Decision details

PH 23 2022/BCFMHPost - allocation of £161,108 from the Better Care Fund to fund 2 Mental Health Practitioner posts to support St Leger Homes Doncaster with tenants experiencing poor mental health.

Decision Maker: Director of Public Health

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: No

Is subject to call in?: No

Purpose:

There are complex relationships between housing and mental health with the links between the two well-documented. Research has identified that approximately 1/3rd of social housing tenants have a mental health problem and ‘Mind’ also claim that one in three social housing tenants are unhappy with the place they live, exacerbating their mental health difficulties. Compared with the general population, people with mental health conditions are one and a half times more likely to live in rented housing, with greater uncertainty about how long they can remain in their current home.
Mental ill health is frequently cited as a reason for tenancy breakdown and housing problems are often given as a reason for a person being admitted, or readmitted, to inpatient care. During recent Doncaster locality workshops, mental health has been highlighted as a priority area within each locality.
According to the latest data, over 12,600 St Leger Homes tenants completed a Customer Profiling Questionnaire (CPO). Of these, over 1,880 (14%) of tenants indicated that they suffered from mental health issues. Extrapolating this across all tenancies, this could mean at least 3,000 tenants with poor mental health. For Doncaster borough, this would equate to almost 55,000 people living in the borough having experienced some form of mental health condition.

Decision:

To award the below project with the following grant funds:-
- Approval is sought to fund 2 mental health practitioners to support housing and mental health support £80,554 per year for 2 years (£161,108) in total.
- To fund the proposed project from the Better Care Fund earmarked reserve

Alternative options considered:

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED
In accordance with S75 agreement Doncaster Council has established a grant funding scheme to support Better Care Fund projects. Not to approve the application in accordance with the requirements of the Better Care Fund scheme would reduce the level of support that can be provided.
Project approval would mean fewer mental health crisis interventions; fast tracking to specialist services; more holistic, integrated care and support and better access to information, health records and fewer people with mental health issues being evicted or becoming homeless.

Publication date: 30/06/2022

Date of decision: 28/06/2022

Accompanying Documents: