Emmaus UK welcome last week’s launch of the government consultation on the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act, which will introduce new national standards and licensing arrangements for supported exempt accommodation.
The government announcement last week is a win for the Emmaus UK ‘Action on Homelessness’ manifesto published prior to last year’s General Election, which called for ‘Action on supported housing’ as the top ask, and for the new government to swiftly progress plans around the Supported Housing Act.
With the Act set to have wide-ranging implications for supported housing providers and residents alike, we are conducting a peer-led research project to hear the views and experiences of staff and those with lived experience of supported housing, to help shape what the Act looks like in practice.
So, what does the new government consultation contain? What are the key questions and topics Emmaus will be responding to? And what is our plan for the consultation period?
Here, Emmaus UK’s Policy, Campaigns and External Affairs Manager, Sam Dalton, answers key questions about our work as part of the consultation on the Act.
What are the key details of the consultation?
The consultation will run for 12 weeks in total, until 15th May 2025. It covers key aspects of the Supported Housing Act, including:
- The National Supported Housing Standards and Principles – featuring standards around being person-centered, empowering residents, the environment, staff and safeguarding, local need, having responsible people, statement of purpose, and needs assessments and support plans.
- The supported housing licensing regime
- Whether there should be a separate planning use class for supported housing
- Defining care, support and supervision in Housing Benefit regulations Linking
- Housing Benefit eligibility to licensed provision.
How will Emmaus be putting together our response?
Prior to the consultation launching, Emmaus UK last year conducted a series of focus groups with Companions (our term for resident), as well as hosting a series of regional meetings with staff all over the country, to hear about views and experiences relating to the Act, and the broad topics it would cover.
We have also been training a group of Companions to be peer researchers, and help us gather the views of a much wider group of Companions and others with lived experience.
Now that we know the exact consultation questions, we are planning a specific set of engagement activities to enable us to put together the strongest response within available time frame. This includes:
- Research with those with lived experience: with a set of regional focus groups and short online survey to feedback on key aspects of the consultation.
- Engagement with staff working in supported housing: hosting a number of meetings with staff from local Emmaus communities across the country, as well as hearing the views of other organisations.
What happens after the consultation?
After the consultation closes on 15th May, the government will analyse all the responses it received, and publish a response of its own to the consultation. This will set out the key findings, and how the government plans to progress with the implementation of the new national standards for supported housing, licensing arrangements, and other aspects of the Act.
We expect there to be a second consultation later in the year, examining the proposed new licensing arrangements for supported housing in further detail.
Once the government has finalised its plans, there will then be an expectation that local authorities develop their own local supported housing strategies, which demonstrate how they will ensure providers within their area meet the new national standards, as well as setting out how they as a local authority will ensure need is met for different types of supported housing.
Emmaus UK’s research on supported housing will continue after the initial consultation in May, to help shape what these future steps look like.
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