HLINks - This week’s essential news, views, resources and upcoming events from the Housing LIN
Welcome to #Jeremytalks and my weekly piece to audio to coincide with our must-read weekly bulletin, HLINks, week-ending Friday, 5 February 2021. It’s been another hectic week of sector news.
In this week’s round up, the Later Life Audio and Radio Cooperative (LLARC) released their latest interview with one of our #HLINSummit2020 guest speakers. In #HousingMatters, LLARC talks to Motionspot’s Ed Warner about accessible housing. We also released a new guest blog by Share and Care Homeshare’s Caroline Cooke on homesharing for intergenerational living.
And, if you work in retirement villages or extra care housing, St Monica Trust have extended the deadline of our joint national RE-COV survey to Monday, 8 February. With a few days to go, we are keen to hear how your extra care housing or retirement villages fared during the pandemic last year.
In this week’s HLINks, you can also take tour of other news and events on later life housing and independent living with regard to homes and communities, health and social care, design and technology, planning matters and more, including details about the government’s latest consultations on the proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework and a new National Model Design Code.
And, ahead of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s March Budget, you may also have seen that we signed a letter calling for an extension to the Stamp Duty Holiday for another 6 months. And lastly, out today, is retirement housing builder McCarthy & Stone’s new report Silver Saviours for the High Street.
Check these out and register here to keep in touch with all our news alerts and other notifications of your choice, sent direct to your inbox. And remember you can also follow us via our Twitter feeds: @HousingLIN, @HousingLINews and @HLINConsult
Finally, if you would like to talk to us about any matters highlighted in this week’s issue, share learning about your work and/or discuss how you can engage our highly regarded consultancy services to assist you, email ‘Jeremy talks’ at: info@housinglin.org.uk.
You can also listen to #Jeremytalks… here
Thanks for listening, stay connected and, above all, be safe during this lockdown.
Jeremy
New Housing LIN Resources
Guest blog - In good company: the need for Homeshare and intergenerational living has never been greater
This new Housing LIN guest blog by Share and Care Homeshare demonstrates the positive role intergenerational living has had since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as an attractive housing solution for older householders looking for company and support, as well as for younger homesharers looking for a home.
#HousingMatters - Episode 10: Kate Bowman and Dr Armstrong from LLARC talk to Ed Warner about accessible housing
In this latest episode of LLARC’s #HousingMatters, following the Housing LIN's Summit 2020, Kate Bowman and Dr Victoria Armstrong, discuss accessible design with Ed Warner of Motionspot.
Discussion Forum
The purpose of our peer-to-peer discussion forum allows Housing LIN members to share information, raise issues and ask questions that either enhance their sector learning and/or aid their professional and/or practice development.
Posted this week on the forum:
Coronavirus Update
Info Hub
With new stronger national lockdown in place, check out our Coronavirus Info Hub for the latest government guidance, a range of Housing LIN practice briefings for the sector and links to other useful information and websites.
Final call: National survey launched to learn from pandemic’s impact on retirement housing sector
As reported last month ahead of the new lockdown announcement, we partnered St Monica Trust in this extensive piece of research funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust. The deadline for completing the RE-COV survey has now been extended to Monday, 8 February. If you manage retirement villages or extra care housing and would like to take part, email us at: research@housinglin.org.uk
SCIE - Delivering safe, face-to-face adult day care
This guide aims to support you, day care managers, social workers, commissioners and providers, to restart or continue activities. It is focused on community-based day services, day centres (with and without personal care), including specialised day centre environments, and those with outdoor spaces.
Testing in Extra Care and Support Living Settings - reminder
NCF report that that some operators are having problems accessing testing. The government has now emailed a reminder about the process to access this testing. All staff and residents should be tested 28 days. More test kits can be accessed via the test kit order portal every 21 days. If you have not yet accessed testing, you can self-refer using the onboarding portal and the referral UON 99874802. You will need to meet the relevant eligibility criteria to register. The LA then needs to approve the request. The full testing guidance for supported living and extra care settings can be found here.
Lastly, do post or reply to questions on our discussion forum. It allows you to share information, raise issues and ask questions to solve a tricky issue. For example, can you share your organisation’s COVID-19 risk plan or information about how you are engaging with residents remotely?
Housing, Community, Disability, and Ageing
Housing LIN signs sector letter on Stamp Duty and Older Persons Housing to the Chancellor
Campaigners representing older people have written to the Chancellor calling for an extension of the Stamp Duty holiday for a further six months. We have highlighted how the cost of Stamp Duty is one reason few older people downsize, and the current holiday has helped many move to more appropriate and supported housing during the pandemic.
Silver Saviours for the High Street
This new report by retirement living housebuilder McCarthy & Stones describes how new retirement properties create more local economic value and more local jobs than any other type of residential housing. It draws attention to how, with many retirees increasing their savings since the virus hit, “silver saviours” could come to the rescue of Britain’s shops and communities post-pandemic if much-needed retirement housing developments are built in or close to town centres and high streets.
It finds that people living in a typical 45 apartment retirement development generate £550,000 of spending per year - with £347,000 going to local shops on the high street, supporting retail jobs and keeping amenities open.
Rightplace’ research into housing preferences for the over 55’s
This research project seeks to better understand the availability and accessibility of housing for people as they grow older. The project is being led by Manchester Metropolitan University in collaboration with the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub (GMCA).
It is funded by the Centre for Ageing Better and will help support Local Authorities and housing providers to make better decisions about housing provision for people as they grow older.
Cabinet Office’s Disability Unit Survey
The Cabinet Office is developing a National Strategy for Disabled People with publication expected this spring.
To help the government with understanding the barriers that disabled people face and what it may need to focus upon to improve the lives of disabled people, they are seeking the views people with disabilities to know more about their experiences.
If you are a disabled person, a carer or parent or as someone who has an interest in disability issues, please complete the online survey by 13 February 2021 if you would like to inform the development of the strategy. The survey is also available in other formats.
Opinion pieces and blogs
- C&C blog: Resident Blog: Coping with loneliness and isolation with the help of Zoom
- Shakespeare Martineau Vblog: The environmental & social benefits of village life in retirement
- The Times letters: United for All Ages - Hurtful narrative of intergenerational strife | Comment | The Times
- Community Land Trust funding news: Government announced £4 million for a renewed Community Housing Fund
- Inside Housing article: Older people’s housing was a void in the planning and social housing white papers
Design, Construction, Planning and Technology
Government National Model Design Code out for consultation
All new developments must meet local standards of beauty, quality and design under new rules under draft guidelines published by the MHCLG.
Its draft national design code has announced measures in response to last year's Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission report that seek to further inform the design of our homes and communities. While there is no explicit reference to older adults or disabled people, there is reference to greater accessibility for homes and communities and it is hoped that this means that, following its recent consultation on accessible housing design, there will be a future requirement that all homes must meet Part M 4(2) under a new code.
Government National Planning Policy Framework wants your views
To coincide with the draft Design Code, the MHCLG have also published its draft National Planning Policy Framework. While its' focus is on beauty and place-making; for example it trees to tree-lined streets for new schemes, there is specific mention of older people (p70) and, more generally, the need to take into account planning for accessibility in relation to access to amenities, transport and services, as well as the accessible and adaptable for existing and future users.
The Impact of Analogue to Digital Migration on Technology Enabled Care
This TSA paper update provides a set of actions that will aid in the protection of services and service users as part of the digital switchover. The TSA is recommending that service providers take urgent action to review the impact on their alarm services of the transition to digital telecommunications infrastructure across the UK.
Housing Design Awards 2021
We are proud to sponsor these awards organised by Design for Homes and, in particular, draw attention to designing a range of HAPPI-inspired, beautifully designed housing that meets the needs and aspirations of an ageing population. The closing date is 26 February 2021. And to take inspiration from HAPPI and past winners, view our dedicated design hub webpage.
Inside Housing Development Awards 2021 – Housing for Older People category
Ocean Media have opened entries to celebrate the very best residential developments across the UK from the past two years, including housing developments for older people. The deadline for entries is: 18 February 2021.
Opinion pieces and blogs
- Rethink Partners blog: Tech will become obsolete; your mission must be timeless
- Social Care Digital: In-home sensors being piloted by two councils to improve safety
Mental Health, Learning Disability, Health and Social Care
Call for papers for Special Issue on Intermediate Care
The Journal of Integrated Care is preparing a Special Issue on Intermediate Care. Their call for papers is now open with submission deadline by 30 April 2021. For details on submitting a research paper, case study or review on your experience of designing, commissioning, delivering, enabling or evaluating transitional and intermediate care services, click on the link below.
Housing and Dementia
Dementia Heroes Awards 2021
Tunstall have teamed up with the Alzheimer’s Society to sponsor the Dementia Heroes Awards 2021. The awards will showcase the stories of people doing outstanding things to support people affected by dementia during the pandemic.
They will also recognise the inspirational achievements of those who care for people with dementia, those finding innovative solutions in research, and the campaigners and media fighting for the rights of people with dementia. The Dementia Heroes Awards ceremony will take place during Dementia Action Week 2021 (17th-23rd May) at a virtual ceremony on 20 May 2021.
And lastly, as Secretariat to the APPG Inquiry on dementia and housing, we are now pulling together the evidence presented and submissions which will form part of the content for the forthcoming Inquiry report, due out this month.
Wales and Scotland
Wales
For Welsh government guidance on COVID-19, visit: https://gov.wales/coronavirus
Scotland
Scottish government guidance on COVID-19 can be found at https://www.gov.scot/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance/
Events
Preparing our Spring HAPPI Hour series
We are now working on a new HAPPI Hour programme and look forward to sharing our full Spring schedule of webinars in the coming weeks. However, you can already sign up to our 2nd HAPPI Hour of the year. It takes place on Thursday, 25 February 2021 and will be exploring how community-led housing and cohousing schemes in England and Wales have managed during Covid with researchers from the LSE and University of Bristol as well as the Wales Cooperative Centre.
Supporting people with learning disabilities at the edges of social care in social housing and the private rented sector
The University of Bristol and the University of York are conducting a research to understand the ways that people with learning disabilities who are on the edges of social care can be better supported to access and enjoy living in their own tenancies in the community, when this is their choice.
To provide evidence and to share understanding about the housing circumstances of people with learning disabilities, research partners, the Housing LIN and Learning Disability England, are organising a series of regional virtual roundtable events during January and February 2021.
Other events supported by the Housing LIN
We are pleased to support the following virtual event:
In next week’s HLINks
And, in next week's news, we look forward to publishing an exclusive guest blog for the Housing LIN from C&C to coincide with the release of their report on loneliness and isolation, especially capturing the experiences of their residents during Covid-19.
Lastly, the Housing LIN would like to thank Willmott Dixon for their support in producing this newsletter.