Supporting People - Challenges and Opportunities

Cllr Terri Reid – Housing and Regeneration

SP – What is it? Revenue funding for housing related support to vulnerable people Support – accommodation based or floating. Reactive and preventative Programme in place 2003 – 2013 through HCC but in partnership with districts & others Significant Programme – £30m p.a in Hampshire, £4.5m BDBC (homeless services - £11m and £2.1m)

HCC – What did they do? 2013/14 - Disbanded SP by: “mainstreaming” major service areas into HCC commissioning Applying a 31% cut to the budget from 2015 Reviewing arrangements for commissioning remaining (“residual”) services from 2016 Devising a formula for re-distributing money Declared no funding for homeless family hostels

Impact for BDBC? Significant and disproportionate reduction and/or of capacity, and key services May Place to become a geographical “hub” for single homeless Loss of localness - added value, influence and opportunity for flexibility Threat to locally established partnerships and relationships

Our Alternative Approach -Proportionate Grant Allocation from HCC -Strategic Review service re-design -Sensible Commissioning -Re-igniting local partnerships and relationships -Re-emphasising shared agendas and priorities – homelessness is everybody's business - Pooled budgets, shared priorities

At the same time… Welfare Reform Increases in demand (accommodation and support) Pressures on causes of homelessness Other public sector funding reductions Legislative case law changes Downturn in supply Changing landscape for Housing Associations and providers

From rescue to recovery! 3 year HCC grant allocation - £746k pa starting April 2016 Optimising capacity and generating efficiencies Joint Working and pooling resources / skills (pilot initiatives to evidence business case) Social Enterprise and revenue generation ….and a new homeless hostel model!

It could be only BDBC! Timeliness (wider devolution and combined authority debates) Innovative (but not rocket science) Value of constructive cross corporate working Value of [political] consensus Recognition of need for right resources Ideas and positivity are self perpetuating We’ll keep you posted!