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Adult Social Care Reform White Paper: People at the Heart of Care

Dep for health and social care

While the political spotlight has been on the £86,000 cap for personal care in recent weeks, the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) People at the Heart of Care: adult social care reform white paper (opens new window), includes a specific section on housing, technology and new models of care.

This is backed by capital investment to support innovative new models of housing, adapt and improve existing homes, and transform services, including the greater adoption of technology.

It cites:

 "every decision about care is also a decision about housing."

Of note. chapter (No4), 'Providing the Right Care, in the Right Place at the Right Time' , specifically outlines a range of targeted measures to encourage local authorities and their partners set out an improved strategic vision for housing related care and support for older adults and disabled adults of working age. Of particular interest for Housing LIN members will be the following:

  • Investing at least £300 million over the next 3 years to embed the strategic commitment in all local places to connect housing with health and care, including an increase the supply of new supported housing and incentivise market growth.
  • Investing at least £150 million of additional funding over the next three years to drive digitisation across the sector; and (with TAPPI in mind) unlock the potential of caretech innovation that enables preventative care and independent living.
  • Launching a £30 million Innovative Models of Care Programme to support local systems to build the culture and capability to embed into the mainstream innovative models of care. This will work for a changing population with more options for people that suit their needs and circumstances.
  • Committing a further £570 million per year (2022-23 to 2024-25) to provide funding to local areas to deliver the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG)
  • Funding a new service to make minor repairs and changes in peoples' homes, to help people remain independent and safe. This will happen alongside increasing the upper limit of the DFG
  • Continuing to invest in the Care and Support Specialised Housing fund with £210 million available for the period 2022-23 to 2024-25
  • Committing to publish a dementia strategy in 2022
  • Committing to publish a response and next steps on raising the accessibility of new homes

Jeremy Porteus, Housing LIN's CEO, speaking ahead of next week's Housing LIN's annual Summit said:

"I welcome the commitment and vision set out in today's White Paper. From HAPPI to TAPPI, it implicitly touches on many of the areas that the Housing LIN champions with a passion. The challenge now is to apply these high level ambitions to ensure that the sector explicitly has the right leadership, tools and resources to innovate and deliver the quality and range of housing and care choices that people want, not just in the right place and in the right time, but in the right home."