting John Franklin, the project coordinator, helped us to reflect how we as a charity can feel disempowered when dealing with people who ‘struggle with stuff’: Hoarding, accumulating, acquiring... the labels to describe the behaviour, come with a real stigma attached. John explained how a targeted service is needed with his mantra ‘Nothing about us without us!’ What next? We are grateful to the LHF for this chance to gain a fresh perspective and want to bring our learning from the trip to St Mungo’s Broadway. As a newly formed peer group, and as individuals in our own right, we were deeply affected by the sadness we witnessed. What we saw, learnt and felt in America will be our motivation as we start to shape and influence the work of our own charity.

The London Housing Foundation funds managers from homelessness organisations in London to travel to other countries and cultures to see how they deal with homelessness. Margaret Malcolm, Acting Director, LHF Why do we do this?

Three inspirational projects to guide and inform our work in the UK The Homeless Pre-Natal Programme In San Francisco, The Homeless Pre-natal Programme was a unique service that does not exist in the UK. Entering, you immediately felt the positive welcoming atmosphere. Staff worked with pregnant homeless women, including those with substance use and mental health issues, to access treatment, boost confidence, help women believe they can be good mothers and to increase their chances of keeping their child. Importantly, they also focused on their work with fathers.

Our view is that learning from other people and other societies is always useful. By understanding a different situation, with distinct and specific problems, and seeing how people deal with them, will always equip us to tackle our own problems better. We also believe that it is a good investment to develop young managers. As you can see from Kirsty’s account, impact of seeing first-hand what happens in the USA was both shocking and inspirational. New ideas are developed, new skills shared and new initiatives born. We hope St Mungos Broadway will bring about change and provide positive challenge to their organisation.

If you are interested in applying for a personal development grant, go to our website at http://www.lhf.org.uk/personal-development-grants-and-bursaries

THE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH CARE, HEALTH AND SUPPORT

The Revolution will be improvised: New approaches to bringing together housing, health and social care Debbie Sorkin reports on how Systems Leadership projects around the country are bringing together housing and care providers, commissioners and service users in order to integrate services. Housing Associations that also provide care and support will be only too familiar with funding pressures in local authorities. In its recent survey, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services estimated that since 2010, local authority adult social care departments had had to make savings of 26% in their budgets – the equivalent of £3.53 billion over the last four years. Aside from leading to a radical reduction in the number of people eligible for local authority care funding – the National Audit Office estimated in March that 87% of the adult population lived in local authorities that only provided care services to those with substantial needs or higher – the last four years have also seen fee levels for care

06 bulletin

2014 No.5

providers being significantly cut back, in some cases to the extent that housing associations have walked away from local authority contracts, as they feel unable to provide the quality of care they want with the funding available. The funding cuts have coincided with a much greater emphasis on service integration and redesign: integrated services, based around the person using care and support, are at the heart of the Care Act, and the evidence for integrated services providing better outcomes for people has been clear from recent studies .

Health care is free at the point of delivery, and costs for acute care are calculated on a tariff, or episode, basis. Social care is not free and for local authorities, is effectively means-tested. And many housing associations will have first-hand experience of the structural divides that make them feel they are often on the outside looking in as far as decision-making around integration is concerned, even though it is the housing associations that are bestplaced, through local knowledge and sector expertise, to ease the pressures on the acute hospitals in their area.

But there are major structural, cultural and financial barriers to integrating social care and health. Financial incentives and funding mechanisms are different.

So there are a number of ways in which health and social care have been piloting new ways of working, to bring services together for the benefit of service users and to

www.sitra.org

support more efficient, and effective, use of resources. One of these ways has been through using Systems Leadership approaches. Systems Leadership describes the kind of leadership you use when you’re seeking to lead across organisational boundaries – so when you go beyond your own service or organisation and interact with others, often with very different priorities and points of view. It describes the way you need to work when you face large, complex, difficult and seemingly intractable problems; where you need to juggle multiple uncertainties; where no one person or organisation can find or organise the solution on their own; where everyone is grappling with how to make resources meet demand which is outstripping them; and where the way forward therefore lies in involving as many people’s energies, ideas, talents and expertise as possible. It takes working with uncertainty, and ambiguity, is a given, and it’s expected that people will experiment with different methods and processes as a result. Systems Leadership is therefore particularly useful when you’re looking to integrate services, and to re-design them around the person, at a time when you have less money than you need and more expectations than you can cope with. In other words, it’s leadership for our times. Alongside identifying a research base, a group of national organisations, spanning social care, health care and public health, have put in place a new initiative to try Systems Leadership approaches in practice. This initiative, which is already involving social care providers, is called Systems Leadership – Local Vision.

Systems Leadership – Local Vision is currently funding 25 projects around the country. The aim of these projects is to develop Systems Leadership at local level, to create new ways of working in support of delivering integrated services, and to achieve measurable improvements in health, care and wellbeing. The main criterion is that progress on an issue needs to involve different sectors. The current projects cover a broad range of issues, and a number directly involve housing associations. So in Kent, housing associations have come together with the local authority and NHS Trusts to develop new approaches to integrated commissioning, with large-scale ‘open space’ events bringing providers, commissioners, service users and carers together to shape what future services should look like. In Birmingham, associations have been integral to a Systems Leadership project around ‘Healthy Villages’ – a community asset-based approach that is using a range of mechanisms to achieve 1 2 3

improvements in people’s health and wellbeing. And housing associations have been part of wider public health initiatives linked to Systems Leadership, such as projects in Cornwall and The Wirral to alleviate the rise in food poverty, not least amongst older and vulnerable people. Initial findings from the projects have been published in a recent report, The Revolution will be Improvised. Although the projects have proceeded at different speeds, there is emerging evidence of providers, including housing associations, being involved earlier in discussions around integration, and becoming centrally involved, rather than being consulted late in the day or not at all. Increasingly, providers are finding themselves in a position where they need to work alongside others such as the local authority, Clinical Commissioning Group, Health and Wellbeing Boards, in these circumstances systems leadership may be the key to enabling everyone to work together to achieve the best outcomes.

ADASS Budget Survey Report 2014, July 2014 Adult Social Care in England: Overview: NAO, March 2014 See, for example, The European Observatory’s Policy Study, what is the evidence on the economic impacts of integrated care, WHO 2014

Further reading Systems Leadership: Exceptional leadership for exceptional times. Synthesis Paper www.virtualstaffcollege.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/ VSC_Synthesis_complete.pdf The Revolution will be Improvised http://www.localleadership.gov.uk/ docs/Revolution%20will%20be%20improvised%20publication%20v3.pdf More information about systems leadership and the systems leadership programmes, can be found at www.localleadership.gov.uk. Details of how to apply for funding for new Systems Leadership – Local Vision projects can be found at www.localleadership.gov.uk/ place/lvinvitation/ Debbie Sorkin is National Director of Systems Leadership at the Leadership Centre. Email: debbie.Sorkin@localleadership.gov.uk

THE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH CARE, HEALTH AND SUPPORT

Building bridges: Housing and health partnership to tackle alcohol misuse As part of the strategic partnership between National Housing Federation and Public Health England, Lynne Livsey of NHF and Alex Fleming of PHE discuss the role of housing organisations in meeting needs around alcohol misuse. Well-managed, suitable housing promotes wellbeing, while poorly managed, insecure housing or homelessness damages people’s health. This was the key message in Michael Marmot’s seminal report Fair Society, Healthy Lives. Marmot urges collaboration between governments, the third sector and markets to tackle the differences in housing conditions to address health inequalities. Now, NHS England and CCGs are legally required to improve the health of the poorest, the fastest. The time is right to promote active collaboration between housing and health. This paper will explore how to move away from treating health and housing as separate islands, with different funding, and commissioning arrangements, language and explore, using ‘alcohol misuse’ as a case study.

08 bulletin

2014 No.5

Alcohol is an everyday part of British life; but our drinking habits and cheap booze cost us dearly. Alcohol is the second leading cause of premature death after tobacco1, with an estimated cost to the national economy of £21 billion each year. Alcohol is linked to more than a million hospital admissions annually; 47% of violent crime2; 39% of domestic violence incidents3, and an estimated 2.5 million children are living in households affected by adults’ hazardous drinking4. Housing organisations deals with alcohol related operational problems on a daily basis, including anti-social behaviour, property neglect and rent arrears, as well as increasing support needs to address domestic violence and safeguarding. Housing providers, serving the most disadvantaged communities are disproportionately affected by the increasing problems in health and

wellbeing, literally from cradle to grave.

Alcohol: the housing and health response Reducing alcohol related harm is a high priority for public health and we believe the housing workforce plays a key role in delivering interventions and preventing harm to people and communities. Many housing associations are already using their neighbourhood presence and facilities to reach population groups at risk of alcohol related harm. In Middlesbrough, Thirteen Housing Group is establishing a network of community hubs to offer a range of information and health promotion activities, including breakfast and lunch

www.sitra.org

clubs for people who may not be eating properly because of problems with debt and substance misuse. These community based activities provide safe environments for people in recovery, and their families, offering access to structured, specialist help and advice, as well as routes into volunteering and training, and in some cases apprenticeships and employment. Gentoo in Sunderland have specially trained outreach workers to support people at risk of losing their homes because of alcohol and drug dependency. St. Vincent’s housing association provide a pregnancy support project in Bolton that links expectant mothers to appropriate sources of help and support where substance misuse is an issue.

Key messages for housing 1. Engage with Public Health and build awareness of housing’s health offer Housing and housing support providers in every local authority area should strategically engage with health partners via Health and Wellbeing Boards to ensure their contribution to public health plans around alcohol are recognised and fully integrated. The ideal time for this is when the boards are assessing their needs and priorities for the year(s) ahead and are preparing their Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies. Providers should engage with existing data around substance misuse and use this evidence to plan and deliver their interventions in conjunction with public health and local treatment teams. We advise not to assume prior knowledge of your services and accommodation and frame your offer in a language that chimes with local public health

priorities. For example, you can demonstrate how risky drinking behaviours among your clients are reduced and to what extent the repeated A&E visits are prevented.

2. Addressing health and wellbeing in the housing workforce Providers can design and deliver effective workforce health and wellbeing strategies for staff as well as clients. Evidence shows that, when organisations improve their working environments by organising work in ways that promote health and wellbeing, all adverse health-related outcomes, including absence and injuries, decrease. There is a strong business case for creating a healthy workplace5 and it shows your organisation’s commitment to health and wellbeing.

3. Mobilise the housing workforce Neighbourhood management and housing support teams provide a strong position to identify people experiencing problems with alcohol misuse. Training front-line housing staff to deliver ‘Identification and Brief Advice’ (IBA) can make a difference. IBAs are brief interventions which typically involve: Identification: using a validated screening tool to identify ‘risky’ drinking Brief Advice: the delivery of short, structured ‘brief advice’ aimed at encouraging risky drinkers to reduce their consumption to lower risk levels

IBAs are a very well-evidenced prevention approach, designed to help at-risk drinkers make an informed choice about their drinking. They can be initiated by front-line housing workers opportunistically, i.e. as part of a general discussion on health and wellbeing, rather than a specific suspicion of heavy drinking. IBA’s are cheap, effective, simple and quick to deliver (5-10 minutes). Research shows that competently delivered IBA’s lead to at least 1 in 8 ‘at-risk’ drinkers reducing their alcohol consumption to lower-risk levels. Helping to reduce weekly drinking by between 13% and 34%. Even a reduction from 50 to 42 units of alcohol (the equivalent to 14 pints of strong beer, or 14 large glasses of wine) per week reduces the relative risk of alcohol-related illness by some 14%. Front-line housing staff can also support alcohol dependent clients to access appropriate help and advice, and thereby potentially help make a significant difference to their health outcomes. It is important they are well supported and confident to make this offer. Screening and referral protocols should be in place between housing and treatment services, with appropriate support provided by local alcohol services. There are easy to follow e-learning packages freely available to help train your staff to deliver IBA (see Alcohol Learning Centre’s Alcohol IBA e-Learning course http:// www.alcohollearningcentre.org.uk/ eLearning/IBA/); and local alcohol treatment services and public health teams may be able to offer practical support.

Department of Health, Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report, 2011. Chapter 3: risk factors, published in November 2012: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/141774/CMO_Annual_Report_2011_ Chapter_3.pdf. According to the 2011/12 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), victims believed the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol in around half (47%) of all violent incidents, or 917,000 offences. www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_298904.pdf Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer. Surveillance Volume, 2012 On the State of the Public’s Health https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/298297/cmo-report-2012.pdf 2.6 million children in the UK are estimated to be living with parents who are drinking hazardously and 705,000 living with dependent drinkers. Ref: Manning, V et al (2009) New estimates of the number of children living with substance misusing parents: results from UK national household surveys BMC Public Health 2009, 9:377 Faculty of Public Health and the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (2006) A guide for occupational safety and health professionals and employers

THE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH CARE, HEALTH AND SUPPORT

lives – we shouldn’t expect them to adopt the same level of use as others. Services can often be pushed on older people without actually having a conversation and testing what works. Quite a patronising approach really, symptomatic of a wider problem with ageism in our society.

Active online: Digital inclusion for older people Helen Rowe, Research and Innovation Lead at Viridian Housing, and Kelly Klein, CEO of Student@Home, talk digital inclusion: the importance of pilot schemes, and using technology to tackle social isolation, illiteracy and undiagnosed dementia. Helen Rowe, Viridian Housing Back in 2012, we did a survey of our residents and found that 40% of them weren’t online. Most of these residents were over 50, and at the time there was quite a lot of ageism surrounding technology; an assumption that older people wouldn’t be able to use or understand devices like tablets. We didn’t believe this, so decided to do a digital training pilot called Active Online, free one-to-one sessions for tenants at the age of 50+. The project was piloted in Barnet, local volunteers from Age UK carried out group sessions, and in Wandsworth, Student@Home did one-to-one tuition. We found that, for us, Student@Home’s approach worked best. The students they employ specialise in computer science and are trained in teaching, so we know

10 bulletin

2014 No.5

the quality of tuition will be consistently high. Also, our widelydispersed stock means that organising and scaling group sessions just isn’t viable.

Using the internet also kept the residents’ minds active, which linked directly with our concerns about undiagnosed dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society reports that one in three people over 65 will develop dementia; only 43% of people with dementia currently have a diagnosis; and a third of people with dementia live alone. We wanted to find a way to speed up the process of flagging the warning signs. I went to Kelly at Student@Home and talked it through. She came up with the Indicator App, a mobile app for IT trainers visiting residents to report signs of things like early onset dementia, loneliness and poor living conditions. Because our housing officers deal with large housing patches, if a resident pays rent on time and doesn’t display anti-social behaviour, we may not know that they need extra support. Our housing officers gave input on

This was important, because often there’s a feeling that if people don’t use the internet every day, training has failed somehow. But technology should be a helpful addition to older people’s The residents were given free tablets, free Wi-fi and several training sessions, and they loved it. We discovered things we hadn’t expected. For example, older residents simply wanted the peace of mind of knowing that, if they were ill or the weather was cold, they could get their groceries online.

www.sitra.org

which measures of wellbeing they thought should be included: anxiety, depression, difficulty finding words or staying focused, disorientation and delusion, irritability and mood swings, fearfulness and memory loss. The Indicator App gives us a way to support those who might otherwise be suffering quietly with emotional, mental or physical problems. Another thing to come from the pilot is tackling illiteracy. We found that some of our residents can’t read: people in their 50s and 60s, who perhaps left school at 15, at a time when things like dyslexia weren’t understood. And of course, you can’t teach someone to use the internet if they can’t read. So we’ve launched a programme with one-to-one literacy training followed by one-to-one internet training. Our CEO had lovely feedback from one resident’s carer: the impact the training has had on her brother, his outlook on the world, feeling included – the change can be dramatic. Our social impact agenda began a few years ago. We decided that we didn’t just want to be a landlord, we wanted to enhance the lives of our residents; and Active Online is a key part of this. Since the Student@Home pilot, we’ve developed several new projects. This summer we’re starting to research the impact of digital inclusion on residents living with dementia and disabilities. We’ll also be running an employment-focused pilot, for residents under 55 who’ll be impacted by Universal Credit and welfare reforms. And I’ve been chairing the Connected Housing Initiative, which aims to find affordable internet solutions for everyone in social housing, irrespective of income.

Kelly Klein, Student@Home Viridian was one of the first housing associations we partnered with. Since Active Online, we’ve

worked closely with Helen and her team to help them achieve their digital inclusion goals. We employ students from universities across London to train people in IT skills. A part-time job with us offers students a good salary, flexible hours in their local area and valuable work experience. The students benefit from improved communication skills, and the residents enjoy the social aspect of meeting younger people. We’re also helping to reduce the 14% unemployment rate among computer science graduates. An important outcome of the Viridian pilot was how much more in touch people felt with the world around them. One of the training centres was just 500m from some residents’ homes, and they had no idea. Viridian wouldn’t have known this had they not done the pilot, and I think that’s their strong point – that they’re prepared to take chances and innovate. Many residents hadn’t realised that the internet offers so much for free. They loved Skype, and Viridian has found it really helpful in reducing social isolation. One Italian resident talked about using Google

Earth, how he was able to zoom in and see the olive trees his late father had planted. Another talked about how she uses Skype to keep in touch with her family in Greece. In January we were commissioned to scale up the project: to provide nine hours of one-to-one training for 300 residents, using Samsung Galaxy tablets with 4G and our Indicator App. Many residents are buying their own devices, which is the best outcome we could’ve hoped for. We offer all kinds of services to help housing associations develop and deliver their digital inclusion strategies. As well as training and apps, we provide skills assessment, low-cost refurbished PCs, repair services, educational materials, website building, plus project management and evaluation tools. The Indicator App has proved particularly popular, and we’re now rolling it out to other clients. We were thrilled when Viridian’s Active Online won a TPAS Southern award for Excellence in Digital Engagement. We’re excited to continue our partnership, and to share what we’ve learned with the UK’s housing sector.

Results from Active Online Pilot

76%

61%

75%

of residents found of residents felt more of residents rated the their tablet easy in touch with the organisation of their to use world around them training as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’

80% of residents rated their new skills ‘invaluable’

THE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH CARE, HEALTH AND SUPPORT

Beyond four walls: Improving older people’s health Martin Mellors, Head of Supported Housing at GreenSquare Group, discusses how adjustments to job roles in older people’s services can improve health and wellbeing. At GreenSquare, around 1,000 of our 11,000 properties in Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire have been developed specifically for older people. We provide a range of ‘Supporting People’ services, supported housing schemes and floating community support. Following funding cuts, we looked at ways we could offer more tailored services to elderly people and make the most of our facilities. Our solution was to create two new roles, with only a very modest increase in residents’ service charges; GreenSquare paid additional costs. Community Officers manage properties and facilities, tenant engagement and behaviour, benefit issues, and home adaptations. Crucially, they also focus on developing community spirit through residents’ groups, digital inclusion and keep-fit classes, talks from police and social care professionals and fun day trips.

Community Officer Lyn Allen gives an example of helping a resident be independent. ‘Mr D has a brain tumour and . . . lives alone and his treatment is likely to cause epileptic seizures. After speaking with Mr D’s support worker and his Macmillan nurse, I advised Mr D’s son that there are Telecare monitors that could assist and provide peace of mind. I also recommended the installation of an Epilepsy monitor for his bed and a Passive Infra Red Movement Monitor. . . The equipment has now been installed and has enabled Mr D to remain independent in his home.”

This project shows that by decreasing social isolation, providing practical help and creating an environment of mutual support, significant improvements can be made to residents’ overall well-being.

Our forum for representatives from each scheme to discuss issues with Community Officers has been reinvigorated. They now address improving community life, rather than only maintenance issues.

Resident satisfaction has increased, particularly with the housekeepers who have caught a number of health issues in their early stages, enabling residents to stay in their homes longer.

We work more with other organisations, providing services to our residents and the wider community. For instance, we run a popular ‘memory café’ with Memory Clubs UK, suggested by a forum representative.

“

I used to stare at four walls every day; there was never anything worth leaving my flat for. Now we’ve made links with our neighbours at William Morris Court and it feels like a real community. I want Meadowbrook to be in that shiny magazine you send round 3 times a year; it never has been, but now there’s stuff to be proud of and it’s all because of Shim . . . Since she’s been with us it has been a joy to live here. 12 bulletin

”

2014 No.5

www.sitra.org

us what they like and prefer, their immediate social network of friends and family can help us establish how to deliver the best support for them’. We observed that engaging community support also enables clients to get in the driving seat and steer the service according to their wishes and expectations.

One-page profiles in Casa Support Sitra’s intern Luke Smith shares key learning from his visit to Casa Support that have been using one-page profiles as part of their personalised support offer. As the first stage of Sitra and Helen Sanderson Associates joint campaign to establish one-page profiles came to close, we are pleased to have found ten thousand profiles are already in use in the housing sector. Our campaign has helped to bring many examples of good practice in personalising the offer of support, breaking down barriers between clients and staff, facilitating effective communication and bringing cultural change in our sector. During our campaign, we visited our members that have established one-page profiles to improve communication among staff and clients and deliver personalised support. Among these, our visit to Casa Support remained exceptional as we have seen both staff and client profiles in action. In Casa, staff profiles are seen as an opportunity for clients to choose their support staff, based on their aspirations and interests, as well as

an opportunity to initiate conversations during sessions. Staff we have met on the day commented ‘one-page profiles enable us to showcase what is important to us as support workers, and assure clients that we are able to support them in a way that would suit their needs and expectations’. One client, who uses learning disability services, also commented ‘knowing a little bit about my support worker really helped ease my mind, I was able to relate to her and knew she could relate to me. We both have children of similar age; we have something in common.’ One-page profiles were often interpreted as a window of opportunity to initiate conversations, and in cases where this communication is limited as means to understand clients’ preferences. One member of staff working with individuals with learning and communication difficulties, commented ‘when clients are not able or willing to tell

In other cases, one-page profiles was seen as a testament , or a willThis was particularly the case in a sheltered scheme we had visited. Margaret, a delightful woman in her late seventies, told us how: ‘Last year, I needed to be hospitalised due to a fall. But when it was time for me to leave the hospital, they didn’t let me. They asked me all sorts of questions: What year do we live in? Who is the Prime Minister? I was puzzled at first, but then understood that I was mistaken for my sister, who was diagnosed with dementia at the same hospital. I was nearly spending Christmas in hospital by mistake!’ Margaret then decided she would like to make sure to write her one-page profile to share with NHS and any other service she might require, to avoid complications. In her conversations with the support worker, she told about experiences as an evacuee during the War, lifetime of work as a family nurse and this in return strengthened the bond between them. Her support worker commented ‘the value of having one-page profile is that I got to know her for what she has experienced and who she is. I love learning from her stories’

Thinking of dipping your toe in the water of one-page profiles or making a big splash by introducing them throughout your organisation? HSA & Sitra are continuing to work together to help you take this forward. We can offer fun, packaged interactive days, for your board, SMT, staff and/or clients to help you take this forward. Want to find out more? Contact danic@sitra.org

THE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH CARE, HEALTH AND SUPPORT

Live Case Studies Sitra’s Stephanie Hill discusses ‘Live Case Studies’, a fresh approach to training which enables participants to learn through illustration and experience.

It is a late summer’s afternoon in a bustling auditorium in East London. Sitra Members gather to enjoy networking over coffee and cake; the room is alive with news-sharing and the sound of people making new connections. Slowly attention turns to a discussion happening in the middle of the hall. The room starts to quieten as we hear a woman explain her frustrations about a housing issue: she has come home to find that she has been denied access to her property due to rent arrears. The man tries to pacify her, explaining the reasons why. We all look on as the woman raises her voice asking him where he expects her to go with her three children. As the conversation spins out of control, a chair is thrown across the room. With relief, we realise that this is in fact a drama to induce learning. The tenant is Sitra’s Bo Garret, a co-trainer with a lived experience of being both a victim and perpetrator of violent behaviour. The housing officer is in fact, Sitra’s trainer Gifford Sutherland. The situation which we’ve all just witnessed is the introduction to Sitra’s new training: Live Case Studies. Live Case Studies bring a new approach to training which enables participants to learn through

14 bulletin

2014 No.5

illustration and experience. These courses are co-delivered by a Sitra trainer with sector expertise and a co-trainer who has been a service user and is specially trained in using a range of drama techniques to communicate their experiences. Participants are immersed in this training ‘experience’ which explores a topic area from multiple perspectives. Interactive and engaging drama techniques are combined with a range of innovative participatory and reflective learning activities to bring courses that accommodate every learning preference. At the launch, Bo and Gifford took participants on a learning journey which focused around Dealing with Challenging Behaviour. Drama simulations allow a window into the multi-dimensions at play; these are then explored through activities which allowed participants to question both Bo and Gifford further. Learners experience how Live Case Studies create an

environment where they can watch, learn, question and practice skills and techniques in a way that differs from any other training they’ve been on. As Vic Rayner suggests, ‘This new approach is ground-breaking in terms of building staff resilience through capacity development in the training room’. This approach received an ‘excellent’ response from all who joined Sitra at the launch and we are receiving a promising volume of interest from our members already. It’s an approach which can be applied to any one of a number of courses we already offer and for a very reasonable cost. So, if you and your team are considering how to approach upcoming training needs, and want to really get the attention of your learners, call one of our team today to discuss using a Live Case Study course on 020 7793 4710.

‘Great pace, time flew, really useful and learnt really useful things to take away from it’ Scott Summers, Skills Farm ‘Amazing, interesting concept that I’ll definitely use again’ Kelly, Sign Posts ‘A really interesting approach which brings real life perspectives of the issues into the training room’ Perry Seymour

www.sitra.org

When is an old tenancy new?

Sitra’s Roselee Molloy answers members’ questions about actions to follow when a fixed term tenancy lapses into a statutory periodic tenancy.

In privately rented accommodation, the requirement to register a tenancy deposit has been in place since 2007 and has become a firm fixture in the mountain of paperwork that accompanies the start of a tenancy. But what happens to that deposit when a fixed term tenancy lapses into a statutory periodic tenancy? We now have a clear answer from the court – the deposit “rolls-over” to the new statutory tenancy and the landlord must serve the prescribed information (PI) to the tenant within 30 days of commencement of that tenancy. Failure to serve the prescribed information within 30 days can result in (1) repayment of the deposit to the tenant, (2) a penalty of up to 3 times the value of the deposit to be paid by the landlord to the tenant, and (3) nullification of a Section 21 notice. Last year’s Court of Appeal case Superstrike v Rodrigues [2013] EWCA Civ 669 dealt with an assured shorthold tenancy that had originated prior to April 2007 but lapsed into a statutory periodic tenancy in January 2008. In that case, the Court of Appeal ruled that a new tenancy was made and a

new deposit was deemed to have been received, thus triggering the requirement for the PI to be served. In May 2014 the unpublished case of Gardiner v McCusker has confirmed what many suspected: all statutory periodic tenancies are new tenancies and require landlords to serve the prescribed information on the tenant. Failure to do so can cost the landlord both in terms of penalties to the tenant and the inability to use a Section 21 notice.

What does this mean for tenants? Tenants facing eviction based on a Section 21 notice should be aware of the possibility of this defence.

What does this mean for landlords? While it appears that Parliament is seeking to amend the tenancy deposit legislation to remove the requirement to re-register and address new prescribed information when a tenancy lapses into a statutory periodic tenancy, that fix is still some time away.

For upcoming changes in tenancy, landlords should make sure that there are procedures in place to issue their tenants the PI within 30 days of the statutory periodic tenancy arising. For tenancies which have already lapsed into a statutory periodic tenancy, landlords should seek legal advice and consider their options on whether or to do nothing, issue the PI now, or selectively issue the PI if they are seeking to use a Section 21 notice. Please note that tenants have a cause of action regarding the penalty for non-service or late service of the PI whether or not there is a Section 21 claim.

Disclaimer The information and any commentary on the law contained on this article is provided free of charge for information purposes only. Every reasonable effort is made to make the information and commentary accurate and up to date, but no responsibility for its accuracy and correctness, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by Sitra. The information and commentary does not, and is not intended to, amount to legal advice to any person on a specific case or matter. You are strongly advised to obtain specific, personal advice from a lawyer about your case or matter and not to rely on the information or comments on this site.

THE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH CARE, HEALTH AND SUPPORT

Commissioning for choice and control Sitra’s Burcu Borysik reports from the recent scoping study looking into current strategies and practices in commissioning personalised housing related support. There is a plethora of evidence for the potential of personalisation to improve practices of safeguarding1, promote inclusiveness2 and equal opportunities within services3 and enable citizens to shape services in ways that are meaningful and valuable to them4. But in an environment of reducing budgets and rising demand, do housing support commissioners still see principles and practices of personalisation applicable to the services they commission? What is the influence of social care and health markets in shaping the thinking around personalisation? And are these dynamics likely to change? These were the questions we were seeking to answer in our recent study, assigned by Department of Communities and Local Government. Earlier this year, we carried out 73 indepth semi-structured interviews with commissioners of housing support across the country. We achieved a reasonable geographical spread and included a mix of unitary and two tier authorities.

Findings Key principles of personalisation The majority of commissioners viewed personalisation as not only relevant but critical to housing support, and argued that services designed and delivered in accordance with service users’ needs, strengths and preferences, yield sustainable positive outcomes. Commissioners have moved away from reducing personalisation to Personal Budgets,

16 bulletin

2014 No.5

instead see the agenda as encompassing a range of models and approaches. Personalised service delivery models Our study highlights a patchy distribution of procurement and tendering practices that promote personalised service delivery models. Commissioners who have previously taken part in the sector wide personalisation networking events are more familiar with the possible provision and often more likely to agree to new models piloted in their locality. Commissioners who were less familiar with models/activities expressed a keen interest in finding out more. Clearly, regional or national conversations have been instrumental in developing good practice across our sector and there still is enthusiasm in our sector to work together to move this agenda forward. Service user voice and co-production In the majority of local areas, service user networks were at the provider level contributing to the lower end of decision making and engagement, e.g. day to day decisions at service user meetings, with less involvement in strategic shaping of services. Again, in all but a few local authorities, the lack of commissionerlevel service user network prevented strategic co-production of service development. We also found, despite considerable resources available, there remains confusion about the

term co-production, with many activities being wrongly described as such, when on closer examination they were in fact service user engagement in provider services. However, as many articles in our bulletin have highlighted, coproduction agenda is gathering significant momentum through the work of user led organisations and service providers – indeed, change may well be ‘bottom up’. Current or planned strategies to implement or further personalisation Our study demonstrates often it is the providers who take the lead in transforming services – but not all share the same initiative. Commissioners share the view that innovative and good practice could be encouraged by commissioning, tendering and contract monitoring mechanisms, and they seek joint working opportunities to develop and adopt new measures that will enable them to transform thinking into reality. The influence of social care and health markets in shaping thinking around personalisation Although a significant number of SP commissioners had been integrated or dispersed into Adult Social Care, there was no sense this move increased the personalisation of services. Whilst it was recognised that the agenda was further developed in Adult Social Care, there was a belief it centred on Personal Budgets and with this a concern that the monies for preventative services

www.sitra.org

would simply disappear. We believe that this is a missed opportunity to utilise the wealth of intelligence and learning that Adult Social Care has amassed, although recognising that this needs to be adapted to housing support to convince commissioners of its value. One key step to support this will be the forthcoming launch of ‘Making it Real for Housing with support’, which will highlight the connections. This will be under the banner of Think Local Act Personal (TLAP). Commissioners of housing support have not yet considered the opportunities to promote the role of preventative services, asset based approaches and co-production which underpin the implementation of the Care Act 2014. Opportunities to highlight the connection between the personalisation of housing support and this new legislation promoting choice will become clearer following the publishing of the implementation guidance. Commissioners’ plans for the future of personalisation In order to enter into medium and long terms goals, commissioners recognised that resources, not least ‘thinking time’, are required. In order to set and achieve objectives in this area commissioners need to combat the challenge of ‘cultural change’ within their authority, with providers and service users. Commissioners universally reported that lack of resources represented the greatest impediment to housing support personalisation – particularly to developing a long

term strategy. We think that the lack of opportunities, resources and time to share and acquire knowledge has had a profound impact on the housing support sector’s ability to respond to the personalisation agenda in a strategic and planned way. Commissioners also described their energy and attention is solely directed to sustaining some level of housing support activity. The reductions in staff numbers have also diminished the capacity for commissioners to lead, implement and monitor services

Next steps The study has demonstrated an overwhelming appreciation of underpinning the rationale and values personalisation agenda and its resonance for housing support services. Despite the hostile funding environment, some local authorities have been able to thrive and transform their services, by working closely and creatively with providers and users of services. However, there is still work to be done to facilitate cultural change and re-adopt resources to make personalisation a reality across the country. Housing support commissioners, like their colleagues in Adult Social Care, can recognise themselves as drivers of 1

2 3 4

the personalisation agenda and seek to work together to extend choice and control. Sitra remains committed to the personalisation agenda and we will continue to share best practice, identify opportunities for collaboration and support the development of vehicles available for its delivery. We believe Making It Real for Housing with Support will act as a mechanism to bridge the dialogue between Adult Social Care and Housing Related Support and create joint working opportunities on developing personalised services. The implementation of the Care Act 2014 and contribution of agencies such as Sitra, ADASS, LGA and TLAP will be critical in promoting the value of preventative services, identifying and acting on individuals’ assets and building community resilience. Sitra is also actively seeking to work with commissioners in developing contracting, tendering and monitoring systems to encourage personalised service delivery. Sitra can help commissioners set up and run service user networks to ensure service user voice is heard at the strategic level and codevelop services that are both effective and sensitive.

DH Consultation. A Safeguarding and Personalisation Framework. Retrieved from http://www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk/_library/Resources/Personalisation/SouthWest/ Safeguarding_and_Personalisation_Framework_revised_jan_2011.doc S.Bailey. Scrutiny Review of Safeguarding and Personalisation in Adult Social Care. Retrieved from http://www.stockport.gov.uk/2013/2996/41105/scrutinyreviewsafeandpersasc SCIE. Personalisation briefing: Implications of the Equality Act 2010. Retrieved from http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/ataglance/ataglance41.asp S.Duffy. Integration through Personalisation. Retrieved from http://www.centreforwelfarereform.org/ library/by-date/integration-through-personalisation1.html

THE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH CARE, HEALTH AND SUPPORT

Universal Credit

The announcement was so unexpected civil servants were unable to give any details of this national roll-out but it’s important to say all of the claims so far mentioned will be limited to the easier cases and be processed using the existing software. The new software that is supposed to be capable of dealing with any claim will start being tested on a small number but a wide range of cases in Sutton – perhaps just 150 cases and starting in November.

Clouds on the horizon

Sitra’s Geoffrey Ferres brings members up to date with the snails’ pace roll out of the Universal Credit. Perhaps unnoticed unless you operate in North West England, Universal Credit has slowly been expanding the number of Jobcentres and the range of claimants able to make new claims1. Until June 2014 Universal Credit could only be claimed by single, newly unemployed people whose claims presented the minimum of problems: claims were not even allowed from anyone who had a current Housing Benefit or Tax Credit claim.

Current position Universal Credit can now be claimed by newly unemployed people even if they have: A current Housing Benefit or Tax Credit claim Partners who also present the minimum of problems. To move onto Universal Credit both the claimant and any partner must be fit for and actively seeking work – the sort of cases where the alternative would have been a new claim for Jobseeker’s Allowance. New Universal Credit claims won’t be started for people who would otherwise have made a new claim for: Employment and Support Allowance – because the claimant may not be well enough to enter

18 bulletin

2014 No.5

paid work Income Support – because the claimant is either a full-time carer or a lone parent whose youngest child is below the age of five. But even unemployed people who walk into one of the Universal Credit Jobcentres won’t be allowed to start a Universal Credit claim unless they fit all the criteria listed in our Claimants Box.

Next steps By Christmas all 84 Jobcentres in North West England will be taking new claims for Universal Credit from this narrow range of claimants2. The Government says from 24 November 2014 six (as yet unnamed) Jobcentres in the North West will even start accepting new claims for Universal Credit from some newly unemployed people with dependent children or dependent older teenagers who are in non-advanced education or training.

The Government’s plans don’t include full roll-out of the benefit before April 2016 and the current Labour Opposition has pledged to “press the Pause button” on the roll-out of the new benefit if it wins the next General Election3. It has also been suggested that the Treasury is not willing to sign off the latest Business Case for the new benefit4. Commentators have warned that some of the gains originally linked to the new benefit have now been delivered without it including: Tighter conditions for jobseekers – via the Claimant Commitment Linking the Department – and soon Housing Benefit authorities – to up-to-date earnings information through “Real Time Information” from the PAYE system. So it’s now harder to justify the costs of the new benefit such as the elaborate IT system needed to do so many things at once – essential if it’s to replace all the Jobcentre benefits as well as the Tax Credits and Housing Benefit.

Implications And in a surprise announcement on 29 September 2014 Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said that in February 2015 Universal Credit claims will start being taken in Jobcentres outside North West England.

What should members therefore be doing? If you have not already done so, you should: Conduct a wholesale review of your approach to preventing and tackling rent arrears – unless all or

www.sitra.org

virtually all of your tenancies are either “specified accommodation” or for people of Pension Credit age Look at the wealth of learning and the many helpful suggestions in the National Housing Federation’s latest excellent report5. Ensure you have the right level of knowledge of Universal Credit in your staff teams – at Sitra we’ve included very short sessions on Universal Credit in all our standard benefit courses for the last couple of years, but we’ve also run fullday courses on Universal Credit for organisations that felt they needed to get to grips with the new benefit urgently. 1

An up-to-date list of Jobcentres accepting new claims for Universal Credit is available at: https://www.gov.uk/ jobcentres-where-you-can-claim-universal-credit Go live dates for the remaining Jobcentres in North West England are available at: http://nationalhousingfederation. newsweaver.com/qrclw8grledezizsc8jv2x?email=true&a=1 &p=47964208&t=22527335 First announced by Rachel Reeves MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in an interview with the Sunday Times published on 22 June 2014 Eventually revealed by Sir Bob Kerslake, Head of the Civil Service, when giving evidence to the Public Accounts Committee on 7 July 2014 National Housing Federation, Universal Credit One Year In: The experiences of housing associations available at: http://www.housing.org.uk/publications/browse/universalcredit-one-year-in-the-experiences-of-housing-associations/# sthash.49x8Ey3R.dpuf

Universal Credit claimants Claimants in the roll-out areas must: Be a British Citizen, who has lived in the United Kingdom for at least two years prior to the claim and has not left the United Kingdom for a continuous period of four weeks or more during that period Be aged between 18 and the current Pension Credit age Be resident in the specific locations Be available for work, or in low-paid work Have a National Insurance number Have a bank account that can handle standing orders and direct debits. Claimants in the roll-out areas must not: Have children – this rule will be amended for seven Jobcentres from November 2014 Be pregnant Be receiving Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment. Be responsible for providing care for someone with a physical or mental impairment Be in education or training Be in self-employment Be earning more than £330 per month (£270 for under 25s) Have capital above £6,000 Be homeless Be an owner-occupier Live in temporary accommodation Live in “specified accommodation”. These conditions can be found in the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2013 as amended subsequently.

Capita 8th National Supported Housing Conference

20% discou pecial Offer nt when yo u book with Does no t apply to co ncessionary rate; discount s cannot be

SITRA combined

Friday 21st November – Central London Chaired by Vic Rayner, Chief Executive, Sitra Our Supported Housing Conference is ideally timed to help you drive forward the provision of effective, sustainable and integrated housing support services. As the Care and Support Specialised housing fund enters its second phase of delivery, housing, health and care providers must find innovative ways to provide continuous security for vulnerable tenants. Bringing together Leading experts from housing associations, local authorities and health, this conference will examine the integration of streamlined support services to ensure your organisation is sufficiently prepared to deliver personalised, comprehensive and cost effective supported housing services. Expert speakers include: Keynote Address: Fiona MacGregor, Executive Director of Programmes, Homes and Communities Agency Kevin Belme, Group Director of Housing, Care and Support, One Housing Group Dominic Wright, Chief Executive Officer, NHS Guildford and Waverley CCG Mike Hay, Head of Quality and Transformation, Adult Social Care, Cambridgeshire County Council Gary Chwalko, Head of Service, Forum Housing Patrick O’Dwyer, Head of Mental Health Development, Look Ahead Care and Support Ruby Smith, Head of Personalisation, South Yorkshire Housing Association For more information: Visit: http://www.capitaconferences.co.uk/public-sector-conferences/housing/full-conference/article/supported-housing-conference-2.html?code=SITRA Download the brochure: http://www.capitaconferences.co.uk/pdfgen.html?filename=Supported_Housing_-_Nov_14.pdf&code=SITRA Contact: Andy Wills – andy.wills@capita.co.uk / 020 7960 7751 Follow us on Twitter @capitaconf #capitaconf

THE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH CARE, HEALTH AND SUPPORT

Dementia Leaders Programme for the Housing Sector This innovative new programme from Sitra, the Association of Dementia Studies (University of Worcester) and the Housing LIN is now coming to London

Strategic Leaders Course – £625.00 Nov 25th & 26th 2014 plus half day follow up 20th January 2015

BOOK NOW to avoid disappointment – Places are limited Delegates will gain An understanding of the role of person centred approaches to communication and the environment in dementia care and support Understanding and application of the enriched model of dementia and the VIPs tool, together with other tools to assist in leadership in dementia and organisational development An opportunity to set your organisation, services and developments in the context of national strategies and guidance Insight into developing best practice around housing and dementia – ‘what good looks like’ Tools to assist in leadership in dementia and project development These courses are a must for organisations serious about improving the way they support people living with dementia. For more information go to http://www.sitra.org/training/dementia-leadersprogramme-for-the-housing-sector-london/ or email danic@sitra.org