Written evidence submitted by Succour Haven CIC [EXA 026]

SUCC0UR HAVEN CIC is a new quality temporary Supported Living Accommodation Service, providing vulnerable individuals as our clienteles with a place that they can call home.

This is a combination of housing and person-centred based empowerment & support services, (including the accessibility of local community support and wellbeing themed provision and public services), intended as a cost-effective way to help people to eventually live more stable, productive lives, when they are currently experiencing life difficulties and challenges, and are in receipt of welfare benefits due to their financial situation caused by their circumstances.

Succour Haven CIC acknowledged that there are many very good exempt accommodation providers in the Birmingham area where the company is currently located, which offer the right quality accommodation and support for their vulnerable clients, but unfortunately there have been too many others housing providers who are willing to ‘game the system”

The current lack of transparency, regulation and authority within the exempt accommodation sector has left it, at times, feed for the vultures.

When delivered well, exempt accommodation provides a vital lifeline to tens of thousands of people – whether that is someone who has been sleeping rough, exiting the criminal justice system, recovering from drug or alcohol addiction or is a survivor of domestic abuse.

From both a professional and personal viewpoint, I believed that the provision of this form of supported housing saves lives and provide a needy service of supporting vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness, so we must save it.

But to save it, we must recognise its faults – there are many – and remedy them. The system is too easily manipulated by opportunists who see this as a financial market to profit from.

Meanwhile, the tenants of exempt accommodation find themselves in dangerous, often cramped accommodation in cities alien to them and surrounded by individuals who can sometimes do more harm to their recovery than good. This has resulted in the high profiled media coverage of anti-social behaviour activities in the local Birmingham press, allegedly caused by poor supported accommodation providers.

I believe there is a need for local authorities to develop, with the support of the government, an exempt accommodation strategy to help understand, identify and control matters should it start to become an issue in their area or to address problems where they are occurring. Also, there need to be a noted strategy of looking at the availability of accommodation for individuals moving from exempt accommodation.

From the company’s our discussions with like-minded housing providers and participations in forum meetings, Succour Haven CIC would like to see the introduction of a local authority-managed accreditation system to ensure providers meet the necessary standards of housing quality, support and governance. However, there needs to be some flexible to allow new and innovative projects that address emerging social issues and support individuals in local communities to still be developed.   

Also, Succour Haven CIC believed that there  need to be a  comprehensive revision of the condition set by the Department for Work and Pensions that exempt accommodation must provide “more than minimal care, support and supervision”, with an adopted professional  assessment framework of accepted tenancy support that should be delivered by exempt accommodation, included recognised  adult and social care related training qualifications for housing support workers.

The government must ensure the emerging consumer regulation for social housing – as outlined in the Social Housing White Paper – includes specific standards relating to exempt accommodation. This is vital in order to meet the expectations over quality of standards that permit landlords to receive additional funds for delivery, and to better protect vulnerable residents.

Succour Haven CIC acknowledged most of the recommendations by the Birmingham City Council’s Exempt Accommodation Report (dated 7th December 2021),  in providing quality and achievable solutions to the current difficulties within the exempt accommodation sector, and clearly answer the listed inquiry’s questions.

I hope that Succour Haven CIC’s written submission to your inquiry has been useful.

January 2022