National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability 2011 - 2016

Chapter 2Context and BackgroundIntroduction2.1 The National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability 2011 – 2016 has beendeveloped in tandem with Government policy and related strategic developments in theareas of housing and disability.Policy Context- Towards 20162.2 The social partnership agreement, Towards 2016, set out a vision that ‘people withdisabilities have, to the greatest extent possible, the opportunity to live a full life with theirfamilies and as part of their local community’. One of the long-term goals to achieve thisvision is that ‘every person with a disability would have access to public spaces, buildings,transport, information, advocacy and other public services and appropriate housing’. In thiscontext, the agreement recognised that people with a disability often have fewer choicesregarding their housing and accommodation needs and identified the development of anational housing strategy for people with a disability as a priority action. Towards 2016adopted the lifecycle approach, which places the individual at the centre of policydevelopment and delivery and which facilitates a multi-disciplinary approach to policymaking.- Statement on Housing Policy2.3 In light of current and emerging conditions in the housing sector, a new HousingPolicy Statement was published in June 2011 which sets out the principles to underpin thedevelopment of housing policy into the medium term. The Statement’s objective is ‘toenable all households access good quality housing appropriate to household circumstancesand in their particular community of choice’. In terms of social housing, the focus of thepolicy statement will be on meeting the most acute needs – the housing support needs ofthose unable to provide for their accommodation from their own resources. As part of thisapproach, there will be an ongoing important role for the Social Housing Leasing Initiativeand the Rental Accommodation Scheme and a number of proposals designed to increase thesupply of permanent new social housing. Among the key reforms will be the phasedtransfer of responsibility for providing for the housing needs of long term rent supplementrecipients to housing authorities. Options for the delivery of permanent social housing willinclude options to purchase on lease agreements, build to lease and the use of loan financeby approved housing bodies to build or acquire units for use as social housing.- National Disability Strategy2.4 The National Disability Strategy was launched in 2004, building on existing policy andlegislation including the Employment Equality Act 1998, the Equal Status Act 2000, the26