A report said that local councils in England were struggling to support people with a learning disability to live independently. Just 1 in 3 people with a learning disability lived independently in either supported accommodation (16 per cent), as a tenant (15 per cent), or as a home-owner (2.5 per cent).
Source: Housing for People with a Learning Disability, Mencap
Links: Report | Mencap press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Dec
A report said that a radical shake-up of the government's home adaptations system, including supporting family doctors to prescribe home improvements for older and disabled people, could both improve care and save public money.
Source: Home Solutions to Our Care Crisis, Papworth Trust
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report examined the role of sheltered housing in Northern Ireland. The needs of tenants had changed since sheltered housing was first developed: feedback from scheme co-ordinators indicated that more residents than in the past had mental health problems and alcohol or other addictions.
Source: Fiona Boyle, The Role of Sheltered Housing in Northern Ireland and Future Issues, Northern Ireland Housing Executive
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined interactions between structure, agency, and wider discourses in the housing pathways of disabled young people. It developed a typology of disabled young people's housing pathways, consisting of direct, staged, and return pathways to independent living. Within each of these pathways, young people faced key challenges of deciding to leave, finding suitable accommodation, and maintaining their accommodation. The article identified some of the complex interconnected factors that shaped the ways young people negotiated these challenges.
Source: Peter Mackie, 'Housing pathways of disabled young people: evidence for policy and practice', Housing Studies, Volume 27 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
A report said that many young disabled people lacked the necessary faith in the services of local authorities, estate agents, landlords, or property developers to make it possible for them to live independently or to move house where and when they wanted to. As a consequence, young disabled people believed that their lifestyle and work opportunities were being compromised by a range of factors related to housing and the support required to live independently.
Source: Mathy Selvakumaran et al., Locked Out, Trailblazers Young Campaigners Network/Muscular Dystrophy Campaign
Links: Report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Aug
A series of research reports examined the costs, benefits, and practical implications of applying the Lifetime Home Standard to new build housing development.
Source: Building Research Establishment Ltd, Modelling the Current and Potential Accessibility of the Housing Stock, Department for Communities and Local Government | Building Cost Information Service, Assessing the Cost of Lifetime Homes Standards, Department for Communities and Local Government | Mike Roys, Assessing the Health Benefits of Lifetime Homes, Department for Communities and Local Government | Habinteg Housing Association, Lifetime Homes Technical Forum, Department for Communities and Local Government | Analysis of Distribution of Housing Typologies in Public and Private Sector and Typical Compatibility with the Lifetime Home Standard, Department for Communities and Local Government | Impact on Site Density of Lifetime Homes, Department for Communities and Local Government | Hunt Thomson Architects, Design of Lifetime Homes, Department for Communities and Local Government |
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | Report (3) | Report (4) | Report (5) | Report (6) | Report (7)
Notes: The Lifetime Home Standard is a set of 16 design criteria that provide a model for building accessible and adaptable homes.
Date: 2012-Jul