Supporting People: Issues facing registered social landlords

In 1998 the Government announced its plans to introduce a single stream of funding to finance housing‐related support services to vulnerable people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The new Supporting People funding regime for housing with support began in April last year. In October the Government announced an independent review of the programme to look at what the grant is being used for, variations between local authorities' costs and patterns of provision, and where savings from other local budgets might have been made. The Journal is now presenting a series that gives several perspectives on the programme. This first looks at the impact on housing providers and suggests ways forward which balance the need for change with that for stability.