Project Director: Christina Beatty
Project Duration: 2022-2024

CRESR was commissioned by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions to undertake a large-scale study of the Supported Housing Sector in England, Scotland and Wales in 2023. The study provides an up-to-date understanding of the sector which addresses six overarching research questions:

• What is the size and composition of the supported housing sector? How much provision is there, for which service types, and for which client groups?
• Which issues impact on the supply and demand for supported housing? To what extent does the supply of commissioned or non-commissioned supported housing services meet existing demand from client groups and what are the perceived barriers to developing additional supply?
• How is the demand for supported housing likely to change in the future? How much supported housing might be needed in the future given current supply, demand, unmet demand and changing population demographics?
• What are the costs of provision? What is known about average rents, service charges and funding from local authorities for commissioned housing support services and how do these vary by client group?
• How do commissioning practices vary across local authorities? What works or does not work well in current commissioning practices, how have they changed over time, and to what extent does partnership working exist between local commissioners, Housing Benefit teams and supported housing providers?
• How can monitoring of the sector be improved? Given the varied definitions used within the sector and lack of systematic data providing a complete overview of the entire sector, how might future monitoring data be enhanced to improve understanding of the sector?

A mixed method approach was taken which included four key research strands:

• Scoping interviews and engagement exercises with stakeholders, a literature review, and a data review.
• Analysis of a wide range of secondary and administrative data sources on supported housing across Great Britain.
• Three primary surveys of Local Authority Housing Benefit Teams, Local Authority and County Council Commissioners, and Supported Housing Providers.
• Sixteen in-depth case studies including interviews with 135 stakeholders in local authorities, wider statutory bodies and supported housing provider organisations.

The final report, 'Supported Housing Review 2023', has been published and is available to read and download on the gov.uk website.