Housing LIN Technical Brief Funding Extra Care Housing

Housing LIN Technical Brief ‘Funding Extra Care Housing’ Jon Head

The Challenge ‘The nature of Extra Care Housing creates challenges for commissioning and funding structures not necessarily designed for the flexibility it entails. ’ ‘Charging in Extra Care Housing’, Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN)– 2010

Aim of Technical Brief “……we need Extra Care Housing to evolve and develop on as large a scale as possible – enabling it, well into the future, to respond to the aspirations and needs of the growing numbers of older people who are looking for affordable, high quality homes in which their future support and care needs can be met with dignity, and in ways that support their independence and wellbeing” Financial viability clearly critical – funding development and recovering costs.

Main Parts of the Technical Brief • Introduction/Scene Setting • Capital Funding-Ian Laight’s session this morning • Revenue Funding • Housing • Care and Support

Changes in Extra Care since 1 st edn. , 2005 • Tenure change –much more focus on private / mixed tenure Extra Care Housing • Tightened FACS criteria • Supporting People • Personal Budgets • Models generally much more diverse

Changes in Extra Care since 1 st edn. , 2005 Recent/current: • Reduced Grant levels – review of scale /facilities • Legislation – Health and Social Care Act, Care and Support Bill • Care and Support Housing Fund • NHS changes • Welfare Reform Act • Future of Exempt Accommodation? • More awareness of Risk

Focus of the Technical Brief • Extra Care Housing - defining characteristic for the Technical Brief: ‘ 24/7’ on site care service • Contents also relevant for: • Other older people’s housing with enhanced levels of facilities, services and care input – but not a 24/7 on-site care presence. • Other modern specialist housing for older people without, necessarily, a care focus, for example as advocated in the HAPPI report

Technical Brief – audiences? • LA ASCRs (LAs with Adult Social Care Responsibility • LHAs (Local Housing Authorities -also with HB role) • Registered Providers • Private Extra Care providers • Care and Support Providers • NHS bodies

Capital and Revenue crossover issues Separate sections but many links; • Capital costs and servicing loans must be covered through the rental income stream and /or through the sale of leasehold properties. • Need realistic estimates of initial and later void periods - lettings and sales • Rents and service charges must cover operating costs unless the scheme is to receive subsidy from elsewhere.

Capital and Revenue crossover issues • Expected income from sales receipts must be modelled around current state of the housing market • Revenue forecasts should build in the risk that 3 rd party income may not be continuous • Different impacts for different models e. g. how care /support/ housing are configured and who provides which elements

Revenue section covers: • Benefits • Housing Management and other accommodation- related services – funding and cost recovery • Care and support services – funding and cost recovery

Revenue section also covers: • Assistive Technology and alarm services • Funding quality of life and wellbeing services. • Crossover issues –housing/care/support funding

Revenue - Key themes • Extra Care - first and foremost housing • Extra Care Housing brings together a number of different funding streams • Needs a robust approach to which cost components 'fit' within which income streams • Residents are individually liable to pick up the majority of a scheme’s housing operating costs via rent and /or service charges. • They need to access financial support and assistance via the benefits system where individually eligible

Welfare Benefits Technical Brief is not a guide to benefits, but includes summary information, since • Benefits system has key role in maximising residents’ disposable incomes - thus helping them to meet both their housing costs and care and support costs.

Welfare Benefits • Housing providers (both RPs and private sector providers) need to • maximise the no of people who can meet their housing costs • minimise the risk of people being unable to meet the costs of their tenancies/leases. • Access to benefits ‘traditionally’ a key concern mainly in social rent Extra Care Housing, but relevant for any provider aiming to include people with lower/modest incomes and savings within their ‘target’ market.

Welfare Benefits Also relevant for • LA ASCRs - incentive to ensure residents can afford to fund: • their eligible care and support needs from own resources • other care and support needs that are not eligible for LA ASCR assistance, but which may prevent/delay eventual reliance on more costly forms of social care and health care • Housing Authorities • Care and Support providers

Impact of Welfare Reform Act (WRA) Many well publicised impacts of WRA do not have an immediate or direct impact on Extra Care Housing (benefit cap, bedroom tax) The Technical Brief refers to • Expected changes with Housing Benefit and Pension Credit • New processes/systems for handling of benefit claims, queries etc. • Linkage between rents and Local Housing Allowances for private rented Extra Care Housing.

Impact of Welfare Reform Act (WRA) • Treatment of Service Charges in Universal Credit Regs. (but don't apply directly in Exempt Accommodation) • Council Tax Benefit. • Disability Living Allowance • Future arrangements for funding supported housing and ‘Exempt Accommodation’.

Housing costs recovery Housing costs - parallels with ‘ordinary’ housing. The Technical Brief refers to : • The range of housing costs that arise in Extra Care Housing. • The way these costs are normally grouped into different income streams (e. g. ‘rent’ under various social rent regimes – and service charges). • How this allocation varies according to the tenure concerned and the type of provider.

Housing costs recovery And to • how the various cost categories align with the benefits system; which costs are eligible to be met by benefits; and which are not. • WRA implications • Telecare • Catering • and ‘crossover’ issues – housing /care/support –Sue’s presentation

Watch this space / after we went to press…. • Exempt Accommodation –definition - Lord Freud’s letter to SITRA, 4 th April, also… • Sheltered housing and welfare reform –NHF briefing http: //www. housing. org. uk/policy/welfare_reform_news/sheltered_hou sing_and_welfare. aspx • Consultation on revised ARHM Code in response to concerns such as confusing service charges (lack of competitive tendering for maintenance contracts, high transfer fees, high commission charges on building insurance etc. ) http: //www. arhm. org/pdfs/ARHM_draft_code_of_practice. pdf • What will come after Affordable Rents in 2015? - CIH ‘ We need to talk about rents’ http: //www. cih. co. uk/publication-free/display/vpath. DCR/templatedata/cih/publicationfree/data/We_need_to_talk_about_rents 21

Funding Care and Support Costs Over to Sue……. .

Thank you! C/o EAC 3 rd Floor, 89 Albert Embankment London SE 1 7 TP email: info@housinglin. org. uk tel: 020 7820 8077 website: www. housinglin. org. uk Twitter: @Housing. LIN