Supporting People cuts expected

Supported housing providers are bracing themselves for cuts in
the Supporting People budget, writes Natasha
Salari.

A review into the growing cost of the Supporting People
programme was announced last October after the transitional housing
benefit element of the scheme rose by £400 million more than
was originally estimated by local authorities in February last
year.

The review was supposed to report back before Christmas, but is
now expected to be published sometime this week.

One supported housing charity is anticipating cuts in the budget
as a result of the review. Gary Lashko, the chief executive of Carr
Gomm, said: “The anticipated cuts may well put a lot of
organisations under pressure and we hope that this won’t
damage services for vulnerable people.

“We hope that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will
give local authorities clear, firm and fair guidance about how
these cuts are going to be implemented.”