Executive Summary

Since April 2003 the Supporting People programme has been the vehicle for delivering supported accommodation and housing related support services to vulnerable people.  The programme has brought together a number of funding streams into a local “pot” which is administered by local authorities in the form of grants to service providers (see Section 2 – Introduction)

The aims of the Supporting People programme are:

• To promote independence and choice
• To create a range of flexible services
• To ensure the quality and value for money of services
• To be a tool for the delivery of other local plans and strategies
• To commission accommodation and support services in a strategic manner

The ODPM requires local authorities to produce a five year Supporting People strategy to replace the shadow strategy which has directed the programme until now.  Full details of government policy information is available from http://www.spkweb.org.uk

This five year strategy aims to identify areas of unmet need and sets out proposals for service developments, including joint commissioning opportunities, over the coming years.

The Supporting People strategy is based on (see Section 3 – Strategy Development):

• An analysis of the current supply of supported and sheltered housing and housing related support services
• A comprehensive approach to local needs analysis
• Consultation with service users and providers
• Involvement of Elected Members

The Supporting People strategy is rooted in the Bath & North East Somerset vision for the programme and aims to realise a number of strategic objectives in addition to contributing to the delivery of a wide range of local, regional and national agendas.  The strategy seeks to identify ways in which the programme in Bath & North East Somerset can complement existing strategic plans and initiatives, making best use of all available resources to deliver quality services whilst ensuring clear lines of responsibility between agencies.  The strategy also sets out how we will work with neighbouring authorities to achieve the best service outcomes for users (see Section 4 – Vision and Strategic Objectives).

The strategy sets out in detail how we have worked, and continue to work towards the delivery of our own and our partners’ strategic objectives (see Section 5 – Achieving our Objectives).

The strategy translates our vision and strategic objectives into a real programme of service re-modelling, re-commissioning and service developments that will be rolled out over the next five years (see Section 6 – Vision into Reality).  In particular the strategy makes clear:

• Our identified priorities for service development (mental health, domestic abuse, drugs and alcohol, physical disability and learning difficulty)
• An overall development plan for all service user groups included in the programme
• The impact of past and future cuts in the programme grant allocation and how we have managed these in Bath & North East Somerset
• Our intended spending patterns for 2005/06 and future years

Finally the strategy sets out how the Supporting People programme will be managed in future years and pays attention to the forthcoming inspection by the Audit Commission planned for June 2005.  Issues concerning risk management are also addressed as is our approach to service user charging (see Section 7 – Ongoing Management).