Supporting People - Supporting Independent Living: Folder 2 - Part 3: Operational Guidance and Part 4: Financial Guidance

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Supporting People - Supporting Independent Living: Folder 2 - Part 3: Operational Guidance and Part 4: Financial Guidance

4 Community Alarms

4.1 Introduction

4.1.1 This guidance covers the provision of community alarm services eligible for Supporting People funding and should be read alongside the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (Housing Support Services Regulations 2002) (see Folder 1, Part 1:, Section 3). The introduction of Supporting People grant in April 2003 will combine resources from the transfer of Transitional Housing Benefit (THB), Special Needs Allowance Package (SNAP) and unpooled funding from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) to provide community alarm services. THB has funded alarm charges for people in accommodation that is in the social rented sector and is:

  • Occupied by elderly, sick or disabled people: and
  • this accommodation, apart from the alarm system, is either;
  • Specifically designed or adapted for such persons; or
  • Otherwise particularly suitable for them, having regard to its size, heating system, and other major features or facilities;
  • or in the private sector where the conditions above have been met and the service user has a valid community care assessment.

4.1.2 Alarm services can be provided in two ways:

  • As part of an accommodation based service:; or
  • As a floating/dispersed service.

4.1.3 Prior to April 2003 THB was only payable in respect of the provision of an emergency alarm system including the maintenance of the system. It did not cover charges that were incurred once the alarm system was triggered and referred for further action as appropriate unless the "further action" was eligible for THB funding such as general counselling and advice. However referral was eligible. Alarm systems to control the access to accommodation for vulnerable young people or women's refuges were not eligible but may have been funded as "maintaining the security of the dwelling".

4.1.4 Alarm services were only met by THB where they were payable as a condition of occupying the dwelling.

4.1.5 Some authorities have provided security services (see The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (Housing Support Services) Regulations 2002) for tenants who do not fall into the eligible groups in 2.1.1., for example vulnerable young people or women fleeing domestic abuse. These are not strictly speaking alarm services. Tenants outwith sheltered housing receiving alarm services should be detailed as floating support. Where the service is extended to other tenures from April 2003 these may be funded through any growth of Supporting People grant and can also be funded if the authority can access other funding sources.

4.2 Review of Community Alarm Services

4.2.1 Post April 2003 local authorities will review existing services and may commission new alarm services. The Supporting People process for support services set out in the guidance on service reviews is also applicable to community alarm services. But there are some additional steps to take. These are:

  • Assemble information about locally based community services (there will be hard wired and dispersed types) provided by local authorities, RSLs and other bodies;
  • There will be hard wired and dispersed types;
  • Identify community alarm services where the provider is not locally based.
  • Gather information on the number of people connected to each service, what the service provides to the service user, what the charge is, how many people pay a charge and how many do not.

4.2.2 The quality of the service should be reviewed against a number of quality indicators in addition to those set out in the Service Review guidance.

  • Community alarm providers tend to refer to the speed of response as a quality indicator. This refers to the time it takes for the alarm call to reach the remote operator and/or the speed of response in connecting the caller. While this is a useful quality measure it is not necessarily the only and best measure to use. This is because the things that service users are most concerned about are how long it takes to get the help they need rather than how long it takes for the call to go through;
  • Accessibility to black and ethnic minority users;
  • Accessibility to users with needs such as impaired vision or hearing and other communication problems;
  • The provider complies with standards set by Association of Social and Community Alarm Providers (ASAP). See Annex for information on industry standards.

4.3 Commissioning New Services

4.3.1 The key condition for newly commissioned services is whether it is preventative housing related support and is intended to sustain or develop independent living. Community alarms serve a range of different purposes, including addressing health-related needs, and needs around personal protection (for example in relation to possible racially motivated attacks). Supporting People grant can be used where there is a clear element of "housing related support" involved, and not otherwise. It can be used to fund that element of "housing related support" - which can be difficult to apportion, but such decisions should be made. If an alarm assists a person in moving out of hospital, it may be partly required for medical reasons and partly required for housing related support reasons, and the cost should be split accordingly. This is very unlikely to be on an individual basis, but more likely as part of the discussions on commissioning the service as a whole.

4.3.2 This guidance applies equally to hard-wired systems, dispersed alarms and other forms of SMART technology. It does not matter what type of alarm is being provided; it may be as part of a sheltered housing package of support, or provided as part of a joint health and social services package where the only element of housing related support is the alarm. It is for the local authorities to decide in consultation with its partners what types of alarm service to provide locally to address local needs in an integrated manner, and what proportion of this provision should be 'housing related', for example funded by Supporting People.

4.3.3 Equally the charging assumptions will be part of a broader approach to charging under Supporting People. Whether charges should be applied to community alarms, and in what manner, should be a part of the charging policy. This may require difficult decisions since there may currently be different charging policies depending on the type of alarm, and whether it is part of an accommodation-based service or floating service. Decisions on whether or how these community alarm services are charged for will need to comply with the relevant guidance issued by the Scottish Executive.

Annex 1 Industry standards and community alarms

A report published in 2001 by Ricability provides a checklist "of what any good community alarms service will provide". The checklist from page 7 of the report is very useful for considering the call or control centre part in the community alarm service. The checklist has been rephrased and is shown below.

Checklist: central control/call centre

Tick off the points the more ticks the better

  • Is the Centre (control or call centre) a member of ASAP?
  • Does the Centre provide a cover 24 hours a day, 365 days a year?
  • Are all calls answered quickly - ASAP requires 80% in half a minute and 98.5% in one minute?
  • Are there at least two call centre operators on duty at all times to answer calls?
  • Do call centre operators consider the service user's wishes when deciding what to do?
  • Are there procedures to ensure that call centre operators provide appropriate assistance for service users in a wide variety of circumstances?
  • Is all information on service users kept and handled confidentially by all call centre staff?
  • Do the call centre staff work well with all relevant emergency services in the local area?
  • If the call centre has keys for service users' homes are they kept in a secure place and identified only by code?
  • Does the call centre have a complaint procedure which all service users are told about?
  • Can the call centre continue to work if utilities fail i.e. gas, or electricity?

Checklist for quality of equipment

Pendant 'worn on the person' alarm (called portable trigger by Ricability)

  • (adapted from page 9 of the Ricability (2000) report.
  • Are you prepared to wear it?
  • Can it be worn in different ways - around the neck, wrist or on clothes
  • Is it comfortable to wear?
  • Is it easy for you to press the button?
  • Will it set off the alarm from anywhere I your home and garden?
  • Does it look substantial enough to stand knocks and drops?
  • Does it automatically send a low battery warning to the control/call centre?
  • Does the manufacturer or call centre regularly replace parts of the equipment that need to be replaced?

Alarm unit - hard wired and dispersed (portal or adapted phones)

  • Does it provide full two-way speech?
  • Does it have an alarm button?
  • Will the button be easy to see and use in an emergency?
  • Does it make more than five attempts to dial out?
  • If the call fails can you restart it with the portable trigger (pendant e.g.)?
  • Are the batteries rechargeable and last at least 8 hours?
  • Does it warn you if mains power fails or back-up batteries run low?
  • Does it warn you if the telephone line is faulty or disconnected?
  • Does the built-in phone work if the unit loses power?
  • Can it be used with extra triggers?
  • Can it be wall-mounted?

Applicable standards

Supporting People requires that funded services are delivered in accordance with specific quality standards. ASAP has produced and published a Code of Practice for social alarm services (June 1998). This Code is the accepted industry standard and is cited within outsourcing tenders. It is also the standard which will form the basis of the revised European standard for the management of alarms services (BS EN 50134-7 - Social alarms. Application Guidelines) when this is reviewed by Cenelec during 2002.

The Association offers an independent inspection service to allow service providers to receive accreditation against the Code of Practice. This service is delivered by the SSAIB (a UKAS accredited audit body) on the Association's behalf.

Page updated: Tuesday, May 16, 2006