A good practice guide was published providing comprehensive advice to local councils, particularly housing and social service authorities, on how an efficient housing adaptations service could best be organized, as well as how it could be effectively delivered to meet the needs of the disabled person within a reasonable target time.
Source: Delivering Housing Adaptations for Disabled People: A good practice guide, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Guide | ODPM press release
Date: 2004-Nov
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the Supporting People programme. The committee's report included a number of recommendations to improve the value for money of the programme. The government said that it had developed a programme of work to address these recommendations, and to gather information on value for money for the Spending Review 2004.
Source: Government Response to the ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committee s Report on the Supporting People Programme, Cm 6348, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Link to response removed | MPs report
Date: 2004-Oct
An issue of the journal Housing Studies considered various aspects of disability and housing.
Source: Housing Studies, Volume 19 Number 5
Links: Contents
Date: 2004-Sep
The government announced a funding package for the Supporting People programme. It would provide 1.72 billion in 2005-06 (a real-term cut of around 7.5 per cent), followed by around 1.7 billion in both 2006-07 and 2007-08. The government said that this demonstrated its commitment to improving the quality of life for those at risk by promoting independent living - providing housing-related support to vulnerable people, including home visits, alarm systems and advice on accessing benefit entitlements.
Source: Press release 31 August 2004, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000)
Links: ODPM press release
Date: 2004-Aug
The report was published of an independent review into the costs of the Supporting People Programme. It found 'strong circumstantial evidence' that local councils had been using the programme to finance services that used to be funded by health and social services budgets. On the basis of the findings of the review, the government said that local authorities would be expected to make efficiency savings of up to 2.5 per cent in 2004-05, in order to improve value for money. A proportion of the savings would be reallocated to councils to fund services which had come on stream in 2003-04. The government also announced an overall allocation to the programme for 2004-05 of 1.8 billion, which it said would fund housing-related support services for over one million vulnerable people, including victims of domestic violence, older people and those with mental health problems.
Source: Eugene Sullivan, Review of the Supporting People Programme: Independent report, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 12 February 2004, column 84WS, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 12 February 2004, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Hansard | ODPM press release | NHF press release | LGA press release | Community Care report
Date: 2004-Feb