14 October 2005
An innovative and effective programme providing housing support to vulnerable people is in jeopardy because the government is refusing to guarantee future funding, the Audit Commission warned this week.
The £1.72bn Supporting People programme, launched in April 2003, brought together 14 separate funding streams to help people live more independently.
Key groups include older people, people with mental health or addiction problems and women fleeing domestic violence. So far, 1.2 million people have been helped by the fund.
An Audit Commission report, published on October 13, praised Supporting People but identified some implementation difficulties. It revealed that the scheme cost £400m more than originally estimated, which had led the government to seek to recover the overspend rather than commit to future funding.
Roy Irwin, the commission's chief inspector of housing, warned that some providers might pull out of the market unless the government provided greater strategic and financial certainty.
'People are a bit nervous about making long-term plans,' he told Public Finance. 'There is no organised view across Whitehall about what housing-related support means. The social care green paper only mentions Supporting People once.'
Audit Commission chief executive Steve Bundred said: 'Nobody knows what's going to happen to the budget. To get innovation, providers need some certainty that there is long-term financial commitment from the government.'
The report recommends a long-term financial framework, coupled with a set of national minimum standards of provision and better co-ordination between Whitehall departments.
Angela Greatley, chief executive of the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, told PF: '[Supporting People] is good value for public money. It offers effective support to help people to stay in their homes or to get out of hospital and back to their lives. But both commissioners and providers of services need to know that the scheme has a long-term future with a clear vision and adequate funding.'
An Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spokeswoman said the department had acknowledged the commission's recommendations.
'An initial strategy, considering how to best take forward the Supporting People programme, is being finalised. We intend to consult on this strategy, and that process will allow us to work on how best to address the issues raised in the report,' she said.
PFoct2005
