I am very perturbed by the synopsis of Niall Dickson’s column that appeared on the cover of your 22 October issue.

The article describes an inadequate registered care sector (page 18). Nowhere does Niall Dickson criticise sheltered housing providers. Rather, he expresses sympathy with their struggle to cope with increasingly frail tenants under Supporting People.

The article also implies that sheltered housing and registered care can be compared on the same spectrum, but they are funded and regulated under completely different regimes. The uninformed reader could be left with an erroneous impression of the aims of sheltered housing and its success in catering for people whose needs are far greater than was originally intended.

Ruth Holmstock, chair designate Waltham Forest Housing Association

Source

Housing Today