Supporting People Launch

• Introduction
• Purpose of Supporting People
• Opportunities which will flow from Supporting People
• What is the Transitional Housing Benefit Scheme?
• Training
• What does Transitional Housing Benefits Scheme cover?
• What is required and by when?
• Importance of Supporting People
• Recognition of work done to date

Supporting People was finally introduced in 2000 following a number of years of uncertainty about the future of housing support funding and how it fitted with other schemes providing various uncoordinated support services. Supporting People is a national policy initiative which offers a coherent response to previously disparate funding streams. In Scotland the policy and funding framework is being taken forward by the Scottish Executive. As well as broadening and extending the range of housing support services Supporting People will put the funding and delivery of those housing support services for vulnerable people on a more secure footing – a policy development that is generally welcomed and which brings new opportunities.

There is a detailed programme of actions required of Councils to prepare for Supporting People becoming fully operational in April 2003. Many of these changes have to be up and running and tested from October 2002 onwards. It is without doubt one of the most challenging agendas facing the Council since the inception of Community Care. The range of departments and partner agencies represented here today reflects the fact that we will be unable to deliver the Scottish Executive Supporting People agenda unless we utilise our expertise and place collaborative work with our key partners at the heart of this policy development. We must all contribute to ensure we maximise our resources for the people of North Lanarkshire in need of housing support services – people here today will focus in the workshops on how we can provide the best strategic and operational lead and what steps we must now take to put Supporting People at the centre of our respective plans and grasp the opportunities offered in a co-ordinated way.

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Many of those attending will be aware of the aims of Supporting People – they are aims to which we all aspire. Supporting People highlights familiar themes and principles that underpin what we aim to achieve in Social Work Services, Housing and Health Services whether provided internally or in partnership with independent service providers – these are outcomes that users of services and carers tell us they want.

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The major opportunity arising from Supporting People is the once only chance to fundamentally increase resources which will help to give further impetus to care in the community and to do it in a joined up way. We will be concentrating on:

• generating new money to develop a range of resources based on assessed needs
• identifying all those who will qualify for housing support and translating assessed unmet need into new service developments
• making claims for Transitional Housing Benefit Scheme (THBS) for those who are eligible
• understanding the crucial but not exclusive role of THBS in establishing the size of the Supporting People Grant which will be ring-fenced and administered by Council

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Council have the practical task of ensuring maximum resources are transferred to the Supporting People Grant from the Transitional Housing Benefit Scheme. This in itself is a massive task and to give some indication of the volume revenue estimates of up to 11 million for THBS for the next financial year have been submitted by Council's Housing Benefit Section – so far less than one million of this estimate has been realised. This event today will provide the impetus to make the necessary arrangements to assess need and put services in place. When THBS ends in March 2003 there will still be a Housing Benefit system for help to pay the costs for physical rent – bricks and mortar and general housing management and service charges. There will also be a limited range of services still eligible for Housing Benefit after 2003 such as rental of furniture, communal laundry facilities.

It is important that we all become familiar with what is available as housing support so that we can commission services to meet needs in the most imaginative way and consult with the service users and their carers on an informal basis.

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There is an ongoing one day training programme which over 400 front line social work staff have so far attended – the training and support will then continue in the local social work area teams. Three WROs (Supporting People) have been seconded to ensure that the training is built on and that claims for THBS are made following reassessment. We have begun by reassessing home care clients, mostly older people, and need to ensure that we optimise THBS for all other vulnerable client groups. Make sure you avail yourself of the training opportunities available. Briefings and training tailored to suit particular audiences can be arranged.

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THBS covers the vast majority of housing support services which come under the general umbrella of General Housing and Support. From 2003 these will no longer be part of the Housing Benefit System but be part of the Supporting People Grant made directly to the local authority to fund all of the housing support services for vulnerable people. Following individual assessment of needs the local authority will commission housing support services from providers in its area. What comes under THBS general counselling and support gives some indication of the breadth of housing support tasks for which we should be assessing and developing services.

For example THBS will pay reasonable charges for:

• help with maintaining the security and safety of the building – for example, helping tenants control access or use equipment safely;
• help with life skills to keep the dwelling in reasonable condition;
• assistance with personal budgeting;
• chatting social intercourse and arranging activities;
• cleaning of personal rooms and windows in certain cases
• the associated costs of management, staff training and assessing individuals

The full range of what THBS covers and the service charges which will remain as part of the Housing Benefit System is included in your conference pack.

It is important to stress that THBS in payment at March 2003 will be transferred to the local authority – the Scottish Executive have indicated that they will take a snapshot of what THBS is in payment in October 2002 for each Council area and transfer this over to the Supporting People Grant. Councils will continue to argue that the Scottish Executive continue to size and readjust the pot right up until April 2003 and beyond, and take elements such as service developments and growth into account year on year. Although THBS is not the only vehicle for assessing, quantifying and delivering services to meet the need for housing support it will be the most important component of the 2003 Supporting People Grant and the Scottish Executive have stated that the amounts generated are guaranteed in terms of funding Supporting People.

Not everyone will qualify for THBS or be able to claim while THBS is still in existence. There is also the need to assess unmet need and identify the level of resource requirements for pipeline projects and those currently not eligible for THBS such as some 16/17 year olds, non tenants or those disqualified from claiming on income or capital grounds.

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• 38 Scottish Executive Milestones – consultation and guidance continuously being issued. North Lanarkshire is represented on COSLA Lead Officers, ADSW Supporting People Group to influence the development of Supporting People.
• Self as Lead Officer – diagram in pack summarises the structure emerging in North Lanarkshire to deliver the Supporting People agenda
• Core Co-ordination Group – composition and role
• Dedicated staff – SWD Co-ordinator, Senior Officer, Admin Assistant – Jackie Jenkins (who organised all the arrangements for today's event) 3 WRO's Supporting People recently seconded. Housing have a senior officer and two additional housing benefit staff.
• Supporting People Team – meeting since mid 2000 and where the work of progressing the Supporting People programme is undertaken – has work groups reporting to it.
• Mapping Supply Exercise and the Scottish Executive data base for consistent reporting across Scotland – exercise nearly completed in North Lanarkshire. Involved meeting with providers.
• IT Implementation Group – Drafting a specification to incorporate Supporting People into SWIS by October 2002 – and then testing the arrangements to link people to services to payments to contracts to monitoring etc. Now about to implement a THBS specification sharing some screens with the Housing Benefit Sections. SWIS training organised early December 2001 to tie in with Home Care reassessments and THBS claims.
• Housing Implementation group – primarily looking at in house services
• Commissioning and Purchasing Group – drafting a starter paper on approach to accreditation, tendering procedures, contracts, monitoring – building on existing arrangements.
• Communication Group – About to be launched locally following the template used by the Scottish Executive – initial focus tenants.
• Other small working groups; Financial Framework, Community Alarms, Private Landlords.
• Strategic Planning Group yet to be set up. Today will help to shape the composition, remit and reporting of this working group.

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To Summarise the key changes Supporting People brings

• Maximisation of resources is a one off opportunity
• Cornerstone of supporting people to return to or stay in their own community
• Links to Joint Futures agenda
• Single Assessments – include housing support as foundation of assessed needs
• Regulation by the Commission – housing support likely to be registered April 2003 or later
• Impact on a range of developments
• Good quality support has a wide ranging impact in improving quality of life and social inclusion and in helping people live successfully in the community.
• Housing Support Services have a key role to play in enabling people to access other public services, develops confidence and ability to deal with other agencies, and can encourage access to wider opportunities including education, training, leisure, and employment.
• Emphasises Corporate working
• Engaging in Partnership working will be vital to its success

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There are now over 100 colleagues and growing from across the Council Departments, external agencies and user and carers representatives involved in various supporting people working groups each with a specific agenda to progress. These include representatives from:

• Housing and Social Work Committee
• IT, Legal and Finance Sections of Council
• Health Board and Primary Care Trust
• Housing Associations and Care Providers
• Users and Carers Representatives

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