Council 'fair' rating but much more to do...

The delivery of the Supporting People programme provided by Rochdale Borough Council has been awarded a one star ‘fair’ rating in a report by the independent Audit Commission.

However, the Audit Commission said that although substantial progress has been made over the past year, some needs and commissioning priorities have not yet been met due to earlier delays. The council have been provided with areas that need further improvement including further developing the way the authority interacts with vulnerable residents. 

The service provides essential housing-related support for some of the boroughs most vulnerable people, enabling them to live independently.

The council said the award represents a ‘rapid turnaround’ for the service, and the Audit Commission agreed, saying they have ‘excellent prospects for improvement’.

Following last years inspection the programme was given a ‘poor’, no-star rating. But twelve months on inspectors say Rochdale Borough Council and their partners have made ‘significant progress’ in planning and delivering the programme and are now able to commission the right housing-related support services, of a good quality, for vulnerable people.

They said Supporting People services are value for money and found an improvement in the quality of existing services and acknowledged that new services have been commissioned for the first time.

The Audit Commission said it is extremely rare to award excellent prospects for improvement, and they are only awarded after very careful consideration. The report said major improvements had been delivered in a short space of time and that the progress should be seen as a learning opportunity for the whole council.

Rochdale Borough Council Executive Director Andy Zuntz said a great deal of hard work has gone into turning around the service:

“This is a credit to the staff, our partners and the involvement of people who use the services, that we have received such a positive inspection report. It has acknowledged our commitment, training and robust leadership. Work is already being done to address the areas which still need to improve, but I am confident that we can continue to take the service in the right direction.”

Dianne David, Interim Head of Service for Vulnerable Adults said the council recognised that there were problems with the delivery of the service approximately 2 years ago and developed a comprehensive and challenging improvement plan to achieve excellence by 2010:

“The team, partners, service users, providers, elected members and stakeholders have all worked hard to bring about the improvements. Everyone involved is thrilled that all the hard work has been recognised and that vulnerable people are now receiving improved services.”

The council were praised for their effective partnership working, in particular with the NHS, Link4Life and Probation Service. Inspectors concluded that there is a strong Supporting People team with effective leadership, that work is well planned and there is good financial management.

Councillor Dale Mulgrew, Cabinet Member for Adult Care said: “This is very promising news. I note with particular satisfaction that one of the strengths listed by the inspector was the leadership of the programme.

Elected members will continue to commit to supporting people, leading to an intensifying of ongoing support and scrutiny. This will ensure that we continue at the pace we have gathered over the last 12 months, enabling the service to grow and develop with positive outcomes.”

Rochdale Borough Council is one of only two authorities in the country who have gone from a no-star rating to excellent prospects for improvement.