New resources to help councils improve housing choice for people with learning disabilities and autism

The Local Government Association (LGA) has collated a range of resources to help councils transform the local housing offer for people with a learning disability or autistic people.

The Association states that local authorities and partners must do what they can to ensure that people with learning disabilities and autism are living in accommodation which best suits their needs.

This means supporting people to achieve their goals, whether that be where they live, who they live with, the design of their home and how they are supported, as these factors can have a significant impact on wellbeing and behaviour.

As the Association explains: “It is critical that people have the right accommodation to meet their needs to ensure sustainable housing solutions. This means that we have to have a personalised response to accommodation, which will require us to fully understand a person’s individual needs and then seek to meet those needs in the best possible way.”

Local councils and partners have a responsibility to find housing which is best-suited to the individual

The LGA says there is a “great deal” local councils and partners can do to support people with learning disabilities and autism to achieve their goals, and while they admit shared home ownership isn’t for everyone, they say it can work well for some people who have very specific housing requirements.

The Association has therefore collated a list of various reports which aim to help local authorities make informed decisions about the most suitable housing options for vulnerable adults and children. These include:

• ‘A place I call home: responding to Winterbourne View Must Know Adult Social Care’ by the LGA.
• ‘Building the right home’ by NHS England, the LGA and ADASS as part of the Transforming Care Programme.
• ‘Home ownership for people with long-term disabilities (HOLD) Factbook’ by LGA and ADASS
• ‘Specialised supported housing: guidance for local government and NHS commissioners’ by the LGA.
• ‘Housing and Learning Disability: Transforming Care and Support’ by Housing LIN.
• ‘Supporting people with learning disabilities to rent their own place’ by Housing LIN.

Three quarters of people with a learning disability would rather live in their own accommodation with support

The LGA also link to a case study: ‘A strategic assessment of the accommodation with support needs for people with a learning disability, autism and mental health conditions 2020-2030.’

The project found that of the 138 respondents with lived experience, more than three quarters (77%) said they would rather live in their own accommodation with support.

Following the completion of the report, the LGA held a workshop to confirm the finding and to agree the next steps. The outcome of the workshop was to develop an action plan with regional (ICS level) and local authority actions.

The LGA now hope these additional resources will give capacity to lead the delivery of the recommendations.