Information for Providers

Tameside Proposals for Sheltered Contracts -  2011/12

Questions and Answers

How will the contract value be calculated?

We will compare payments over the last few years with 2010/11 projected subsidy levels to establish an annual contract value based on the higher of these two figures unless payments have gone down due to void levels.

We will also check properties on our HB system to ensure that subsidy is being paid for all those who are claiming HB and take this into account when calculating the projection for 2010/11

Will it be chargeable or non chargeable?

The decision on charging is up to you. For some providers by changing the split between SP and housing management and making some changes to service provision it is possible to make the service non-chargeable. For others where the number of self payers is low and the split cannot be altered the only affordable option is chargeable.

In Future how will we know who to charge?

Currently tenants do not need to tell you they are in receipt of HB. You tell us who has moved in and we check on our HB system to see if they are making a claim. If they are then we pay subsidy on their behalf. Because you are getting the SP subsidy for them then you can assume they are in receipt of HB.

You will need new processes to ensure that you ask tenants for proof of receipt of HB. We expect that you will not charge any that are in receipt of any HB.

How will payments be made?

Payments can either be monthly or 4-weekly in advance as at present.
You can choose to have either one payment covering all schemes or a separate payment per scheme. (CAT1 and CAT2 will be separate payments)

Because payments no longer directly relate to individual tenancies you will not get any reconciliation information with the payment. It will be for you to decide how to apply the payment to accounts etc.

What happens if a self payer leaves and is replaced by someone eligible for subsidy?

We do not expect the payment arrangements to affect the lettings policy therefore a self payer may be replaced by an eligible person or vice versa. This means that over time the payment you receive from us may be more or less than you require to make all the necessary posts to individual accounts.

Do we have to tell you about voids?

No. The payment we make will not vary according to occupancy.

How long is this agreement for?

This is a variation to the current contract which ends September 2012.

What will happen after September 2012?

We cannot give any guarantees at to what will happen after September 2012 but, subject to the availability of funding, we will explore options to extend or re-award contracts.

As the current contracts have been extended to their maximum term any extension would be subject to a waiver of standing orders which cannot be guaranteed.

When will it be implemented?

Ideally we want to implement block gross arrangements by April 1st 2011 but in theory it can be implemented at any point in the year. In order to reduce staff workload we want to implement as soon as possible but by the end of 2011 at the latest.

We are happy for you to do a two stage process of implementing block gross chargeable now and moving to non-chargeable once changes to rents and service have been agreed if that is what you wish.

What regular information will we need to send you?

We are trying to limit the information provided as much as possible.

We do not require any information on tenants moving in and out.
We do not require information on numbers of people receiving subsidy/being charged however there may be a need to audit this at some point.

We still want the PI workbooks to be completed (we have not collected the staffing information for some time and still do not require this.)

We will ask you for a QAF self assessment annually and details of any validations you have had elsewhere. We will passport on other LA validations and external QA such as CSHS. We will only visit if there are concerns such as complaints or safeguarding issues etc.

We will ask you annually for some accreditation style information such as details of insurance cover.

What are expectations on support planning?

Where someone does not need a support plan then we do not expect you to do one but you must review the person’s needs at least every 6 months in case they have changed and whenever there is an incident (such as bereavement or illness) that may indicate the need for support.

Where individuals have a support plan we expect the QAF standards to be adhered to.

How will this apply to CAT1 services?

Payments for CAT1 will also be block gross and arrangements for deciding level of payment etc will be as above.

If you convert alarm systems to dispersed equipment we are happy to look at a needs based approach – ie you only supply the service where it is wanted/needed. A reduced volume may mean that the service can go non-chargeable. We would need to discuss this on an individual basis.

Housing Benefit Changes

From January 2012, single people aged between 25 and 35 years old will face significant reductions in their housing benefits. This Circular on Housing Benefit Changes 60.69 KB  gives more information about this change and is essential reading for anyone who works with this client group.

Soup Kitchens and Luncheon Clubs in Area

A list of soup kitchens and Luncheon Clubs, which offer services to homeless people is in the process of being updated and added to this page shortly. Often, such schemes are not well publicised. Therefore, this list does no claim to be comprehensive. Some are restricted by age, or other criteria.

Volunteering Opportunities at Making Space

Based: Tameside.

Making Space  have exciting opportunities for volunteers to get involved. At Making Space, they believe that volunteers are vital in helping people to recover.  The support, encouragement and understanding provided by our volunteers helps those using their service to feel less isolated, gain confidence and give them the freedom to enjoy an everyday life.

Making Space have a brand new service and they will be asking service users about the activities and groups they would want them to offer.

This is where you come in – Here are some of the activities you may be able to help with:

• Peer support in group settings
• Helping someone to access activities and education courses in their local community
• Dance classes
• Allotments
• Art classes
• Relaxation groups
• Music
• Being a friend to someone with similar interests
• Healthy eating
• Fishing groups
• Supporting people to follow their faith

Your travel costs and any other out of pocket expenses will be covered. People who volunteer usually find they become more confident themselves and learn new skills.

All volunteers will be supported to access training opportunities.  Volunteering can often be a step into paid employment.

For further information contact: Diane Flitcroft.

Email: diane.flitcroft@makingspace.co.uk
Tel: 0161 653 6959 Mob: 07843 268 146

All posts are subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate.
Making Space is an equal opportunities employer who
values and embraces diversity.
Registered Charity No. 512907

Information on Clinks

Clinks  supports the Voluntary and Community Sector working with offenders in England and Wales. The aim of Clinks is to ensure the Sector and all those with whom it works, are informed and engaged in order to transform the lives of offenders and their communities.

Help yourself, Organise, Move, Enjoy (HOME)

The HOME Workbook 1.35 MB was designed by a group of service users from Tameside.

Working through the challenges in the book can help service users get ready for independent living and managing your own tenancy. There’s information on lots of different subjects like eating properly, managing your money, keeping healthy, getting a tenancy and what to do once they've moved in. Staff guidance 750.16 KB  is also available on how to use the workbook.

Within the workbook there are also ‘Top Tips’ from our service users. The workbook does not have to be completed fully. It's designed so that service users can decide what issues they want to work on and pick and choose the challenges that will help them improve in that area.

'The Long and Winding Road' - pathways to settled accommodation for offenders in the North West.

The research for 'The Long and Winding Road' report  was commissioned by 4NW (Regional Leaders Board for the North West of England) the North West National Offender Management Service (NOMS), and the five North West Probation Trusts, to identify obstacles to offenders seeking accommodation, and inform regional and national policy.

It confirms the vital part played by settled accommodation in helping offenders go straight - and the virtual impossibility of securing social housing for offenders coming out of prison. It details the obstacles faced by offenders in their attempts to secure settled, and makes recommendations as to how these might be tackled.

Tameside Housing Advice Newsletter - February 2011

Tameside Housing Advice  produces a quarterly THA newsletter  which is distributed via email. This is to help communications and allow people to have an insight into what new initiatives they are working on.

Ready to Move On Booklet

The Supporting People Team, have produced a booklet entitled 'Ready to Move On'.  The information was developed in partnership with service users, Supported Housing Services, and Tameside Housing Advice.

The booklet aims to give service users some simple but handy tips to think about when they are ready to move on from supported housing accommodation.

New Housing Related Floating Support Service

The Supporting People Team have commissioned a new housing related floating support service, providing practical advice, support and assistance to people in their own homes.

Tameside Floating Support Service provides practical advice, support and assistance to people in their own homes. The service aims to help people find a home that suits their needs or help them to keep the home they are currently living in by helping them solve any problems they might have. The service can also help people moving from supported housing into their own accommodation.

To find out more information about the service, please contact the Floating Support Office on  07824 526 807 or you can email the service attamesidefloatingsupport@adullam.org.uk

Impact of changes to Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance in the budget

The Chartered Institute of Housing

In the emergency budget on the 22nd June 2010, the Government announced significant changes to Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance. The changes will mean an annual reduction of £1,765 million of Government help with Housing costs.

The impact of the proposed changes to Housing Benefit and Local Housing will affect social and private landlords, tenants and strategic housing authorities in the UK.

The briefing is designed to help you plan how to assess and mitigate the impact of changes for your own business and local area. Since the budget announcement, the Chartered Institute of Housing  has been carrying out modelling and analysis on the potential impacts on businesses.

Housing Benefit Changes

A full summary of the changes to the Housing Benefit scheme  announced in the Budget on 22nd June 2010 is given in the latest issue of Housing Benefit (Issue 103, July 2010)

To help enable local authorities to assist those tenants who will face the most serious impacts of the changes, the Discretionary Housing Payment allocation is to increase by £10 million in 2011/12 and by £40 million in 2012/13

Implications of Welfare Benefit and Tax Credit announcements for Tameside

The Chancellor, George Osborne, delivered an emergency Budget on 22 June 2010 which sets out welfare reform savings of £11 billion designed to 'reward work and protect the most vulnerable' and to make the benefit and tax credit system 'fairer and more affordable'.

North West Provider Forum Minutes

The minutes are now available from the North West Provider Forum, which was held on 14 April 2011.

Anti Bullying Guide for Projects

The Anti Bullying Guide for Projects has been developed from client led research carried out in St Mungo’s projects in 2007.

The research confirmed that….

'There is a problem with bullying within St Mungo’s first stage hostels. Not in all of them, but generally speaking it is an issue’

‘There is significant evidence that bullying occurs in some St Mungo’s hostels at a level which could be reduced with consequent positive effects for clients’

National Housing Federation Report on Sheltered Housing

The National Housing Federation have produced a report called 'More Than Just A Few Kind Words', which focuses on reshaping support in sheltered housing.  The report is a good practice guide for Housing Providers and Local Authorities.

Enhanced Opportunities Project

View the information leaflet on the Enhanced Opportunities Project 901.78 KB

Volunteering Opportunity

There is an opportunity to volunteer as a Marketing and Social Media intern. For more information view the Media and Social Media Internship Advert 70.34 KB .

Sharn Whaites
Employment and Learning Advice
Tameside Housing Advice, 119 - 125 Old Street, Ashton, OL6 7RL
0161 331 2667 / 07718783667
eop@newcharter.co.uk

Improving Diversity in Supported Housing

Within the Supporting People Five Year Strategy, it was identified that the BME groups have no provision or an under provision of services within the Supporting People Programme in Tameside. The vision and aim of the strategy for BME communities was to carry out joint working with partner agencies, providers and service users to identify unmet needs, improve take up of services by the BME community, to ensure services are targeted at those most in need.

Since then the council has commissioned a tenancy support service for the BME community, provided by Threshold Housing Project and funded a part time BME development worker to assist supported housing providers to improve access to their services for the BME community. This guide is part of that support.

Improving Diversity in Supported Housing  568.85 KB

Tameside Review of the Move On Strategy

The strategy summarises the available move-on options for people at risk of social exclusion and who are using short-term Supporting People funded services in Tameside. It describes the initiatives already developed in Tameside including the Supported Housing Register, Life Skills training and the Sanctuary Scheme.

Move-on Strategy 2007/8 216.88 KB

Tameside Alcohol Treatment and Support Services.

Below is a table which shows the Tameside and Glossop Alcohol Service Referral Criteria.

If a patient is aged under 19, please refer to Branching Out on  0161 343 6841.

*Consider SUFFS referral if children under 13 years.

View more information on Tameside's Drug and Alcohol Team.

Move On - Joint Protocol

This joint protocol has been drawn up to facilitate the resettlement process of Service Users from one agency to another agency, e.g. a Service User from Wish being directly resettled into the move on accommodation provided by Threshold

Tameside Safeguarding Children Board

The following Tameside Safeguarding Children Board (TSCB) policies are now available on the website.

• Policy for Working with Young People Facing Forced Marriage
• Policy for Working with Children and Young People Missing from Home
• Policy for Working with Sexually Active Young People under the age of 18. 

'Working with Young People Facing Forced Marriage' and 'Working with Children and Young People Missing from Home' were recently approved by the TSCB. 

'Working with Sexually Active Young People under the age of 18' (ACPC) was approved and circulated towards the end of last year and this same version is now available on the website. 

These policies should be used in conjunction with the ACPC Child Protection Procedures Handbook.  The procedures are currently being updated and will be available later this year so please continue to use them until you receive new ones from the Local Safeguarding Children Board.  The procedures are also available on the TSCB website but if you would like a hard copy of the handbook please telephone 0161 342 4348. 

Look Ahead - Guide launched to help reduce risk in supported housing projects

Look Ahead Housing and Care has produced a good practice guide to help supported housing Providers plan for risk management. Look Ahead hope that the guide will help Supporting People Providers improve their working practices, as well as meet the standards stipulated in the Quality Assessment Framework.

Titled Positive Risk Taking, the good practice guide uses snapshots of a recent research project to contextualise the importance of risk assessment and highlight the problems organisations are currently facing in trying to manage this imperfect science. It acknowledges that a one size fits all approach does not work for managing risk and therefore provides a framework including check lists and pointers to help organisations develop their own risk assessment process.

Chris Hampson, Director of Strategy and Service Delivery at Look Ahead Housing and Care commented:

"We have to accept that housing vulnerable people is risky business. We know from our initial research that some organisations are still struggling to pin point what constitutes risk and how to manage it."

"This guide should be a useful tool to others, in particular small providers, working within supported housing and care, who may not have a robust risk management process in place. For others it may serve as a checklist against which to audit existing practices, inspiring further action and debate about risk."

Good Practice Guide 1.05 MB

Or you can E-mail Look Ahead and they will post you a hard copy.

www.lookahead.org.uk