London Assembly Housing Committee investigation

1.  On 19 October 2022 the London Assembly Housing Committee launched an investigation into exempt accommodation in London to consider:1‘Exempt and Supported Housing’ (London City Hall, 18 October 2022) accessed 20 October 2022

  1. the provision of supported accommodation including the level of need and quality; and
  2. whether concerns with non-commissioned exempt accommodation elsewhere in the UK are an issue in London.

Invitation to submit views and information

2.  The Committee has invited anyone with knowledge or experience of exempt accommodation to submit views and information to the investigation. The deadline for submission is 16 November 2022.2London Assembly, Housing Committee, Oct 2022, Call for Evidence: Exempt and Supported Housing

3.  Housing for older Londoners is expected to be the subject of a later investigation, and therefore specialist older persons’ housing is not the focus of the Assembly’s call for evidence. 

Questions for exempt housing providers

  1. How does your organisation deliver supported housing in London? What type does it deliver? Are these commissioned or non-commissioned?
  2. In your experience, what are the main differences between commissioned and non-commissioned exempt accommodation? What are your experiences of each?
  3. What impact does the current funding model have on the level of support that is available to tenants in supported housing?
  4. Does London have any specific challenges in delivering supported housing?
  5. What more, if anything, can the Mayor do to facilitate the delivery of supported housing in London?

Questions for London boroughs 

  1. What is the quality of exempt accommodation in the borough? What are the differences, if any, between commissioned and non-commissioned accommodation?
    1. If the quality of non-commissioned exempt accommodation is an issue in the borough, how did this come to light?
    2. If the quality of non-commissioned exempt accommodation is an issue in the borough, what action is the council taking to address this?
    3. If the quality of non-commissioned exempt accommodation is an issue in the borough, what could the Mayor do to support boroughs tackle this issue? 
  2. What is the current level of need for supported housing in your borough? How do you estimate this?
  3. Is there enough supported housing to meet the needs of those that need it in your borough? 
  4. How do programmes delivered by the Mayor of London contribute to the delivery of supported housing in the borough?
  5. How does the borough work with providers of exempt accommodation to support tenants? What differences, if any, are there between commissioned and non-commissioned? And what processes are there for tenants to raise concerns?
  6. To what extent does London’s housing supply and the cost of accommodation in London impact the use of exempt accommodation in the borough? 
  7. Have there been examples in your borough of potential supported housing tenants moving outside of London to access supported accommodation?
  8. Has your borough conducted any research or related work to understand exempt accommodation in the borough?
  9. What, if any, further action would you like to see the Mayor take around supported housing in London?

Key questions for others

4.  Representatives of other organisations are requested to answer any or all of the following broader questions:

  1. What are your views/experiences of living in exempt housing in London? 
  2. Was it difficult to find and secure exempt housing in London?
  3. Is the quality of exempt housing in London good enough? 
  4. Is exempt housing in London safe, and is residents’ welfare adequately supported?
  5. What measures would improve the provision of exempt housing in London? 

Notes   [ + ]

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