Sitra bulletin no 3 2014

www.sitra.org

bulletinTHE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH CARE, HEALTH AND SUPPORT 2014 – NO.3

The PrimaryCareCommunityLink Service

Peer Courts

VibrantCommunities

No More ThrowAway People

Older People’sStrategy

CommunityLink Service

Do we reallymake adifference?

expertise, training & consultancy inhousing with health, care & support

1095 Bulletin No.3 2014_Layout 1 06/05/2014 10:16

02 bulletin 2014 No.3 www.sitra.org

Contents03 CEO’s Comment

04 Vibrant Communities: Transforming services through creativity Chris Gage, Managing Director of Ladder to the Moon discusses how creative events help toachieve active, vibrant and personalized services.

06 Spice Time Credits: No More Throw Away PeopleDavid Russell, the Head of Health and Social Care at Spice, describes how they strive totransform public services and communities in the UK by building a system of TimeCredits.

08 Moving Towards an Older People’s Strategy Orbit Charitable Trust report from their research exploring options for joint work betweensocial housing providers and older people organisations to provide excellent in housingand care for the most vulnerable older people.

10 The Primary Care Community Link Service Joanne Pickard of the charity Porchlight, describes their new and exciting serviceworking alongside GP surgeries across Kent, that aim to reduce pressure on generalpractitioners by addressing low level mental health needs at home.

12 Do we really make a difference? John McFadyen, the Director of Support of Response Organisation, discusses how Sitraconsultancy helped to demonstrate the value of their intensive care services, beyond nationaland local targets.

14 Peer Courts: Restorative justice for young people by young peopleMark Walsch describes how his Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship in the USAhelped to transform criminal justice system at home.

16 A High Cost to Pay Senna Eswaralingam of Homeless Link’s discusses their recent research into the impactof benefit sanctions on homeless people.

18 Housing Benefit for supported housing: What you need to knowGeoffrey Ferres of Sitra and Sue Ramsden of National Housing Federation summarisethe changes introduced by the Housing Benefit and Universal Credit (SupportedHousing) Regulations 2014.

20 Sitra Training

Cover StoryThe Primary CareCommunity LinkService

ContributorsTo discuss advertising opportunities within the bulletin,please email [email protected] contact the editor please email [email protected] and queriesIf you have any comments, queries or suggestions, a letterfor publication or wish to submit a news story or articleplease contact us via one of the methods opposite.

Sitra OfficesLondon3rd Floor, 55 Bondway London SW8 1SJTelephone: 020 7793 4710Fax: 020 7793 4715BirminghamBVSC, 138 Digbeth, Birmingham B5 6DRTelephone: 0121 678 8891Email: [email protected] House, Mount Pleasant Road, Southampton SO14 0QBTelephone: 023 8023 0307Charity Reg No 290599 Company Reg No 1869208 ISSN 0956-6678Sitra is partly funded by DCLG.

Sitra StaffChief ExecutiveVic RaynerDeputy Chief ExecutiveLisa HarrisonPolicy OfficersGeoffrey FerresSue BaxterPolicy and Research Co-ordinatorsDani CohenBurcu BorysikRoselee MolloyBusiness Development Manager Tim Parkin (interim)

Contracts OfficersAnna RobertsonWendy GreenBusiness SupportLana LewisSarah Pink (Maternity leave)Georgina Gorton Head of Finance & Central ServicesBerihu MohammedEU Funding and Finance OfficerRay NaickerFinance AssistantAlison Quinn

Research AssistantsAlice CheatleGeni JohnsonStefania PapadopoulouOffice Co-ordinatorGill CottonCentral SupportMonica AntolinCommunication AssistantLuke SmithApprenticeSharelle Hunte

Health & Social Care Partnership, part of Sitraexpertise, training & consultancy inhousing with health, care & support

www.hscpartnership.org.uk

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03THE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH CARE, HEALTH AND SUPPORT

CEO’s Comment

Freshening up……..

Vic RaynerChief ExecutiveEmail: [email protected]

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

About Sitra

Sitra is a membership organisation championing excellence in housing, support and care.

Membership benefits include discounts on all services and events, access to free advice, an annual subscription to the bulletinand regular briefings on key policy developments in the sector. Sitra works with local and central government to ensure thatthe needs of its members are recognised, understood and met by resource providers. If you would like to join Sitra pleasecontact the Membership Administrator on 020 7793 4710 and ask for an application form, or download one fromwww.sitra.orgContent ©2013 SITR (Services) Ltd except where stated, All right reserved. All images © individual photographers & illustrators. Opinions expressed by individuals writers are not necessarilythose of Sitra or the magazine’s Editorial Team. E&OE. Design: Aquatint BSC 020 8947 8571 www.aquatint.co.uk

Following on from our #changemakers theme, this edition picks up on the issues ofrenewing and freshening up approaches to the delivery of housing with health, care and

support.

Fresh new ways of thinking about the critical work of the sector are helpful in terms ofopening up a dialogue with new commissioners of services, and with potential new

partners. Porchlight have been leading the way in joining up their work with the prioritiesand needs of health commissioners, and have given their floating support service what

could be viewed as a ‘brand overhaul’ – enabling them to demonstrate the importance andvalue of the work they do to both new commissioners and new users of their services.

This edition also provides insight to how a new look at an old concept – that of non financialexchange via Time Credits – offers a revolution in the way that organisations can think about

reward and remuneration strategies for service users. The inspiring Spice have built onEdgar Khan’s seminal work – No More Throw Away People – and breathed fresh life into

Time Credits – offering for the first time a UK wide platform for gaining and exchangingcredits. I love this idea, and Sitra are working with Spice to think about how we can take

forward this approach to broaden our training offering to a wider community audience.

However, the fresh faced Bulletin does not stop there! There are articles talking about newways of thinking about quality from the Centre for Housing and Support and new

approaches to working with Older People from Orbit Charitable Trust. Response, a mentalhealth charity based in Oxfordshire, reflects on the value of having a fresh pair of eyes

reviewing their services and Senna Eswarlalingham of Homeless Link gives an overview oftheir new research into the impact of benefit sanctions on homeless people.

Those of you who attended the Sitra conference will have been introduced to Ladder to theMoon, an inspiring training organisation, who brings creativity and innovation to transformservices through creativity. As part of our ongoing work in keeping our training offer fresh,

Sitra have formed an active partnership with Ladder to the Moon to encourageorganisations to try out this new approach with training and learning. In order to achievethis, we are offering a number of their courses which provide training to enable staff to

apply their creative approaches in their own settings. Check out our website for moredetails – and hope to see you there.

I hope that you will enjoy hearing from Mark Walsch – bringing learning from the US aboutthe development of Peer Courts – a welcome return to our focus on coproduction. Peer

courts are billed as restorative justice for young people by young people. The learning fromhis fellowship is influencing the development of an operational peer court model at

Hampshire Community Court.

Finally – this edition focuses on a fresh new bit of jargon to hit the sector – that of‘specified’ accommodation – and unpacks the terminology with a practical summary of the

changes. This coincides with a series of seminars being offered in partnership betweenSitra, Homeless Link, NHF and Women’s Aid – bringing our members up to speed.



At Ladder to the Moon, we provideworkforce and service developmentthat enables housing, health andcare organisations to develop active,vibrant, personalised services. Ourorganisational and workforcedevelopment services are deliveredby creative care professionals,trainers and coaches, with a focuson leadership, creativity andwellbeing.

At Sitra’s annual conference inMarch, we were delighted to reporton the success of our VibrantCommunities programme in housingsettings. The Vibrant Communitiesapproach uses creative communityevents as a training tool and acatalyst for change.

Creative events are powerfulbecause they create an experiencethat is about relationships, emotion

and possibility: there is nothing toget right or wrong. This is incontrast to a lot of task-focused,process-driven work that can bethe norm, and it creates a richlearning environment around long-term conditions. Because everyone(staff and tenants) has a great time,creative events enable everyone tosee each other with morepersonality and more dignity,deepen connection andcommunication, improve customersatisfaction and raise levels of staffengagement.

Case study: partnership,enablement, quality oflife

In 2013, Hanover HousingAssociation commissioned us to runa 2-month Vibrant Communities

programme in their Olive HouseExtra Care scheme (LBHammersmith and Fulham).Hanover staff in extra care -andincreasingly in retirement housing-have raised challenges in supportingthe wellbeing of tenants, especiallythose with dementia.

In response, we worked to:

Chris Gage, Managing Director of Ladder to the Moon discusses how creative events helpto achieve active, vibrant and personalised services.

Vibrant Communities:Transforming servicesthrough creativity

BuildBuild community andpartnership working

DevelopDevelop staff communicationand a culture of support andenablement

ImproveImprove the quality of lifefor isolated individuals,particularly those living withdementia



The Vibrant Communitiesprogramme supported staff andtenants to coproduce a creativecommunity event, using trainingand mentoring. The tenants andstaff decided to recreate the classicmusical The Sound of Music andthen premiere it with an Oscarsceremony.

Building community andpartnership working

The programme caused OliveHouse tenants, Hanover’s estatemanagement and the Housing 21care staff team to work moreclosely among themselves andwith the adjoining local authorityresource centre.

“There were lots of crossedboundaries where our normal areasof work joined together to do theevents and by doing that we werejoining our tenants and the daycentre and they were getting toknow each other and formingfriendships.”

Sue, Hanover, Estate Manager

Staff reported a better workingrelationship with increasedunderstanding of the roles,functions and approach of eachpartner organization and ofindividual members of staff.

“I’ve thought about how I requestthings and how I might beinterpreted.”

Lenka, LB Hammersmith andFulham, Support Worker

This resulted in increasedeffectiveness of joint working,increased ability to reflect andundertake joint problem solving andgreater mutual support, particularlyat former stress points such asmealtimes and events.

Improved quality of lifefor older people

“The tenants were a bit ’sit backand wait to be entertained’… nowthey are taking the lead andactually doing things.”Geraldine, Care Manager, Housing 21

Tenants and service users werevery engaged through the project.They supported the Ladder to theMoon team to meet other tenantswho did not leave their flats, andwere involved in making decisionsabout the film, singing, acting outscenes and making props, bringingtheir own creativity and ideas toeach opportunity. Tenants took partthat staff said did not usually takepart in anything, and there weresustained outcomes for particularisolated individuals.

Brenda’s experience

Until a recent illness, Brenda, whois living with dementia, had playedcentral role in Olive House,including showing prospectivetenants around. However, a periodof time in hospital had affected hermood. The Vibrant Communitiesprogramme helped change this.

“Brenda has not stopped talkingabout Ladder to the Moon. She hasdefinitely lightened, she’s a muchhappier lady. You only have to starta conversation with her about filmmaking and she will tell everyonehow much she enjoyed the event,especially sharing with her family:she is sending the movie toAustralia to her family.”


Brenda is now more confident anda member of the new TenantsCommittee.

“Since we did Ladder, we’veformed a tenant’s committee, whichI have been trying to encourage forprobably two years. People whogenerally wouldn’t be involved,including Brenda, are part of it.That’s been a real positive change.”


Brian’s experience

At first unsure, Brian took a leadingrole in the film shoot, recreating thelove scene between Maria andCaptain Von Trapp from the Soundof Music. Through the programmeBrian’s confidence grew and hebecame increasingly involved incommunity life.

“I didn’t think at first I would like it.But gradually as we progressed itbecame better, I’ve become better.My Oscar is in pride of place in myhouse. My carers talk to me aboutit and they are surprised aboutwhat we’ve done.”

Brian

“Brian, the programme reallychanged his life. He still has baddays but he can overcome themvery easily compared to before. Hepicks up the phone now, he speakswith his carers. He has spoken to hisfamily. He’s more involved with thecommunity, more involved at home,more involved in his own care ……going to the dentist, getting his haircut, going for a coffee.”

Phil, Support Worker

Sitra are delighted to be partnering with Vibrant Communities totrain staff deliver creative projects in their services. Our ActivityLeaders Course, for those with responsibility for activities or socialengagement, builds understanding of how creative approachesenhance wellbeing and relationship-centred care. It also equipsparticipants to involve and inspire their colleagues in providingmeaningful occupation and quality of life for the people theysupport.

Our Vibrant Service Leaders course brings together managers andsenior teams to explore creative approaches to leadership andwhole service development. Through coach input, reflection andpractical exercises, the day explores the opportunities for vibrancyin care settings and how creative leadership can access these.

For details visit www.sitra.org/training

To download the full Olive House project report and see video of the project, visit www.laddertothemoon.co.uk/Casestudies



It’s a two way street

This change is fostered using a toolcalled Time Credits: for each houryou give, you earn one Time Credit,which can then be spent on avariety of cultural, leisure andlearning opportunities. Forexample, Time credits can beearned by helping to run the dayservice one normally attends or bytaking part in facilitating a peersupport group.1 hour ofvolunteering equals to 1 TimeCredit, 2 hours for 2 Time Credits,and so forth. Then, that one Time

David Russell, the Head of Health and Social Care at Spice, describes how they striveto transform public services and communities in the UK by building a system of TimeCredits.

Currently public service provision inthe UK is struggling to meet thelong term needs of citizens and thisis particularly evident in the health,housing and care sectors. At Spicewe recognise that managing theneeds of a changing society willrequire significant changes to theexisting systems, and to the waythat individual citizens andcommunities engage withprofessionals, services andinstitutions.

Spice is working with communitiesand public services to redefinevalue and achieve meaningfulchange by empowering citizens.We work with partners in publicservices, charities, businesses andcommunity groups to encouragepeople to take a more active role intheir service and communities.

Credit could be used for swimmingat the local pool for an hour andtwo Time Credits can be used towatch a film at the cinema. Yougive an hour, you get an hour. TimeCredits are a social currency thatvalues everyone’s time equally.

This simple transaction hasthe potential the transform thehousing, support and care byrecognising the skills and abilitiesof those usually seen as passiverecipients. Further to this, spendactivities can open up a world ofnew experiences from heritage, to

Spice Time Credits:

No More ThrowAway People

Time Credits are a social currency forcommunities based on the principles ofcoproduction.“

”



adult learning, theatre, sport,leisure and trips fostering newrelationships and building onambitions and choices.

Involving the many

Time Credits excite and reengagethose already involved but cruciallyalso attract new people to beinginvolved. In fact over 51% consistof people who had either nevervolunteered or not volunteeredregularly before Time Credits wereintroduced. Everyone’s time isequal and all skills and abilities arevalued in the system. Once TimeCredits are introduced we oftenhear that the challenge in servicesis how to capitalise on people’sdesire to contribute and give time.We view this as a fantasticopportunity to coproduce newactivities, groups and systems builtaround people’s assets, ambitionsand choices. This requiresmanagers and staff to work in newways and to think differently about‘users’ and to engage with thewider community. We have a rangeof bespoke training and supportpackages for organisations to makethis shift in skills and approach.

Time Credits, if integrated intoservice planning and objectives,have the potential to shiftentrenched cultures, encouragewidespread and flexible pathwaysto involvement, and open up arange of community activities forpeople to enjoy and share withfamily and friends.

The impact doesn’t stop there:64% of participants in Spiceprojects report an improved qualityof life, 49% feel more confidentand 52% can afford to do newthings. Organisations too feelthe difference with 75% ofparticipating organisations reportinga positive impact on theirobjectives within six months.

From Local Authorities, Health andSocial Care providers, HousingProviders and Schools right throughto small community groups, thereis a shared sense that Time Creditshave allowed them to do things

they never would have been ableto achieve without them. One ofour Council partners captured themood when he said: “We’vecertainly engaged far more people

Peter’s StoryPeter is from King’s Lynn and volunteers at the WestNorfolk Community Bank (part of the Norfolk CreditUnion) as part of the West Norfolk Time Creditsprogramme. Following periods of depression and abreakdown Peter lost his job and spent time in prison andended up being homeless following release. He wasinvited to volunteer when he went to join the credit unionwhile a tenant of Genesis Housing Association locally.This is his story:

“I had lots of skills that were going to waste. I needed tobe with people, and I wasn’t having any contact withthem. The Credit Union couldn’t exist without volunteers,so to be able to say thanks is a really good thing. It’ssaying, ‘we appreciate your time, so we’ve joined thisscheme.

I would still be in that place if I hadn’t started to volunteer.It gave me something to feel valued about. Volunteeringis a good way to challenge yourself, to change yoursituation.

It adds another side to volunteering – it supports thatsocial and networking side of it that you don’t usually getoutside of a workplace. It gives volunteering an addeddimension…it makes it a richer experience.

It’s opened up new opportunities to me. I do things now Iwouldn’t have done otherwise, like going to the gymregularly, because I wouldn’t have been able to afford it.It’s opened up social avenues – I’ve now got a group of‘nodding acquaintances’ at the gym, which helps you toanchor yourself, to anchor your place in society, and yoursense of identity.

“It’s had an impact on both sides. I’ve also been able tothank people who are helping me out [through giftingTime Credits to friends and family]. It’s nice to be able togive things to people and Time Credits have enabled meto do that. I’m giving my family show tickets booked withTime Credits for Christmas, and without that I wouldn’thave been able to give them anything…I’m going to takemy son to watch a football match – I remember doing thesame thing with my dad at about that age.”

through time credits moreproductively than was ever thecase through schemes thatattracted much more funding andmuch more profile”.

You can download e-learningtools from Sitra’s 2014Conference ‘Change Makers’,including the joint Spice andLook Ahead Presentation onour website: http://bit.ly/Sitra2014



Orbit Charitable Trust report from their research exploring options for joint workbetween social housing providers and older people organisations to provide excellencein housing and care for the most vulnerable older people.

In late 2010, Orbit Charitable Trust,an independent charity working toimprove the quality of life of olderpeople, engaged RiseboroughResearch & Consultancy Associatesto carry out a research project called“Housing and care for the mostvulnerable older people: what cansocial housing providers and olderpeople organisations do together?”The work consisted of a programmeof research and policy work usingthe format of ‘Inquiry’ and giving it awide appeal. We investigated theneeds of older people withdementia; mental illness andselected health related problemsand the different ways in whichorganisations could join forces torespond to those needs.

The findings provided detailedinsights into the roles social housingproviders could play in shaping anddelivering future services. One ofthe key outcomes was to show howorganisations can change their waysof delivering service by putting thecustomer at the heart throughperson centred working.

However, we saw the outcomes asthe beginning, not the end of thestory and, in conjunction with OrbitGroup, embarked on a follow-up

project which aims to provide supportto smaller and non-specialist housingassociations to help them developeffective services for older tenants,particularly those suffering fromdementia, to have a better quality oflife living in their own home.

The starting point was a nationalsurvey, for which we received 88replies from the 294 organisationsemailed, a response rate of 30%.The survey showed that a majorityof respondents do not have an OlderPeople’s Strategy and, worryingly,59% of those without a Strategy didnot intend to draw one up. Of evengreater concern, only 8% of allrespondents have a DementiaStrategy in place.

A number of those who respondedsaid they would be willing to workwith us further, so we invitedpeople from eight associations toa leaning day at the end ofSeptember, attend by JeremyPorteus of the Housing LIN andEsther Watts of the Alzheimer'sSociety.

The write-up of the day wasincluded in our report published tocoincide with the Housing LINconference in February. The reporthas a checklist to establish whetheran organisation is dementia friendlyand a quick guide to developing astrategy. It also sets out how OrbitHeart of England is developing itsapproach and services.

Moving Towards anOlder People’s Strategy

Orbit are working with five associations to track how they changetheir approach to services to meet the needs of people with dementiaand will be publishing a follow-up report in the Autumn showing theirexperiences. It will also contain good practice papers covering:

➤ Training staff in helping people with dementia

➤ Designing dementia-friendly homes

➤ Exploring assistive technology

➤ Developing a dementia strategy

➤ Appointing a dementia champion

➤ Joining a local dementia action alliance

For more information please visit www.orbit-research.org.uk



The Centre for Housing and Support reports from theresearch looking into the future of quality standards toensure excellence in housing, support and care sector.

To mark the 20th year of The Centrefor Housing and Support (CHS), aresearch was commissioned todevelop the future of the longestablished Code of Practice withinthe current and developing housing,care and support sector. Among thekey considerations was the newcommissioning environment whichrequires taking a radical newapproach to accreditation. With therise in new service delivery models,such as consortia arrangements,integrated care and supportcontracting, non-traditional servicessuch as Family Intervention Projectsand non-regulated delivery under thepersonalisation agenda, it was clearthat the Code of Practice had someexciting challenges to face.

The research showed that a newapproach needed to:1. Be applicable to as wide a

potential market as possible;2. Be flexible enough to be used

(with some modification) by arange of service types;

3. Deliver multiple benefits: a. as a quality improvement toolb. as a repository for complex

data/evidencec. with the capability to submit

relevant data to regulatorsd. (ideally) support providers in

making tender or othersubmission to commissioners;

4. Be specific enough to gain thesupport and endorsement ofcommissioners and regulators,yet flexible enough to avoid theprovider needing to enterdata/evidence more than once;

5. Be robust enough to challengeand stretch providers withoutdiverting precious resourcesaway from service delivery;

6. Offer good value for money!

The new Code of Practice renamedThe Service Excellence Standardschanges the emphasis fromevaluating the quality of the inputsused in service delivery to assessingthe quality of the service by itsimpact or outcomes for itscustomers. The outcomes weredeveloped out of the research and inresponse to the specificrequirements of legislation andregulation in both support and socialcare. CHS undertook wide scaleconsultation on the Standardsacross provider, regulator andcommissioner groups.

The priority for the new Standards isstrengthening the customer voice inservice accreditation: CHS stronglybelieves that customers are theexperts in evaluating services,and that the blend of customerfeedback against the achievementof commissioner influencedoutcomes would offer the mostauthentic proof of service quality.

The new Standards also reflect thewide range of service delivery types,and successfully use the bestoutcome measures from supportand personal care, whilst providing aseparate set of Standards forintensive (or additional) housingmanagement.

The new Service ExcellenceStandards incorporate:� An achievement progression that

supports providers in continuouslyimproving services;

� A flexible set of standards that areapplicable to all delivery modelsand types of care and support,

including intensive housingmanagement, Family Interventionservices and registered andunregistered care services;

� Electronic evidence managementand assessment, encouragingproviders to be as creative aspossible in collecting real androbust information thatshowcases the quality ofservices;

� An annual review process that isfar less resource intensive thanthe old Code of Practice, whilstremaining thorough and robust.

CHS believes while accreditation isvery important, front line staffshould not be unnecessarily divertedfrom service delivery and intospending too much time onevidence gathering. Instead wepromote ‘Smarter Regulation’:� The new Service Excellence

Standards will accredit exactlywhat each service delivers, byusing a flexible set of outcomemeasures;

� Providers will collate evidence ofday-to-day practice, not produceinformation specifically for theaccreditation;

� We encourage providers to“recycle” evidence produced forother accreditation awards, whereit is relevant to the ServiceExcellence Standardsrequirements;

� The Assessor will collateevidence during visits to services.

We are currently speaking tocommissioners to pilot a jointaccreditation scheme to reduce theimpact on service delivery andresources.

The Standards continue to bemonitored and reviewed by aPractitioner Working Group,consisting of active representativesfrom a wide range of organisations,including large and small housingproviders, Local Authorities, HousingAssociations and customers.

For further information contactCHS on 01905 727272, [email protected] or visitwww.chs.ac.uk

The New ServiceExcellence Standards



Porchlight are working alongsideGPs in order to identify peoplewhose needs are better addressedbeyond the surgery and to makededicated support professionalsaccessible to them. It is ourconviction that intervention andsupport will result in a reduction inrepeat visits, and in turn will savemoney to public purse. Mostimportantly, PCCLS will beinstrumental in enabling individualsmove forward positively in theirlives, and therefore will createsignificant social value.

Whilst the value of comprehensivecare GPs provide for individuals isrecognised across stakeholders,the need to reduce the pressureson their resources is indisputable.

Joanne Pickard of the homelessness charity Porchlight, describes their new and excitingservice working alongside GP surgeries across Kent, that aim to reduce pressure ongeneral practitioners by addressing low level mental health needs at home.

The Primary Care Community LinkService (PCCLS) is a partnershipbetween Porchlight, Kent CountyCouncil and local GPs. The serviceaims to reduce pressure on GPs byenabling people to address lowlevel mental health issues,predominantly those ofcircumstantial needs, at home.The service covers all clinicalcommissioning areas in Kent.16 Porchlight staff, spread overthe region, will assist a largenumber of surgeries and individualsin the next two years. They willprovide support and advice in arange of areas including debt,housing, health, drug and alcoholissues, education, training andvolunteering, communityinvolvement and confidence.

Additionally, many individuals thatcannot be helped by a GP servicecontinue to make repeatappointments, and this is currentlyonly increasing the demand on theexisting resources whilst achievinglimited positive outcomes.

The PCCLS is a targeted responseto this: It focuses on reducingthose repeat visits by establishingthe often non-medical roots of theproblem. Porchlight staff workclosely with clients to establishwhat support they need to solvetheir problem, connecting themwhere necessary with furtherlonger-term support services, andworking with them to gainconfidence to address any futureissues.

The Primary CareCommunity Link Service



The service is completely free andcan last for up to 8 weeks. It is opento adults living in Kent who feel thattheir circumstances have affectedtheir mental health and well-being.Referral is mainly through GPs, butcan also be made directly to thecharity’s 24-hour helpline or by paperreferral form. Porchlight has also setup drop-ins across the county tofurther help people access theservice. Whilst the service is closelylinked to GPs and their surgeries,clients can be met wherever theyfeel comfortable – at the surgery, inthe community or in their own home.

From the first meeting, clients andtheir support worker work togetherto produce a focused personal

support plan, which includes a cleardescription of exiting the service, i.e.what will happen at the end of theireight-week programme. It is not theintention of the service to addresssignificant long-term needs, somuch as to prevent cases frombecoming more serious.

Many vulnerable people are often‘lost’ to support services after theirinitial referral. Although it has beenestablished they need furthersupport, many fail to fill in thecorrect forms. With no one serviceresponsible for the welfare of theclient exactly at the point when it ismost needed, vulnerable people canfall through the net. The PCCLS fillsthis gap through the short, sharp,intensive nature of the supportprovision. PCCLS liaise with otherservices to ensure that the right kindof support is arranged, that the firstappointment for the client has beenappropriately booked with a namedperson. That the is prepared and hasaccess to everything to get to theappointment, including support inperson if needed. The initialappointment is seen as anopportunity to build the client’sconfidence and to ensure the clientthereafter is confident andcomfortable enough to go to thenext one. Thereby, PCCLS ensuresthat support ‘sticks’.

Clearly the experience of short,focused support is already having apositive affect on those who use it.

One client said she felt ‘veryempowered by the support given,and now I can face challenges andcan deal better with confrontation.My confidence has increasedtenfold and I felt extremely wellsupported throughout. I’ve evenrecommended the service to afriend.’

Another demonstrated the breadthof the effect short intervention canmake: “The service has made mefeel better and given me hope andmore confidence. I’m calmer andless agitated when dealing withothers. This has made such adifference in my outlook when Ithink about my housing situation andmy relationship. The money Ireceived from the DLA has made adifference financially to me and mypartner, and relieved some of thepressure on us.”

The most cited feedback is thatclients wish they could be supportedfor longer than 8-weeks to achievemore. Early indications show thePCCLS support leaves them readyto engage, enthusiastic aboutmaking changes, and ready to moveforwards in their lives; evidence thatthe PCCLS is accomplishing what itset out to achieve. Kent CountyCouncil is backing the service andCCGs are ensuring GPs are fullyaware of its benefits. The future forthe PCCLS as a beacon forinnovation looks to be very bright –just what the doctor ordered.

Sitra can help health and social care organisations by• Anticipating and actively working on emerging priorities• Disseminating information, good practice and guidance • Acting across locality, regional, and organisational boundaries to

facilitate engagement, integration and coproduction• Providing two way communication between the Department of

Health and senior leaders giving access to key national learning andfeedback

• Leading, facilitating or supporting integrated projects and resolvingissues specifically commissioned by partners

• Providing bespoke support or acting as a critical friend for the designor implementation of policy or to accelerate progress.

To find out more, please email Dani Cohen [email protected]

The PCCLS is afantastic opportunity tohelp a wide range ofpeople with diverseproblems, to preventhomelessness and tosupport GPs in reducingtheir workload. Theservice benefits thecommunity; the tailoredsupport we give ensuresthe cost of socialproblems is reduced.There is a focus onmulti-agency work; wedo not want the PCCLSto replace otherservices but rather thatagencies can continueto thrive alongside thePCCLS.

Paul Easterbrook,Community ServiceManager

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Response Organisation is mentalhealth charity offering a broad rangeof housing and support servicesacross Oxfordshire and beyond,from independent houses/flats with‘floating’ support (provided by sisterorganisations) to 24-hour staffedprojects. We work in partnershipwith Oxfordshire Mind on somesupported housing schemes and wehave a close working relationshipwith the floating support providersand the pooled budget jointcommissioning manager.

Response’s intensive housing andsupport service delivers anaccommodation-based service withhigh levels of support to 79 peopleacross the three sites in Oxford.The service is funded through theSupported to Independent Livingpathway pooled fund, which has afunding mix of Supporting People,adult social care and NHS funding.

Earlier internal scrutiny suggestedhigh level of longer term needacross the intensive projects, whichcould result in unrealistic

expectations around the likelihoodand the speed of residents movinginto independent living. As aprovider who welcomes learningand development, we are keen toensure we meet local and nationaltargets and fulfil the residents’needs. We therefore commissionedSitra to assess the intensive housingwith support against both thenational mental health strategy andthe commissioning priorities withinOxfordshire. Furthermore, ourhousing with support services wereassessed against the SupportingPeople Quality AssessmentFramework (QAF) which takes anoutcomes-focused approach.

Methodology

Sitra has taken a three-prongedapproach to evaluation, whichinvolved resident surveys across thethree sites, interviews withstakeholders who inform thedecisions around NHS and adultsocial care commissioning formental health in Oxfordshire, andquantitative data analysis onresident outcomes.

Data analysis covered:� The Centre for Housing

Research (CHR), which collatesdata on residents at the pointsof entry to and exit from for allSupporting People (SP) fundedservices

� PSOCC, The ResponseOrganisation internal recordingsystem, which tracks residentssupport plans and providesquarterly monitoring data to thecommissioners

� Recovery Star outcomes, whichare for internal use by residentsand staff.

Findings: The service

Response’s intensive housingprojects provide an accommodation-based service to people with highmorbidity and high support needs;mainly schizophrenia and bipolardisorder with dual diagnosis agrowing feature of presentingdifficulties. Many of our residentshave lived in institutional care foryears with some requiring repeatedperiodic readmissions to acutemental hospital care.

John McFadyen, the Directorof Support at ResponseOrganisation, discusses how Sitraconsultancy helped todemonstrate the value of theirintensive care services, beyondnational and local targets.

Do we reallymake adifference?



The Response intensive servicehad been initially designated as ashort-term, accommodation-basedservice in the Supporting Peoplesense of a service where typicallyresidents would stay for no morethan two years. However, whencompared against national datasetsfor these services, this was clearlya case of mis-categorisation (SeeTable-1).

This also meant thatSupporting Peoplethroughput data had been

applied, in retrospect,inappropriately. Forexample, as RowanHouse had not beenSupporting Peoplefunded, there had been

no data available onits clients on the

basis of ‘moving on’. In factthe County Council’s Social CarePathways Team had assessed one-third of residents already as havingno prospect of this outcomes.

It was therefore little wonder theservice was struggling to achievethe higher throughput expected ofshort-term services, and for tworeasons:� Many of its clients did not fit

within the short-term categoryin the first place

� Even some of those wishing tomove on to more independentliving could not have accessedlong-term housing and supportservices in the community toenable that to be sustainable.

Findings: Resident survey

The most compelling outcome ofthis research was that there was ageneral consensus amongst allresidents interviewed of beingsatisfied with the service; with notone single negative score from theresidents’ assessments and withsatisfaction ranging from zero to+1.08 (on a scale of -2 to 2).This demonstrates a positiveappreciation of Response’s serviceacross all questions across allsites. This is an unusual result insatisfaction research and – whilstnever being complacent – one ofwhich Response should rightly beproud.

The most direct one was whetherResponse aided their recovery,which had an average score of 0.7,which is relatively high. Even higherthan this was the view that staffthat gave residents hope of gettingbetter to some degree (0.9).Furthermore, there was clearevidence that Response offeredopportunities to take responsibilityfor their health and wellbeing,helped and supported them tomanage their self-care, andsupported them to positively dealwith issues around identity andself-esteem. These provide a goodmatch to the national mental healthstrategic priorities of good mentalhealth and demonstrate a positiveexperience of care and support.

Findings: National strategy

Response has achieved goodresults from the data examined,which has been substantiatedthrough the results of the residentsurvey and were seen to beachieving against outcomes inmany key areas. Against thenational strategy the data onboth outcomes and satisfactionshows that Response is deliveringin all the areas of the nationalstrategy, with perhaps weakerevidence on stigma anddiscrimination. However, theresearch also suggests therewill be some room forimprovement in other areas;all scores from residents werepositive but were within therange of average to good, ratherthan good to excellent.

Findings: Local strategy

Results from the resident surveyand the data sets interrogated,again show Response delivering

against a number of targetswithin the local strategy, mostnotably, financial managementand physical health (acceptingthe small element of conflictingdata on this outcome), stablehousing (depending on themeasure used) and employmentand work-like activity, althoughnumbers are small; howevervariations across sites suggestthat there is a need to furtherconsider reasons for such sitebased variations.

Response Nationally

Economic status of long-term 100% 68%sick or disabled

Being Community Mental Health 100% 33%Team (CMHT) referrals

Being under the Care Programme 100% 18%Approach (self-defined)

Being under the Care Programme 100% 36%Approach (CMHT-defined)

Table 1: Mental health characteristics of Response intensive service

residents and Short term SP services nationally

Sitra consultancy usesa variety of methodsto demonstrateeconomic and socialvalue of the housingsupport services, andto make sure theservices benefit usersand meet localpriorities. For moreinformation, pleasecontact Wendy [email protected]



If I had to sign post the road of whatled me to WCMT’s door, I would saypeer pressure! Many peopleexperience peer pressure point intheir lives, seldom yielding topositive behaviour. Peer pressure isparticularly problematic when itinduces criminal behaviour. Thisbecame most apparent to me whilstworking as a city centre beat officerbased out of Portsmouth CentralPolice Station. I consulted youngpeople about the reasons why theyhad and have continued to commitcrime despite acknowledging theconsequences. One of the strikingfindings of that consultation was thatall of the young people stated ‘peerpressure’ as the leading factorinfluencing their behaviour.

If one were to review the criminaljustice process for young people atthe early stages offending, it wouldbe apparent that young people arefinding it difficult to build rapportwith people they deal with, simplybecause they cannot relate to them.We all value the opinions of people

Mark Walsh, describes how his Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship in the USAhelped to transform criminal justice system at home.

For almost 50 years now theWinston Churchill Memorial Trusthave funded 1000 Churchill Fellowsto travel the world to gain knowledgeand skills to benefit theircommunities back in the UK. Thefellows are from all walks of life andinclude a variety of projects thatbenefit young people, working ageadults, science and technology,education and the arts. In 2013,I was awarded a fellowship underthe Penal and Prison Reformcategory, and spent six weeks in theUSA studying the Youth CriminalJustice system and programmesknown as Peer Courts. During myFellowship, I acted as a visitingFellow at the University ofPortsmouth’s School of Law andsince returning, I have been able topresent my learning to the Sectary ofState for Justice Lord ChancellorChris Grayling, Chief Constables andPolice and Crime Commissioners.We now began to develop anoperational Peer Court model -believed to be the first in the UK- atthe Hampshire Community Court.

we can relate to more than of thosewe do not. So perhaps the key tounderstanding compliance andmotivation lies in these relationships.

If peer pressure gets young peopleinto trouble, can peer pressure leadthem out? Are young people moreresponsive to people they can relateto? And if so, would including youngpeople in the problem solving anddecision making processes result inprocedures that are easier tounderstand and therefore easier tocomply with?

My fellowship taught me that weneed to develop mechanisms thatempower young people andencourage them to get involved atlow-level, but by no means of low-importance. Young people should bepart of the solution to the offencesthat are dealt with at the criminalcourts.

There are already few practices inplace in the UK, which empowermembers of the community to

Peer Courts:Restorative justice for youngpeople by young people



become involved in the criminaljustice system. For example,members of the jury in Crown Courtand our Magistrates in Youth andMagistrates Courts are communitymembers. In the Youth OffendingTeam, panel members are againdedicated volunteers from thecommunity, who come together tohelp set contracts for referral orders.More recently we are seeing anincreased use of NeighbourhoodJustice Panels. While thesepractices are valuable, there still isnot adequate representation ofyoung people in the criminal justicesystem. In 2013, only 4% ofMagistrates for example weredescribed as under the age of 40.In 2007, there was an attempt inPreston to establish a Peer Panel butthis has never become fullyoperational and unfortunately no datais available to understand whatworked and what did not. This iswhy I undertook my research in theUSA, to investigate the practice in anumber of states that have beenrunning Youth, Teen and Peer Courtprogrammes for over 20 years.

Peer Court programmes in the USAbuild on the very sentiments sharedby the young people I consulted witharound peer pressure, lack ofunderstanding and ability to relate.I visited New York, MontgomeryCounty just outside of DC, LosAngeles and San Diego in California

and Clark County in Nevada – all ofwhich had different but strongprogrammes. I also visited Miamiwhere I obtained the views from thewider legal community, including ThePublic Defender’s Office and TheDepartment of Juvenile Services.Talking to a variety of people andwitnessing these programmes inoperation were irreplaceableexperiences.

By and large, Peer Courts work asdiversion programmes and offeran alternative to formal prosecutionby a criminal judge. The majorityof programmes are still mainlyoverseen by an adult criminal justiceprofessional; however the balanceof power is redistributed to youngpeople, who can serve as PeerJuries, Advocates, Bailiffs andClerks. Uniquely young people areheld to account, for what is oftentheir first offence, by other youngpeople. In this way, Peer Courtsreverse the negative effects of peerpressure. As one respondent in SanDiego suggested Peer Courts areseen to be reversing the reflex of‘just another adult judging me whohas no idea of what it is like to be ayoung person today’. Respondentsexpressed they can related to otheryoung people and concepts ofrestorative and procedural justice

adopted have positive impacts ontheir actions. Peer Courtprogrammes work with on average80% compliance rates from thoseyoung people that have beenthrough the process. Independentstudies also show that Peer Courtsimpact on recidivism positively. Andthey save money: A cost benefitanalysis of the programme reportedthat Peer Courts saved the state ofFlorida $70 million of tax payers’money in 2010.

These programmes need to beadapted at large scales to work mostsuccessfully. However, my researchsuggests that the principles of thePeer Court model can be adaptedto the existing UK criminal justicesystem. Recently, Simon Hayes,the Hampshire Police and CrimeCommissioner commissioned anadaptive model to be piloted for3 years. The aim is to establish asystem of giving messages onacceptable and unacceptablebehaviours to young people, byyoung people, and reduce re-offending rates. Since this will be thefirst time the model has been testedin the UK for non-charged outcomes,evaluation will be key and we areworking with the University ofPortsmouth to develop an effectiveevaluation strategy.

You can find Mark Walsch’s Churchill paper on Peer Courts onhttp://www.wcmt.org.uk/reports/1194_1.pdf



1 in 3 homeless people usingservices claiming JSA andnearly 1 in 5 claiming ESA hadreceived a sanction – a higherprevalence than all benefitclaimants.

We found that young homelesspeople are more likely to receivesanctions, and so do those with

Senna Eswaralingam ofHomeless Link’s discussestheir recent research intothe impact of benefitsanctions on homelesspeople.

There are certain conditionsattached to receiving Jobseeker’sAllowance (JSA) or Employmentand Support Allowance (ESA).Conditions such as attendingadvisory interviews, training orwork-related activities, and applyingfor jobs are in place to increaseclaimants’ chances of finding work.If the claimant does not meet theconditions sanctions can be appliedin the form of stopping benefitpayments for a period of time. TheGovernment intends sanctions tomotivate claimants to fulfil theirresponsibilities to look for work.

Homeless Link’s membersexpressed increasing concernsabout benefit sanctions, particularlysince the Government introducedchanges in late 2012, increasingthe period of time claimants couldbe sanctioned for. We carried outresearch in mid-2013 to assess theextent and impact of benefitssanctions on homeless people.1

The extent of sanctions

Sanctions appear to bedisproportionately affectinghomeless people. In our survey ofhomelessness service providers,

mental health issues, substancemisuse and learning difficulties(Figure 1). The research suggestsmeeting the conditions is moredifficult for people with supportneeds. Hence the particulardifficulties for homeless people, whoare more likely to have mental healthor substance misuse issues than thegeneral population: Homeless Link’sSNAP survey in 2013 suggests 30%of homeless service users havemental health issues and 28% have

A High Cost to

PAY

1 See Homeless Link, A High Cost to Pay, (2013): http://bit.ly/1qfOeO72 Homeless Link, Survey of Needs and Provision, (2013): http://bit.ly/1e7mmtG3 Share of general population with mental health issues is for people with mental health disorders in 2007, which includes those experiencing

anxiety and depression. See Mental Health Network, Key facts and trends in mental health, (2011): http://bit.ly/1lHFGxq Figure for drugmisuse is for England and Wales. See Home Office, Crime Survey for England and Wales, (2013): http://bit.ly/1ioQ2OG

Figure 1: Who is being sanctioned?% of survey respondents that said the majority of a client group has beensanctioned

Young people (<25)

People with substancemisuse issues

People with mentalhealth issues

People with learningdifficulties

Older people (>50)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70JSA claimants ESA claimants

Source: Homeless Link sanctions survey; N = 33 to 45



drug issues.2 In comparison, around18% of the general population have amental health issue and 8% haveused illicit drug in the last year.3

Services also reported the sanctionsprocess was not well understood,with claimants unclear aboutconsequences of not complying withbenefit conditions. This is likely oneof the reasons why homeless peopleare commonly sanctioned for notfollowing a formal instruction to findwork. One surveyed service providercommented:

“It would be useful, from the outset,that claimants be made aware of therequirements and the circumstanceswhere they may face a sanction.Many of your residents do notunderstand why they have beensanctioned and have stated that theywould of acted differently had they ofknown the potential consequences ofnot fulfilling a certain requirement.”

The impact of sanctions

Sanctions have a profoundly negativeimpact on homeless people. Ourresearch found that sanctions leftmany homeless people unable to payservice charges at support serviceswhich are not covered by HousingBenefit such as laundry, food andshowers.

While sanctions should not affectentitlement for Housing Benefit, ourresearch found that homelessclaimants commonly ran into rentarrears, and evictions were commonbecause they did not notify the localauthority of their circumstances, andsubsequently lost their HousingBenefit. Indeed, surveyed servicessaid Housing Benefit problems werethe main effect of sanctions on theirservice and around one half hadevicted more homeless people as aresult (Figure 2). One service providersaid:

“We are not evicting people whohave been sanctioned and who areaccumulating service charge arrears.This may change. The sanctionsregime is affecting our organisationalincome as well as the residents’income.”

Homeless people are alsoexperiencing considerable financialissues. Nearly all surveyed servicessaid sanctioned homeless peopleborrowed to get by, usually fromfriends and family to avoid the strictrepayment schedules of hardshippayments. More than half ofservices said some homelesspeople were committing survivalcrime, such as shoplifting, afterbeing sanctioned. Many homelesspeople experience food povertybecause of sanctions, often usingfood banks to meet their immediateneeds. However, food banks are nota long-term solution, with a largenumber limiting support toemergency provision for a few days.

Interviews with homeless peoplealso highlighted their financialdifficulties with several borrowingfrom friends and family after beingsanctioned. One young man saidarguments over the money that heborrowed from his mother afterbeing sanctioned contributed to himbecoming homeless.

There is also evidence that financialinsecurity from sanctions isworsening any mental health andsubstance misuse issues they mayhave. For people trying to move onwith their lives, sanctions appear tobe hindering their progress.

Sanctions are notachieving their aim

Sanctions do not appear to bemotivating homeless people to

comply with benefit conditions andseek work: Only 8 of the 45 surveyedservice providers said their serviceusers were more motivated to work,while only 3 said service users werebetter engaging with the JobcentrePlus. One service provider said:

“Sanctions have increased the gapbetween [homeless] service usersand the Jobcentre’ this hassubsequently alienated service usersfrom employment.”

What needs to be done?

More needs to be done so thatsanctions do not cause hardship tohomeless people, but insteadmotivate them to find work. Inparticular, Government should ensurethat benefit conditions take intoaccount homeless people’s supportneeds, and that the sanctionsprocess is clearly communicated toeach individual.

Housing Benefitproblems

100%90%80%70%60%50%40%30%20%10%0%

Service chargearrears

Rent arrears Increased evictionsor notices to quit

Source: Homeless Link sanctions survey; N=39

With funding from the London HousingFoundation, Sitra together with SHPstaff and clients have co-produced newtools to support homeless people facedwith the challenges of welfare benefitreform. Pulling Together websiteprovides a multitude of free resourcesand training materials:http://www.pullingtogether.org.uk/

Figure 2: Impact of sanctions on services% of service providers that reported an impact


The Government has publishednew set of regulations to protectsupported housing projects thathave been at threat from eitherthe household benefit cap orarrangements for housing costs inUniversal Credit. Regulations 2014introduce four new categories of‘specified accommodation’ wherehelp with the rent is excluded fromboth of these changes.

1. Exempt accommodation

The ‘exempt accommodation’definition remains as written in1995 and only covers claimantsin accommodation where thelandlord also provides theclaimant with care support orsupervision- even if through asubcontractor. Accommodationwhich meets this definition hasconsiderable protection fromHousing Benefit calculated onless than the full rent (minusineligible service charges) and isalso exempt from householdbenefit cap, Social Housing SizeCriteria and Universal Credithousing costs arrangements.

2. Supported housing where the

landlord does not provide the

care, support or provision

The second category of‘specified accommodation’is similar to ‘exemptaccommodation’ except, thelandlord (or the subcontractor) isnot responsible for providing theclaimant with care, support orprovision. The claimant must

18

Housing Benefit forsupported housing:

Geoffrey Ferres of Sitra and Sue Ramsden of National Housing Federation summarisethe changes introduced by the Housing Benefit and Universal Credit (SupportedHousing) Regulations 2014.

What you need to know

bulletin 2014 No.3 www.sitra.org

also have been ‘admitted’ to theaccommodation’ in order tomeet a need for care, support orsupervision’– so it only appliesto people who have moved intosupported accommodation, notpeople in general needsaccommodation who are latergiven a package of care orsupport. This category onlycovers claimants with the samelandlords as exemptaccommodation so it does nothelp claimants whose landlord iseither a housing authority orprivate ‘for profit’ individual ororganisation.

3. Domestic violence refuges

The third category of ‘specifiedaccommodation’ coversaccommodation provided notonly by the same landlords asthe first and second categoriesbut also by a local housingauthority. The accommodationmust consist of a building orpart of a building that is usedwholly or mainly for non-permanent accommodation ofpeople who have left theirhomes as a result of domesticviolence. The definition ofdomestic violence is the sameas in other social securitylegislation. It includescontrolling and coercivebehaviour and different kindsof abuse.There is no

requirement that the claimantneeds or receives any care,support or supervision.

4. Housing authority non-self-

contained supported housing

(such as hostels)

The Government has finallyagreed to extend protectionfrom Universal Credit housingcosts and the household benefitcap to housing authoritysupported housing – but only ifthe claimant’s accommodationis not self-contained.

The regulations use the expression‘hostel’ but that expression has along and complicated definition inthe Housing Benefit Regulationswhich ends up covering moreaccommodation than most peopleexpect.

The definition of a hostel is that itmust be a building (other than acare home):

‘in which there is provided forpersons generally or for a class ofpersons domestic accommodation,otherwise than in separate and self-contained premises, and eitherboard or facilities for thepreparation of food adequate to theneeds of those persons, or both’‘Self-contained’ is generallyunderstood to mean the claimantmust have in their own premises

4 The regulations were laid before Parliament on 20 March and can be found on thelegislation website http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2014/771

5 For further information about the definition of exempt accommodation, see Sitra’s briefhere: http://www.sitra.org/documents/exempt-accommodation-briefing



facilities for eating, sleeping,cooking – unless, perhaps, allmeals are provided- and washing –of the person, not just a toilet and ahand basin of the claimant’s own.The result is a lot of supportedhousing may qualify, with theexception of the very oldest formsof sheltered housing where tenantsshare bathrooms.

B. How is “specifiedaccommodation”protected from theimpact of recent benefitchanges?

1. Household benefit cap

The changes to the HousingBenefit Regulations come intoforce on 10 April 2014.

From that date people whoclaim Housing Benefit in respectof “specified accommodation”will be ignored for the purposesof the benefit cap – as is alreadythe case with “exemptaccommodation”.

2. Size criteria

There is no change. The threenew categories of “specifiedaccommodation” are notprotected from the social

housing size criteria (the“bedroom tax”) becauseHousing Benefit is assessedunder normal Housing Benefitrules for social housing unlike“exempt accommodation”where the size criteria do notapply.

3. Universal Credit

The changes to the UniversalCredit regulations come intoforce on 3 November 2014.

At present Universal Credit is only‘live’ in nine Jobcentres acrossBritain – Ashton-under-Lyne(Tameside), Bath, Hammersmith,Harrogate, Inverness, Oldham,Rugby, Warrington and Wigan withShotton (North Wales) going livesoon.

In these areas a very small numberof people have claimed UniversalCredit and subsequently movedinto “exempt accommodation”.Housing costs for those living in‘exempt accommodation’ cannotbe met through Universal Creditand must be paid through HousingBenefit instead. A tenant can stillreceive Universal Credit but has tomake a separate claim for HousingBenefit to cover the cost of therent in the ‘exempt

accommodation’.

The new regulations include anamendment to Universal Creditregulations to add the three newcategories of “specifiedaccommodation” alongside theexisting definition of “exemptaccommodation”. So from 3November 2014 anyone living inone of the three new categories of“specified accommodation” willnot be able to claim housing coststhrough Universal Credit. He or shewill be able to claim HousingBenefit under existing rules. Thiswill mean that any income fromHousing Benefit will not be takeninto account in the calculation ofthe overall benefit cap and thetenant can choose to have theirbenefit paid direct to their landlord.

Prior to 3 November 2014 tenantsof the three new categories of“specified accommodation” whoare awarded Universal Credit willget help with their rent via the rentelement of Universal Credit whichmeans: It will be assessed and paidcalendar monthly in arrears into aclaimant’s bank account -unless ineach case Alternative PaymentArrangements are requested andagreed- and the household benefitcap will still apply.

The Care and Support Conference 2014Manchester 3rd July and London 9th July

We will pack exciting content and great networkingopportunities in to just one day – a must attend event forhousing associations providing health, care and support.

Choose your preferred location to hear regionaliseddiscussions specifically relevant to you. Workshops youwon’t want to miss include:1 Talking health – making an impact. Learn how to

partner with or pitch to the right part of the NHS foryour organisation

2 Welfare reform – learning from the frontline. Hear howlocal authorities are responding to the localisation ofthe social fund

3 Improving the offers for older people. Discuss differentmethods in responding to change in design, deliveryand support


expertise, training & consultancy inhousing with health, care & support

Experienced trainers fromacross the sector deliver:

� Mental Health

� Drugs and Alcohol

� Workplace Skills

� Resilience

� Health, Care & Support

� Housing

� Management Skills and Issues

� Service Provision

� Benefits, Money and Debt

� Health and Safety

And many more!

InnovativeCourses

Sitra’sNew TrainingGuideAvailable

Download your copy of our New Training Guide today!

www.sitra.org/training/training-guide

or call 020 7793 4713 for a copy by post


Sitra bulletin no 3 2014

Documents

Transcript of Sitra bulletin no 3 2014