Fund changes too late for next year

Changes to the Supporting People funding formula are unlikely to take effect in time for 2006-7, a government official has revealed.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister plans to publish a consultation paper in November on a future distribution formula for the programme alongside its draft strategy.

But the programme’s head of standards and monitoring, Lorraine Regan, told a Lexis Nexis conference last week that any new formula was unlikely to inform allocations for 2006-7, with current funding arrangements continuing to operate.

The strategy is expected to focus on the different responses required for three different groups – people receiving care with support, people moving from crisis and those being supported to live independently.

Regan said the strategy would propose linking service outcomes with grant conditions. But she said the ODPM had no intention of splitting the programme into three parts or introducing any more key performance indicators.

She revealed the strategy would be accompanied by a paper on the administration of the scheme, which would not be open to consultation and would cover issues such as improved regional co-operation between authorities.