Glasgow Housing Association
www.gha.org.uk
Closing the Gap:
Key issues facing RSLs dealing
the Local Housing Strategy
8 December 2009
Better homes, better lives
Date in here
Local Housing Strategy process
• Local authorities have the strategic responsibility for
preparing the Local Housing Strategy (LHS)
• LHS should include LA strategies on homelessness,
housing support, fuel poverty, energy efficiency and
climate change, and private housing conditions
• Purpose of the LHS:–
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Assess housing need and demand
Set out strategic vision for the future
Set out how the standard of housing will be improved
Provide clear strategic direction for housing investment
Focus on the outcomes required
Identify specific commitments by the local authority and key partners
on shared priorities
• Glasgow’s new LHS will cover the period 2011 to 2016.
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Glasgow process
LHS Stakeholder Working Group – meets 3-4 times a year
2009 - Consultative draft LHS produced
Consultation with stakeholders, including RSLs
Consideration by Local Housing Forums
Series of workshops on particular topics
2010 - Completion of Joint Housing Need and Demand
Assessment - Clyde Valley
• 2010 - Strategic Development Plan Main Issues Report
• 2011 Consultation on final draft LHS
• June 2011 LHS submitted to Council for approval
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Engagement with RSLs
• GHA – part of stakeholder working group
• Also engaged, with other RSLs, through the five Local Housing
Forums
• GHA and RSLs – contribute to Clyde Valley needs assessment
• Presentations on the LHS at GHA Tenant Participation event
• Presentation to GHA and LHO managers
• Glasgow RSLs to be invited to the topic-based workshops
• Statements of Best Practice – protocols on a range of housing
support issues– involving GHA, SFHA and Glasgow West of
Scotland Forum
• Regular meetings with SW and Homelessness staff
• Not so easy for smaller RSLs and national RSLs to engage with LAs
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Glasgow LHS - Key issues emerging
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Glasgow - legacy of poverty and disadvantage
Most deprived local authority area in Scotland
Neighbourhood quality
Large increase in the number of older people
Most families with children will be lone parents
One person households will be the most common size.
Continued in-migration from EU, Asia and Africa
High levels of disability and long-term illness
Increase in private rented sector
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LHS Housing Support proposals
To meet people’s changing needs for housing and promote
independent living through housing support where needed
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Use of assistive technologies (Telecare)
Adaptations service
Care and repair for owner-occupiers
Develop range of 24 hour supported living services
New models to support adult disabled people with complex needs
Emerging needs – autism
Allocation policies to recognise needs
Housing management practices
Development of new housing for particular needs
Life time homes
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GHA households
• Single person households (of all ages) make up half of GHA
households and this figure is projected to rise.
• A third of GHA tenants are aged 65 or over and a quarter are
single pensioner households;
• Over half of GHA’s households have someone who has a longstanding illness or disability;
• One in twelve (8%) of GHA households have someone who is a
wheelchair user (23% in sheltered housing) ;
• Glasgow’s homelessness is disproportionate to the size of its
population: 17% of all Scottish homelessness applications are
made in Glasgow which has 11% of the population.
• One in twenty (5%) – BME group
• Only 15% of households contain some-one in work
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GHA Housing Needs and Support
Strategy
• Sets out how GHA will contribute to some of the key aims of the
Glasgow Local Housing Strategy
– Older People
– Physical disability
– Learning disability
– Mental Health
– Addictions
– Homelessness
– Vulnerable young people
– Black and ethnic minority groups
– Larger families
• Constructive discussion around key issues
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Housing Support funding
• Nov 2007, the Scottish Government and local government agreed
a Concordat based on partnership
• Key principle – LAs have greater freedom to achieve agreed
national outcomes.
• GCC committed to ensure high quality commissioned services and
similar proportions of funding directed to housing support
• Supporting People (SP) ring-fenced revenue funding stream until
2008
• From April 2008, SP rolled into the local government financial
settlement.
• SP budget also reduced in real terms (from £78M IN 07-08 TO
£74M IN 10-11
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Public expenditure environment
‘The challenging public expenditure environment
expected over the life of the new LHS will enhance the
importance of a continuing focus on organisational and
technical innovation, and value for money (in RSLs).’
• Some commissioned services absorbed into overall Social
Work budgets.
• But efficiency savings required in SW budgets
• Service reviews to be used to create new capacity
• RSLs concerns that reviews will be used to cut services,
tender for providers (Current Edinburgh Council tender
process).
• In Glasgow, formal discussion of Housing Support Strategy
with SWS – linking to annual investment planning in 2010
• Consultation with service users essential
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Older Person Housing Strategy
Increasing number of elderly – a key issue
Offer choice and meet needs
Provision of a range of appropriate housing important
Scottish Govt Review of Sheltered Housing - 2009
Older persons working group – due to report shortly
Each local authority should develop its own Older Persons
Housing Strategy
• Consultation with RSLs and with older people
• Range of accommodation - housing support in own home,
amenity housing, elderly villages, sheltered, very sheltered
etc
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