The Supporting People Programme
Portsmouth City Council
'Supporting People' is the Government's long-term policy to enable local authorities to plan, commission and provide support services that enable vulnerable people to live independently. The aim of the Supporting People programme is to establish a strategic, integrated policy and funding framework, delivered locally in response to identified local needs, to replace the current complex and un-coordinated arrangements for providing housing related support services for vulnerable people.
The Supporting People programme brings together a number of funding streams including Transitional Housing Benefit (THB), which has paid for the support costs associated with housing during the implementation phase, the Housing Corporation's Supported Housing Management Grant (SHMG) and Probation Accommodation Grant Scheme (PAGS) into a single pot administered by 150 administering local authorities.
Portsmouth City Council was inspected in the second year of the Supporting People programme and was among the 19 administering local authorities considered by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) to have the highest service costs. The report therefore reflected the context for the council as it continues to deliver the programme and focuses on determining the effectiveness of current service delivery, the value for money presented by the contracted services and the outcomes for vulnerable people.
The results
A fair service that has uncertain prospects for improvement
We assessed Portsmouth City Council as providing a ‘fair', one-star service that has uncertain prospects for improvement. Our judgements were based on the evidence obtained during the inspection on which we provided a comprehensive report outlining both positive and negative findings. But to rise to the challenge of continuous improvement, organisations need inspection reports that offer practical pointers for improvement, so there was a full breakdown of recommendations too.
An example of a positive feature that the inspection team reported:
- The Supporting People team has an effective mix of relevant skills and experience and resources from other teams and parts of the council are provided to the Supporting People team.
An example of a weakness that needed to be addressed:
- There are no clear plans for addressing the needs of black and minority ethic groups in the five year strategy.
An example of one of the team's recommendations:
- A communications strategy must be developed. The strategy should include: the production of regular information about Supporting People for users, prospective users and the general public; ensuring full use of all corporate communication mechanisms, such as the council website and Flagship magazine to publicise the Supporting People programme and services; clear communication channels with all providers irrespective of whether they are members of the inclusive forum; information for council reception staff about Supporting People and how to signpost enquiries; and the distribution of written information about Supporting People, including newsletters, to all relevant outlets, for example libraries, GP surgeries, advice services etc, as well as to all providers and stakeholders.
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