Housing Plan

2010

1
How we will help people
with learning disabilities
find their own home

Easy Read version

Contents Page

Let’s Begin.....................................................................Page 3

Section 1 – Our Plan for People in the Local .........Page 7

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Section 2 – Our Targets for the Plan.......................Page 13

Section 3 – The ‘Changing Lives’ Programme.......Page 24

Section 4 – Following ‘Valuing People Now’.............Page

28

Section 5 – Where people live now and in the Future

............................................................................Page 38

Section 6 - What kind of place can I live in?

........................................................................Page 46

Section 7 – The Main Points........................Page 62

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 Let’s begin

What is this document about?

People with learning disabilities are treated badly a lot

They get left out of things. They might not get the
same things as everyone else.

It can be harder to get employment, services or

information.

A lot of people do not have their own place to live.

They live in hospitals or other places

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 Or with family carers

It is also hard to make friends and meet people

Even with lots of people around it can still be
lonely for people.

It is hard to be independent. It is hard to do the

things you want to do.

Housing for people with learning disabilities

should be easier.
It should be the same as it is for everyone else.

It does not have to be done by Social Services.

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 People from housing services need to help as
much as they can.

We will make things better for people in

Bradford.

People with learning disabilities should be

included and not left out
We will make sure people have a good place to
live.

There will be lots of help and support for

people too.
We will also help people make friends,
find work, have more control and have a
better life.

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 This document is about how we will work together to
make things better.

We want a community where no one is

left out.

People with learning disabilities should

be included more.

Bradford Metropolitan District

Council strongly believes in this.

Section 1
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Our plan for people in the Local Area

Bradford has a Big Plan.

We will make life better for people in Bradford.

Lots of people are working on it.

Everyone will be a part of it. It will make a

better community.

Bradford will be a better place to live.

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 People will have better chances at work.

Education and schools will be better too.

Working Together

Bradford is working together with other agencies

to make this plan work.

There is also the Disability Strategic

Partnership.
This lets people with disabilities have their
say.
The main group is the Bradford Strategic Partnership.
It has people from:

 The Council

 The Primary Care Trust

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  The Police

 The Chamber of Commerce

 Bradford Community Housing

Trust

 University of Bradford

 Bradford Children &

Young People’s
Partnership

 The Environment
partnership

 Business and Voluntary/ Community Sectors

Bradford also has 2 other groups that help people.

Stronger Community Partnership

They make sure everyone is safe in the community.

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They make sure everyone is treated the same.

Health & Wellbeing Partnership

They make sure people keep healthy.

We also have a Joint Housing Plan.

This will make it easier for people with

learning disabilities to find their own home.

What is the Joint Housing

Plan?

We need 2700 homes to be on the market

every year.
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This is because there will be more and more people living in
Bradford.

But how many should be set aside for

people with learning disabilities?
This is what we want to try and work out in
this plan.

We also want more people to be on a Personal

Budget.
We want 30% of people to be on it.

With a Personal Budget you can decide what to

spend your money on.
It is helpful for people with learning disabilities.
This will mean people will have more choice
when trying to find a house.

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Section 2
Our targets for the Plan

Bradford does not have as many houses

as before.
There is not as many as a few years ago.

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Most of them have been given to INCOMMUNITIES.
It is a Registered Social Landlord.

What are Registered Social Landlords?

They are companies that support people to get

good housing.

They do not make a profit or get rich.

The houses are affordable.

This means that people will be able to
pay their rent.

They also repair your home and keep it safe...

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 and they collect money for the rent.

Registered Social Landlords are watched by the

Tenants Services Authority (T.S.A)

They make sure that they are following the rules

But we want people with learning disabilities

on our Housing Register.

We want to give everyone the chance to find a

good home.

People should have choice

People can decide who they want to live
with

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And where they want to live.

We will use the information from this plan.

We will talk to the Tenant Services Authority

(TSA).

We are hoping we can get a grant for

more housing.
A grant means some money that would
help us do this.

Sometimes people with learning disabilities need

extra help and support.

But usually all people need is a nice,

safe home in a good neighbourhood.

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Bradford is taking part in a study with the National
Development Team for Inclusion.

The NTDI help people feel included.

They believe in equality.
One of the things they do is help people
find homes.

We are helping people with learning

disabilities.
We will help people find good homes.

Jayne Knight from the Ling Trust is helping us

with this plan.

What will happen in this plan?

 Services will work together to give people more

choice. There will be more choice for housing,
care and support.

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  There will be more information about
housing options. We will make things
easier to understand.

 People with learning disabilities will have

more choice. It will be easier to find a home.

 If people live with older carers, we

will make sure there is plenty of
help and support.

 We will work together with

Supporting People.

They can help us find housing, health and social services for
people.

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  We will find out about Assistive Technology.

This means technology that can help people

with learning disabilities.
It is useful for people who need extra help
and support.

For example people can have alarms in their

homes if anything bad happens.

 We will help more people get Personal

Budgets.

These plans are very important to

help people find housing in
Bradford.

What are Bradford’s targets?

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  We will meet the targets of the Local Area Plans.
People will get the right housing and support.

 We will sort out a Joint Housing Plan.

 We will find out who needs to find a

home.

 We will find out who needs support.

 We will give people more Housing Options.

 We will make things easier and better for

people with learning disabilities.

 We will link our Housing Plan with the

Personalisation Agenda.

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What is Personalisation?
This means real choice and control in your life.
This is in everyday life and the services you
receive.

We will make sure people get the house they

want.

We will help everyone.

 It does not matter about your age.

 Whether you are a man or a woman.

 If you have a disability.

 The colour of your skin or the country you

are from.

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  How much money you have

Whethe

r you are sexually attracted to men, women or both.
 We will make Easy Read versions of all our
information.

 We will give training to housing, social services, health

and voluntary agencies.
They can learn more about learning disabilities.

 We will also give training to families and people who

care for people with learning disabilities.
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  We will provide housing in the city and also in rural
areas.

 We will try and find out how many

housing applications come each year.

This will help us get the funding we need.

 If people have moved away from the

area...

We will find out if they would like to come

back.

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Section 3
The ‘Changing Lives
Programme’

Changing Lives wants people with

learning disabilities to be treated
better.

They should not be turned away or treated

badly.

People should have choice in life.

They should have the same opportunities
as everyone else.
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 Everyone should be treated fairly and
with respect.

Changing Lives wants to help people

with learning disabilities, and their
families.

They will do this by:

 Making sure they are included and to be

part of the community.

 Helping people find their own home. To

give people the choice of where they want
to live, and who they want to live with.

 Making sure they get the same

healthcare as everyone else.

 Making sure people who need extra care and

support get the healthcare they need.

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  Helping people find both paid and voluntary
work.

 Giving people more choice and

control.

 Helping people get Personal

Budgets.

 Making it easier for people to get

information.

 Set up a ‘Learning Disability Parliament’.

This is a group that would meet up and
help people with learning disabilities in the
community.

Changing Lives will work together with other

services to do these things.

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The ‘Where People Live’ Project

This is a project covered by the Changing Lives

Programme.

The people on the project are working on this

plan too.
They will help put together the Housing Plan.

They will talk to people in Bradford to see what

they think.

They will get a chance to have their say.

The plan will be put into action in May 2010.

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Section 4
Following ‘Valuing People Now’

Why should we have a Housing

Plan?

We think it is important to make life better

for people with learning disabilities.
We want to follow the aims set in the
‘Valuing People Now’ paper.

This was published by the Government in 2009.

It sets out a 3 year plan to improve the lives of people

with learning disabilities.

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The main points are:

• Rights

• Independence (doing things for yourself)

• Choice

• Inclusion

We think these things are important to make life better

for people with learning disabilities.

The paper also said that Local Authorities should do

more to help people find homes.

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This is good because people with learning disabilities have not
got help like this since 1971.
That was a very long time ago.
When the paper was launched, Alan Johnson (Secretary of
State for Health) said:

‘People with learning disabilities will be supported in

every aspect of their lives, from housing and health
to employment.’

These are all important things.

This gives people more choice and control in their lives.

Bradford agrees with these ideas.

They are part of our plans to make people feel
more included.

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Lots of plans to help people with learning disabilities have
been written in Britain.

Bradford have also helped with this.

But we want to do more and use some of the
national plans.

Here are some examples of these plans:

 Helping people with learning disabilities

find homes that are right for them.

 To stop people with learning disabilities

being left out of things.

Another important document is the

‘Independent Living Strategy’.

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It says that the Government should work to make life better for
disabled people.

IMPORTANT!

If people in England need care and

support, they have to go through an
assessment.
This means you will be asked some
questions.

The assessment is done through Fair Access to

Care Services (FACS)

They have to decide if people are eligible

for care services.
This means to find out if they need the
services or not.

There are ‘4 Levels of Need’ that they use to

decide this.
1 is the highest level of need.
4 is the lowest.

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What are the ‘4 Levels of Need’?

Level 1 – Critical
This is for someone who needs support all the
time.
Something would have to be done in 7 days.

Level 2 – Substantial
This is for someone who needs help every day.
This is not as bad as ‘Critcial, but something would
have to be done within 6 weeks.

Level 3 – Moderate
This is for someone who only needs help some of
the time.

Level 4 – Low
This is for someone who can look after
themselves most of the time.

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 This policy is used for people with
learning disabilities in Bradford.

At the moment, we might only be able to help people

with ‘Critical’ or ‘Substantial’ needs.

This is because we want to help

people who really need support.

You can get more information on

our website.

http://www.bradford.gov.uk/bmdc/health_well-being_and_care/

Paying people to take part in Consultations

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Housing Organisations want people to take part in
consultations.
In a consultation, people can say what they think about
housing.

This is useful for the Housing Organisations

to gather information.

Registered Social Landlords can pay

people to take part in these.

This is part of a new law introduced in October 2009.

People can be paid to take part.

It will not change any of their benefit
payments.

Working if you are on Benefits

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If you are a disabled person you might be getting benefit
payments from the Government.

The Disability Living Allowance(DLA) is one

example.

However, if you are working this might

change your benefits.

If you are working a certain amount of

hours...

Or earn a certain amount of money...

You might stop getting benefit payments or they will

change.

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 You need to be sure of what benefits you are
entitled to!

It is very important to talk to the

Department of Work and Pensions
if you have questions about this.

The Jobcentre can also help.

They can give you help and advice.

Section 5
Where People Live Now
and in the Future
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 Bradford is a very big place.

A lot of people live there.

It is one of the largest

places in Britain

By the year 2030 there will be more people

living in Bradford.

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8700 people have a learning disability .

They all need a place to live.

This is a plan about places to live.

It talks about houses that are needed in the

future.

Bradford District council wants people with

learning disabilities to talk to them:

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 They want to know where you would like
to live

What type of place you would like?

Also would you like to rent or buy your own

place?

Tell us what you want.

We can make better plans if you do.

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You have the same choices as anybody else.

In the Future......

Each year Bradford needs 48 new homes.

These homes will be for people with learning

disabilities

Then everyone will have a place to live in.

18 of these places need to be ground

floor.

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 As this is what people need

This could be a bungalow or

ground floor flat.

People must have nice homes to live in.

In Britain, People with learning

disabilities have talked
about what they want!

• Help to sort big things out.

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 • Help to sort private things out.

• Someone to talk to when feeling scared or

lonely.

• Help to do things for yourself.

• Making friends
and finding a partner.

• Getting a job.

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 • Being able to get out and about.

Bradford wants to improve where people live.

Bradford council want to get your views

about living here.

They want to talk about housing.

What type of housing do you want?
Where do you want to live?

Do you want to rent or buy?

What support do you need?

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 With your help Bradford Council can really
change things
We want to make better plans about housing

So that you will have a great place to live!

Section 6
What kind of place
can I live in?

In Bradford there are some Registered

Social Landlords

What are Registered Social Landlords?

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 They are companies that support people to get
good housing.

They do not make a profit or get rich.

The houses are affordable.

This means that people will be able to pay

their rent.

They also repair your home and keep it safe...

and they collect money for the rent.

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 Registered Social Landlords are watched by the
Tenants Services Authority (T.S.A)

They make sure that they are following the rules.

You can get also get

help from Charities or
volunteer
organisations, if you want to.

They do not make a profit or get rich.

They can help you find a place to live.

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 What is a Tenancy?

When you pay rent to live in your home you

have a tenancy.

A tenancy is a contract between you and the

landlord.

It is called a Tenancy Agreement.

It talks about the law.

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 It says what you are responsible for.

It also says what your landlord has to do.

You and your landlord must sign the Tenancy

Agreement.

Sometimes people need help to sign the tenancy

agreement

It might be when they cannot make decisions.

This is called ‘lacking capacity’.

This means a ‘deputy’ will make decisions for

you.

What is a deputy?

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This is someone who can make decisions for you.

The courts will help sort this out.

They will say who can be your deputy.

There are different types of Tenancy

Agreements.

The most common one is called “Assured

Shorthold”.

Getting Good Information and Advice

Your Tenancy Agreement needs to be

right for you.

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 You must get good information.

This will help you make the right choice.

You have the same rights as everyone

else.

Bradford is making sure that disabled

people are treated equally.

Everyone must have the

same rights and choices.
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It’s the law!

Different Types of Housing

People with learning disabilities live

in all types of housing.

This can be:

• Just for one person

• For a group of people

• A lot of places that are in the

same area.

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 • Places that share rooms

Most people pay rent.

Also some people have bought their

own homes.

Different types of support at home

In some places organisations are working

together.
This has meant that people have more
choice.

Some people have extra support at home

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This could be:

• To keep your house in good repair.

• Paying the rent or bills

• Going shopping

• Making friends

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 • Finding a job

There are many ways people are supported.

STAFF

Staff can come into your home and support

you.

You can employ your own staff.

You might have lots of support....

....or just a few hours a week

You may share your home with other people.

Or you may share the same building as other
people.

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 Staff might work with you and other people
that live there.

Wardens or Key Ring Scheme

You might just call a person if you need

help.

This might be a warden or part of a ‘Key Ring’ scheme.

You only have support when you

need it.
They might live near to you.

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They can help you very quickly.

Housemates and Support Tenants

A Housemate is a good way to support people.

Sometimes they are called a support tenant.

They share a home with a disabled person.

They do not give lots of care or support.

It’s a bit like having a flat mate.

The housemate may have some sort of contract.

This might be to:

• Wake you up in the morning

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 • Or help you make a meal

• Or go out once a week.

A house mate does not pay rent

But, they may receive some money to give

you support.

It’s a good way of supporting people at night

time.

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 It does not cost very much to pay the person.

A support tenant can help people that feel lonely

They can be their buddy or friend.

Bradford Council think that this is a good idea.

They want to make a list.

It will have people that need a housemate.

Also people that want to be housemates

Bradford wants to help people find housemates.

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 They are going to make plans to help this
happen.

This is so that people can have better

lives.

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Section 7
The Main Points

People with learning disabilities are still not

included in society.

Things are better than they were.

At least people with a learning

disability are living in the community.

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Some things have not changed though.

People do not feel part of their community.

Sometimes they feel excluded.

There needs to be plenty to do.

People need to help each other out.
So that friendships can be made.
And people do not feel so alone.

Bradford Council say we all need to think differently.

People with learning disabilities in Bradford need to

know:
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 What their options are

That they are equal citizens

That they can make a difference

That they are a big part of Bradford’s

community.

Bradford Council thinks that lots of

people must work together.

These people might be:

People with learning disabilities and their

families

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 Community Learning Disability Teams

and Housing Providers like:

Registered Social Landlords

Charities and Volunteer organisations

Supported living services

Housing associations

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 Private landlords

People that can help you get your own home

People that give support

People with learning disabilities have the

right to a good life.

A nice place to live will really make a difference

Having good support will also make life better.

It is important that plans are made

about these things.

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 Everyone should be able to have
good support and housing.

Bradford Council wants to make changes.

This is so that people with learning

disabilities have better lives.

Already lots of things are changing:

• More training is taking place.

• An accommodation group has been

set up.

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 • More people have their own money to
pay for support.

• People have more choice and control.

Bradford is already looking at:

-Ways for people with learning disabilities to

buy their own home.

-Building new homes

-Talking with landlords about renting.

-Finding new organisations that will help people get

their own place

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 -Talking to ones they already know and
making things better.

-Looking at ways to find houses for people that

might not be able to rent.

-Making sure that the places are good

enough to live in.

-Working with the National Development Team for Inclusion

Better Housing for the Future

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Bradford’s plans will make people’s lives better

There will be better places to live.

More ways to get a place of your own.

More choice about where you would like to live.

And more chances to make new friends and

have a good life.

Thank you for

reading!

This document was transcribed by:

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