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Agenda Item No 8

The Vale of Glamorgan Council

 

Healthy Living and Social Care Scrutiny Committee: 10th July 2018

 

Report of the Director of Social Services

 

Older Person's Housing and Accommodation Including with Care and Care Ready

 

Purpose of the Report

  1. To update Members on the assessment of older person's housing and accommodation across Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff.

Recommendations

That Scrutiny Committee:

  1. Considers the report and the implications for social care.
  2. Refers the report to the Homes and Safe Communities Committee for consideration.
  3. Refers the report together with the relevant minutes from this Committee and the Homes and Safe Communities Committee for their consideration.

Reasons for the Recommendations

  1. To inform Members of the findings of the report and the projected increased demand for appropriate accommodation to meet the requirements of an ageing population with a growing prevalence of care and support needs.
  2. To ensure that appropriate scrutiny is exercised in this cross cutting area.
  3. To ensure that the implications of this report are considered by Cabinet.

Background

  1. Part 9 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 required Regional Partnership Boards to agree an integrated Market Position Statement (MPS) and commissioning strategy for older people services.  To meet this requirement, the Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Regional Partnership Board (CVGRPB) published its MPS in January 2018, following approval by the Vale of Glamorgan Council's Cabinet, Cardiff Council and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
  2. The preparation of the MPS involved a significant collation of evidence in relation to the current care and support market, future population trends and existing accommodation options.
  3. Within the MPS, the CVGRPB also committed to "Reviewing local housing strategies in light of current provision and developing a joint regional accommodation with care and support strategy".  As part of that commitment it was agreed that the CVGRPB needed to undertake an evaluation of the level of accommodation with care and support required now and in the future.
  4. In order to complete this work, the Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN) were commissioned by the Partnership to undertake a review, using funding provided by the Welsh Government's Integrated Care Fund.  The final report is provided as Appendix 1.

Relevant Issues and Options

  1. The Assessment of Older Persons Housing Accommodation reports that the proportion of the population over 75 years is expected to increase by 71% in the Vale of Glamorgan by 2035.  This means that the Council, working with housing partners and care providers, needs to consider the development of alternative types of accommodation which enable people to live at home for as long as possible.
  2. The research undertaken by Housing LIN sought to:
  • Provide a comprehensive understanding of the nature of current housing and accommodation provision for older people - including both social and private sector housing;
  • Identify the requirements and aspirations of older people in later life specifically in relation to housing and accommodation;
  • Identify the need for older people's housing and accommodation, including different types of housing such as extra care housing, sheltered and retirement housing;
  • Set out a specification of the types of housing and accommodation that will meet the identified need and requirements of older people.
  1. The research also sought to identify current and future provision (where data allowed) for each of the 3 cluster areas in the Vale of Glamorgan: Central, Eastern and Western Vale.

Current Provision

  1. The findings of the research revealed that in the Vale of Glamorgan the most prevalent type of older people's housing is sheltered housing (625 units) and other age designated housing (927 units) in the social rented sector.  The current private retirement housing provision (204 units) also provides some mix of housing choices for different equity and income groups.
  2. It was also reported that there is very limited extra care housing/housing with care provision in the Vale of Glamorgan (42 units) when compared with the prevalence of residential care beds (464 beds).
  3. The research also highlighted a number of challenges regarding current housing in relation to a low proportion being wheelchair accessible and approximately 50% of older people schemes having a lift across Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan.

Future Provision

  1. In order to identify future requirements, Housing LIN modelled the provision of accommodation on the basis that the preferred approach by the Council would be to increase the number of extra care housing units as a direct alternative to the use of additional residential care beds.  Similarly it was also assumed that partners would wish to increase the supply of Housing our Aging Population Panel for Innovation (HAPPI)[1] inspired 'care ready' contemporary sheltered / retirement housing for older people which is suitable for ageing at home e.g. accessible living space, accessible kitchens and bathrooms to allow domiciliary care to be provided without necessitating a move to residential care.
  2. Based on these assumptions, it is forecast that by 2035 the Vale of Glamorgan will require an additional 586 additional older person housing units, 385 housing with care units and 326 additional nursing care beds.
  3. As part of the research an online survey and a series of focus groups and interviews with older people were also undertaken across the Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff.  The engagement revealed a number of key messages to be taken into consideration for future development:
  • Adaptations to bathrooms; installation of grab rails; improving access such as ramps and installations of stair lifts/lifts were the most popular adaptations people had made or were planning to make to enable people to stay in their own homes;
  • The main reasons for planning a move from home was to live in a smaller and more accessible home; to move nearer to family and/or friends and to have access to care services;
  • The most popular locations in the Vale of Glamorgan that people wished to move to were Western Vale and Eastern Vale;
  • The most popular types of housing older people are seeking to move to are bungalows, followed by houses and then flats.  60% wanted at least 2 bedrooms in a property to consider downsizing.  Other key factors were safety/security; having a private garden; adequate storage; having a garage or parking; moving to an area with cafes/shops;
  • Nearly half of respondents (47%) would not wish to move to housing designated for older people although 29% would consider this, with many wanting a visiting or on-site staff presence.

Research Recommendations

  1. The Final Report (Appendix 1) sets out a number of recommendations for the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the wider Partnership to consider.  These include:
  • Further development of contemporary 'care ready' sheltered/retirement housing which is without care on site but enables people to age at home;
  • Mainstream housing developments to include well designed units which appeal to older people and which promote inter-generational housing;
  • Increase the delivery of housing with care options including extra care and extra care 'lite' which may include smaller scale new build developments and redesigning some appropriate sheltered housing schemes to include a 'care hub';
  • Develop a comprehensive information and advice service for social housing tenants and homeowners in relation to adaptations and housing options;
  • Scale up the development of 'step-down' housing based models of care to support timely discharge and promote reablement;
  • To work with the Welsh Government in relation to affordable housing targets and the potential for guidance in relation to older people housing;
  • To work with care providers to consider alternative service models to residential care, including provision of nursing care.

Next Steps

  1. Following completion of this research, the findings will be discussed further with the Vale of Glamorgan's Housing Forum and Care Provider Forums.  The intention is that the report will also form an addendum to the Local Housing Market Assessment which will subsequently inform future planning policy.
  2. As part of the wider partnership working across the region, the CVGRPB will also host a stakeholder event in the Autumn to encourage further discussion on joint working, including opportunities to align funding such as the Welsh Government's Integrated Care Fund.

Resource Implications (Financial and Employment)

  1. There are no resource implications arising directly from this report.  However, the research should inform future capital developments across the Vale of Glamorgan and wider region.

Sustainability and Climate Change Implications

  1. There are no sustainability and climate change implications arising directly from this report.

Legal Implications (to Include Human Rights Implications)

  1. There are no legal implications arising directly from this report.

Crime and Disorder Implications

  1. There are no crime and disorder implications arising directly from this report.

Equal Opportunities Implications (to include Welsh Language issues)

  1. There are no equal opportunities implications arising directly from this report.

Corporate/Service Objectives

  1. This report is consistent with the Corporate Plan 2016-2020:  Well-being Outcome 4: An Active and Healthy Vale - Objective 8: Safeguarding those who are vulnerable and promoting independent living.

Policy Framework and Budget

  1. This is a matter for Executive decision.

Consultation (including Ward Member Consultation)

  1. The issue relates to all areas of the Vale of Glamorgan.  Therefore, there has been no individual ward consultation in relation to this matter.

Relevant Scrutiny Committee

  1. Healthy Living and Social Care and Homes and Safe Communities

Background Papers

Assessment of Older Person's Housing and Accommodation including with Care and Care Ready, Housing LIN 2018

'Me, My Home, My Community' - Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Market Position Statement and Commissioning Strategy: Care and Support Services for Older People 2017-2022

Contact Officer

Rachel Jones, Assistant Director - Integrating Health and Social Care

Officers Consulted

Lance Carver, Director of Social Services

Mike Ingram, Head of Housing and Building Services

Responsible Officer

Lance Carver, Director of Social Services.


[1] Housing our Ageing Population Panel for Innovation - https://www.housinglin.org.uk/Topics/browse/Design-building/HAPPI/