Keyworkers
The Government's Keyworker Living Initiative has earmarked some schemes especially for some frontline public service workers, particularly in the health and education sectors whose services are essential to local communities and who need to live within a reasonable 'travelling to work' distance. The initiative is targeted at those areas like Hampshire where there are clear recruitment and or retention difficulties, linked to the cost of housing.
There is considerable funding set aside for keyworkers to buy on the Open Market HomeBuy scheme and there are also some Newbuild HomeBuy schemes exclusively targeted for this group. In addition, if you are not ready to buy just yet, you might want to rent one of our Intermediate Rent homes. These are especially for keyworkers.
Who is a keyworker?
Keyworker groups are defined by the government's Department of Communities and Local Government.
To register with us, you must be working in the Hampshire area and from one of these groups:
- Health workers (NHS staff including Social Workers etc)
All applicants must be permanent employees of:
- NHS Primary Care Trusts
- NHS Trusts
- Health Protection Agency
- NHS Ambulance Trusts
- NHS Mental Healthcare and Social care Trusts
- The National Blood Transfusion Service
- NHS Direct
- NHS Professionals Special Health Authorities
- NHS GP surgeries
- NHS Dental Practices, which have been awarded NHS Body status. Where dental practices provide NHS services via a contract, the NHS will provide a letter confirming their status as an NHS Body. Priority groups for assistance
- Hants County Council nurses
Within these employer organisations key workers must be:
| Nurses | Nursing staff in general including Midwives |
| Cancer Service Staff | Cancer Care Assistants
Cancer services staff, particularly therapeutic radiographers |
| Diagnostic Staff | Diagnostic support staff including diagnostic radiographers, microbiologists, rehabilitation engineers and bio-medical scientists |
| Health Care Assistants | Only those working within a clinical role |
| Mental Health professionals | Mental health professionals e.g. mental health nurses and graduate workers in primary care |
| Allied Health Professionals | Social workers
Occupational therapists
Chiropodists
Physiotherapists
Clinical staff working within the Orthoptics field
Clinical staff working within the Dietetics field
Clinical staff working within the Prosthetics and Orthoptics fields
Arts Therapists
Paramedics
Psychologists
Psychotherapists
Radiographers
Pharmacists
Speech Therapists |
| Dentists | Provided they work wholly for the NHS (priority should not be given to dentists over other NHS staff) |
| Qualified Nursery Nurse | Must be qualified |
| Research Nurses | May be employed by a university but has an honorary contract with a local Primary Care Trust - if pension paid by the NHS then they are eligible |
| Hampshire County Council Nurses | Provide nursing care in Hants County Council new facilities |
| Pharmacists | Pharmacists |
Please note that health workers working for private health care companies cannot be assisted.
- Teachers, including FE teachers (not private sector)
All applicants must be employed by a Local Education Authority and be a qualified teacher in maintained primary and secondary schools including:
- City Technology Colleges
- City Academies
- Schools for children with special needs
- Pupil referral units
- Hospital based teachers or peripatetic teachers employed by an LEA
- Non-maintained schools for children with special needs where the pupils are LEA funded
- Qualified nursery nurses employed by an LEA
Further Education Colleges
All applicants must:
- be employed as a teacher on a permanent contract of employment
- be employed in an FE sector institution (general FE college; sixth form college; art, drama & performing arts college; agriculture and horticulture college; tertiary college) or a non-FE sector independent specialist college providing further education for persons with learning difficulties and/or disabilities; or employed in an FE teaching post in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in England; and receiving funding from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC)
- qualified in line with, or at the time of application are attending, a course leading to an FE teaching qualification, as defined by the Further Education Teachers' Qualifications (England) Regulations 2001 - including Schools-based Qualified Teacher Status
Notes
Teachers employed by private employed agencies and/or on a contract for service are not eligible.
Examples of institutions, which do not fall within the scope of the programme are; adult and community learning providers; external institutions, non FE college prison education providers; dance and drama schools; work-based learning providers and Ufi hubs.
- Police officers - 'operational' and 'operational support' staff
'Operational' and 'Operational Support' staff as below:
- Operational includes all frontline staff - Officers, Police Community Support Officers, Civilian Investigators
- Operational Support includes - Station Enquiry Staff, Detention Officers, Scientific Services and Scenes of Crime Staff, Control Room Staff, Intelligence Analysts
- Prison officers and some Prison Service staff
Applicants must be from one of the following disciplines:
- Prison Officers and related grades
- Nursing Staff
- Operational Support Grades (OSGs)
- Industrials
- Instructional Officers
If you work for another prison outside of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, you will need to contact the Zone Agent for area in which you work.
- Probation Officers, Senior Probation Officers and Probation Service Officers (Trainee Probation Officers for Intermediate Rent only)
Permanently employed as a:
- Senior Probation Officer
- Probation Officer
- Probation Service Officer
- Trainee Probation Officer (Intermediate renting only)
- Armed Forces Personnel
MoD personnel qualify where they have completed their basic training and are one of the following:
- Regular service personnel (ie. regular service personnel, including Military Provost Guard Service, in the Navy, Army and Air Force)
- Clinical staff (with the exception of Doctors and Dentists)
- Uniformed staff in the Defence Fire Service
The following group will qualify for Intermediate rent schemes only:
- Full time Reserve Service (Full Committment)
- LA Social workers (qualified)
Only fully qualified social workers that have attained the recognised professional Social Worker degree/diploma are entitled.
Unqualified social workers, those undergoing initial training and other staff employed in Social Services Departments (other than Occupational Therapists and educational psychologists) are not eligible.
- Connexions Advisers
Connexions Personal Advisors provided that they are employed by a local authority or a Connexions Partnership. Connexions Personal Advisors employed by private or voluntary sector organisations are not eligible.
- LA Occupational Therapists
Only qualified Occupational Therapists are entitled. Those who are unqualified, those undergoing initial training and other staff employed in Social Services Departments (other than social workers and educational psychologists) are not eligible.
- LA Educational Psychologists
Only qualified educational psychologists.
- LA Planners & National Park Authority Planners
Permanently employed by an LA or National Park Authority as a Planning Officer.
- LA Speech & Language Therapists
Only qualified educational speech and language therapists.
- LA employed clinical staff (eg nurses)
- LA Rehabilitation Officers for the visually impaired
- Qualified nursery nurses employed by an LEA or NHS
- Uniformed staff in Fire & Rescue Services
Uniformed Staff Fire Service staff of all grades.
- Environmental Health Officers/Practitioners
Qualified Environmental Health Officers/Practitioners who work in a local authority, government agency, NHS or other public sector agencies AND who hold either an EHRB Certificate of Registration or an EHRB Diploma in Environmental Health.
- Traffic Officer Staff of the Highways Agency Traffic Officer Service
All applicants must be in the following safety critical roles:
- Supervisor (On road and Off road)
- Traffic Officer
- RCC Operator
AND employed by one of the following employers:
- Southampton City Council
- Portsmouth City Council
- The Hampshire Constabulary
- Hampshire County Council
- Hampshire Probation Service
- Winchester Prison Service
- HM Forces
- A Local Planning authority in Hampshire
- An NHS Trust in Hampshire
- Isle of Wight Council
- Hampshire Fire Service
- Isle of Wight Fire Service
If you work outside the area, you can still buy a home in Hampshire, but you must complete an application form with the HomeBuy Agent for the area in which you work. Click here for other HomeBuy Agents.
Offers will be offered on a first come/ first served basis. We therefore recommend that you apply as soon as possible.
For more information about keyworkers, contact Swaythling on 023 8062 8004 or email keyworker@swayhs.org.uk.
