Adults Supported Housing Market Position Statement August 2024

The government defines supported housing as accommodation provided alongside support, supervision or care to help people live as independently as possible in the community. Individuals using supported housing include: 

• older people 
• people with a learning disability 
• people with a physical disability 
• autistic people 
• individuals and families at risk of or who have experienced homelessness 
• people recovering from drug or alcohol dependence 
• people with experience of the criminal justice system 
• young people with a support need  
• people with mental ill health 
• people fleeing domestic abuse and their children 

Supported housing provides a vital service for the most vulnerable people in society. Within Stockton on-Tees, supported housing is accommodation provided by a range of providers including registered providers, as well as charities and voluntary organisations that offers a level of support to tenants which is over and above that which would normally be provided by a good landlord. 

There are three types of supported housing, though there can be a crossover between them.  

These are: 

• sheltered and extra care provision, for older people who may benefit from living in purpose-designed accommodation or those with care or support needs 
• short-term or transitional provision for those in crisis because of, for example, domestic abuse or homelessness 
• long-term provision for those with long-term physical or mental health conditions and learning disabilities

Supported housing schemes can vary significantly in size and scale from large extra care type accommodation to smaller individual units of accommodation. Supported housing schemes that fall into the category of specified accommodation (also known as specified supported housing) fall under the housing benefit system, rather than Universal Credit. housing benefit recognises the higher costs of providing such accommodation and should regulations be satisfied providers will be exempt from the local housing allowance rate.

A PDF copy of the Adults Supported Housing Market Position Statement can be requested by emailing strategichousing@stockton.gov.uk.

This statement sets out Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's (SBC) view on the current market in relation to supporting adults with a long-term need for supported housing up to 2032. It also explains Stockton's approach to ensuring that there is sufficient, safe, and good quality appropriate accommodation with support for adults in the Borough. This position statement relates to accommodation for adult customers only, as children's services will be engaging with the housing market at a later date. 

 This statement is designed to: 

• provide clarity to potential partners and investors to who the Council consider to be our priority needs groups based upon an assessment of our local, supported housing needs requirements
• provide a summary of current provision, capacity and identify unmet needs
• outline the Council's preferred method of engagement and the required due diligence for new services to be commissioned

We are committed to ensuring that the provision of supported housing across the Borough is of a good quality, supports vulnerable people to maintain independence, is aligned to our local housing needs assessment and provides value for money. 

This statement brings together information about the local market so that current and prospective partners understand the local context, what is likely to change, and where opportunities could arise.  

Within the statement, it is provision for those with learning difficulties or disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, physical disabilities, mental health conditions and older people who may benefit from living in purpose designed accommodation which is being referred to as supported housing.  

The data used in this statement has been collated from a report titled "Specialist Housing Needs Assessment: Stockton-on-Tees" which Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council commissioned from The Housing Learning and Improving Network and produced in December 2022. The report was compiled with the use of existing data in public domain, together with data and documents from both Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and partners. This data has been used alongside the Office for National Statistics (ONS) CENSUS 2021, NHS Digital and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Short and Long-Term support data.  

We are keen to engage in discussions that specifically address the following housing needs in Stockton-on-Tees: 

1. Housing for adults with a learning disability and or autistic people
2. Housing for adults with a mental health need
3. Housing for adults with physical disabilities
4. Housing for older people including extra care housing

At this moment in time, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council have access to sufficient supported accommodation to address the accommodation needs of those that are: 

• impacted by homelessness
• impacted by domestic violence  
• individuals with Alcohol and or substance misuse needs

The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act became law on 29 August 2023. This new legislation affects supported housing providers by setting a framework for the supported housing and older person's housing sector. If you are a supported housing provider, you need to be aware of the new regulations linked to the Act2. The Support Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 aims to tackle poor quality supported housing and protect residents. Consultation on how the Act will be implemented is expected during 2024. 

The Act will introduce new systems for: 

• licensing by local authorities
• standards for support
• obligations on local authorities to develop strategic supported housing plans

We will update this statement once further information regarding the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 has been released by the Government.  

The population of Stockton-on-Tees is 196,600 (The Office for National Statistics, 2021) a rise of 2.6 percent since the 2011 census, however this is a lower increase that the overall increase for England (6.6%). The Office for National Statistics estimates that the population in Stockton-on-Tees will rise to 200,459 by 2032 with an increase of 5,193 individuals aged 30 plus. 

Stockton-on-Tees has areas of great affluence existing alongside some of the most deprived areas in England. The most recent health profile for Stockton-on-Tees highlights that many children do not get the best start in life and many adults experience more ill-health and admissions to hospital compared to the national average. 

Life expectancy for people living in Stockton-on-Tees is below the national average with a big difference in life expectancy between the poorest and wealthiest areas in the Borough. Residents of Billingham West ward (males = 85 years, females = 88 years) are estimated to live up to 21 years longer than residents of Stockton-on-Tees Town Centre ward (males = 64 years, females = 74 years). 

Healthy life expectancy for people living in Stockton-on-Tees is also below the national average and residents of the least deprived areas of Stockton-on-Tees are expected to be healthier for up to 20 years longer than those from the most deprived areas. This means that people living in more deprived areas live shorter lives and are becoming ill at a much younger age than their more affluent neighbourhoods. 

Older People  

In 2021 around 18 percent of the Borough's population were aged 65 plus. However, population projections up to 2030 show that there will be a consistent increase in the population of people aged 65 and over in particular with people aged between 65 to 69 and 80 to 844. 

Dementia Prevalence 

The prevalence of Dementia among the 65 plus population (4.69 percent) in Stockton-on-Tees in 2020 is higher than both the North-East average (4.09 percent) and the English average prevalence (3.97 percent). 

Source: NHS Digital, Recorded Dementia Diagnoses publications

Stockton-on-Tees number of disabled people in the household 

In 2021, 9.1 percent of Stockton-on-Tees residents were identified as being disabled and limited a lot, and one in nine people (11 percent) were identified as being disabled and limited a little. 

The number of people in a household who assessed their day-to-day activities as limited by long-term physical or mental health conditions or illnesses and are considered disabled. This definition of a disabled person meets the harmonised standard for measuring disability and is in line with the Equality Act (2010). 

Census - number of people disabled in the household:

• number of disabled people in household: Total: all households 83,757
• no people disabled under the Equality Act in household 54,323
• one person disabled under the Equality Act in household 22,977
• two or more people disabled under the Equality Act in household 6,457

Children and Young People's Disability Register 

he Local Authority has a duty to hold a 'Children's and Young People's Disability Register, which can be found on Stockton's Local Offer. The purpose of the register is to gather information on disabled children or children with a complex need which will assist with service planning to meet their needs, both now and in the future. As of 1st July 2023, the details of 473 children have been registered by parents and carers. The table shows the number of young people aged 18 plus who are registered on the disability register in Stockton-on-Tees.  

The following section summarises the current picture of known supported housing providers in Stockton-on-Tees based. Tables 1 to 3 demonstrate known providers accessing Housing Benefit based on data collected from the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Housing Benefit Service dated June 2024. Known providers delivering Supported Accommodation via an alternative funding model are detailed within table 4.  

Table 1: number of providers accessing housing benefit and schemes by provider type 

 Table 2: number of providers accessing housing benefit and schemes by client group 

Table 3: number of units by scheme type - providers accessing housing benefit

Table 4: known provider delivering Supported Accommodation via an alternative funding model

Housing for adults with a learning disability and or autistic people 

The number of adults aged 18 plus with a learning disability and or autism accessing long-term support in Stockton-on-Tees was 485 individuals (2020 to 2021), according to Short-and Long-Term Support (SALT) data. The housing or accommodation status of these 485 individuals is shown below. It should be noted that the cohort of 523 individuals who are receiving long-term support, is part of a larger population of c.700 individuals known to Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council via an assessment of need.  

The table following shows the housing and accommodation status of the 523 individuals. 

Housing for adults with a learning disability and or autistic people future need 

Based on evidence from the Housing Learning and Improvement Network's data in relation to need for housing for people with learning disability and evidence from Projecting Adult Needs and Service Information (PANSI) , it is assumed that there will be 0.5 percent growth per year in Stockton-on-Tees of the adult population of people with a learning disability to 2032.  

An increase of 0.5 percent per year is assumed amongst the population of people with learning disability or autism in Stockton-on-Tees. This growth is applied to the number of people with a learning disability or autism known to the Council.

There is an estimated net need of c.60 units of supported accommodation for people with a learning disability and or autistic people to 2027, and an estimated net need of c.120 units to 2032. This will encompass a range of supported housing needs for autistic people and those across the learning disability spectrum.  

Housing for adults with a mental health need 

There were 1,189 individuals between the age of 18 to 64 with a mental health related need in Stockton-on-Tees, based on data from SBC, in 2016 to 2017. This figure has been used to form the current baseline population for adults with a mental health related need in Stockton-on-Tees.  

The estimated number of individuals aged 18 to 64 with a mental health related need in Stockton-on-Tees is assumed to be c.1,200 in 2022.  

The estimate for 2022 has been generated using the growth rate of 0.5 percent per year of the 18 to 64 population with a mental health related need for Stockton-on-Tees, extrapolating the figure of 1,189 to 1,201 aged 18 to 64 in 2022. 

Accommodation: estimated need for housing - adults aged 18 to 64 in Stockton-on-Tees with a mental health need to 2032

Housing for adults with a mental health need future need 

Estimates of population growth take account of factors such as younger people with mental health related needs becoming adults and an ageing population. Based on previous assessments of housing need for people with mental health needs undertaken by the Housing Learning and Improvement Network, a 0.5 percent increase per year in this population is assumed. 

There is an estimated need of c.27 units of supported accommodation for people with a mental health need to 2027, and an estimated need of c.56 units to 2032. 

Housing for adults with physical disabilities requiring a fully wheelchair adapted dwelling 

The method for estimating the total number of wheelchair user households in Stockton-on-Tees with an unmet need for accessible housing is based on methods derived from two complementary estimation models: 

1. The Horizon Housing Model which draws upon evidence from the English Housing Survey (EHS) and  
2. The Habinteg Housing Model

In addition to this, household population data for Stockton-on-Tees has been used to apply the method derived from the Horizon Housing model to produce local estimates of the number of wheelchair user households and wheelchair user households with unmet need for accessible housing. 

The estimated projected growth in number of households in Stockton-on-Tees with an unmet need to 2032, disaggregate by age group is demonstrated in the following table:  

Source: Office for National Statistics 2019-based household projections for England; Habinteg Housing and Horizon Housing models. 

Fully wheelchair adapted dwellings future need

By 2027, it is estimated that c.105 working age households may require fully wheelchair adapted dwellings (for example similar to Part M (4) Category 3 broadly equivalent to the wheelchair Housing Design standard) across all tenures. 

By 2032, it is estimated that c.150 working age households may require fully wheelchair adapted dwellings (for example similar to Part M (4) Category 2 broadly equivalent to the wheelchair Housing Design standard) across all tenures. 

For the purpose of this statement the types of housing for housing for older people referred to are:  

1. Sheltered social housing: These schemes typically offer self-contained accommodation commonly available for social rent. They are usually supported by a part-time or visiting scheme manager and 24-hour emergency help via an alarm. There are often communal areas and some offer activities. Most accommodation is offered for rent, based on need, by local councils or housing associations.  
2. Private sector retirement housing: This is typically similar to sheltered social housing, but it is usually built by private developers for market sale. Once all the properties have been sold, the scheme is sometimes run by a separate management company that employ the scheme manager and organise maintenance and other services. 
3. Housing with care, (often referred to as 'extra care housing' when provided by registered providers and local authorities and 'assisted living' by private sector providers). Housing with care is designed for older people, some with higher levels of care and support needs. Residents live in self-contained homes. It typically has more communal facilities and offers access to onsite 24 hours a day, 7 days a week care services, which includes assistance with meal preparation, washing and other daily duties. Additionally, housing with care often includes a 24 hour day, 7 days a week alarm system, the presence of a scheme manager and a team of support staff.  

The current position with extra care in Stockton-on-Tees is that we have four schemes managed by three different registered providers providing a total of 181 extra care placements (including visitor lodgings). Two of the schemes are in Thornaby, one in Hardwick (North Stockton-on-Tees) and the final one in Billingham. Stockton-on-Tees Borough Borough Council encourages mixed and balanced Extra Care communities based on 30:30:40 split representing low, medium, and high support needs. 

Care provider contracts are commissioned separately by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's commissioners, to be considered for a contract all potential care providers need to ensure they have secured preferred provider status with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. Any interested care providers that do not currently hold preferred provider status can register their interest by contacting SPS@STOCKTON.GOV.UK 

There is an estimated need for c.910 units (c.455 units for social or affordable rent and c.455 for sale) of housing for older people within the Borough. It is assumed that up to 50 percent of this estimated need could be met through mainstream housing that is designed as accessible to older people, even if it is not technically designated for this demographic. This will include mainstream housing designated as accessible and adaptable to standards (M4(2) and M4(3)). 

The estimated housing with care net need to 2032 is c.444 units of which c.222 for social or affordable rent and c.222 for sale. Whilst traditionally extra care schemes are aimed at the over 55 age group, we are keen to explore access to a younger cohort with care needs and how schemes can be used to facilitate multi-generational living. We would also like to explore a "modern vision" of sheltered accommodation and are happy to discuss this with current and prospective partners.  

There is significant growth and under provision to meet the local housing needs of the older community within Stockton-on-Tees. We are encouraging partners to be innovative and creative in respect of the use of internal space, consider "future proofing", adopting quality standards removing the requirement for expensive adaptations as needs change and improving accessibility both to and within new homes. Equally, we are interested in exploring opportunities to utilise technology to better support local people in their homes, creating safer environments, allowing residents to maintain independence for as long as possible, and relieving existing service pressures. Accommodation solutions for the older community should not be limited to "bungalows", although we want to see bungalow provision increased and not limited to rented accommodation, as some customers will have the ability to access the intermediate affordable housing sector.  

Any future development in Stockton-on-Tees for supported accommodation which wishes to access housing benefit must contact the Strategic Housing team by email at the earliest opportunity where further guidance will be provided strategichousing@stockton.gov.uk.