Supporting People
1. Introduction
Torbay Council needs to make around £22million savings in the next two years
based upon the expected reduction in government grant. Proposals for how money
could be saved over 2014/15 and into 2015/16 have been made for each directorate.
This document sets out the proposals in relation to Supporting People services and
seeks to gather your views about these proposals.
2. Background information
Supporting People services provide: supported accommodation, support to enable
people to remain living independently in their own home, and assistance in finding
and resettling into a new home following a crisis such as homelessness or a period
in hospital or residential care. Services are commissioned (selected and bought) by
the Council and provided by external organisations such as Registered Providers,
private companies and charities
Services include:

Youth homelessness prevention service- outreach support to young people living
in the community to prevent homelessness

Homeless assessment and resettlement service which helps people to settle into
their new home following a period of homelessness

Women’s Refuge provides shelter and support to women fleeing domestic abuse
and their children

Sheltered and extra care housing for older people

Supported lodgings (with host families) for young homeless people and care
leavers

Supported housing - accommodation for people with a variety of support needs

Floating support/ outreach- support for people who live in their own homes

Supported employment service for people with learning disabilities or Autism
Support is aimed at early intervention to prevent the need for more intensive services
including admission to hospital, nursing or residential care. Services support
recovery and independence for people with a range of needs including poor mental
health, learning disability, physical disability or ill-health. Appropriate housing and
supporting people to sustain their tenancies/homes is key to improving health and
wellbeing, reducing social isolation and building more successful communities.
Services are mostly short term (provide people with up to 2 years support) and aim
to build connections and capacity in the local community to sustain independence
and quality of life. Outcomes include supporting people to manage physical and
mental ill health and long term conditions, to access employment, training or welfare
benefits and to actively participate in their community.
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People are referred to services by any number of professionals including GPs,
mental health workers, care managers, housing providers and voluntary services.
They can also self refer. Only people with a local connection to Torbay can access
Supporting People accommodation based services, with the exception of the refuge.
If you would like more information about Supporting People, please visit the website:
www.torbay.gov.uk/supportingpeople
3. Current service provision
Supporting People services can be categorised into the following groups:

Children, families and young people

Older people

Adults (including people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, mental
health needs, sensory impairment, homeless adults, adults with offending
behaviour, adults with drug and alcohol dependencies and people fleeing
domestic abuse)
3.1.
Short term services
Short term services provide people with support for up to 2 years. However the
average length of time in services is 9 months. People cease using services once
they have achieved the outcomes set in their support plans.
The number of clients who entered short term Supporting People services over the
last 3 years is shown in the table below:
Service type
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
Children, families and young people, and domestic
abuse
221
317
457
Older people
79
112
79
Other adults
708
593
708
Total
1008
1022
1244
Sources: Centre for Housing Research (https://supportingpeople.st-andrews.ac.uk) and Supporting People
service providers
The percentage of people achieving independent living from short term services is
also measured. This looks at how services helps people move on to independent
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living, more independent living, maintaining their independence, or achieving the
level of independence most possible for their situation.
In 2012/13, 89.67% of people (1218 out of 1358) achieved independent living,
against a target of 86%.
3.2.
Long term services
Long term services provide people with support for over 2 years.
The number of accommodation units (i.e. 1 or 2 bed flats/houses) available for
people using long term Supporting People services such as sheltered housing and
extra care for 2012/13 was 689.
The percentage of people maintaining as much independence as possible within
their long term service or moving on to a similar or further level of independence is
also measured.
In 2012/13, 96.78% of people achieved or maintained independent living, against a
target of 98%.
3.3.
Outcomes
The table below illustrates the support needs of Supporting People clients who have
left/finished with short term services and shows the outcomes achieved.
% achieved the
outcome
Need and
achievementTorbay
Torbay
England
151 of 152
99%
92%
Develop confidence and ability to have greater
choice and/or control and/or involvement
1092 of 1114
98%
90%
Maximise income and collect the correct benefits
1064 of 1090
98%
91%
Establish contact with external services and
groups
1057 of 1074
98%
91%
Establish contact with family and friends
461 of 471
98%
93%
Better manage physical health
620 of 647
96%
87%
Participate in leisure/ cultural/ faith and/or informal
learning activities
447 of 466
96%
84%
Minimise harm/ risk of harm from others
392 of 408
96%
88%
Avoid causing harm to others
164 of 171
96%
79%
Better manage mental health
587 of 628
93%
82%
Comply with statutory orders relating to offending
behaviour
206 of 223
92%
79%
Outcomes in 2012/13- of short term services
Use assistive technologies/aids and adaptations
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% achieved the
outcome
Need and
achievementTorbay
Torbay
England
Better manage self harm issues
157 of 171
92%
85%
Maintain accommodation and avoid eviction
772 of 854
90%
79%
Reduce debt
595 of 664
90%
76%
Participate in work-like activities, e.g. unpaid work/
work experience/ work-like experience/ voluntary
work
293 of 329
89%
64%
Better manage substance misuse issues
293 of 338
87%
66%
Obtain settled accommodation
776 of 915
85%
74%
Participate in training and/or education
368 of 431
85%
67%
Participated in paid work while using the service
172 of 241
71%
35%
In paid work at point of leaving service
153 of 241
63%
28%
Outcomes in 2012/13- of short term services
Sources: Centre for Housing Research (https://supportingpeople.st-andrews.ac.uk) England data contains Local
Authorities using the Centre for Housing Research data collection system. This is approximately two thirds of
Local Authorities.
In Torbay the percentage of outcomes achieved in 2012/13 were consistently higher
than those achieved within England as a whole
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4. Proposal
As part of Torbay Council’s budget setting process it has been asked that Supporting People propose savings of £3.2 million. The
table below outlines all of the Supporting People contracted services, their current cost and what the proposal is in relation to that
service. Where it is proposed that services are retained (i.e. there is no proposed reduction to the funding for this service) this
proposal has been made because of the known direct cost impact a reduction would have on other local authority services. For
example to withdraw all funding from a Supporting People service for young people who have experienced homelessness would
have a direct financial impact on Children’s Services, creating an increased cost pressure for them, so such a withdrawal of funding
has not been proposed.
Further information about each service can be found in Appendix 1. Draft Equality Impact Assessments can be found at
www.torbay.gov.uk/supportingpeople.
Service
Service description
1. Youth
Homelessness
Prevention Service
Jointly commissioned service with
Housing Options and Children’s
Service.
Annual
Supporting
People budget £
10,000
Proposal
Retain service
Budget saving
£
0
Effective from
date
Not Applicable
(N/A)
Prevention service offering family
mediation to support up to 250
young people (16 and 17 year
olds) per year to avoid
homelessness.
5
Service
2. Young Devon
Supported
Lodgings
Service description
Jointly commissioned service with
Housing Options, Children’s
Services and Plymouth City
Council
Annual
Supporting
People budget £
Proposal
Budget saving
£
Effective from
date
80,900
Retain service
0
N/A
30 units of supported lodgings for
young people aged 16-24
including emergency
accommodation and move on
from foster care
3. Young People
Support &
Accommodation
service
45 units of accommodation for
young people aged 16-24 and 14
units of outreach support for
young people aged 16-24
246,900
Reduce by 55%
135,795
May 2014
4. Young Parents
Service
12 units of accommodation and
12 units of outreach support for
young parents aged 16-24
103,500
Retain service
0
N/A
5. Integrated Families
Service
Jointly commissioned service with
Housing Options service.14 units
of accommodation based
support, 14 outreach and 6
emergency units for homeless
families with support needs
131,000
Reduce by 100%
87,400
August 2014
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Service
Service description
Annual
Supporting
People budget £
6. Domestic Abuse
Outreach Service:
Support for people who have
experienced domestic abuse to
remain safe in their own homes.
Currently includes Probation
funded Partner Link Work
105,000
7. Domestic Abuse
Refuge
7 units of accommodation based
support for women fleeing
domestic abuse
8. Cumberland
30 units of accommodation based
support for people with complex
needs including older people and
adults with poor mental health
and Learning Disabilities who
have been excluded from other
services
Proposal
Budget saving
£
Effective from
date
Transfer of Public
Health funds of
£105,000 to support
redesign and
procurement of
pathway of domestic
abuse services
105,000
June 2014
105,000
Retain service
0
N/A
268,200
Retain service
0
N/A
Note: No
change to
service
provision as
funds to be
transferred by
Public Health
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Service
9. Supported
Employment and
Project Search
Service description
Supported employment for
people with Learning Disabilities
including those with Aspergers
and others with Autistic Spectrum
disorders.
Annual
Supporting
People budget £
Proposal
Budget saving
£
Effective from
date
338,000
Reduce Supported
Employment contract
and retain Project
Search
300,000
May 2014
310,000
Saving proposal of
150,000
£150,000 subject to
commissioner/provider
discussions on
provision of safety net
with reduced budget
May 2014
Project Search is a partnership
between the Council, Torbay
Hospital and South Devon
College. The project supports 10
young people per year to gain
experience working in a range of
hospital departments.
10. Leonard Stocks
Centre
Assessment, engagement and
referral centre for homeless
people with complex needs
including poor mental and
physical health. Service includes
outreach support for rough
sleepers and 24 units of
accommodation.
8
Service
Service description
Annual
Supporting
People budget £
Proposal
Budget saving
£
Effective from
date
11. Jatis x2
25 units of accommodation based
support for people in structured
treatment for drug and alcohol
issues.
239,800
Reduce by 100%
239,800
May 2014
12. Social Inclusion
Floating Support
Service (SIFS)
Generic floating support for adults 350,000
to prevent homelessness or other
crisis, and support to live
independently in their own
homes.
Reduce by 100%
350,000
May 2014
13. Community
Outreach Support
Service (COSS)
Generic floating support for adults 358,700
to prevent homelessness or other
crisis, and support to live
independently in their own
homes.
Reduce by 100%
358,700
May 2014
14. Criminal Justice
Accommodation
Service (CJAS)
10 units of accommodation for
offenders with complex needs on
licence.
Reduce by 100%
60,000
May 2014
60,000
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Service
15. Reaching Out
South West
Service description
Partnership between Chapter
one, Jatis, SILS, Homemaker,
Folks at Home & Shekinah.
Annual
Supporting
People budget £
Proposal
Budget saving
£
Effective from
date
450,000
Reduce by 100%
450,000
April 2015
Pre- engagement and
resettlement support mostly
working with people with mental
health issues at present.
16. Folks at Home
Outreach service to older people
including resettlement support for
people moving from residential
care to extra care housing.
198,345
Reduce by 48%
95,350
May 2014
17. Sheltered Housing
Accommodation based support
for older people living in the
social housing sector.
305,700
Reduce by 100%
305,700
May 2014
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Service
Service description
Annual
Supporting
People budget £
Proposal
Budget saving
£
Effective from
date
18. Extra Care
Newly developed schemes
providing care and support to
older people who require this as
an alternative to residential and
nursing care, enabling people to
remain in their own homes with
access to support & care on site.
One scheme, Dunboyne, is
operational with a further two
(Hayes Road January 2014 and
Hatchcombe 2015) in
development.
71,000
Reduction by 15%
already in progress
through contract
negotiation
11,000
May 2014
19. Link workers
Two workers - one employed by
Adult Social Care, the other by
Devon Partnership Trust
supporting the take up &
monitoring of personal budgets
for support and to provide a
bridge between services and
commissioning teams
39,400
Reduce by 100%
39,400
May 2014
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Service
Service description
Annual
Supporting
People budget £
20. 3 x individual
contracts on
sunset clauses
3 accommodation based services
with 8 clients (with learning
disabilities and mental health
needs) in total who have long
term social care needs met
through their Supporting People
support.
56,618
21. Personal budgets
People with Learning Disabilities
250,000
and mental health needs who
have medium to long term
support needs were transferred to
personal budgets. This was
agreed with Adult Social Care.
Personal budgets are also used
to fund short term resettlement
support to move people out of
residential care into extra care
resulting in savings to Adult
Social Care budget
Proposal
Budget saving
£
Effective from
date
Maintain services
0
N/A
Reduce by 100%
250,000
May 2014
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5. Consultation Plan
Consultation will take place with a variety of stakeholders, these include the
following:











Service providers who currently hold contracts
People who currently use Supporting People services or have done so
previously
South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (including drug and alcohol
services, Torbay hospital including hospital discharge team)
Adult Social Care
Torbay Council departments including; Children’s Services, Housing Needs
and Options service, Public Health and Safer Communities
Devon and Cornwall Probation Service
Devon and Cornwall Police
Clinical Commissioning Group
National Associations including: MIND, Mencap, Chartered Institute of
Housing (CIH), Shelter, Homeless Link
Non service users / general public
Department for Communities and Local Government
All organisations will be provided with details of the proposals along with a set of
questions for response.
Targeted consultation will take place with people who currently use the services
where there is a proposed change. This consultation will take the form of focus
groups and one to one interviews; these will be facilitated by the Supporting People
Team along with Torbay Voice and Quest (these are groups of people who use or
have used support services who are involved in the development of services)
members. People who use or have previously used services can also complete the
questionnaire on the website.
Consultation with the general public will also take place via an on-line survey and will
form part of wider budget consultation.
Consultation will ensure the proposals can be communicated and will enable Torbay
Council to gauge views about the proposal and what stakeholders feel any potential
impacts might be.
The consultation will open on 21st November and close on 16th January 2014.
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6. Consultation questionnaire
Please return your completed questionnaire to:
supportingpeopleconsultation@torbay.gov.uk or Supporting People Team, St
Edmunds, Victoria Park Rd, Torquay, TQ1 3QH by 16th January 2014.
The questions below relate to all the proposals above, however if you wish to
comment about a particular proposal / service please state which service you are
referring to in your response.
1. Do you agree with the proposals set out above? Yes / No
2. If you have answered yes to question 1 please tell us why you agree with the
proposals.
3. If you have answered no to question 1 please tell us why you disagree with
the proposals?
4. What impact do you think these proposals will have on service users?
5. Are there any particular groups which you feel will be adversely affected by
these proposals?
6. What impact do you think these proposals will have on your organisation?
7. Do you have any comments / feedback you would like to provide about any
specific proposals above? If so, please tell us below.
8. Please tell us (if applicable) below which organisation you are completing this
consultation on behalf of.
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7. Further representation
If you wish to make further representations to Torbay Council regarding this proposal
you can do so in writing via email or letter
(supportingpeopleconsultation@torbay.gov.uk or Supporting People Team, St
Edmunds, Victoria Park Rd, Torquay, TQ1 3QH). Any further representations must
be received by 16th January. Representations received by the deadline will be
taken into account and included as part of the consultation feedback.
8. Decision making process
Following the closure of the consultation, all feedback will be collated and analysed.
Related Equality Impact Assessments will be updated and a report in relation to all of
the proposals for Supporting People will be put forward to Council as part of the
budget setting process on 6th February 2014.
9. Data protection
Data Protection: The information you provide on this questionnaire and other
responses to the Supporting People budget consultation will be processed by the
Supporting People and / or Policy, Performance and Review Team and the
Residents and Visitors Team, Torbay Council in accordance with the Data Protection
Act, 1998.
Your responses will be stored as an electronic image and in a database, they will be
only used to assist in the analysis of opinion, and will not be retained for longer than
necessary. It may also be disclosed to other departments within the Council for such
purposes.
By giving us your personal data to complete this questionnaire, you acknowledge
that you have read and understand this Data Privacy statement, and that you agree
that Torbay Council may process personal data relating to you for the purposes
detailed above, and in accordance with all applicable legislation. If you wish to
access your personal information at any time please contact the Information
Governance Team on 01803 201201.
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