Supported Housing Task and Finish Group Main Report
This sub-group of the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group was set up to consider the future role of supported housing for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This report makes 14 recommendations.
5. Current Picture of Supported Housing
5.1 What we mean by housing support
Housing support is defined by the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CACHE) as areas of activity that enable people to maintain their accommodation and live well in the community [ref 18]. A key development that informs today’s provision was the Supporting People fund (2001-08), which brought together a number of funding streams for housing support spanning health and wellbeing, social care, employment, money and benefits and tenancy support. At that time, local authorities assumed responsibility for planning and commissioning housing support services; since the ringfencing of this fund was removed, services have been reduced due to budget savings.
Housing support can be provided in people’s own homes, in self-contained or shared living environments, or in conjunction with accommodation, like supported housing. The role of the housing support worker has recently been set out by the Housing Support Enabling Unit (HSEU) [ref 19].
5.2 What we mean by supported housing
The CACHE research defined supported housing as:
“Provision that involves providing often specifically allocated housing alongside support for tenant sustainability. Can include short-term (often crisis or housing transition-linked support) or long-term supported housing.”
5.3 Profile of supported housing in Scotland
The task and finish group facilitated a survey of local authorities to collate current information on supported housing that is provided as a response to homelessness in their area. The survey asked about who owns the buildings, who provides the on-site support, the scope of what is provided and what it costs. Please see appendix (iii) for a summary of current provision, along with estimate demand for the future.
28 of 32 local authorities responded. 19 local authorities confirmed they commissioned a total of 115 supported housing projects. The survey responses indicated that many local authorities are currently in the process of recommissioning homeless accommodation and support services, with the work of the task and finish group considered timely.
*In the data that follows, please note that not all survey questions received a response. For each question, the total number of responses is included as ‘n#.’
(i) About the buildings
| Number (73) | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Local Authority | 32 | 43.8 % |
| RSL | 28 | 38.4 % |
| Third sector | 11 | 15.1 % |
| Other | 2 | 2.7 % |
*Other includes where building is leased by local authority from the private sector, and shared ownership amongst organisations.
What aspects are shared? (n76)
32.9% do not share any of the following:
bedroom, bathroom, kitchen or living space.
67.1% share at least one aspect of accommodation:
- 3.9% share a bedroom
- 31.9% share a bathroom
- 65.8% share a kitchen
- 48.7% share a living room
| Number (69) | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Meets Standard | 25 | 36.2 % |
| 2. | 14 | 20.2 % |
| 3. | 6 | 8.7 % |
| 4. | 5 | 7.2 % |
| 5. Full Refurbishment | 19 | 28.0 % |
(ii) About the support
| Number (107) | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 96 | 89.7% |
| No | 8 | 7.5% |
| Partly | 3 | 2.8% |
Where the local authority does not commission support costs in part or full, this is funded in partnership with the HSCP or through alternative funding streams.
| Number (107) | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| Local Authority | 11 | 10.2% |
| RSL | 23 | 21.5% |
| Third sector | 71 | 66.3% |
| Combination | 2 | 1.9% |
| Occupancy Level | Median Annual Cost |
|---|---|
| 6-15 (n27) | £ 154,094 |
| 16-25 (n14) | £ 211,752 |
| 26+ (n9) | £ 308,545 |
- Minimum annual project cost reported: £ 28,456
- Maximum annual project cost reported: £ 710,159
- Average annual project cost reported: £ 215,018
*Analysis of average costing was only possible for responses which included both occupancy level and annual cost due to the type of data recorded.
| Focus | Number (65) | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Addiction | 30 | 46.2 % |
| Mental Health | 29 | 44.6 % |
| Disability | 20 | 30.7 % |
| Domestic Abuse | 23 | 35.4 % |
| Criminal Justice | 23 | 35.4 % |
| LGBTQI+ | 22 | 33.8 % |
| Age specific | 16 | 24.6 % |
| Care Experience | 20 | 30.8 % |
| Refugee/Asylum | 10 | 15.4 % |
| Single Sex | 5 | 7.7 % |
| Single parent | 4 | 6.25 % |
| None | 16 | 24.6 % |
| Other (not known) | 2 | 3.1 % |
(i) Using the service
| Number (107) | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| < 5 | 1 | 0.9 % |
| 6 to 15 | 53 | 50.0 % |
| 16 to 25 | 31 | 29.2 % |
| 26 + | 23 | 21.7 % |
| Rarely full | 4 | 6.0 % |
|---|---|---|
| Usually full | 43 | 65.2 % |
| Waiting List | 19 | 28.8 % |
(iv) About your plans
| Continue | 50 | 75.7 % |
|---|---|---|
| Make Changes | 15 | 15.0 % |
| Close | 1 | 1.5 % |
Summary of supported housing profile:
Supported housing is part of a complex delivery system involving multiple partners and insecure funding, particularly revenue but also on the capital side for maintenance and refurbishment. With 75% of commissioners planning to continue to fund it, it continues to feature at a local level as a response to homelessness for people with specific needs.
In Scotland, the local authority is usually the planner and commissioner of supported housing. It is common for Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) to work in partnership with the third sector to provide it, either through (i) leasing arrangements, with the third sector organisation responsible for management of housing and support; or (ii) a shared management arrangement, where the RSL retains responsibility for property management and the third sector provides on-site support. Most on-site support is provided by third sector organisations.
Supported housing is usually used to its full capacity, with some operating a waiting list. However, it is highlighted that not all residents need supported housing and often stay longer because there is insufficient affordable housing to move on to.
While most local authorities plan to continue to provide supported housing, short-term contracts and frequent recommissioning processes are routine. Over half of supported housing would need some or a full refurbishment to meet physical standards described in the Shared Spaces research - see section 6.
5.4 How it is currently funded
Funding for supported housing is a complex package spanning housing and support costs, alongside capital costs where relevant to build, purchase or develop housing.
The main sources of funding for supported housing are as follows:
- Housing Benefit and services charges, which pay for the cost of providing, managing and maintaining housing. This can include enhanced housing management services. Service charges include additional services such as maintaining communal areas, furniture, fuel and meals where provided. Service charges are lower in self-contained models where less of the housing is shared.
- Housing Support Services, largely funded by the local authority to provide services that support people to live independently.
- Health and Social Care Partnership funding in some cases, where additional care and support is required, and specific eligibility requirements are met.
- Charitable funding sources to supplement support costs and/or to extend services.
The on-site support in supported housing is almost always commissioned by local authorities (96% in our survey), with some support jointly commissioned through HSCPs or charitable sources. Support is primarily commissioned from third sector organisations, with RSLs and local authorities also providing support in some supported housing.
There is no nationally collected data on funding for supported housing. However, housing and support providers report that local government funding cuts, alongside commissioning and procurement practices since the ringfence of the Supporting People fund was removed in 2008, have significantly impacted on funding available.
In some cases, capital funding for supported housing provided by RSLs has been available from the Scottish Government through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) and through a mix of capital grant and private or charitable funding sources. However, this is only available through the AHSP where a Scottish Secure Tenancy (SST) or short Scottish Secure Tenancy (SSST) is being used. Non-tenancy forms of supported housing are not supported by the AHSP nor is there currently any other source of capital funding other than through local authority budgets.
5.5 The complexity of DWP funding
CACHE summarised the DWP funded component of supported housing as follows:
“Can be understood as ‘exempt’ or ‘specified’ accommodation in UK policy where the housing organization provides the property alongside support. Supported housing is ‘specified’ to qualify for housing costs within housing benefit regulations and is commissioned by local authorities in Scotland.”
Most supported housing in Scotland comes under the specified accommodation rules.
Exempt accommodation is in two parts:
i. Resettlement places for people “without a settled way of life.” A very narrow definition and very few, if any, examples of it in Scotland.
ii. Supported accommodation provided by a housing association, registered charity or voluntary organisation and where the support is provided by the housing provider or person acting on their behalf.
Specified accommodation covers three groups:
i. Supported accommodation provided by an English county council, or a housing association, registered charity or voluntary organisation. The housing provider can arrange for another organisation to provide the housing support.
ii. Temporary accommodation provided by a local authority or a housing association, registered charity or voluntary organisation for people who have left home because of domestic abuse. Women’s refuges may also meet the ‘exempt’ criteria.
iii. A local authority hostel defined as non-self-contained, domestic accommodation with meal or food preparation facilities [ref 20].
In 2022, the House of Commons’ Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee conducted an inquiry into exempt accommodation. The inquiry was instigated following concerns across the housing and homelessness sector about the standard of support that was being provided by some providers in England and Wales, and concern that some providers are 'playing the system' to maximise rental income and failing to provide the support required. There has not been the same evidence of these specific issues in Scotland, where housing support is regulated by the Care Inspectorate.
The DWP published Housing Benefit Guidance for supported housing in May 2022 [ref 21] with examples of eligible and ineligible service charges - guidance that applies to Scotland, England and Wales. The DWP is continuing to look at value for money in supported housing, particularly around licensing in the new Supported Housing Regulatory Oversight Act [ref 22]. Although this new Act and licensing scheme only applies to England, it may have significance in Scotland as there are plans to define ‘care, support and supervision’ for the purposes of Housing Benefit regulations.
The DWP has also instructed local authority Housing Benefit teams to gather information about what is spent on supported housing in their local authority area, in order to ‘improve quality and value for money on supported housing’ and inform policy development [ref 23].
5.6 The case for change
Supported housing is subject to a complexity of funding arrangements which is poorly understood and is detrimental in different ways:
- For residents of supported housing: complex DWP funding rules create high rents, an acute ‘benefit trap’ and a major barrier to employment or learning opportunities.
- For housing and support providers: short term contracts and budget pressures create a precarious funding situation and represent a high level of risk for both providers.
- For local authorities: the LUHC committee noted “a practical impossibility” for Housing Benefit teams to challenge rent levels in supported accommodation.
- For national and local government, housing and support providers: a tightening of rules expected following the DLUCH and DWP investigation.
The group’s position is that funding and benefit mechanisms that directly result in people’s lives being limited, and services being pressured is not sustainable.
The invisibility of funding for housing support has been recognised and the resulting financial fragility of supported housing service acknowledged. The group notes that further research is planned to evidence the cost benefits and social benefits more clearly, with the aim of influencing future funding decisions by HSCP and local authority commissioners of housing support and supported housing services.
A review of how supported housing services are funded by the UK and Scottish Governments across capital, revenue and benefits is the ultimate course of action to resolve funding issues and to enable supported housing to provide a positive and sustainable housing option in Scotland. However, we recognise that this aspiration is a large-scale and long-term one.
In the meantime, the recommendations in this report focus on what can be delivered with the levers Scotland already has, or structures that are planned. This includes a sustainable funding framework and the development of a National Care Service working in partnership with housing that can potentially provide the fuller framework for consideration of all types of supported housing in Scotland.