Transcript Accessible Housing

Equality in Housing
The National Policy Context –
Brief snap shot.
Rhyan Berrigan
Policy Officer - Access & Transport
UN Convention of the Rights of People with
Disabilities.
Governments should ensure disabled
people have the right to chose where they
live and who they live with. No disabled
people should be forced to live
somewhere they don’t want to live.
Article 19 - Living independently and being included in
the community
The equal right of all persons with disabilities to live in the community, with
choices equal to others, and shall take effective and appropriate measures to
facilitate full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of this right and their full
inclusion and participation in the community, including by ensuring that:
A. Persons with disabilities have the opportunity to choose their place of
residence and where and with whom they live on an equal basis with
others and are not obliged to live in a particular living arrangement;
B. Persons with disabilities have access to a range of in-home, residential
and other community support services, including personal assistance
necessary to support living and inclusion in the community, and to prevent
isolation or segregation from the community;
C. Community services and facilities for the general population are available
on an equal basis to persons with disabilities and are responsive to their
needs.
National Initiatives
• Welsh Government – Homes for Wales – A
White Paper for Better Lives and Communities.
• Welsh Government – Framework for Action on
Independent Living (which Disability Wales
supported).
• National Assembly for Wales - Communities,
Equality and Local Government Committee Home Adaptations Inquiry.
Welsh Government – Homes for Wales:
A White Paper for Better Lives and Communities
• Published in 2012.
“ For disabled people of all ages, housing is a key enabler
of independent living. Accessible and adapted housing
enables people to maintain their independence, remain
in their communities and exercise choice in the way they
live their lives”
“The further development of accessible housing registers
and continued investment in housing adaptations to
support independence”
Selected aims of the Homes for Wales white paper
Helping people to live independently in their own home
• Review the range of aids and adaptations programmes, to
secure further improvements in delivering services, and the
contribution they make to independent living and to the work of
the NHS and social services.
• Ensure there is an Accessible Housing Register covering
every local authority area, based on good practice and
collaborative working.
More integrated services and support
• Ensure that housing needs are considered by Local Service
Boards as part of the strategic needs analysis for single
integrated plans and that social landlords are engaged in the
design and delivery of the plan.
Aims continued
Supporting vulnerable people: a new model of delivery
• Develop appropriately constituted Regional Collaborative
Committees involving local government, the third sector and
other key partners to deliver the Supporting People
Programme.
• Further develop and implement revised guidance for the
Supporting People programme.
Promote Equality and Inclusion
• Implement the commitments in the Welsh Government’s
Strategic Equality Plan.
• Contribute to the housing dimension of the Framework for
Action on Independent Living.
Welsh Government – Framework for Action on
Independent Living
• Disability Wales supported the
Framework for Action on
Independent Living. Which
was developed as a result of
Disability Wales’ successful
Independent Living Now
Campaign; which culminated
in the creation of the
Manifesto for independent
living.
How the Framework for Action on Independent
Living was developed
• Independent Living NOW! Campaign ran between April 2010 March 2011
• Petition for a National Strategy on Independent Living. We
raised a petition on the National Assembly’s website in support
of this and gathered over 700 signatures!
• The Manifesto for Independent Living was published March
2011
• We supported Welsh Government’s Framework for Action on
Independent Living:
– Carried out working groups, regional meetings, national
steering group
– The draft Framework consultation ended in December 2012.
A revised Framework is due to be published in September
2013.
Framework for Action on Independent Living –
one of the key priorities were Accessible Homes
• In Wales, the legacy of poor design and build quality increases the
need for adaptations, assistive technology and other support.
• Accessible Housing Registers are a means of matching people
needing adapted properties to the vacancies available in their area. To
work effectively, there needs to be an up to date common register
that is shared between landlords and managed actively to meet
people’s needs
• Private sector new-build properties are not usually big enough to
accommodate wheelchairs. Older properties can be bigger, cheaper
and may be easier to adapt – the hurdle is the cost of adaptation.
• Problems in finding suitable housing limits the geographical mobility
and employment opportunities of many disabled people.
National Assembly for Wales - Communities, Equality
and Local Government Committee - Home Adaptations
Inquiry
• Disability Wales submitted written evidence and gave
oral evidence in March this year.
• The Inquiry Report was released just two weeks ago.
• The Welsh Government looked into the following areas:
– Role of the Welsh Government
– The Adaptation System
– Disabled Facilities Grants
– Performance Monitoring (i.e. performance
indicators)
– Funding and Resourcing Adaptations
Selected Recommendations
•
The Welsh Government (WG) should engage with the WLGA, CHC, Care and
Repair and Occupational Therapists to explore the possibility of introducing a
single point of entry to the system within each Local Authority area, where
such arrangements are not already in place.
•
WG should ensure that adequate information is available on the various
aspects of the adaptations system. This should include information clarifying
the role and rights of clients in relation to adaptations delivered under DFGs.
•
WG should work with the WLGA and other stakeholders to introduce
performance monitoring arrangements for all adaptation services across all
tenures, including DFGs, and should ensure that they are accurate and
transparent. And should issue clear and detailed guidance on the new
performance indicator so that it is interpreted and reported consistently.
•
WG should work with the various agencies involved in the adaptations
process to ensure that opportunities to recycle equipment are maximised.
•
WG should make accessible housing registers a statutory requirement.
Contact Information
: 02920 887325
: [email protected]
 www.disabilitywales.org