MD3027 Mayor’s Care and Support Specialised Housing programme 2022-25

1.1    Since 2013-14, the GLA has been administering the capital’s share of the DHSC’s CASSH programme to deliver homes for older and disabled Londoners (approved by MD1073, MD1476, MD2256, MD2672 and MD2877). To date, £125m has been spent on CASSH schemes in the capital. 

1.2    The national funding for CASSH for 2022-25 is £193m (£51m in 2022-23; and £71m in each of the years 2023-24 and 2024-25). 

1.3    The Mayor recently secured an allocation of up to £48.5m of capital funding for the programme in London. This is for start and completion payments for schemes that start on site in 2022-23, and outstanding for completion payments for schemes that started prior to 2022-23. 

1.4    London’s confirmed allocation of £48.5m for 2022-23 comprises of: 

• up to £34.5m to cover start-on-site payments for schemes that start in 2022-23; and completion payments for schemes that complete by 31 March 2023 (including those that started in previous years)  
• up to £14m for completion payments for schemes completing in future years.

1.5    The GLA and the DHSC have entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that sets out the terms of the 2022-23 funding allocation, and the responsibilities of each of the parties. The current MoU sets out the DHSC’s intention for the GLA to receive further capital allocations in 2023-24 and 2024-25 from the £193m fund. The exact level of capital funding within the overall envelope will be confirmed in future years’ MoUs. The MoU also specifies up to £150,000 to of revenue funding to administer the programme in 2022-23; and the DHSC’s intention for the GLA to receive further revenue funding for this purpose in 2023-24 and 2024-25. All capital and revenue will be received in arrears.

1.6    As at 25 July 2022, 1,764 starts and 838 completions had been achieved through the CASSH programme in London. Some allocations were made through specific bidding rounds, and some through continuous bidding. Additional projects will come forward through continuous bidding in 2022-23. As currently, providers will submit bids through the GLA’s Open Project System; and bids will be assessed according to criteria set out in the Mayor’s CASSH prospectus, as may be revised from time to time.  Officers will assess bids and, following peer review, make recommendations for funding allocations. The Executive Director of Housing and Land will approve funding allocations, in line with decision-making processes, for the affordable housing programmes, as set out in the ‘Mayoral Decision-Making in the GLA’ document. 

2.1    This funding will enhance the scale of delivery to continue to meet the aim of the Mayor’s CASSH programme – which is to boost delivery of a range of specialist housing provision with an element of care and support for older and disabled people in London. This includes extra care; assisted living; dementia care; retirement housing; supported housing for disabled adults and people with mental health problems; wheelchair-adapted homes; and housing specifically designed for people with learning disabilities and autism. This funding will grant-fund affordable housing (for rent and shared ownership). 

2.2    Benefits of the housing types delivered through this programme include:

• peace of mind, safety and security for vulnerable older and disabled people
• support to maintain independence
• improved physical and mental health
• delays and reductions in the need for primary care and social care interventions, including admission to long-term care settings
• prevention of hospital admissions
• lower care costs
• maintenance and development of links with the community
• maximisation of incomes and reduced fuel poverty
• freeing-up of family housing for the wider community.

3.1    Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, public authorities – of which the Mayor is one – are subject to a public sector equality duty, and must have ‘due regard’ to the need to:

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not
• foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not. 

3.2    Protected characteristics under section 149 of the Equality Act are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (all except the last being “relevant” protected characteristics).

3.3    The funding is specifically designed to address the housing pressures and challenges faced by older people and those living with a physical or mental disability. As of 2021, only 3 per cent of all homes in London have all four features that are deemed necessary to make a home ‘visitable’ by people with mobility difficulties (level access to the entrance; a flush threshold; sufficiently wide doorways and circulation space; and a toilet at entrance level). In addition, 23 per cent of London households headed by someone aged 65 or over are based in homes with zero visitability features. Newer homes are more likely to have more visitability features, which shows that older people and those with mobility difficulties are more likely to benefit from new housing supply. 

3.4    Figures published by the Trust for London show that 25% of older Londoners (those aged 65 and older) are living in poverty after housing costs are considered, compared to less than 20 per cent in the rest of England. Older Londoners would therefore benefit from a greater provision of affordable housing. 

3.5    A considerable proportion of households that are assessed as being owed a homelessness duty in London have one or more support needs. As of quarter 4 of 2021-22, 4,720 households (out of a total of 13,060) that were owed a duty had one or more support needs. 

3.6    The continuation of the programme will not only provide more suitable accommodation for older and disabled people in need of an affordable home. It will also have an impact on the market by enabling older homeowners to downsize, and free up larger properties into the market, in return for a stake in a more appropriate home where care and support can be received.

Key risks and issues 

4.1    The key risks are set out in the table below.
 

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities 

4.2    Policy 5.2 of the London Housing Strategy includes the following proposals that are relevant to the CASSH programme: 

• Policy 5.2A: The Mayor will work with councils, housing associations, government and others to ensure that London’s homes and neighbourhoods support London’s diverse housing needs. This will include:
  • ensuring more of London’s new and existing homes are accessible and appropriate for disabled Londoners, older Londoners and families with children, including requiring councils to provide guidance on the size mix of low-cost rented homes
  • increasing opportunities for older homeowners to move to accommodation more suitable for their needs, including benchmarks for older people’s housing requirements in the draft London Plan.
• Policy 5.2B: The Mayor will work with councils, housing associations, government, and others to ensure that Londoners who need it are provided with support so that they can live independently. This will include:
  • investing at least £100m in supported housing for older and disabled Londoners
  • making the case to government that the new funding arrangements should meet the support and housing costs of supported housing in London.

4.3    Policy H13 of the London Plan states: 

Boroughs should work positively and collaboratively with providers to identify sites which may be suitable for specialist older persons housing taking account of:

• local housing needs information including data on the local type and tenure of demand, and the indicative benchmarks set out in Table 4.3
• the need for sites to be well-connected in terms of contributing to an inclusive neighbourhood, having access to relevant facilities, social infrastructure and health care, and being well served by public transport
• the increasing need for accommodation suitable for people with dementia.

4.4    Table 4.3 of the London Plan sets out annual borough benchmarks for the delivery of specialist older persons' housing.

4.5    Strategic objective 4 of the Mayor’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy is: 

To work with councils, housing associations, government and communities to help improve the supply of homes available to meet Londoners’ diverse housing needs, including for accessible and adapted housing, specialist and supported accommodation, and Gypsy and Traveller sites.

Impact assessments and consultations 

4.6    The London Housing Strategy and the London Plan set the strategic framework underpinning the Mayor’s CASSH programme. Consultation on the London Housing Strategy was undertaken between September and December 2017. Consultation on the London Plan was undertaken between December 2017 and March 2018. Both have been subject to impact assessments.

4.7    The delivery of the Mayor’s CASSH programme since 2013-14 has involved extensive consultation with partners.

Conflicts of interest

4.8    There are no known conflicts of interest to declare for those involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision.

5.1    This decision is seeking approval for GLA to accept London’s allocation from the DHSC’s national capital funds of £193m, for its 2022-2025 CASSH programme. The capital funding will be used to finance the development of homes for older and disabled people, over three years, from 2022-23 to 2024-25. The GLA’s confirmed allocation for 2022-23 is £48.5m, as stated in DHSC’s MoU para 6.2 and 6.3, and the amount allocated to the GLA for the following two years is still to be confirmed. The 2022-23 allocation will fund starts and completions in the current year (2022-23) and completions from prior years.

5.2    The decision is also seeking approval to accept funding of £150,000 per annum, to finance revenue expenditure associated with administering the capital programme in 2022-2025.  Both capital and revenue funding for the CASSH programme will be paid to the GLA in arrears.

6.1    Under section 30(1) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (as amended) (GLA Act), the GLA has the power to receive and distribute the funding as set out above, providing it considers that doing so will further one or more of its principal purposes of: promoting economic development and wealth creation; social development; and the improvement of the environment in Greater London. 

6.2    As set out above, the funding will aid delivery of housing, including affordable housing. It is open to the GLA to take the view that funding it will promote both social and economic development; and is therefore within its powers, contained in section 30(1) of the GLA Act. 

6.3    Further, the foregoing sections of this report indicate that in preparing the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought officers have complied with the GLA’s related statutory duties to:

• pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people
• consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom
• consult with appropriate bodies.

6.4    In taking the decisions requested of him, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty – namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). These matters will also need to be considered when assessing specific bids for funding proposals and entering into funding agreements. To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

6.5    Any function exercisable by the Mayor on behalf of the GLA may also be exercised by a member of the GLA’s staff, albeit subject to any conditions which the Mayor sees fit to impose. To this end, the Mayor may make the requested delegation to the Executive Director of Housing and Land if he so chooses.

7.1    The approach will be replicated in 2023-24 and 2024-25 with continuous bidding throughout.