Cuts restricting new project work

One of the country’s biggest supported housing associations has
warned that vulnerable people are losing out because Supporting
People cuts are preventing providers developing any new
projects.

English Churches Housing Group chief executive Peter Walters
said its finances were on a “knife edge” as some councils demanded
the same level of service despite passing on reduced Supporting
People funding.

And local authorities were not taking into account the fact
staff pay had risen in the past year, increasing overall costs, he
added.

With uncertainty about the future of Supporting People
compounding the budget cuts, no providers were launching schemes,
Walters said.

Meanwhile, research from the National Housing Federation warns
that providers are facing “considerable” difficulties with
Supporting People bureaucracy.

Nearly two in five have had to employ more staff to deal with
the programme’s paperwork and 96 per cent said their administrative
burden had increased.

The report describes the programme as “fragmented”.