Small agencies struggling to cope

Smaller providers are finding it difficult to survive in the Supporting People environment because of their lack of infrastructure, claims a report by the Housing Associations Charitable Trust.

Small agencies find it difficult to maintain quality services without funding increases and are concerned about staff leaving them to join larger bodies, the report says.

It adds that smaller agencies can’t always fund staff training and feel that local Supporting People forums are dominated by larger agencies.

The government’s outline Supporting People strategy is now expected on 15 November, but Hact’s head of programmes, Andrew Van Doorn, warned that it would not necessarily lead to the period of consolidation many providers wanted.

He said providers had to learn to live with continuous change, as Supporting People involved a partnership between organisations with changing priorities, but suggested smaller agencies found it hard to get the right information to prepare for the future.

Meanwhile, the latest government survey of administering authorities reveals that 165 Supporting People services were decommissioned from May to August, bringing the total to 1,344 since the programme began.

The survey also reveals that primary care trusts or health authorities were the most likely agencies not to attend Supporting People commissioning meetings.