SUPPORTING PEOPLE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA POLICY

Author / Tim Bryant - Supporting People Lead Officer
File Name / G:\msosp\REVIEW\Eligibility\Bolton SP Eligibility Criteria Policy - Revised Dec'05.doc
Created / 11-Jun-04
Last Edited / 16-Dec-05
Number of Pages (incl. this one) / 11
Version / Revision Date / Revision Description / Author / Sign-off
1.0 / 11-Jun-04 / Final Draft / Tim Bryant / CB 11.06.04
2.0 / 16-Dec-05 / Update / Rebecca Smith / CB 16-12-05

CONTENTS

Page Nos
1. / Introduction / 3
2. / Background / 3
3. / Defining Housing Related Support / 4
4. / Provision of occasional welfare services / 5
5. / Exclusion of Statutory Duties / 5
6. / Exclusion of Services in Relation to Court Orders / 6
7. / Exclusion of Housing Management Activities / 6
8. / Distinction of Personal Health and Social Care from Housing Related Support / 7
8.1 / Personal care / 7
8.2 / Social Care / 8
9. / Health Care Ineligibility / 8
10. / Domestic Care / 8
11. / Duration of Support / 9
12. / How is the Criteria applied? / 9
13. / Eligible Task List / 9
A / Supporting People Eligible Task List / 11

SUPPORTING PEOPLE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

1.0 Introduction

1.1 The Supporting people Eligibility Criteria was introduced in Bolton in October 2004. Supporting People (SP) grant is paid for the provision of “housing related support.” This is defined on a statutory basis in the schedule attached to the Supporting People grant conditions 2003.

1.2 The ODPM have stated that they expect the programme to only deliver services as set out in grant conditions and that through transitional funding arrangements it is funding some ineligible services.

1.3 Therefore by the end of the ‘interim period’ March 2006 the ODPM expect only housing related support, is funded through the program.

1.4  There are a number of ‘grey areas’ inherited from previous funding regions such as Transitional Housing Benefit and Supported Housing Management Grant, which need eligibility clarification.

1.5  Previously under Transitional Housing Benefit there were limitations around the assessments for funding. These included insufficient Department of Welfare and Pensions guidance, Housing Benefits lack of expertise of Housing Related Support and the assessments only being desktop based.

1.6  The ODPM published new grant conditions in February 2003, which narrowed the definitions of grant use for example SP funds not to be used to discharge statutory responsibility and therefore non eligible.

1.7  The eligibility criteria is also necessary due to the national Independent review and spending review in 2004 which will inevitably lead to cuts from central government over 2005/6 & 2006/7. The eligibility criteria will enable the SP team to identify savings on non-eligible services.

2.0 Background

2.1  The distinction between “support” and other forms of assistance such as care and housing management are fine academic distinctions. Due to this most commissioners and providers have difficulty in distinguishing the type of service being offered. This distinction is necessary and is also vital in accessing which funding sources should be contributing.

2.2  As part of the Service Review process Stage 1 it is necessary for there to be an assessment of the reasonableness of the costs themselves. In order to achieve this it is important to have definition of eligible activities.

2.3  This policy addresses the need to define the housing related support as distinct to Housing Management, Care and other forms of support.

3.0 Defining Housing Related Support

3.1  The support offered to service users has to be part of a package of support agreed with the service user. There must be a written support plan in place, which sets out the aims and objectives including when reviews of the plan will take place.

3.2  The SP Grant conditions say that the service user has to have “vulnerabilities” which render them in need of support services. Any SP service should have statement of criteria for admission and process for assessment, which would be relevant for the target group.

3.3  Housing-related support has to be provided to adults as only adults can have the capacity to hold an interest in a property and thereby satisfy the criteria for increasing or maintaining independence. There are exceptions to this as outlined in the Governmental briefing 4 on Woman’s Refugees.

3.4  The most recent grant conditions has changed the emphasis from early documents by referring to people living independently in “accommodation” rather than in the community. Housing related support is therefore focused an enabling people to sustain their maximum degree of independence in their accommodation.

3.5  In order to maintain independence a service user must be able to:

·  Pay for their accommodation

·  Fulfil tenancy on owner occupier responsibilities

·  Know how to obtain necessary services such as utilities

·  Know how to deal with repairs/improvements to their property

·  Able to keep their accommodation warm, safe and comfortable.

·  Be able to look after themselves with the addition of care and support services where necessary

·  Get on with neighbours

·  Access community services.

·  Not feel isolated in their accommodation

3.6  “ Short-term” SP funded services are aimed at enabling people to

acquire the opportunity and ability to live independently in this way (either while living in less-independent residential settings or while living in independent accommodation). Whereas “Long-term” SP funded services are designed to help service users move towards this independence, without any necessary expectation that they will ever be able to achieve it fully, or to minimise the reduction in independence due to increasing age or infirmity.

4.0 Provision of occasional welfare services

4.1 Grant conditions allow for SP grant to be used to fund “their welfare services” i.e. those that fall outside the definition of housing related support if they are occasional and if they are ancillary to the housing-related support services. The Supporting People guidance makes it clear that these services have to be ad-hoc in their nature and integral to the delivery of the housing related support services.

4.2 Such assistance is therefore eligible if the predominant amount of assistance provided is legitimately housing related support and if is not regularly and consistently provided as a matter of course for all service users.

4.3 With the grant conditions intending to minimise this area of eligibility it would be reasonable to consider that no more than 10% of the total cost of the support service should cover ancillary assistance.

Ancillary Assistance could include the following:

·  Advice to service users with substance misuse problems

·  Assistance and advisory to access education

·  Engagement with employers on behalf of service users

·  Active assistance with shopping and cooking

·  Assistance in maintaining the garden (only where the service user is responsible)

·  Active assistance with personal hygiene

·  Transport of service user

·  Advice in relation to relationships including family matters

·  Advocacy with health professionals over medication and related matters

·  Storage and distribution of medication

4.4  Some of the services list above will be excluded from SP funding due to support being provided as a statutory duty as set out in point 5.0.

5.0  Exclusion of Statutory Duties

5.1  The SP grant conditions specify that services will be deemed ineligible where:

·  Services by the administering authority in satisfaction of a statutory duty placed on that authority and services to enforce specific requirements imposed by a count of law.

·  Social services duties under community care legislation.

·  NHS and Community Care Act 1990 section 47(1) and other related legislation which gives the responsibility to carry out assessments on those who may be in need of community care services. Therefore any such assessments carried out on behalf of the authority would be ineligible.

·  Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 (Section2 Para1) – where a person is classified as disabled under the legislation then certain services must be provided including:

·  Providing practical (domestic) assistance in the home.

·  Providing assistance to take advantage of educational/leisure facilities

·  Organising, facilitating, and accompanying service users on outings and holidays.

·  Transporting service users or providing other assistance to enable them to make use of services outside the home.

·  Providing meals

·  Assisting service users to make adaptations or improvements to their home.

·  Mental Health Act 1983 Section 117(2) – joint duty of health and social services to provide “after care services” The scope of “after care” is not defined in the legislation but there should be agreed policies which establish “the criteria for which services fall under section 117 and which authorities should fund them.”

6.0 Exclusion of Services in Relation to Court Orders

6.1 SP grant is precluded from paying for a service which covers the supervision by the support services for court orders such as:

·  Curfews

·  Condition to reside

·  Electronic tagging

·  Drug Treatment

·  Testing Orders

·  Or other specific order

7.0 Exclusion of Housing Management Activities

7.1 This Includes

·  Rent or service charge-setting, collection or accounting

·  Establishing, issuing and enforcing the licence on tenancy agreement

·  Inspection, repair, improvement or replacement of landlord contents.

·  Organising the provision of any accommodation-related services

·  Ensuring residents are aware of their rights according to housing law, Housing corporation guidelines and tenancy/licence obligations

7.2 Landlords do provide other services which can be either determined as housing management or housing related support, Examples of this include:

·  Assisting tenants with reducing rent arrears

·  Using equipment safely

·  Providing advice on move on accommodation

·  Allocation of supported housing

7.3 The key aspect of whether the service is eligible is whether it is provided within a support package for a vulnerable person. It could not be eligible for example if the service is generic to a particular estate or “patch.”

8.00 Distinction of Personal Health and Social Care from Housing Related Support

8.1 Personal care

8.1.1 In the DOH papers supported housing and care homes-guidance on Regulation (August 2002) the following definitions were provided on these 4 levels of “care”:

·  Level 1-assistance with bodily functions such as feeding, bathing and toileting

·  Level 2-care which falls just short of assistance with bodily functions, but still involving physical and intimate touching, including activities such as helping a person get out of a bath and helping them to get dressed.

·  Level 3-non-physical care, such as advice, encouragement and supervision relating to the foregoing, such as prompting a person to take a bath and supervising them during this

·  Level 4-emotional and psychological support, including the promotion of social functioning, behaviour management, and assistance with cognitive functions.

Level1 and 2 are described as personal care. Level 1 has to be available if required, for a service to acquire Registered Home status. Level 1 or 2 Care has to be provided for a service to be classified as Domiciliary Care. In all circumstances Level 1 and 2 Care are ineligible for SPG i.e. any assistance that involves intimate bodily contact on a regular basis is outside the definition of housing-related support.

8.2 Social Care

Level 3/4 in these terms would encompass what is referred to in the DOH paper as “Social Care” although this is never explicitly defined. Supervision in relation to bodily functions e.g. being present whilst someone takes a bath would not be eligible whereas advice and encouragement to take a bath could be considered as an occasional welfare activity.

8.3 Level 4 some elements are interchangeable with Housing Related Support where there is a focus on enabling service users to live independently in their accommodation.

9.0 Health Care Ineligibility

9.1 In most cases it is not likely to be considered as housing related support. However medication storing and distribution is the only exception to this but only where it is an ancillary function.

9.2 Specialist Counselling and Therapy Services are also explicitly excluded from eligibility by Supporting Peoples grant conditions.

10.0 Domestic Care

10.1 The provision of domestic services is defined as being outside the scope of Supporting People grant eligibility. Such charges are also not Housing Benefit eligible and are outside the remit of community care funding. Examples of Domestic Care include:

·  Household cleaning

·  Provision of meals

10.2 Supporting People has however inherited an illogical situation of domestic care being funded by Transitional Housing Benefit. There are some commonsensical reasons for providing these services to complement the Housing Related Support

10.3 Examples include:

maintaining the condition of the property is a condition of the tenancy. Cleaning prevents certain service users putting their accommodation at risk.

·  Health and Safety – an unclean house may make it difficult for a service user to live independently.

10.4 The most consisted approach would be to consider that time spent assisting the service user to organise any domestic care would be eligible if it is part of housing related support package. Time spent actually cooking, cleaning, gardening etc. should not be eligible.

10.5 Moving immediately to the position outlined in 10.4 would unreasonably disadvantage significant numbers of service users and therefore a pace of change will be needed to minimise this

10.6 The suggested approach includes:

·  Newly commissioned services would not be eligible for domestic care

·  Legacy funded services would continue to be eligible if through service reviews it can be evidenced that the service directly contributes to the service users ability to maintain their accommodation.

11.0 Duration of Support

11.1  There is no determined limit of time for a package of housing related support. However the programmes aim is generally to deliver housing related service users achieve higher levels of independence. The exception is where independence reduces due to reasons of increasing age or infirmity.

11.2  The important consideration is how much of the service is aimed at “resettlement” and how much is long term maintenance. Over time the former should always reduce.