APPENDIX 67
Letter from Iain Wright MP, Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and
Local Government
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
AND SUPPORTING
PEOPLE
Following my appearance before your Committee
on 4 March, I am writing with regard to the Committee's concerns
about the impact of the changes to the Supporting People programme
on BME women's services and specifically the Southall Black Sisters
in Ealing. I will write again shortly to address the additional
points on which you requested a note.
The Supporting People programme was introduced
in 2003 to create a coherent funding and policy context for the
provision of housing-related support to the most vulnerable in
society. Local authorities, rather than central government, determine
how they focus their Supporting People funding, based on the needs
and priorities identified in their five year Supporting People
Strategies.
In June 2007 we published Independence
and Opportunity: Our Strategy for Supporting People. The strategy
made clear our commitment to enhancing our partnership with the
Third Sector. In December 2007 we announced the first three year
funding settlement for the programme, and made clear our expectation
that authorities should pass this certainty of funding to service
providers through their contracting arrangements.
The evidence we have from Local Authorities
overall concerning their investment of Supporting People in domestic
violence services is a positive one. They are spending more of
their Supporting People funding on Domestic Violence services,
some £61,645,319 in 2006-07 compared to £59,333,258
in 2005-06. More services overall are also being funded; the number
of services for women at risk of domestic violence has risen from
579 in 2005-06 to 613 in 2006-07, and the number of units of support
available increased from 7,578 to 8,660. This evidence also demonstrates
that the proportion of BME women accessing Supporting People funded
services has increased from 26.7% in 2003-04 to 28.9% in 2006-07.
Within this overall picture of increasing investment, there may
be authorities where this is not the case; this is for local authorities
to determine in conjunction with their Commissioning Bodies.
With specific regard to the Southall
Black Sisters, I understand that they have never received funding
from the Ealing Supporting People programme, so I would like to
correct the assertion that funding under Supporting People programme
has been withdrawn from the group. I understand that as set out
in Councillor Jason Stacey's letter to you of 27 February Ealing
Council are pursuing a three year commissioning process for their
grant funding of Domestic Violence service provision in the borough
and that Southall Black Sisters' bid will be assessed by an independent
panel alongside others. This is not connected to the Supporting
People programme or its commissioning basis.
The local authority commissioning role
is one in which they seek to secure the best outcomes for their
local communities by making use of all available resources—user
and community engagement and needs analysis. It is therefore ultimately
for the local authority to decide who it commissions for a given
service. However, authorities are encouraged not to base their
criteria of success on a service that can demonstrate "value
for money" in strict cost terms but those that provide best
value which assesses quality as well as cost. Authorities should
seek to achieve to achieve a balance between competing pressures—that
is to seek to secure the best outcomes for their local communities
notwithstanding the fact that it may not necessarily be the most
cost effective route.
As a general rule we do not encourage
a "single provider" approach as local authorities should
recognise and embrace diversity in the ways services are provided,
with the focus on desired outcomes. While local authorities have
discretion over how individual services are to be provided, best
value is more likely to be achieved where there is a positive
approach to achieving a mixed economy, rather than where any one
supplier dominates the provision of services in an area. In this
case Ealing has to decide whether a single service provider can
adequately cater for specific domestic violence services for black
and minority women and if not whether to commission the service
to several providers that will be able to cater for the various
wider cultural needs. Local authorities should represent the interests
of citizens, service users and their communities by adopting practices
that are fair and open and ensure they are able to support providers
by looking to provide longer-term stability of funding and contracting
to enable more efficient planning by service providers. As I mentioned
to the committee we have funded umbrella organisations including
the Housing Association Charitable Trust (HACT) to the tune of
£500,000 specifically to develop the capacity of smaller
third sector organizations providing Supporting People services
to compete effectively through developing consortia and partnership
models.
On the wider point regarding Community
Cohesion, following the report of the Commission on Integration
and Cohesion (chaired by Darra Singh, Chief Executive of Ealing
Council) which was published in June 2007, the Government published
its full response on 4 February. Alongside that full response
was a consultation on cohesion guidance for funders, which was
prompted by recommendation 56 of the Commission on what it termed
`Single Group Funding'; the consultation paper published by CLG
was aimed at raising awareness amongst funders, principally local
authorities, of the value of using the funding role to promote
cohesion by supporting opportunities for people from different
backgrounds to meet together.
In the foreword to the Consultation Paper
Hazel Blears states that "the outcome of this process should
not be a loss of services targeting particular communities".
In the body of the paper itself the first suggested guiding principle
is that "there is a clear link between equality and cohesion
and we recognise the need for work with particular groups to tackle
evidenced need amongst particular communities or groups experiencing
inequalities." The consultation document goes on to state
"... it should not be taken to place any barriers in the
way of support for particular groups where cohesion is not a relevant
issue: for example, single group work with victims of domestic
violence would not be an area where there should be an expectation
of or preference for bridging activities." (Cohesion Guidance
for Funders Consultation, para. 11, page 9.). We will ensure that
whatever our final approach to this issue, following the conclusion
of the consultation, it is in line with our approach of encouraging
procurement processes which allow a diverse range of providers
to tender for services as set out in the National Procurement
Strategy and the Small Business Friendly Concordat, and that it
does not place requirements on organisations which are difficult
for smaller providers to meet. The Committee may wish to note
that the consultation closes on 26 May 2008.
Finally, I feel I must correct two inaccuracies
in the statements made by the Committee at the session last week.
First, Margaret Moran stated that Supporting
People funding in Scotland is "ringfenced"; that is
not the case. The ring-fence in Scotland is to be removed effective
from April 2008. In England the funding is currently ringfenced.
We have committed to assess the impact of removing the ringfence
through a pathfinder exercise in 15 local authorities before making
any decision regarding our ambition to fund Housing Support via
Area Based Grant from April 2009.
Secondly, with regard to women with no
Recourse to Public Funds, I should make clear these women can
receive services funded by Supporting People grant. Funding is
not tied to bricks and mortar — so support can be provided
to vulnerable people in refuges, hostels, and supported accommodation
or in their own home. However, Supporting People cannot be used
to pay rent, or income support and eligibility for these benefits
are a matter for the Department of Work and Pensions. The Government
is working to address these concerns, not least through the Inter
Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking on which Baroness Andrews
sits on behalf of our Department. Additionally, as I am sure the
Committee will be aware, on 6 March the Home Secretary announced
a new scheme where victims of domestic violence who have no recourse
to public funds will be eligible to get support for their housing
costs. Under the new scheme victims of domestic violence whose
applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain are successful may
qualify for a one-off payment to cover these costs. The proposals
under the new scheme will strengthen the way in which domestic
violence cases are considered enabling those victims who are vulnerable
to access additional support. I understand that further details
on this programme of work will be available in the spring.
I hope this is useful to the Committee.
10 March 2008
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