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.)
Thursday, 23rd January, 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
Regulation of Supported Housing & The New Licensing Regime
This day begins with a walk-through of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, which puts in place a framework for a new licensing regime in England and, potentially, Wales. 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 governs registered charities, registered social housing providers, HMOs and CICs … but nothing that specifically regulates support etc per se.
The 2023 Act changes that: It introduces a set of national standards for both accommodation and support services, and a new licensing regime which will require all organisations providing supported housing to obtain a licence administered by the local authority. The current thinking is that it could launch as early as the first half of 2025. Local authorities will take the lead role in administering and enforcing the scheme. In this Workshop, we look at:
· The provisions of the Act in general;
· 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.
We will use the remainder of the day to 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 Cases where the full rent less ineligible services can be met;
o Cases where the bedroom tax applies;
o Cases where the LHA applies;
o Cases where the Local Reference Rent applies;
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;
· When a tenancy needs to be referred to the Rent Officer;
· The amount of government subsidy payable in each case;
· 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 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:
Main part of the day:
New Licensing Regime
Second part of the day:
FAQs – Refresher
Effect Of Occupying Specified Or Exempt Accommodation
Landlord Types:
Delegates’ Questions
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.
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