Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total amount of Better Care Fund money which has been allocated to housing over the next two years by each of the localities that have submitted plans.

The amount of Better Care Fund (BCF) money that each area will spend on housing and housing related services will be for local decision, reflecting local priorities as articulated in joint health and wellbeing strategies.

As announced by the Department of Health and the Department for Communities and Local Government on 5 July, local health and wellbeing boards will be submitting revised BCF plans later in the summer. The information requested is therefore not currently available. Furthermore, although the revised BCF plans will show which localities are including housing, it might not be possible to extract the systematic information on housing expenditure that is requested.

The Government is clear that integration is not restricted to the traditional health and care service ‘silos’ but is a much broader concept, one that includes housing, leisure and other services that improve health and wellbeing.

The Care Act will mean that, from April 2015, local authorities – including housing departments - must carry out their care and support responsibilities with the aim of promoting greater integration with the health service.

The draft statutory guidance, published on 6 June, makes it clear that housing is a health-related service and is integral to providing integrated care. Among a number of case studies, the Guidance includes an example of how housing is integral to delivering integrated care in Leicestershire. The guidance can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/news/care-act-2014-launch-of-care-and-support-consultation.