News

In our second Partners in Housing supplement we again look at the developing relationship between the housing and care sectors.

All the government's efforts to revitalise Britain's poorest communities and improve the lives of the most vulnerable people demand closer working arrangements.

Breaking down these barriers means it is no longer acceptable to work within narrow departmental or organisational boundaries.

We see why some housing associations no longer see their role as being one of purely a provider of low cost housing. Now they are expanding into the care sector not only because they are able to offer more comprehensive support services to their residents and clients, but also as a way of tapping into new funding streams.

Inevitably Supporting People, the government's new programme for the funding of supported housing, features prominently in our examination of the developing agenda.

The impact on social services departments could be significant as they are set to take a major role in the implementation of Supporting People.

We also assess the impact of this major change on four projects specialising in care of vulnerable people: women, older people, people with mental health problems or learning difficulties and drug or alcohol addictions.

The leaders of those projects offer Supporting People some cautious support, but do have some serious reservations about how it will work in practice.

Housing associations have become involved in the government's controversial dispersal scheme for asylum seekers, but only to a limited extent.

A partnership between two housing associations in Yorkshire has been awarded a contract by the Home Office to provide accommodation for hundreds of asylum seekers. We look at how the contract is working, but also why more registered social landlords have not joined in and helped the straining dispersal programme.

The development of local strategic partnerships to promote neighbourhood renewal and regeneration in deprived areas has not always it seems contained improvements to people's homes as a central aim.

We find out how pressure from the housing sector during the consultation period has ensured a reduction in substandard housing is now a core target in the government's drive to make communities improve their own living environments.

Finally we analyse why two specialist housing providers chose to merge, and the kind of services for people with learning difficulties the new organisation is able to offer.

Following the publication of the government's white paper on learning difficulties earlier this year it would appear the move may be extremely timely.