AQW 1110/17-22

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 28/01/2020
Answered On Date: 12/02/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health for an update on the Shared Lives project, which supports adults with a learning disability and older people; and what consideration is being given to extend the project into the next financial year.

Answer:

The Health and Social Care Board (HSCB), together with representatives from Shared Lives Plus and Trust staff from both Learning Disability and Older People, are working to develop a framework to support the expansion of shared lives which will ensure consistent delivery across the region. This framework is expected to be completed by March 2020. Work is also on-going to have regionally agreed awareness raising and publicity material to promote the work of shared lives.

Discussions continue to determine how best the shared lives model could potentially be expanded for people with learning disability and developed for older people. A business case is being developed to identify the level of recurrent funding required. However, challenges in relation to the release of short to medium term funding to develop the approach and the challenging wider financial position, will need to be considered.