Housing

Supported Housing Bill

The quality of supported housing available to people severely affected by mental illness is not where it needs to be. When the government announced the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Bill in March 2023 to improve the quality of supported accommodation, Rethink Mental Illness welcomed the introduction of national standards. 

Throughout the various stages of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Bill working towards becoming a law, we produced many briefings for parliamentarians to ensure it is fit for purpose. 

Our recommendations and concerns regarding the Bill include (and are not limited to): 

• The needs of people severely affected by mental illness must be reflected in the national standards of support. 
• A minimisation of the potential cost and admin burden for providers of supported housing. 
• Recognition and support of the role supported housing has in the health and care sector. 
• Standards and guidance must, where possible, join up with existing needs assessments through co-operation with key partners in local authorities and the NHS.
• It must address the diversity of the supporting housing sector and its users, ensuring a range of safe, stable, affordable and high-quality housing options in the short and long-term.  

Making good on a promise

When someone living with a severe mental illness requires long-term care, it is vital they have access to a good quality services offering safety and security within their community.

All too often this isn’t the case, with a concerning decline in NHS-provided rehabilitation services in recent years. As one mother told us about her son’s experience:

In collaboration with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, we called on policy-makers and service providers to commit to putting an end to inappropriate out-of-area rehabilitation placements.

A place to call home

1 in 5 people with severe mental illness live in supported housing. In our 2017 Mental Health Supported Housing report, we analysed the range of provision available and outlined essential improvements needed to ensure people severely affected by mental illness. 

The report covers why we feel mental health supported housing deserves a higher place on the agenda, including:

• Parity of esteem i.e., the need to value mental health equally to physical health is undermined if people do not have access to good housing. 
• Supported housing enables people to live independently in the community and is a cost-effective alternative to care and health settings for people with mental illness. 
• There is a mismatch between current supply and demand for supported housing 
• Supported housing needs to be fully embraced by the NHS. 
• Proposed funding reforms introduce a huge amount of uncertainty, not least because the government is yet to undertake an impact assessment of the impact on those who benefit from supporting housing, including those with mental illness.