Council commits to improving housing support
26 June 2008
We are today (26 June 2008) making a firm commitment to
improve housing-related support services to vulnerable people,
after being given a zero-star rating.
The Audit Commission’s independent report on the borough’s
Supporting People programme concludes that the service has
‘promising prospects’ for improvement and predicts that a brighter
future is ahead – but awards no stars out of a possible three.
The inspection report highlights that, despite making slow
progress in its first few years, the programme now has ‘effective
leadership with clear aims and ambitions’ in place and that a new
three-year strategy provides ‘a firm basis on which to drive the
programme forward.’
The Supporting People programme began in the Rochdale borough in
2003. After recognising areas of weakness in 2006, we
have worked hard to put a systematic improvement programme
into place. New staff have been recruited to senior positions and
are making a positive impact on the effectiveness of the programme
- and action has already been taken to address key improvement
issues.
In addition to the introduction of the new three-year strategy,
positive features of the service also now include pro-active
leadership, an improved governance structure, robust and developing
contract monitoring, and good quality information being
produced.
However, the report also found some weaknesses, including delays
in commissioning and improving housing-related support services,
some ineligible services being funded by the grant, and performance
management and monitoring not yet being fully developed. All of
these areas are currently being addressed.
Read the inspection report on the Audit Commission
website
Cabinet member for health and social care, Councillor Dale
Mulgrew said: “It is a huge disappointment for the programme to be
given a zero-star rating but we are fully committed to working hard
to improve the service provided to vulnerable local residents. I
welcome the acknowledgement from the Audit Commission of the
progress we have made in recent months though – including improved
consultation with elected members and service providers.”
Councillor Mulgrew continued: “We will implement most of the
recommendations of the report by the end of the year and I am
confident that we now have a strong and capable team in place to
deliver the improvements needed.”
Paul Beardmore, the head of our Strategic Housing department,
added: “We already have solid foundations for change in place and
have been making good progress over the last year. I am pleased
that the Audit Commission has recognised our strengths as well as
our weaknesses. Along with our partners in the Supporting People
programme we are committed to the vulnerable people that we serve –
that’s a strength that will give us the confidence that we need to
meet future challenges.”
About the Supporting People programme
- Supporting People is the government’s funding and planning
regime for the local delivery of housing-related support
services.
- In 2007/2008, Rochdale Borough Council received a Supporting
People grant of £15m. The cost of administering the service is
£233,178.
- The programme funds 261 housing-related support services and is
a partnership between Rochdale Borough Council, Heywood Middleton
and Rochdale Primary Care Trust and the National Probation
Service.