Sitra's Policy Conference, AGM and 25th Anniversary
The Sitra 2009 Policy conference, held on 10 February, proved to be an interesting and informative day.
As Sitra celebrate its 25th anniversary, the theme of this year's conference was Building on the past, looking to the future.
The event reflected on the achievements in housing with care and support over the last 25 years, but more importantly discussed how to make sure that the sector has another 25 years to look forward to.
The plenary sessions were chaired by Chris Holmes.
Hattie Llewelyn Davies, Sitra's first chief executive spoke about how and why Sitra came into existence, how it has developed and evolved and the history of the supported housing sector over the last 25 years.
Mark Carroll from the CLG Housing and Planning Group announced his new position as Director of Housing (Housing Management and Support) from 2 March. He spoke on the government's vision for the delivery of housing support, with particular reference to the removal of the Supporting People ringfence and the Transition package. Mark concluded that the government wants to see a stronger emphasis on outcomes, user-led and user-focused services and more mainstreaming and partnerships. It's offer is to be engaged and involved in the process of change but not to micro-manage it.
In the afternoon, James Berrington outlined how the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) will ensure effective investment and delivery in the provision of supported housing.
He was followed by Gill Green from the Audit Commission who presented findings from their review of the Supporting People Programme.
Workshops were run on:
- Gill Green
