Who wants to know
Vic Rayner considers the work of the Parliamentary Select Committee inquiry into Supporting People.
On the 31 March 2009, just one day before the removal of the ring fence around Supporting People funding, an announcement appeared heralding the appointment of a Select Committee inquiry into the Supporting People programme. Quite why it has been called at this point of time, and what the potential outcomes might be, remains a mystery. However, we do know that:
“The Committee’s inquiry will consider the extent to which the Government has, so far, delivered on the commitments it made in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Independence and Opportunity: Our Strategy for SP. The committee will also consider the implications of the removal of the ring fence, asking what needs to be done to ensure that the successes of the programme so far are not lost, or services."
New opportunities
A clear theme of the Inquiry is to explore whether the change in funding will allow greater innovation and improvement in the delivery of services. While a range of members could see the potential for this, those with the strongest optimism were local authorities. There were concerns that innovation may be at the sacrifice of existing provision and Sitra will be reinforcing the importance of ongoing monitoring and reporting to establish any move from the current baseline.
Service user involvement
A significant thread throughout the feedback from members linked to the priority placed on “choice” and the importance of service users within the programme. The ambition to keep people that need services at the heart of Supporting People was a central tenet of Independence and Opportunity (Independence and Opportunity: Our Strategy for Supporting People, CLG, June 2007), the 2007 national strategy, and it appears that many of our members feel that this has been a positive outcome. It will be important to recognise the investment required to sustain this as a practical reality as, in the context of increased personalisation of services, we move forward into new arrangements for governance and commissioning.
Partnership with the Third Sector
Independence and Opportunity set out a strong commitment to partnership and there are concerns about how this partnership will go forward in the future. Members perceptions are that, in some areas, regional and local partnerships are already in decline, whether through deliberate action or neglect. Sitra will make strong representations to the inquiry to support the ongoing provision of these forums, and recognition of the strategic role of the Third Sector in shaping and providing services to the most vulnerable. Of crucial concern for the future is the ability of providers of housing related support to be part of and able to influence the decision making of Local Strategic Partnerships. Sitra will be reinforcing the centrality of this in relation to future commissioning decisions.
Where next
While there were limited expectations about the reinstatement of a ring fence per se, there were some positive suggestions about measures which could serve to protect the best of the programme. Suggested alternatives from members have included:
- Who wants to know
Challenges to the inquiry process
It is likely that Sitra will include in its final submission a call for wider consultation on at least some of the proposals highlighted above. Clearly, the options need further development, and the CLG may have existing evidence supporting some or all of these alternatives. It feels as though the inquiry has raised a genuine national debate reinforcing concerns about the way forward. However, we are concerned that the voice not being heard within the inquiry is that of service users themselves, and the current framework of written submissions and timescales for evidence makes that hard for members and organisations to ensure in a meaningful way. We will, therefore, be recommending that the Select Committee take up options to visit services and get more familiar with the actual realities delivered by Supporting People funding.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members who contributed to the collective submission put forward by Sitra.
Permission will be sought to publish the Sitra response and, if granted, the full document will be placed on the Sitra website.
