Leaseholders Policy 2007

Tameside Supporting People Commissioning Group

Background

The Supporting People grant conditions issued by the ODPM/CLG in April 2006, requires non-Excellent Local Authorities to develop a specific charging policy in relation to private leasehold supported schemes by June 2006. For the purposes of this policy Tameside has agreed to comply with non-Excellent Grant Conditions.

Presently in Tameside MBC there are 6 leasehold schemes operating in the borough, which at the time of SP going live in April 2003 had a total of 9 clients who were in receipt of Income Support and therefore requiring SP payments.

This policy is based on that produced by Oxfordshire that Communities and Local Government has identified as a model of best practice.

Definition of Leasehold Supported Schemes

Private leasehold schemes, relates to supported housing services where the provision of support is a condition of the lease.

Size of the Sector in Tameside MBC

Currently there are 6 supported leasehold schemes in Tameside MBC, although it is expected that with the rising number of elderly owner occupiers the number of projects may increase in the coming years. This policy relates to all future supported leaseholder schemes, until such time as this policy is formally reviewed and brought before the Tameside MBC Commissioning Group.

Eligibility

Leaseholders that had their support charges paid through Income Support or Minimum Income Guarantee on 31 March 2003 have been eligible for Supporting People funding from 1 April 2003. Presently in Tameside MBC there are 8 residents of leasehold schemes that receive SP payments for eligible support charges.

Leaseholders who become eligible for Income Support or Minimum Income Guarantee after April 2003 as a result of a change in their personal circumstances are eligible for Supporting People funding once the Supporting People team has received confirmation that they are in receipt of these benefits.

New leaseholders that are in receipt of Income Support or Minimum Income Guarantee can apply for Supporting People subsidy by contacting the Supporting People Team.

Leaseholders who experience a change in their personal circumstances that result in them becoming ineligible for Income Support or Minimum Income Guarantee must notify the Supporting People Team or Social Care and Health Finance team immediately.

Reviews

The CLG have exempted the leasehold sector from the 'monitoring and review of Supporting People services' guidance revised in March 2004, which includes the Quality Assessment Framework that is used by the Local Authorities to review the majority of the services funded through the programme.

This means that the Local Authorities need to develop a local methodology for reviewing leaseholder support services to ensure that services are strategically relevant and that there is a demand for services.

As the providers of the leasehold accommodation have been left outside of the formal Supporting People contractual arrangements, the main sources of information for these reviews will be the leaseholders themselves and the Pensions Service.

New Leaseholders

Those applying for financial assistance with SP eligible service costs in future have to evidence need for this support to be provided. This is in line with one of the key strategic objectives of the Tameside MBC's Supporting People programme, namely to use the Supporting People resources to target services to vulnerable people in need of the supported housing provision.

To assess the need for the support service for future leaseholders we will assess the degree of frailty /vulnerability of applicants by considering, in combination, the following criteria:

• Age - for example, people over 80 years of age
• Disability status- for example, people with a physical or a sensory impairment
• Entitlement to and receipt of Community Care services, such as personal care services
• Entitlement to and receipt of certain benefits, such as the Attendance Allowance, Income Support

Information required to inform the assessment process will be obtained from the following sources:

• Leaseholders
• The Pensions Service

The onus of the process is on individual leaseholders to provide the Tameside MBC with the supporting evidence required to confirm their eligibility for the support service. In cases where the leaseholders might find it difficult to obtain some of the required information in writing (e.g. a clear breakdown of providers' support charges), then Tameside MBC reserves the right to request this information directly from the Pensions Service. This will provide an audit trail.

It is recognised that due to the confidential nature of this information, the assessment process should be conducted in a sensitive manner and with the full co-operation from the leaseholders concerned.

Reviews

It is proposed that reviews of existing service users are conducted on an annual basis in February of each year. This will create a single assessment process whereby both the eligibility of an individual to receive the support service and the eligible service costs are reviewed at the same time. Having a single assessment process will reduce the administrative burden placed both on the vulnerable people concerned and on the administering authority. It will also bring this process in line with the annual reviews of leasehold service charges conducted by the providers.

The leaseholder service review could have two possible outcomes:

• Where the evidenced support need for the support service is established, the service will be provided until the next annual service review.
• Where the evidenced support need for the support service is not established, the service will be stopped within 1 month from the review end date. Resources freed up in the process will be used to meet other evidenced priority need for support services funded by the programme.

Leaseholders will be given an opportunity to challenge the outcome of their service review in line with the Appeals policy set up for all Supporting People services in Tameside. It is also proposed that the administering authority reports outcomes of leaseholder service reviews to the Commissioning Group on an annual basis.

Payments

The Tameside MBC Supporting People team will make annual payments to the leaseholder's bank account. In order to process payments leaseholders are requested to provide their bank details to the Tameside MBC Supporting People team.

In exceptional cases payments will not be made directly to the leaseholder. This will be in situations where the leaseholder retains a legal responsibility to pay the charge but cannot at the time of payment legally make an agreement with the Supporting People team. This might be because they have appointed an attorney or are subject to guardianship under mental health legislation or covered by the new Power of Supervised Discharge introduced by the Mental Health (Patients in the Community) Act 1995. Exceptional payments will be authorised by the Supporting People Manager and can be made to an official temporary appointee.

The Supporting People leaseholder agreement is as detailed by the letter between the Tameside MBC Supporting People team and the leaseholder.

Leaseholders will be paid annually in advance. Payments will be determined in accordance with the leaseholders' eligibility for Supporting People grant and proven liability for support charges.

The Supporting People team will write to leaseholders annually in February. If a leaseholder's circumstances have changed and they have failed to notify the Supporting People Team they will be required to repay any part of the Supporting People grant that they have not been entitled to. They will also be required to confirm that they are still in receipt of the housing related support service.

Recording

Leaseholders' personal and financial details will be recorded on the Supporting People Local System. Original documents and signed Supporting People agreements will be stored securely and this information will be subject to the requirements of the Data Protection Act.

Monitoring

Tameside MBC Supporting People team will require leaseholders to complete a monitoring form at the February review. The information for leasehold schemes will be collated, in such a way to ensure that leaseholders preserve their rights to anonymity, and fed back to the support service provider. The information is collected to ensure that leasehold schemes are performing as efficiently as rented sheltered schemes.

Responsibilities

Tameside MBC is responsible for receiving Supporting People grant from CLG and making payments to eligible leaseholders.

Leaseholders are responsible for paying the support provider for the support that they receive as part of their accommodation. Leaseholders are also responsible for notifying Supporting People of any changes to their personal circumstances, including increases in their Supporting People eligible service charges.

Providers of support services to leaseholders are responsible for continuing to provide housing related support services that make leaseholders eligible for Supporting People grant.

Equality Implications

The demographic profile of older people in the borough indicates a higher proportion of owner occupation than renting.

Resource implications

At the time of producing this policy there are 8 private leaseholders identified as requiring assistance with support costs. These cost c £700 per annum, any increase would would create difficulties for the current budget for Supporting People services. However it is highly unlikely that more than occasional applications will be received form the existing scheme.