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Purpose
1.1 The purpose of this guidance is to help housing, social work, health and other agencies overcome administrative obstacles to co-operation on housing and community care in order to achieve the fundamental aim of enabling people with community care needs to live at home wherever practicable and it is their choice. Co-operation should include the statutory, voluntary and private sectors, and take account of the views of users and their carers.
1.2 This guidance supplements and complements existing guidance, notably the guidance in "Community Care -The Housing Dimension" (The Scottish Office, August 1994). It draws on the substantial existing body of guidance on community care, including housing issues. Appendix 1 gives a brief summary of relevant circulars.
Background
1.3 Housing's essential role in achieving community care objectives is now widely recognised. While this role has increased significantly since the full implementation of the community care reforms in 1993, there remain continuing difficulties in achieving effective joint working across housing, health and social work agencies. These difficulties were explored in the Scottish Affairs Committee's March 1997 report on the Implementation of Community Care, to which the Government replied in July 1997. While difficulties continue, there is considerable practical experience, together with a growing body of research on how to make improvements. This guidance builds on this to assist those working on the housing dimension of community care.
1.4 The increase in the number of older people, particularly those over 85, will increase the number of people with physical impairments, or such problems as dementia. Agencies have to balance this against the need to provide services and a range of housing options for other community care groups, including those with learning disabilities, mental health problems, alcohol or drug dependencies, or HIV/AIDS.
1.5 The Government has clearly stated its intention to focus its policies and programmes on creating a more inclusive society. This is set out in the "Social Inclusion Strategy" published in March 1999, and described in more detail in the accompanying document, "Social Inclusion: Opening the door to a better Scotland." Work is being taken forward under the social inclusion strategy by a number of Action Teams, which will report later this year. Its community care policies are therefore designed to promote the integration of people into the community.
1.6 Best Value principles should be adopted in the planning and delivery of all aspects of community care. Best Value provides a renewed emphasis on achieving value for money and improving quality through more effective and accountable services. It seeks to ensure that services take account of the needs and preferences of users, that decisions are open to scrutiny and that there is a culture of continuous improvement. The staff concerned must own Best Value. In addition, Best Value promotes sound governance, long term planning and budgeting, and performance management.
1.7 In October 1998 The Scottish Office issued the "Modernising Community Care: - An Action Plan" (hereafter referred to as "Modernising Community Care"), which aims to secure better results for community care users and their carers, through a more person centred approach, better and quicker decision making and better joint working between the statutory agencies in localities. It also places considerable emphasis on the need to help vulnerable people stay in their own homes wherever possible. This guidance is consistent with the "Modernising Community Care" and should be read alongside it.
Who this Guidance is for
1.8 While this guidance is aimed principally at the housing sector, especially those working on community care issues, it is equally pertinent to health and social work agencies and others who co-operate with housing agencies to provide care, particularly at home. It should also be of interest to policy, planning and senior operational staff in statutory, voluntary and private sector agencies.
Contents of Guidance
1.9 This guidance sets out general principles of good practice together with some pointers to how these principles might be implemented. It also contains some illustrative examples. Implementation in specific areas will need to take account of local needs and circumstances.
1.10 In detail, the guidance considers in: -
Section 2 - strategic planning issues, including how the housing dimension can be included in community care strategies, and how housing providers and users and carers can be involved in the planning process;
Section 3 - implications for housing and community care of the growing focus on localities, both for planning and joint working;
Section 4 - general issues about implementation and the translation of strategic objectives into the desired outcomes on the ground, including funding and co-operation on individual projects;
Section 5 - individual assessments and reassessments and the importance of integrated approaches, including the role of joint and shared assessments;
Section 6 - hospital discharges, both from the long stay and acute sectors;
Section 7 - options for a home based approach, including re-housing and staying put;
Section 8 - housing management arrangements in housing with support, including tenancy rights and floating support;
Section 9 - monitoring and evaluation, particularly in the context of achieving Best Value
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