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Time to take stock of Welfare Reform ................literally

Time to take stock of Welfare Reform ................literally. Supported Housing is affected by welfare reform. Overview and key messages. Welfare reform DOES affect and threaten supported housing Welfare reform like supported housing is all about people not bricks and mortar

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Time to take stock of Welfare Reform ................literally

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  1. Time to take stock of Welfare Reform ................literally Supported Housing is affected by welfare reform joe@hsmonline.co.uk Joe Halewood #speyejoe 07749 121 332

  2. Overview and key messages • Welfare reform DOES affect and threaten supported housing • Welfare reform like supported housing is all about people not bricks and mortar • Supported housing needs to be more proactive over welfare reform • YET welfare reforms present opportunities for increasing supported housing and for literally taking stock from general needs partners joe@hsmonline.co.uk Joe Halewood 07749 121 332

  3. Overview • Need to rethink the welfare reforms and the impact they will have and are having on supported housing provision • Exempt accommodation is not exempt from the threats or opportunities the welfare reforms bring • The proactive and thinking supported housing provider can use the welfare reforms to increase provision • Time to take stock!! joe@hsmonline.co.uk Joe Halewood 07749 121 332

  4. The threats and links • The shared accommodation rate extended to under 35s • The bedroom tax making 1 bed properties as rare as hen’s teeth • The welfare reforms all being about ‘people’ yet the 95% of social housing that is general needs deals with bricks and mortar and not with people • The benefit cap creating difficult to let larger SRS properties joe@hsmonline.co.uk Joe Halewood (#speyejoe) 07749 121 332

  5. Threats – the detail • Second-stage or move on has always found 1 bed SRS properties hard to come by • Now the bedroom tax exacerbate that problem thus bed-blocking in homeless hostels increases • If you cant get them out you cant get them in! • But what about DV refuges??? joe@hsmonline.co.uk Joe Halewood 07749 121 332

  6. Threats to DV provision? • Yes just another unforeseen and not considered aspect of welfare reform • 25 – 35% of admissions to refuge are single (ie childless) women and under 35 • Move on to 1 bed SRS properties impossible so has to be PRS move on...yet SAR applies UNLESS 3 months at refuge (13 weeks) • Average length of stay now is circa 6 weeks joe@hsmonline.co.uk Joe Halewood 07749 121 332

  7. DV threats • A 12 bed refuge with each resident staying 6 weeks is a yearly capacity of 104 cases • A 12 bed refuge with each resident needing to stay 13 weeks to negate the SAR issue is a capacity of 48 per year • The SAR reform reduces refuge capacity by 54% • Supporting People implications and where the hell do the other 56 cases go!! joe@hsmonline.co.uk Joe Halewood 07749 121 332

  8. Bedroom tax • Forces move on into the private sector as only option. The higher cost makes resettlement services appear more costly and hence less sustainable • Yet also (just a Northern issue?) creates many larger properties as difficult to let • Benefit cap does same and largely a Southern issue • So 3 bed and larger SRS properties become available....opportunities? joe@hsmonline.co.uk Joe Halewood 07749 121 332

  9. Opportunities • General needs social landlords now have problematic stock in the larger properties • Yet they don’t see...as yet...the supported housing solutions to these newly created difficult to let properties! • Time for supported housing professionals to let them know about this....be proactive! joe@hsmonline.co.uk Joe Halewood 07749 121 332

  10. The problem “Oop North” • Magenta Living and the 3 bed + surfeit of properties Former council housing had pre April 2013 12 – 15 x 3 bed+ voids at any one time. Now its 160! • Supported Living for ALD/MH? • Dispersed refuges to get over SAR issue • Dispersed male refuges? • One legged Peruvian glue sniffers? joe@hsmonline.co.uk Joe Halewood 07749 121 332

  11. Summary • The welfare reforms are about people not bricks and mortar so use your supported housing expertise to give solutions to your SRS colleagues and partners • See the welfare reforms as a huge opportunity to develop more and more innovative supported housing solutions to general needs problems • Be proactive, innovate, be creative! • Thank you...and let’s discuss! joe@hsmonline.co.uk Joe Halewood 07749 121 332

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