Joe Halewood is the Director of Consultancy Services at HSM who have advised over 200 supported housing providers across England and Scotland since 2000. HSM only work for support providers and not for local authorities in Supporting People as we maintain this is a conflict of interest.
Since 2000 and the start of the Supporting People programme in 2003 Joe’s work concentrated on three key areas: -
- Challenging LA decisions to reduce or remove funding from support providers including legal challenge and expert testimony at the Royal Courts;
- Developing existing support services to be efficient in all areas including remodelling services on a proactive basis, and;
- Developing new services with housing and support providers to better meet the changing need of vulnerable service users.
Joe has a national profile in supported housing and SP and is forthright in his views and not afraid to speak his mind which he does a a regular speaker on the seminar circuit. Branded as a ‘scaremongerer’ for predicting one in ten vulnerable people would lose support in the interim phase of SP (2003 – 2006). He was wrong as almost one in six lost support due to zealous savings culls from local authorities for the sake of savings with almost 200,000 vulnerable people losing support. Unfortunately narrow minded short-term decision making is still rife in SP with local authority commissioners.
Over the last few years Joe has established an increasing national profile in mainstream (general needs) housing and was the first to source and reveal the fact that LHA would be frozen this financial year (2012/3) and raised the issue of the shared accommodation rate (SAR) applying to social housing which many now believe will happen – a question of if not when appears the consensus. He also developed the systemic flaw theory of the overall benefit cap which sees more and more tenants having their benefits levels cut each year because rents rise faster then the benefit cap. HSM do work with local authorities and private landlords on housing and welfare reform changes and other non SP issues.
Joe approaches housing issues from a supported housing perspective and maintains mainstream housing is about bricks and mortar, but supported housing (ie not sheltered) is crucially about people; something the HB and welfare benefit reforms will emphasise to mainstream social landlords what customer service really means. If you dont approach welfare reforms from this people perspective you fail to see its full impact. There will be a rude awakening for those who only see the bedroom tax and direct payments as threats to their income (the bricks and mortar view) and not as much bigger issues for their tenant customers that will impact far more widely on their business or the people view.
The welfare reform agenda will also see massive closures to homeless hostels and to DV refuges and the welfare agenda cuts (which are all to housing benefit and not welfare benefits) are collectively the biggest threat to social housing and the social housing model. They truly are a seismic shift and yet not all of the consequences and impacts are known. Interesting and depressing times ahead for social landlords and tenants.
If social landlords and tenants don’t challenge these reforms now there will soon be nothing left to fight for or over. Joe regularly speaks at conferences and seminars over welfare reform issues and provokes much discussion in lively debates.
Please feel free to contact Joe on any of the above at joe@hsmonline.co.uk
Hi Joe.
I wanted to ask you some questions please??
By now, people are starting to get their letters of their rent increase and service charge.
Whether a Council or housing Association Tenant.
Obviously the new rents are going to affect how much BT people are supposed to be paying.
Could you look into this??
I believe there could be a right to appeal the rent increase??
I believe it depends on when your Tenancy starts???
Mine, quotes the Housing Act 1998.
And it says if you don’t accept the new rent, and don’t wish to discuss with your Landlord. You can refer this notice to your local rent assessment committee.
This must be done before April 1st. Using Oyez Form HA34
Could this backfire though if they set the rent if it were let on the open market rent??
If so, ARE they are covering their arses.
I have an assured Tenancy and have lived in my 3 bed HA house for over 21 years. And it has been adapted for my needs.
My new rent is £118.01.
I live alone now. So will have to pay 25% of that.
Plus CT on top of that!!
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I’m also wondering if the DWP should be contacted??
Informing them of BT and CT that has to be paid out of our benefits.
As it always says: This is the amount the law says you need to live on.
Is there any process to appeal to them.
Mr. Daft, is head of their correspondance team.
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ALSO, do you know where there is clarification of the term they use. ‘SIGNIFICANTLY’ adapted???
Hi Joe
Everyone seems to be focusing on what constitutes a “bedroom”. Myself and my hubby are classed as having a spare room. We live in a 2 bedroomed house, but don’t share a bedroom. Hubby is disabled and due to his condition doesn’t sleep well. I was sexually abused as a child and don’t want to share a bedroom with him. No-one from the council or the Housing Association asked how we used our rooms. Its just been assumed that as a couple we can share a bedroom. This is NOT the case. How do we challenge the decision and make an appeal?
Jill
Find Joes other blog at SPeye, click on the logo and get reading !
Hi Joe, urgent help needed please on how to appeal refusal of DHP.
Any ideas please??
I’ve left a post on the relevant page.
personally I would advice to just reapply, and keep doing so, if you know your entitled to the extra room and can not live without it, aka health reasons etc if you do not need it then why not look at moving,
if you have a disability that means you require a carer to come and stay with you, then you can have the room for that reason,
If the owner of the page could message me direct i could upload some information that is direct from MP office,
Also the gov also accept ( same as in DLA and carer allowance ) a carer can be a friend or family member who does not normally live with you,
You can claim a spare room for a non-resident carer if you are the tenant or the tenants partner but not for example if your child requires a non-resident carer. The details can be found in the A4 of 2010 HB circular
Exactly Joe… which is what I am fighting for right now. My daughter is 18 & we need our ‘spare’ room for a sleep-in carer a few times every month (the only sleep we get). So they tell me, because the paid-carer is not continuous, we are therefore not exempt. As if ‘normal’ people can afford a full-time paid-for carer!! Yet David Cameron spouted that anyone reqiring continual care would be exempt…. so very NOT true, as my daughter requires care & supervision both day & night… but as that care is mainly provided by us, her parents, and our sleep-in carer is not every night…We are therefore not exempt, and the fact that she DOES need continual care seemingly will not count!
Tried to add my daughter to our tenancy last year to give her some security should anything happen to us, but they refused, saying her disabilities would prevent her from understanding & maintaining the tenancy. Thus, if she can never be a tenant, she would never be exempt from the spare bedroom farce anyway under the current rules!! So much for equality for disabled people, eh?!
Joe, I have a response from Wirral Council to the six-point ‘request for information’ letter which I would like please to share with you for your comments. Please advise me how to do this. Robert Claridge, South Wirral Against the Bedroom Tax 07956 458 331