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Supported housing will be included in government’s long-term strategy
Supported housing provision will be included in the government’s long-term housing strategy, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, the Lords minister for housing and local government, has said.
Supported provision will be included in the government’s long-term housing strategy, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, the Lords minister for housing and local government, has said #UKhousing Baroness Taylor confirmed the news during a debate last week.
During the debate, which focused on social housing, Baroness Scott of Bybrook asked “what urgent steps” the government was taking to address the “chronic shortage of appropriate community housing for adults, particularly those with autism and learning disabilities”.
“Will the department explore partnerships with private capital providers to scale up specialist supported housing without relying on new public capital?” she asked.
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In response, Baroness Taylor said: “That is an important question, and we will see answers on the various specialist housing provisions in the housing strategy, which will be published later this year.
“The noble baroness is right to point to the particular need for supported housing, which will be included in the strategy.”
She said the government will use both public and private sector funding to “deliver as much of the housing as we can”.
The 10-year housing strategy, which will focus on affordability, supply and sustainability, is expected to be published this summer.
The National Housing Federation, the membership organisation for housing associations, welcomed the confirmation that supported housing would be part of the plan.
“Supported housing is in crisis and we’ve continued to call for urgent action to be taken to save this sector. We look forward to working with the government to secure the future of this vital provision,” it said.
The subject of supported housing was absent from the Spending Review.
Inside Housing looked at how supported housing was adequately funded and regulated in the past.
There is support in the sector for the increased regulation being introduced through the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 and acknowledgement of the benefits of having a clear strategy.
However, no extra funding has been announced. Added to this, the 2022 Exempt Accommodation Inquiry found the government has been unable to calculate the total expenditure on supported housing.
There are significant concerns that the supported housing sector will not be able to adequately function without proper funding based on an understanding of exactly how much it costs.
The recently closed consultation on provisions in the act also raised concerns about supported housing providers.
Riverside housing association said proposals around licensing could turn social landlords into “quasi-regulators” with significant extra financial burdens, and warned that they could make vital services unviable.
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