The Story of the (Bankside Hostel) Project

The learning disability White Paper Valuing People (DH, 2001) and accompanying policy guidance were intended to provoke substantial changes and improvements in services for people with learning difficulties. Alongside these changes, there have also been significant policy developments in related areas. For example, implementation of the Care Standards Act (2000) and the Supporting People programme (which funds 'housing support' to enable people to live in their own homes) have completely overhauled the systems, structures and funding by which 'vulnerable people' are housed and supported in the community (DH, 2002).

These changes have had a major impact upon residents in local authority hostels and elderly people's homes. There are now considerable financial disincentives to local authority social services departments continuing to provide 'residential care' services (Means et al, 2003). The changes have led to the closure, or planned closure, of numerous local authority homes and hostels throughout England and Wales . There have also been funding-led changes and closures within independent sector residential homes. In some areas, proposed changes have been fiercely contested with relatives mounting high profile campaigns in an attempt to stall or stop the closure of residential homes (The Guardian, 2002).

Media interest, coupled with the requirements of the Supporting People programme to consult with and involve service users (ODPM, 2003), have led to some local authorities and Supporting People teams taking increased interest in consulting with service users with learning difficulties.

The Bankside Hostel project built upon established links with one such social services department and Supporting People team. This link had been built up by Kathy Boxall and Steve Murphy (a pseudonym) who had undertaken a series of consultation exercises for the department, over a two year period.

In early 2002, Kathy Boxall was commissioned by the social services department to undertake a consultation exercise with learning disabled council tenants who were living semi-independently in their own council or housing association houses or flats. Most of these tenants were articulate individuals with 'mild' learning difficulties who were asked for their views regarding a proposed change.

Later in 2002, Kathy Boxall was asked to undertake a further consultation exercise in order to ascertain the future housing preferences of the residents in the Social Services Department's three learning disability hostels, two of which were earmarked for closure. This second group were people with more significant learning difficulties, many of whom were less articulate than the original group of tenants. This entailed the development of innovative ways of communicating and consulting with residents in order to establish, as far as was possible, their views and preferences.

The following year Kathy Boxall was approached by the Supporting People team and asked to undertake a further consultation exercise with the original group of housing association and council tenants, plus some additional tenants, as well as the residents of the hostels. This piece of work was aimed at ascertaining the extent to which people with learning difficulties were being consulted about, and involved in planning, the service they received. This was a substantial project and Steve Murphy was recruited to assist Kathy with this work.

Because Kathy and Steve had undertaken the above work we were known to service managers as well as staff and residents at Bankside Hostel. Our existing relationships meant that it was relatively straightforward to gain formal consent from the social services department to undertake the research that is described on this website. The fact that hostel residents and staff had met us before also helped when it came to gaining access to the hostel and staff who helped develop ways of communicating with the residents.

Bibliography
DH (2001) Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21 st Century , London , Department of Health.

DH (2002) Housing and Support Options for People with Learning Disabilities , London, Department of Health / Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Means, R., Richards, S. and Smith, R. (2003) Community Care: Policy and Practice (Third Edition) Basingstoke , Palgrave Macmillan.

ODPM (2003) Supporting People: A guide to user involvement for organisations providing housing related support services , London , Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

The Guardian (2002) Homes dispute 'threatens wellbeing of elderly' , Society Guardian, August 7 th , p7.