Improving social housing will save the NHS millions of pounds by cutting everything from mental health problems to household accidents, according to the latest research by Sheffield Hallam University.
The work, conducted in collaboration with Warwick University, looked at the impact housing improvements are having in Sheffield and the likely healthcare benefits. It found the improvements to housing in the City will result in 300 fewer accidents in the home per year, saving nearly £1 million in hospital care alone. The report also pointed to a range of other likely healthcare benefits, including reductions in cold-related illnesses among the elderly.
The £700 million council homes improvement scheme in Sheffield is the biggest local programme in the government's Decent Homes initiative. The Health Impact Assessment of the scheme in Sheffield was carried out over a 10-month period and examined the Decent Homes' work being undertaken among the 50,000 homes managed by Sheffield Homes, the ALMO which manages the City's council housing.
The research team, led by Professor Geoff Green of Sheffield Hallam University's Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, compared local data on accidents in the home, health issues relating to cold, damp or poor living conditions and mental and physical harm resulting from burglaries, with national data.
Sir Robert Kerslake, the Co-Chair of Sheffield First Health and Well-being Partnership and Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council, said: "Improving the health and quality of life for people has always been a key aim of the Decent Homes programme.
"This study not only gives us tangible evidence that it will do just that, it has shown that investment in housing brings massive benefits to local authorities - in terms of the quality of service they provide and the significant savings in healthcare and cost to the NHS.
"Accidents and illnesses are sadly a part of life and while Decent Homes cannot be the panacea for all ills and actually prevent them all, it's very encouraging to know what we're doing can reduce risks and bring people positive health benefits."
Source: www.24dash.com.
Since 1999, low cost home ownership (LCHO) assistance has helped 40,000 people to buy their properties. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has made a commitment to help an extra 100,000 households into home ownership by 2010. But demand for assistance far exceeds supply. In 2004-05, 11,000 households received assistance through Government funded programmes, compared to estimated demand of 60,000 households a year.
According to a report from the National Audit Office, better targeting of assistance at those most in need of help and more efficient administration of the programmes could help more than 4,000 additional households each year.
Getting on the housing ladder is becoming more difficult:
Government assistance has helped social tenants, key workers and other priority groups who would have been unable to afford a home without help.
According to the NAO's report, if the DCLG continues to make improvements in targeting and managing the programme, annual savings of up to £112 million could be achieved:
The DCLG and the Housing Corporation, who allocate grants to RSLs, need to improve their understanding of how funds are being used. In 2004-05, RSLs received over £90 million more in grants than they needed to operate the Shared Ownership scheme, although it is possible that RSLs were unable to anticipate the high rate of increase in house prices between their application for grant and the sale of the properties.
The NAO report has also found in retrospect that, since 1999, RSLs have benefited by up to £56 million from the increase in house prices and their current interest in LCHO property is potentially worth up to £720 million. Although RSLs use these returns to subsidise their housing activities, including the provision of more affordable housing, controls over the returns and their use must be tightened to ensure the funds are being reinvested quickly and properly to maximise the effectiveness and impact of LCHO programmes.
Tenants of social landlords experienced marked improvements in wellbeing in the first year of being rehoused, according to a new study. The study was jointly funded by Communities Scotland and the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Executive Department of Health. It was started in 2001 and is due to be completed in 2007.
An interim report from the research being carried out by the Scottish Health, Housing and Regeneration Project (SHARP) shows primarily positive benefits for tenants, who are more satisfied with their homes after rehousing. They feel healthier, are less likely to identify problems with damp and cold and have more energy. They also feel safer and more independent in the community.
Over 300 households were surveyed before they moved into new social houses at 60 locations across Scotland. The study compared the original results with what tenants told them a year later.
Among the main findings were:
Lifestyle changes are also more common, with people getting out and about more, and some reported significant changes such as joining health clubs and planning to give up smoking.
The study also reported, however, that some tenants found it more difficult than before to meet living costs, which is believed may reflect general rises, particularly rises in fuel bills.
SHARP will undertake more detailed analysis of survey results over the next year, comparing short-term and long-term benefits and providing analytical as well as qualitative results.
A précis of the research is available on the Communities Scotland website at www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation published Changes in communal provision for adult social care: 1991-2001 in its Findings series.
This project explored changes in residential and nursing care provision between 1991 and 2001. Using Census data, the researchers looked at general trends and also at relative changes in the age, gender and ethnicity of care home residents. The researchers were Laura Banks, Philip Haynes, Susan Balloch and Michael Hill of the Health and Social Policy Research Centre, University of Brighton.
The report can be read at www.jrf.org.uk.