Decision Maker: Director of Public Health
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: No
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.
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 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: