Sustainable Communities Plan

Mark Bannan, NHF SW Regional Advisor reports on a key government housing initiative

With the focus of the supported housing sector on Supporting People (SP) it would be easy to miss the significance of another major piece of Government Policy that will have a direct impact on supported housing.

In February 2003 the Government launched the national Communities Plan Sustainable Communities - Building for the Future backed up by regional versions. The plan stresses the need to get the right kind of houses in the right places to ensure thriving communities. It establishes Regional Housing Boards (RHBs) with the key task of preparing a Regional Housing Strategy and making recommendations to Ministers on capital housing investment from 2004/05. The Approved Development Programme (ADP)distributed by the Housing Corporation to Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and the Housing Investment Programme (HIP) allocated by Central Government to Local Authorities will be combined in a Single Housing Investment Pot (SHIP). Boards have active feeder bodies charged with developing the strategy that the Board will resource.

In the South West

In the South West Region, a new Regional Housing Body is being brought together by the Government Office for the South West including the Housing Corporation, Regional Assembly , Regional Development Agency and English Partnerships. A Regional Housing Forum will provide expertise and strategic guidance to the Board with a wide proposed membership including RSLs, the National Housing Federation, Crime Reduction Partnerships, Local Authority representatives and tenant groups.

Where does supported housing fit into all of this?

SP is starting with a huge national budget and an expectation that it will help tackle wider national, regional and local priorities such as health inequalities, crime reduction, homelessness and social exclusion. A key aim is to support independence for some of the most socially excluded groups, so it can contribute towards sustainable communities and has a role in delivering local and regional housing strategies.

It is important that SP issues are on the RHB agenda and that the sector can input to regional housing strategies. It is not difficult to make the argument for this:

Any SP growth money from 2004/05 will need to match capital investment in supported housing through the SHIP. Without revenue for support, capital investment for supported accommodation is hardly likely to be forthcoming. Conversely RSLs are likely to think twice before progressing capital schemes without the revenue to fund support.

The strategic planning cycles of SP Commissioning Bodies and the RHB will need to dovetail to ensure a link between bricks and mortar supported accommodation and separately funded support packages.

Existing capital funding is tied up in accommodation where support is provided. These services will be subject to review under SP and the outcome may be re-commissioning, re-modelling or de-commissioning. Proposals for major changes may require capital re-investment or change of use.

Local planning issues remain a key challenge in providing supported housing in communities. The way these are handled can make or break the chances of successful integration of service users.

In the South West there has been continuing commitment by the Housing Corporation to maintaining a slice of the capital investment programme for supported housing. It is important to maintain this investment in order to build the necessary move on accommodation without which the aims of SP will be undermined.

The value that SP can bring to the emerging regional structures may be clear to the sector but work needs to be done to raise its profile with the RHBs. The role of the Forums is to look beyond locality issues to consider issues facing the region as a whole while Shadow SP strategies are primarily at Administering Authority level without necessarily having a regional or sub-regional dimension. The challenge is to ensure that Regional Housing Strategies reflect the diversity of the supported housing sector.