1 INTRODUCTION
1. The Supporting People programme was launched on
1 April 2003. The main aim of the programme was to help end social
exclusion and to enable vulnerable people to maintain or to achieve
independence through the provision of housing-related support.
Supporting People is a grant programme which is administered through
all 152 top tier local authorities, in partnership with housing,
health, adult social care services and probation. It is delivered
largely by the Third Sector and helps around 1 million people
from the following client groups at any one time:
- People who have been homeless or a rough sleeper
- Ex-offenders and people at risk of offending
and imprisonment
- People with a physical or sensory disability
- People at risk of domestic violence
- People with alcohol and drug problems
- Teenage parents
- Elderly people
- Young people at risk
- People with HIV and AIDS
- People with learning difficulties
- Travellers
- Homeless families with support needs.
2. Since the inception of Supporting People in 2003,
the Government has spent over £8.7 billion on the programme.
Research by Cap Gemini has shown that this investment has delivered
net benefits to the Exchequer of £3.4 billion for a £1.6
billion investment per annum.[1]
3. In June 2007, the Government published the first
strategy for the Supporting People programme. This strategy, entitled
Independence and Opportunity: Our Strategy for Supporting People,
was based on four key themes:
- Keeping people that need services at the heart
of the programme;
- Enhancing partnership with the Third Sector;
- Delivering in the new local government landscape;
and
- Increasing efficiency and reducing bureaucracy.
Under each theme, the Government set out what it
would do to achieve the aims of the programme, what it expected
Supporting People commissioners and providers to do, and what
services users should therefore be able to expect from housing-related
support services.
4. In April 2009, the ringfence on funding for the
Supporting People programme was lifted and, from April 2010, funding
is due to be paid through the 'Area Based Grant'—a sum of
money which local authorities are able to spend however they see
fit, according to their own local priorities. We therefore felt
it timely to review the extent to which the Government has, so
far, delivered on the commitments it made in the Supporting People
strategy and to consider the implications of the removal of the
ringfence, asking what needs to be done to ensure that the successes
of the programme so far are not lost, or services cut, following
the change; and what opportunities this change in the funding
mechanism will offer for innovation and improvement in the delivery
of housing-related support services.
5. During our inquiry, we received evidence from
a large and wide-ranging group of stakeholders. In addition to
four oral evidence sessions, we received written memoranda from
well over 100 witnesses. We would like to thank all contributors
for providing their invaluable insights into the operation of
the Supporting People programme. Special thanks are due to Supporting
People service provider, Thames Reach, and to a resident of a
London council sheltered housing provision for hosting the Committee's
visits, at which we learned first hand about the realities of
providing and receiving Supporting People services on the ground.
6. Our report considers how the Government, local
authorities, and their partners have delivered against the aims
of the Supporting People strategy. The issues and arguments we
consider are complex and interconnected and often require background
explanation of technicalities and specific Supporting People terminology.
7. We have structured our findings around each of
the Supporting People strategy's four key themes. We then go on
to discuss the financial aspects of the programme and to give
particular consideration to the issue of sheltered housing for
older people.
1 Cap Gemini (for Communities and Local Government),
Research into the financial benefits of the Supporting People
programme (July 2009) p 9. Back
| 
