Dolan Court Sheltered Accommodation Scheme tenants survey
We asked
We carried out a consultation to hear from tenants in the sheltered accommodation scheme, Dolan Court, about how they use the role of the Scheme Manager.
There has been a long-standing funding arrangement for Dolan Court and its housing association, Anchor Hanover Housing. This was originated as part of the Supporting People Programme and this central government programme was discontinued in 2010. The Council however continued to provide the funding to Dolan Court Sheltered Accommodation despite there being no duty to do so.
A review of the services by the Adult Services and Health Directorate has identified that the service being delivered does not appear to have been commissioned to meet any eligible social care needs as defined under Section 18 of Care Act 2014 for tenants based in the properties. It is considered to be discretionary funding rather than mandatory funding.
The consultation commenced from 25th January to 8th March 2023. The survey was distributed to all tenants in the scheme with a covering letter. The survey was also accessible online. In addition, we completed a site visit to meet with tenants to explain the purpose of the survey and to understand what impact any potential changes would have. It was important to have a face-to-face meeting to be able to communicate with tenants the purpose and objective of the consultation.
You said
The consultation was hosted on Liverpool City Council’s consultation hub and a letter sent to each tenant in the scheme through Liverpool City Council's mail room.
We have received a total of 1 online response and 41 total paper surveys. The split of male and female responses were, 47.62% female and 50% male. The highest age percentile completing the survey was 70 to 74 at 23.81% and 75-79 at 30.95% The consultation was available to tenants in Dolan Court sheltered scheme only.
The responses received allowed the Council to understand how people living in the scheme would be affected If changes to funding was implemented, as well as an understanding on the demand of such services.
Key themes highlighted the following:
- 68% of tenants indicated the role of the scheme manager was an important part of the scheme. Tenants demand for the role is for housing support such as reporting repairs and seeking advice on tenancies.
- The consultation highlighted that the presence of a Scheme Manager supports tenants wellbeing with daily welfare checks being completed by the scheme manager.
- 10% of tenants that completed the survey stated that they did not have demand for the Scheme Manager role.
- 22% of tenants that completed the survey had responded with ‘no comment’.
- The consultation highlighted that 60% of tenants were on housing benefits. This supports the Council's recommendation to assist the landlord to apply for enhanced housing benefit for identified individuals. This means that people living in the scheme who qualify can still receive housing related support. For the remainder of tenants that self-fund, the changes will not affect them.
Lastly, different delivery methods may need to be considered when consulting with individuals beyond face to face, online and paper-based approaches. Feedback from the consultation highlighted that the online survey was difficult for some people taking part due to barrier with feeling confident online and having access to computers/laptops. It was evident from the consultation that the cohort of people engaged with, preferred to complete the paper-based survey.
In addition, lessons were learnt when completing survey questions around protected characteristics particularly when considering legal marital or same-sex civil partnership status. The survey completed did not have the option for participants to select widow/widower as an option which would have made the survey more inclusive. We had a number of people write on the form that they were a widow or widower and as this status is important to consider for this age group, we will consider this for any future consultations.
We did
This consultation has provided an understanding of people’s views that live in the scheme and the impact that any changes will have on them.
The findings from the surveys have helped to define the next steps for Liverpool City Council. The consultation has highlighted to the Council, changes that are needed to be made to the funding arrangement that is in place between the Council and Dolan Court sheltered accommodation scheme.
Next steps
During the consultation, the landlord accepted that those tenants on housing benefit should be able to claim enhanced housing benefit towards the scheme manager post to provide housing support.
The outcome of the consultation is that the discretionary funding for the housing support of the scheme manager is stopped on 30.06.23 to allow tenants in Dolan Court time to claim enhanced housing benefit and the landlord to reassess how they fund the position moving forward.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts and feedback with us.