SJOG Responds to The Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 Consultations

By Ioana Brezeanu, Senior Policy and Research Officer and Melanie Smith, National Housing Manager

 

About the consultation

The consultation launched by the Government on the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act, closed on 15 May 2025.

The consultation sought views on how the Government will implement the Act, how to inform the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to work on licensing schemes to claim housing benefit in England, and how to define care, support and supervision in housing benefit regulations.

At SJOG we deliver support to people who claim housing benefits across our homelessness and housing management services. We are aware that the implementation of this legislation will have a significant impact on the way services are run.

Melanie Smith, SJOG's National Housing Manager explains: “All supported housing residents deserve a good quality home and services, therefore the changes proposed by the Act are welcomed. There are areas however that require more clarity and strategic approaches on how the operating environment is going to support housing providers. For example, in its current form, it is difficult to assess potential costs of implementation and running a licence scheme, or how this will be operated by local authorities.  Similarly, the Act aims to introduce new regulatory criteria for ‘support, supervision and care’ for those in receipt of housing benefits. While it is suggested that ‘care’ will follow the definition as prescribed by the CQC in England, it remains unclear what ‘support’ and ‘supervision’ should look like for the housing providers.

By working together with the sector, we believe that we can collectively address these concerns.  Therefore, we contributed to joint consultations coordinated by Homeless Link and Supported Housing People (SHP).

The consultations were divided in 3 sections:

1.  National Supported Housing Standards and Principles: identified as person-centred support, empowerment, environment, staff and safeguarding, local need, responsible person, statement of purpose.

Some gaps in definitions were highlighted, including: the importance of confidentiality and data protection, the privacy around ‘description of location’ where this could pose safety risks, or the reformulation of ‘complaints procedure’ to ‘comments, compliments and complaints procedure’. This implies that ‘local needs’ standards should be flexible and relevant for addressing complex local needs and that where there are residents who are deemed to ‘lack capacity’ under the MCA 2005, supported housing providers should be able to demonstrate how they support and facilitate people to make their voices heard and have their choices realised. In this direction, every effort should be also made to accommodate the way people make decisions and choices, which may be very different from what we’re used to.

2. The Licensing Scheme

The implementation of a licensing scheme administered by local authorities (LA) has been advanced by the Act. The consultations bring to the Government’s attention: clarity over exemptions; how will it be implemented through LAs; how it should interact with other licensing schemes (e.g. houses of multiple occupation) and regulations (e.g. Ofsted and CQC); how it will be enforced and what will happen if a service fails to gain a licence; what support providers will need to become licensed; who the ‘licensee’ would be in models where the landlord is not the same as the support provider.

SJOG supported the idea of licensing as a service rather than as a scheme, including the adoption of one licence requirement for any LA area.  In fact, while we support the idea of upholding standards in supported accommodation, we are concerned that requiring a separate licence for each individual scheme (e.g. each building or address) would imply excessive administrative and financial burdens, especially for providers operating multiple sites. Therefore, a licensing model based on projects or services, would better reflect the operational realities of providers and would promote consistency across regions, as it would ensure the focus on quality oversight without deterring provision for people with complex needs.

Moreover, we also suggested that a licensing scheme should be a passport for local authorities to be able to claim 100% of the subsidy back from central government. At present, LAs can only claim 100% of the subsidy back where it is a registered provider (this includes all  accommodation provided by LAs, county councils,  housing associations, registered charities or voluntary bodies that are providing ‘care, support or supervision’ to the resident in receipt of housing benefits), but it should be extended to any organisation or private landlord who is licenced as it shows that it is well run and provides quality accommodation.

3.     Proposed Housing Benefit Changes

This section aimed to explore the implications of housing benefit payments in relation to the new licensed scheme. Through the consultations, it was highlighted that although the Act claims how resident should be ‘signposted or referred to specialist services where necessary’, it isn’t clear to what extend housing benefit will fund the support provided. In fact, it is important to better define what the criteria of ‘care, support and supervision’ should look like for those in receipt of   housing benefits, in order for services to by eligible to the scheme. In other words, funding should be able to cover all costs involved in complying with such requirements of care.

Additionally, as each housing benefit claim will need to be assessed individually, it is important to consider a person-centred approach that should not delay claims, as sometimes the amount of information being requested takes time to be collected and provided.

Conclusion

To conclude, we believe the new regulation has the potential to set up the right environment for more decent and safe accommodations, but it may also create significant financial and administrative burdens for organisations that are already underfunded, and would require additional resources to be able to implement the scheme.

For a full read of the Homeless Link submission, please check : https://homelesslink-1b54.kxcdn.com/media/documents/Full_SARO_Act_consultation_response.pdf

June 2025

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Awards, Nominations and Commendations for SJOG!

We're not even half way through the year and SJOG is already celebrating a number of awards, nominations and commendations - another strong reflection of the exceptional people at SJOG and the high-quality services we deliver.

Housing with Care Awards - Senior Leader Award
Linda, SJOG's Head of Operations South was named a finalist and received 'highly commended' by judges. They praised her 'remarkable career defined by compassion and innovation', noting her tireless advocacy for improving supported living environments, pioneering inclusive community-focused care models for people with complex needs.

The Learning Disability and Autism Awards - People's Award

Matthew has been shortlisted in this category for his work at Woodhall as an expert by experience which includes Matthew's work on developing user-friendly support plans and the co-production of a dignity audit for the service.

Service Manager of the Year
Miggy, Service Manager at The Minims in Hertfordshire has been shortlisted in this category for her exceptional leadership and dedication.  She consistently goes above and beyond in delivering outstanding care and support to those in her service. 

And Here to Help, our suicide prevention programme, which already picked up a European Innovation Award, has also been shortlisted in the Learning Disability and Autism Awards.

In addition, Suzi our activity co-ordinator at St Paul's has been short-listed dedication to her role and 'bringing the service to life with her energy and her innovative ideas'.  The whole team at St Paul's have also reached the finals for the End-of-Life Palliative Care Team award - a recognition of their compassionate and dignified approach in this area.

Unsung Hero Award - Teesside Student Futures
One of our brilliant volunteers (and now a permanent member of the team), Meryem, has been honoured with the Unsung Hero Award for her work on our Here to Help project.
Meryem's commitment to supporting autistic individuals and their families has made a real and lasting impact.

As a volunteer, Meryem has gone above and beyond in our work around autism and suicide prevention, contributing through one-to-one support, drop-in sessions, and co-facilitating professional training.

Huge congratulations to everyone recognised so far this year!

June 2025
 

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SJOG Receives Third NAS Accreditation

Recognition for exceptional autism practice

The Old Vicarage, SJOG's residential care service specialising in supporting people with autism, has been awarded National Autistic Society Autism Accreditation. This is the third service to be awarded accreditation, demonstrating SJOG's commitment to providing high-quality, autism focused personalised care where people thrive in capable environments.

Dr Lisa Alcorn, Chief Operating Officer, said, "The team has worked tirelessly to create a service that goes beyond meeting needs and focuses on people reaching their full potential by providing exceptional autism practice. This recognition is not just a badge; it's a validation of the work we do every day to ensure people receive the support they need to lead fulfilling and purposeful lives. The Old Vicarage team, led by Nicola Toth are to be commended for the outcomes people are achieving. We are very proud of the work they do."
 

May 2025

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A new location for Woodhall Day Opportunities Project

SJOG will be moving our award-winning day service provision to Trinity Hall, which is based behind the current home of the service.

SJOG has been operating a day service for vulnerable adults out of Woodhall Community Centre for many years, as well as managing the property for community, sport, health and wellbeing, and social events.

We aim to continue to work with our wider local community and offer support where needed in the future. We will be doing this in partnership with Trinity Hall which we believe to be a better environment, and is a positive move for us and the people we support, and will mean that we can support more people.

SJOG does not own the Woodhall Community Centre.  This is owned by the Hospitaller Order of St John of God, and they have decided to put the property up for sale. Any enquiries regarding the building should be directed to the marketing company who are managing this: Aitchison Raffety whose details are on the for sale board. They are based in St Albans - contact numbers: 01727 843232 and 01727 739373.

May 2025

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Finding solutions to ending homelessness amongst migrant people

Updated policy briefing issued


SJOG has once again joined with Homeless Link, the No Accommodation Network (NACCOM) and other 80 frontline organisations working in the fields of homelessness, housing, and migrants' rights to continue advocacy efforts to influence the homelessness strategy. 

NACCOM has recently published an updated policy briefing highlighting an increase in homelessness for those with a migrant background, asylum seekers or newly granted refugees. The data collected indicates that this is due to restrictions in accessing asylum and immigration support and over-reliance on statutory voluntary services and short-term emergency accommodation.

We understand that the Illegal Migration Act 2023 and the introduction of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill 2025 represents a significant responsibility in shaping the UK's approach to border security at a critical moment in both national and international migration policies, but it also bans anyone who arrived 'irregularly' in the UK since 7 March 2023, from ever being granted any form of immigration leave, therefore, excluding them from statutory services.

It is evident that the lack of access to resources can only lead to increased vulnerabilities, and that when people live in a state of permanent limbo and are unable to ever settle their status in the UK, they are more likely to disengage from the system, to be at risk of exploitation and to be excluded from access to services that exacerbate their vulnerabilities: health outcomes, homelessness, human rights, trauma and recovery.

To read the report in full which outlines the key driver to migrant homeless and the policies we believe the government could implement to ensure we live in a society where everyone has a home, go to: Vital solutions to ending migrant homelessness'.
 

May 2025

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SJOG expands to support more communities with new head office opening

SJOG, a national charity with services around the country and its head office in Darlington officially opened its new office on Friday 25 April 2025.

As the charity is growing to meet more need, bigger space is needed for its head office and as part of its mission to to be of more help is offering space to small local charities and social enterprises to provide meeting and training spaces, access to wi-fi, screen and kitchen facilities.

The new office is based at The Old Exchange building in central Darlington.

The office was officially opened by Lola McEvoy, MP for Darlington, who said, It was a real pleasure to officially open the SJOG office and learn more about the incredible work they're doing to support communities here in Darlington and across the country. As a Living Wage employer, the way they care for their staff is essential to delivering excellent care. 

It's fantastic to see them not only advancing their own mission but also opening this new space to support other third-sector organisations doing vital work. I encourage voluntary sector organisations in Darlington to get in touch with them as the offices are state of the art.

It was also an especially lovely coincidence to cut the ribbon on the new headquarters of an organisation that is close to my family." 

Paul Bott, Chief Executive said, "SJOG is a well-kept secret. We are the largest charity based in Darlington and have been supporting people in the borough since 1946. 

I love our new space. I love that it's a space that has been purposefully created as a hub for all charities and not-for-profit organisations, so that we can all be of help to people in Darlington."
 

April 2025

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