Camden Carers Voice Minutes
Thursday 22nd May 2013, held at Kentish Town Congregational Church, Kelly Street, Camden, NW1 8PH
Attendees: Approximate attendance 25, including: Anor Miah (AM), Newarun Nessa (NN), Nik Masters (NM), Rose Murigu (RM), Nardos Tesfazghi (NT), Catherine Anthony (CA), Almendra McBride (AMB), Heather Blockery (HB), Jane Woodall (JW), Cynthia Philpots (C), Mzia Coker (MC), Paula Byrne (PB), Kate Harwood (KH), Edelweiss Jochlik (EJ), Hajer Lazar (HL)
Professionals: Bob Dowd (BD, Supporting FamiliesManager, Centre 404), Emma Watson (EW, Parent Involvement and Engagement Co-ordinator, Centre 404), Karen King (KK, Tenancy Support Service, Camden Housing), Julie Newham (JN, Camden Housing Service), Councillor Pat Callaghan, (PC, Camden Town with Primrose Hill ward)
Action1. Welcome and Introduction / 1.1 BD welcomed everyone, went over housekeeping and introduced the speakers.
1.2 Attendees introduced themselves and raised some housing issues to be discussed later.
1.3 Attendees raised concerns that the Camden Carers Voice banner is not being used enough, and should be taken to protests (e.g. NHS) to give a bigger presence. / 1.1 Camden Carers Voice banner to be used more often
2. Social Housing Overview
Karen King, Camden Housing / 2.1 KK explained the Tenancy Support Service. It applies to council and Housing Association tenants. It provides support to people over 18 with mental health needs and housing issues. There are currently eight case workers assigned to this project. This service helps people with practical issues, such as arranging repairs, rent arrears, benefit advice and anti-social neighbours. They also help people to link in with other services such as private landlords and the mobility team.
2.2 This service can be accessed on a one-off basis or longer term. People can be referred by a professional or self-refer. You can also refer the person you care for but they have to consent. NM raised concerns that people with mental health issues do not always consent to the help they need. BD said that you can convene a Best Interest Meeting with a social worker or housing officer where you can make decisions for someone with limited capacity, under the Mental Capacity Act.
2.3 KK explained the Floating Support Service, a similar service that is also open to people without mental health issues. Someone visits your home and does an assessment of need. You can be provided with a support worker who offers practical help or signposting.
2.4 KK explained WISH plus (Warmth, Income, Safety and Health) which aims to improve health and wellbeing by offering packages of support and onward referral for a wide range of services such as health services, safety and security measures in the home and the take up of benefits for those in need.
2.5 Attendees raised concerns that this information has not been properly distributed to residents and fliers needs to be placed in more accessible places such as GP surgeries, Job Centres, libraries, places of worship, post offices, schools etc. It also needs to be ensured that fliers are clear and accessible. JW also raised concerned that Camden employees do not always have this information. Another carer said that going forward Camden Carers should be updated with such information about services they can access.
2.6 KK explained ‘Bedroom Tax’ which applies to any extra rooms, with under 10’s of any gender and under 16’s of the same gender having to share a room. Couples are also expected to share a room. For one extra room 14% of housing benefit will be cut and for 2 or more rooms 25% will be cut. This does not affect retired people. ‘Bedroom Tax’ applies to all people who receive housing benefits. If you need an extra room for a carer you will need to prove this, and the outcome depends on how long the room is needed. A carer raised concerns that if you are caring for a partner you might need a separate room to get rest. KK said this can be assessed on an individual basis.
2.7 KK suggested people taking in lodgers to pay for the extra room. This has different rules to sub-letting, with exclusive access to rooms, which is not allowed. The responsibility for the tenant remains with the person on the housing contract. If the person pays over £20 a week this can affect other benefits.
2.8 A carer raised concerns that if people do want to downsize there is limited housing in Camden so they will have to wait for a long time, while paying Bedroom Tax, especially if you need a specially adapted house. KK said people can apply for a discretionary housing payment to cover cost while waiting to move or claim for more room allowances, but there is little funding for this and can only be used on a short term basis i.e. around 6 months. / 2.1 Camden Carers to remain linked in with Camden housing to receive updates and information
3 Housing Options - Julie Newham / 3.1 JN explained the Homelessness Prevention Scheme. This helps all Camden residents, including those in private renting. They can advise you on benefits and housing options, including moving outside Camden, and can place people in supported housing.
3.2 Incentives are offered to people on downsizing, e.g. £1,000 for moving from a 3 bed to a 2 bedroom home, but this can affect benefits.
3.3 JN explained a scheme that can offer private landlords of empty homes grants to refurbish them, then the council have the lease for 3 years.
3.4 Carers discussed how there needs to be a cap on rent in all sectors to prevent homelessness. BD discussed how local authorities are tied by government legislation in this area, and this could be an area of discussion in future meetings.
3.5 A parent of a young child with ASD discussed how she has unsuitable housing and how hard it is to find suitable housing as her son’s needs are not reflected in her bidding points. BD said Camden Carers would help her with this issue and to not be in isolation.
3.6 JN explained the Housing Allocation Scheme which has run on a point system reflecting need since 2005. This is now currently under revision and might change. 26,000 families request housing in Camden each year with only 10,000 properties available, 25% of which are Housing Association.
3.7 There is legislation on four protected groups who are prioritised for housing, including people with medical needs, people who are homeless or about to be made homeless, and those who need to move to the borough for care, work or training.
3.8 The changes that they are looking into making are: changing the points system, closing applications of people who are not bidding, sanctions for people who do not attend planned property viewings and excluding people with higher earnings. This is currently being looked into, with decisions to be made by July and implementation by December.
3.9 JN said consultations have been made in this process. Carers highlighted that carers have not been consulted and Camden Carers has not been made aware of this review. Camden Carers should be consulted over any changes such as transport and housing, as these have a direct effect on people lives. / 3.1 Item for future agenda: how political frameworks impact on local authorities.
3.2 Carers generally should be included in consultation. Camden Carers can be used as an access/contact point.
3.3 Consultation results to be fed back to Camden Carers
4. Succession Karen King, Camden Housing / 4.1 KK explained rules on succession when you are caring for someone who is a social housing tenant and they die. KK explained that legally you can talk over their tenancy if you are a partner, it was your main home at the time, you were caring for them for over 12 months and the tenancy has not been succeeded previously.
4.2 KK explained Camden policy is more lenient and that it is possible to take over the tenancy of a house that has previously been taken by succession, except in cases of anti-social behaviour and domestic violence, and if you are a family member or friend. Rules around succession can vary depending on your housing association.
5. Any other business / 5.1 Carers health day will be on June 12th at Centre 404 premises.
5.2 Sarah from Camden Carers Service said that they are looking for two or three carers to sit on their Steering Board of six to look into how funds should be allocated for carers’ training and respite.