Coventry’s standards for supported exempt accommodation

Coventry City Council publishes a Guide to Standards for Supported Exempt Accommodation (opens in a new tab) for new and existing providers in the city. The guide says it is not a set of rules to be followed rigidly, but that providers are expected to meet its standards “to be recognised by the local authority and its partners”. The council’s supported exempt accommodation page (opens in a new tab) says all new and existing providers “will be expected to implement and work in line with” the standards. Coventry was awarded £426,887 under the Supported Housing Improvement Programme (opens in a new tab).

An audit at least once a year

The guide says the council’s Exempt Accommodation Team audits every provider in the city at least once each year. The audit covers the quality of support and of the property, HMO and HHSRS compliance, staffing, property facilities, staff and resident feedback, and compliance with the measures below. The findings also feed the council’s value for money checks on Housing Benefit claims. The council publishes its audit templates (opens in a new tab): a property audit feedback form and a support audit checklist. Its 2024 strategic statement (opens in a new tab) says the inspection findings let it RAG rate providers.

49 measures in seven sections, and how they map

The guide sets out 49 numbered measures. Providers are “required to and audited to ensure” them, although three (measures 8, 20 and 45) only encourage providers to use council services: the Pre-Eviction Panel, the Vulnerable Persons and Complex Needs Forum and the Stakeholder Planner. The table shows how each section overlaps the National Supported Housing Standards. The mapping is ours, not the council’s.

Policies checked at audit

The guide lists the policies the audit checks: referral and assessment procedures; safeguarding vulnerable adults; domestic abuse and sexual violence; equality and diversity; whistleblowing; substance misuse; antisocial behaviour; lone working; and confidentiality and data handling (GDPR).

In Stedwise

Organisations with an address in Coventry can score themselves against the 49 measures as their own rule set, labelled Local scheme. It is never merged with the National Standards. Every criterion is the council’s wording, copied from the guide. The weights are ours: the three “encouraged” measures count half. Stedwise is independent and not endorsed by Coventry City Council.