Housing Support Enabling Unit

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Consultation by the Scottish Government

A consultation document was launched on 8th May 2012 relating to future integration. Deadline for response is 31st July 2012. To find out more.

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Wider Planning for an Ageing Population

View the Unit's response to the recent government consultation on Wider Planning for an Ageing Population

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Fresh Thinking, New Ideas Housing Policy Discussion Paper

The Scottish Government launched a policy discussion paper on housing on 1st June 2010 and is inviting the public to comment on the issues outlined in it.  The government’s intention is to conduct consultation events across Scotland this summer and produce a Policy Paper towards the end of the year.

The paper acknowledges the difficult financial situation Scotland faces and its impact on housing both new and existing.  It acknowledges changing demographics and the increase in numbers of households as well as the increasing age of the population.  The importance of technology in meeting people’s changing housing needs and the role of housing support in promoting independent living are touched on.  An acknowledgement is made of the risk that preventative housing support services may be coming under increasing financial pressure – this is something which the HSEU highlighted in its research in 2009.

The paper also highlights the role of housing options advice at various stages of a person’s life could promote more personalised housing services.

The paper invites readers to answer the following questions (amongst others):

  1. To what extent should individuals be financially responsible for meeting their own support needs and housing adaptations as they grow older and to what extent should the state support them?
  2. How can we move to a 'housing options first' approach, across tenures, so that households can plan for the future and avoid housing crises and homelessness?
  3. How can stakeholders pool knowledge and resources to take forward a more personalised housing options approach?
  4. How could public services and Government funded bodies work better together to improve housing and related services to vulnerable groups?
  5. Should Government spend less on building and improving social houses and more on providing the underlying and supporting infrastructure?
  6. What technologies are available that could be exploited further to raise the performance and efficiency of housing and housing services?

To join in the discussion go to the government’s website.

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Inquiry into Preventative Spending

The Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee is conducting an inquiry to ‘consider and report on how public spending can best be focused over the longer term on trying to prevent, rather than deal with, negative social outcomes. The Committee is particularly interested in specific, practical evidence from the UK and abroad of how preventative spending has been effective.’

View the Unit's response.

The Committee’s inquiry homepage  contains further background on the inquiry.

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Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001

The Scottish Government is seeking views on proposals to reduce the minimum frequency of inspection by the Care Commission of certain care services (including housing support) from 1 April 2009.

The specific proposals for reducing minimum inspection frequencies for certain care services from 1 April 2009 are set out in Annex A alongside the rationale and supporting evidence. Specific questions to be addressed and the respondent information form are set out in Annex B. Information on the consultation process is contained within Annex C. The Scottish Government would welcome views on the proposals. The closing date for responses was 31 December 2008. 

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Public Sector Reform Act

Public Sector Reform Act

View the Unit's response to the government consultation.

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Recovery of Expenditure for Provision of Social Care Consultation of Regulations and Revised Guidance of Ordinary Residence

The Scottish Government has now issued draft guidance and draft regulations on how local authorities should go about funding social care when a person moves from one area to another. The guidance includes an examination of the term 'ordinarily resident' citing case law.  The guidance also provides example case studies as a way of demonstrating how social care should be organised and paid for in various situations. Whilst the case studies mostly deal with care there is also mention of supported accommodation.

The deadline for comments to be with the Scottish Government was19th January 2009. [doc-49.2kB]

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Consultation on proposals for a Self-Directed Support (Scotland) Bill

Read the HSEU'S response to the Scottish Goverment's proposals.

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The role of the registered social worker in contributing to better outcomes for Scotland: Guidance for local authorities.

The Scottish Government is seeking views on the guidance document on The Role of the Registered Social Worker in Contributing to Better Outcomes for Scotland: Guidance for Local Authorities.

The guidance has been drafted by the Changing Lives Practice Governance Group, which is one of the five change groups that were set up following the publication of Changing Lives. The Group is chaired by Andrew Lowe, Director of Social Work at the Scottish Borders Council, and includes a number of senior figures from the social work sector, supported by Scottish Government officials. In drafting the guidance, the Practice Governance Group has worked closely with key stakeholders.

The purpose of this consultation is to seek your views on the guidance document.
The consultation period starts on 5 July 2009, and will run for 12 weeks. The deadline for responses is Friday 25 September 2009.

Full details of the guidance and how to respond are available on the Scottish Government Website.

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Introduction of final dates for prescribed descriptions of social service workers to achieve registration with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC): A Consultation Paper

The Scottish Government is carrying out a consultation on end dates for the registration of social services workers under Phase 1 and those groups in Phase 2 for whom the register is opened. Once these end dates have been set it will be illegal for employers to employ someone who is not registered with the SSSC after the end date.

The consultation does not cover housing support workers. The Scottish Government is planning to lay a Scottish Statutory Instrument (SSI) in the future which will open the register for housing support staff. At the same time the SSI will also indicate end dates for registration.

In setting end dates the Scottish Government has no set formula but takes the following into consideration:

  • the date the register opens
  • the number of staff who will be required to register
  • what is deemed to be a reasonable timescale for employers and staff to apply for and obtain registration with the SSSC
  • the time needed for the SSSC to process applications to register

Whilst this current consultation does not cover housing support workers you may still have views about the sort of timescales the Government is suggesting for Phase 1 and 2 - bearing in mind that a similar method may be used for setting end dates for housing support workers in the future.

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HSEU's response to the Review of Supporting People Managment Information Return

The HSEU has prepared a response to the Scottish Government's consultation paper on the Review of Supporting People Managment Information Return.

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Firm Foundations

The Unit has prepared a response to the Scottish Government's document Firm Foundations: HSEU response [doc-28.2kB].

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Reforming Public Sector Procurement - Get Your Voice Heard!

The Scottish Government hopes that by hearing the views and experiences of Small or Medium sized Enterprise's and Social Enterprise's it will be able to improve existing procurement processes.

The Scottish Government has commissioned a partnership of two independent consultancies, Wood Holmes Group and Accelerate, to listen to Small or Medium sized Enterprise's and Social Enterprise's views, experiences and attitudes towards bidding for public sector work through working collaboratively with other businesses.

If you would like to take part, please contact Chaitanya Bal on 0191 2112990 or cbal@woodholmes.co.uk . You can choose between giving a highly focused confidential interview (face to face or by telephone, as you prefer) in January/ February 2009 and/or attending a workshop event in early March.

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Self-directed Support Bill

HSEU response to Scottish Government consultation on the draft Self-directed Support Bill.

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