The supporting people programme
On 3 November 2009, the Communities and Local Government Committee published a report (The supporting people programme) which suggests that while the ‘ring fence’ around money provided by central government for the local delivery of housing-related support and other services offered to vulnerable groups should not be reinstated, services must be protected.
The committee's inquiry stemmed from widespread concern that the government's decision to remove the ring fence around the Supporting People budget in April 2009 could result in a substantial loss of funding for dependent services over time.
The report concludes that:
- The Supporting People programme has achieved a great deal— delivering savings to the Exchequer of £3.4 billion for a £1.6 billion annual investment that is spent supporting the needs of the most vulnerable and socially excluded members of society.
- Pressure on local authority budgets in the face of a recession poses a real threat to the future of some existing Supporting People services and heightens the risk that current unmet need will not be addressed.
- Central government must take care to ensure monies intended for Supporting People are not misused by local authorities where this programme is either misunderstood or not seen as a mainstream part of service delivery
- The standard of service delivery varies widely across the country. However, the quality of partnership working in some local authority areas under the regime—which has led to the creation of many innovative and person-centred services—is excellent and should be used to provide a blueprint for future partnership working in other areas of local service delivery.
- Against a background of tightening budgets and the challenges of multi-agency service delivery, the mechanisms employed to ensure service-user involvement in decision-making must be preserved and their effectiveness should be examined during inspections.
The supporting people programme (PDF)
