Supporting People Review of Contract ID: 10052 Care and Repair in Bath and NE Somerset, (Home Improvement Agency)  

Reporting Post: Simon Dicker, Commissioning Officer, Supporting People Team. Date: 1st March 2004.

2. Assessment of Home Improvement Agency Strategic Relevance

Home Improvement Agencies make a contribution to a range of strategic aims of many of the partner organisations and partnerships within the Supporting People framework which are summarised below:

•  Housing: Working in partnership with local housing authorities to target the most vulnerable older, disabled and low income people living in the worst housing conditions and provide them with advice and assistance to maintain, repair or adapt their homes to meet their needs.  Reference can be made to the DTLR [1] publication Quality and Choice for Older People’s Housing: A Strategic Framework’ for more detail on this area.  The following are included:
• Helping homeowners to maintain and improve their homes
• Helping people to remain in their own homes by providing help with adaptations and repairs
• Work with local authorities to target available finance to those in greatest need
• Maintain a vetted list of reliable builders
• Lever in additional funding for repairs
• Preventing further decline of homes in poor condition

• Community Care: Enabling people with disabilities to remain safely and independently in their own home by arranging for appropriate adaptations of their property
• More effective and efficient use of disabled facilities grants through collaborative joint working between housing, social care, the HIA and other professionals.

•  Crime and Safety: Addressing the safety and security aspects relating to vulnerable people’s homes.  Carrying out home security works helps older and disabled people to feel a greater sense of personal security in their homes.

• Energy Efficiency and Affordable Warmth: Identifying measures that can be undertaken to improve energy efficiency and reducing fuel bills in the homes of those in highest need in the private sector.  Heating and insulation works carried out reduce health related problems, reduce fuel bills and make homes more energy efficient and improve the energy rating of the house thereby contributing to the targets to be attained under the Home Energy Conservation Act.

•  Health: Contributing to Local Implementation Plans and other health strategies such as the National Service Framework for Older People by addressing cold, damp housing conditions, reducing the risk of accidents, contributing to hospital discharge and preventing admission to hospital. Includes Standard 6 – “Falls – “prevention     this includes both public health strategies to reduce the incidence of falls in the population and the identification, assessment and prevention measures taken for those at most risk of falling.”; Standard 8 – “The promotion of health and active life in older age – wider initiatives… to promoting health and independence and well being in old age … keep warm, keep well campaign, and Home Energy Efficiency Scheme”.  The contributions that HIA’s can make to the wider strategic health agenda includes:
•  Addressing cold, damp housing conditions helps reduce the incidence of respiratory disorders (30,000 – 40,000 excess deaths occur during winter months mostly among older people; 87% of older people have a morning living room temperature of 20 degrees C or less)
• Making homes safer and easier to move around reduces the risk of accidents (64% of all fatal domestic accidents occur to people aged over 60)
• Housing and environmental assessment are vital elements of hospital discharge planning. Unless the home is fit for habitation and free from cold and damp and suited to the persons needs, returning from hospital can be delayed. HIA’s can help to address the unsuitable home conditions to assist speedier discharge from hospital.

• Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy: Improving the poor housing of the most vulnerable people to narrow the gap between the most deprived neighbourhoods and the more affluent areas and therefore contributing towards the needs of deprived communities.

• Council Corporate Strategy:  the two most relevant priorities identified in this strategy include:
• Supporting Vulnerable people
• Improve the Safety and Quality of people’s lives
• Work with local partnerships to deliver leadership, co-ordination and resources where needed to reduce crime and the fear of crime.  

• Local Strategic Partnerships:
• Regeneration delivered through a true public sector, private sector communities and voluntary sector partnerships.

•  Best Value:  HIA’s provide services that vulnerable people want (Review of Home Improvement Agency Grant Programme: DoE 1994) and are of high quality and good value. This is precisely what Best Value in local government aims to achieve.

• Anti Poverty:  75% of HIA clients are on very low incomes or means tested benefits. The incomes of many clients, particularly elderly clients, are increased through the take up of social security benefits following HIA assistance.

• Prevention, Promoting Independence and Social Inclusion - From a national perspective HIA’s contribute to the wider government agenda of prevention, promoting independence and social inclusion.  This is supported by the following statements:  “Housing is a key element in determining quality of life” (Quality and Choice: A Decent Home for All – The Housing Green Paper).  “The Government recognises the essential role that HIA’s can play in delivering both central and local housing, community care policies and promoting sustainable home ownership.” (Quality and Choice for Older People’s Housing – A Strategic Framework)
• The Government’s agenda for modernising and reforming the provision of housing, care, health and support services to meet the needs of older and disabled people includes many of the principles, ethos and practices that are central to the operation of a quality Home Improvement Agency service (see table below).
• The focus of all Government policies and practice has shifted towards promoting independence and providing care and support services close to or within the home. In addition, the emphasis for local authority private sector renewal strategies is being shifted from preserving properties to protecting people.
• Most older people and people with disabilities want to remain in their own homes living independently for as long as they can. All recent Government policy initiatives are responding to this wish and the role that Home Improvement Agencies are able to play in enabling this to happen is being increasingly recognised.
• A good quality HIA service is able to offer vulnerable householders options and choice, independent advice and assistance, flexibility in tackling the client’s needs, brokering partnership joint working quality solutions to the housing related needs of clients that improve their quality of life and ensure their homes are warm, safe and secure.

4. Further evidence and Risk Assessment

The validation of these scores is recommended to be carried out by Shaun Robinson of SW Development Manager, Foundations, (The National Coordinating Agency for Home Improvements).

In December 2003, David Donaldson gave a presentation of his vision of the future of Care and Repair in Bath and NE Somerset, with a further presentation of the value of HIA’s by Shaun Robinson to an audience of relevant Council partners and Care and Repair Board Members.

David summarised his 3 year vision for the service as follows:

• To attain Foundations’ Quality Mark
• To be financially secure and robust.
• To provide an essential Hospital Discharge Scheme.
• To deliver a Falls Prevention / Home Safety Scheme.
• To develop a working Partnership with Health, Housing  and Social Services to deliver Adaptations.
• To Increase staff resources to expand direct services.
• To investigate provision of new services e.g. Scheduled Home      Maintenance Planning, Gardening, Decorating.

Financial Risk Analysis for Service

Year                                        Funding          Expected                    Year End

                                                                        Running Costs

2003/4     (Expected)

SP Grant                                £30,000                     

Vol Grant                                £76,055

Fee Income                            £15,000

                                                £121,055        £130,365                   (£8,810)

(Deficit for this year to be met through existing reserves of £16,000)

2004/5    (Projections on basis of no uplift)                                   

SP Grant                                £30,000

Vol Grant                                £76,055

Fee Income                            £20,000

                                                £126,055       £146,333                   (£20,278)

After proposed budget cuts (see over)                                    (£10,278)

Care and Repair have limited contingencies for this. Redundancy of 1 of the 2 technical officer posts has been considered but would lead to reduced capacity, reduced fee income, and further deficit.

Reduction in management hours has been considered but would again undermine the capacity and development potential of the organisation.

2004/5   (Projections on basis of £5k SP Uplift)

SP Grant                                £35,000

Vol Grant                                £76,055

Fee Income                          £20,000         

                                            £126,055        £136,333                       (£5,278)

Care and Repair acknowledge that the proposed £5k uplift alone would not solve their difficulties, but believe it would strengthen their position to appeal to Trusts and Charitable bodies to make up the shortfall.

The agency was excluded from making a bid for additional funding at the last round due to lack of required additional matched funding from the Council.

Care and Repair express the view that their service would be consolidated by an award of £20,000 p.a. from the Disabled Facilities Grant at the start of year, with referrals of business for adaptations. The issue of the Council employing an Adaptations Officer whilst at the same time commissioning Care and Repair has not been addressed through this review, but should be considered as part of the recommendation to devise a Home Improvement Agency strategy in Bath and NE Somerset.

Housing Improvement Agencies are "short term" services but are exempt from the normal rules and continue to charge service users. In most cases the charge is met as part of the Disabled Facilities Grant or and the service user does not actually pay it themselves.