Agenda item

Mrs Susan Manion gave an overview of the content of the statement recognising the importance of housing in supporting the strategic plan and future planning needs of the population.

Cllr Frances Renton welcomed the statement and commented that there were a number of objectives within the plan and that housing was important to everybody.

Miss Jenny Miller noted that the objectives that flowed from the strategic plan did not correlate to those in the housing contribution statement and she suggested they be aligned to ensure consistency.  She further enquired about the timescale for production of the 2016 statement.  Mrs Manion advised that she would check the timescale for production.

Mrs Elaine Torrance welcomed the statement and highlighted the importance of adaptations to housing in terms of accessibility for the disabled, older people and those with learning difficulties.

The Chair suggested an opportunity for the future might be the utilisation of private sheltered housing which sat on the market for extended periods and could potentially prove more cost effective than building new houses.

Mrs Karen Hamilton enquired about the preventative element given that it was only the excessively critical needs that were currently covered.  Mrs Torrance confirmed that there was limited funding for adaptations and the resources were therefore targeted to individuals in most need.  She commented that it was a challenge for housing to build adaptable homes.   

Mr David Davidson suggested it would be a matter for the registered social landlords to become involved in and the Chair confirmed that they were used as a delivery model alongside the council building programme.  Mrs Manion noted that some of the capital referred to in the integrated care fund was used to support the joint borders ability equipment store in the provision of adaptations.

Cllr John Mitchell sought clarification of the measurement of outcomes.  Mrs Manion advised that the indicators within the strategic plan were applicable to make the cross reference to housing and she expected the housing contribution to produce specific plans for development, what would be different in the future and how that evidenced against the outcomes. 

Mrs Pat Alexander asked to see how it correlated in locality terms in order to aid planning.  The Chair suggested the fuller Strategic Housing Plan be circulated to the Health & Social Care Integration Joint Board as it contained the finer detail.

Mr John McLaren welcomed the report and commented that it helped to understand very easily the issues and commitment that housing were making.  Mr McLaren sought clarity on, housing improvement allocations in terms of stock and quality of housing and also enquired if there was a consistent approach within housing associations in terms of the amount of support they gave their tenants.  The Chair commented that the allocation of funding was prorata to the housing stock and did not encompass quality of stock.  Mrs Manion suggested housing be a topic for a future development session to increase the knowledge of the Health & Social Care Integration Joint Board.

The HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD noted the contents of the Scottish Borders Housing Contribution Statement and endorsed its submission with the Strategic Plan.

The HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD agreed to schedule “Housing” as a topic for a future Development session.