LINks - the Housing LIN's essential weekly bulletin (w/c 12 October)
Welcome to LINks, the weekly e-bulletin from the Housing LIN (Learning and Improvement Network) where we put a selection of latest information, resources and events under the spotlight.
At the time of writing, the government has laid down the Housing and Planning Bill before Parliament. Click here (opens new window) for more.
We will cover this in our forthcoming quarterly newsletter. In the meantime, in this week's issue, we would like to draw your attention to the following key housing with care matters:
New Housing LIN Care and Support at Home webpages
With the generous support of the Home Group, one of the UK's largest providers of supported housing services, the Housing LIN has developed an exciting new addition to its online library.
Designed for adult social care commissioners, housing and care providers, primary care services and NHS hospital trusts, the new 'Care and Support at Home' pages will assist with shaping, commissioning, funding, and delivering a range of care and support solutions for people living in their own homes, especially in the light of the Care Act 2014.
Launched at the National Children and Adult Services (NCAS) conference in Bournemouth conference, the pages provide useful tools, resources and examples of innovative approaches to enabling older people and people with disabilities to live well and independently in their own homes. Speaking at NCAS, Rachael Byrne, Executive Director of Care and Support at Home Group said:
"Housing LIN is an invaluable learning resource that plays an big part in helping organisations like Home Group ensure that our schemes and developments - past, present and future - meet the needs of elderly and disabled people. "
"We are proud to be involved and will continue to regard HLIN as an important partner that helps us to meet and overcome the many challenges that the care and support sector faces now and in the future. We would recommend others to participate and support them too."
Browse the new pages at: http://www.housinglin.org.uk/Topics/browse/CareAndSupportatHome/ (opens new window)
Open Plan - Building a strategic policy toward older owners
This paper from The Strategic Society Centre, supported by Hanover Housing, explores implications of their research (see next item) and what it means for the different policy agendas around older homeowners: specialist housing and home adaptations; under-occupancy and housing supply; the use of housing wealth to fund retirement; and, housing wealth taxation and fairness. It argues the government should:
- Increase the supply and take-up of specialist retirement housing - in the right locations
- Tackle the barriers and costs of moving home for older homeowners;
- Tackle the affordability gap' for older homeowners through partial/shared ownership and 'Help to Buy';
- Help older homeowners 'downsize in place'.
The Colour Report
This McCarthy and Stone study examines later-life in the 21st century. It aims to dispel the myths of retirement and to uncover the truths about growing old. The report investigates three key areas: what it means to be ageless, relationships and love in later-life and the importance of the body beautiful - remaining active and taking care of yourself. It reveals that retirees are in the prime of their lives, with an outlook far younger than their years.
View at: http://www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk/colour-report/ (opens new window)
Transforming care pathways for people with dementia - Linking housing, health and social care
This briefing by NHF, produced in partnership with HACT, highlights the role housing associations can play in transforming dementia care pathways. It aims to encourage health and social care commissioners to work more closely with housing providers at a local level. Also to design more robust and coordinated pathways of support for the increasing number of families who will be living with dementia over the next few decades. More at: www.housinglin.org.uk (opens new window)
Independent Age's 'Care Act Watch' survey
Independent Age have launched an online survey to find out about older people's (people aged 65 and over) experience of seeking care and support from their local authority in England. They hope the findings will provide insight into how local authorities are getting on following the implementation of the Care Act in April 2015.
Please see the link to the survey: http://www.independentage.org/campaigning/our-campaigns/care-watch/ (opens new window)Telecare News Headlines
- Telecare News Headlines: 15 October 2015 (doc - 126Kb) (opens new window)
- Telecare News Headlines: 15 October 2015 (pdf - 388Kb)
Forthcoming Housing LIN events/meetings
Please note that we are currently planning a series of free regional events and meetings, as follows:
- South & South West Housing LIN annual conference on Tuesday, 20 October in Bristol
- West Midlands Housing LIN meeting on Tuesday, 27 October in Bournville, Birmingham
- North West Housing LIN annual conference on Tuesday, 3 November in Warrington
- North East Housing LIN annual conference, 11 November
- Eastern Housing LIN regional meeting on Wednesday, 12 November in Chelmsford
- London Housing LIN regional meeting on Monday, 16 November in Morden
More information and registrations to attend these events can be found at:
http://www.housinglin.org.uk/Events/ForthcomingEvents/
If you are not already registered to receive notifications about our events and meetings in your region, create your own Housing LIN account by logging at:
http://www.housinglin.org.uk/useraccount/ (opens new window)
Other Events (supported by the Housing LIN)
Housing, support and care via a skilled workforce; Skills for Care and Sitra
Skills for Care, in partnership with Sitra, are holding 6 free events across England between October 2015 and January 2016 aimed at Housing with Care and Support employers. These workshops will focus on the critical role of housing in promoting wellbeing and how this can be delivered via a well trained workforce. You can book on to one of these events at: here (opens new window)
Click the link below to view their website: http://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/home.aspx (opens new window)
Bringing together health and housing - enabling better health and wellbeing
Aimed at health, housing and social care professionals, this King's Fund conference is being held on Wednesday, 21 October 2015 in London. It will feature a selection of examples of joint working between housing and health and care services, that are showing real successes in improving health and wellbeing outcomes for their populations.
More info at: http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/events/housing-and-public-health
Stay networked with the Housing LIN for latest news, views and resources on housing with care matters.