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0019 2023/24
26/07/2023
Regeneration & Planning
All wards
Budget Allocation - Supporting People Programme
To approve the cessation of a designated Supporting People Programme with the associated budget re-allocated into existing departmental programmes.
To seek approval for the cessation of the existing Supporting People Programme and the incorporation of two programmes of grant support delivered by Housing Services and Adult Social Care.
Since the cessation of the national Supporting People programme, St Helens Council has retained a designated programme of commissioned services delivering housing support to both accommodation based and floating support provision. It is now recognised that it is more efficient to ensure that a review is completed using the two thematic areas of ‘Social Care’ and ‘Social Inclusion’. In order to align with the wider Adult Social Care Commissioning Strategy, it is proposed that the funding designated for contracts that deliver social care objectives is transferred across to Adult Social Care to prevent duplication, align with the wider strategic priorities and potentially offer service efficiencies. For 2023/24 this total is £2,716,226 and has been calculated on the utilisation rates for 2022/23. This approach ensures that all service users ‘in payment’ costs will transfer to Adult Social Care. The remaining balance from the 2023/24 programme allocation will transfer into the Housing Services budget to fund services such as homelessness support, refuge provision and support for young people. The operational impacts of the transfer have been identified, existing contracts for 2023/24 will not be affected by this change and all contracts will be due for review by 31 March 2024.
There is an opportunity to realign the grant funding provided by the Council to ensure that vulnerable residents continue to receive high quality support in both accommodation based and floating support services. Dissolution of the Supporting People programme budget and realigning the budget allocations to existing departmental budgets will provide clarity and ownership of the contracts in place within the wider commissioning plans and priorities.
There are no associated risks with this decision - there are wider risks in the recommissioning of services that will form the basis of any future decision making processes.
None
Please contact Samantha Murray on 01744 676585
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