The Workshop is primarily aimed at local authority HB officers making decisions about supported accommodation cases, and managers planning the shape of their future services.
(We provide a separate Workshop and Programme for RSL’s & Accommodation PROVIDERS.)
Tuesday, 3rd June, 2025.
Full-Day Workshop: (9:40 - 4:30)
Workshop Fee: £270 (No VAT)
Book 3 places and receive a 4th place FREE.
Also available for In-House Bookings - Online or at your own training venue.
HOUSING BENEFIT & SUPPORTED ACCOMMODATION:
Key Issues Refresher & Update On Regulatory Changes Planned For England
In England and Wales, only personal care is a directly regulated activity: Anyone providing support, supervision or care that stops short of intimate personal care can provide supported housing without any direct regulatory oversight. Instead, a mixture of overlapping regimes govern registered charities, registered social housing providers, HMOs, planning, etc … but nothing that specifically regulates support etc per se. The day begins with an overview of the various overlapping regulatory systems that are currently in place, and some commentary on how local authorities can use these in a “joined up” way to deter rogue providers. But when it comes to support, there is a regulatory lacuna.
In England, that is about to change! The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023puts in place a framework for a new licensing regime in England and, potentially, Wales. At this stage, the Act merely enables regulations to be made – nothing much has happened yet. But it helps to be ahead of the curve! So, the morning will continue with a comprehensive walk through of the 2023 Act:
· The provisions of the Act in general: Standards, licensing, enforcement;
· The provisions that impact directly on HB;
· How local authorities might set up their teams: Overseeing and regulating supported housing will draw together a diverse range of specialist roles, including benefits, and we will look at whether and to what extent benefits staff might be involved in the new arrangements.
In February 2025 the Government launched a consultation, which is partly concerned with the implementation of the 2023 Act but extends to other issues, including a possible change to the way in which “care, support or supervision” is defined for HB purposes. The consultation is open until May 2025 – delegates may wish to discuss the responses their local authority may have submitted.
In the second half of the day we brush up on some of the most frequent questions raised by HB staff on discussion forums and in our postbag:
· The definition of “specified accommodation” that attracts HB rather than a UC housing element;
· How the HB eligible rent is calculated for each category of “specified accommodation”:
o The different rules for registered housing associations and others;
o The significance of exempt accommodation, as distinct from the other types of specified accommodation.
· Understanding non-profit landlords, and what to make of non-profit bodies interposed into business structures with profit-making related parties.
Our handy flowcharts will guide delegates to the correct decisions on all of the above issues.
Delegates might well have their own cases that they would like to put forward for discussion during the day: With sufficient notice we can incorporate some of your questions as case studies, so please feel free to forward anything you would like to have raised!
Presented by the “HB Anorak” Peter Barker who has many years’ experience dealing with complex supported accommodation case work and representing both local authorities and providers in appeal cases.
Topics Covered:
First part of the day:
New Licensing Regime
Consultation
Second part of the day:
FAQs – Refresher
Effect Of Occupying Specified Or Exempt Accommodation
Landlord Types:
Delegates’ Questions
Contact us for In-House & Online booking information.
We are always pleased to arrange most of our Workshops, such as this one, for staff from an individual organisation to be held at their own training venue or by Zoom/TEAMS. Please email us with your requirements for details.