Decision details

Funding for Supported Housing for Care Leavers and Young People who are Homeless

Decision Maker: Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services

Decision status: Recommendations approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Purpose:

This report focuses on reviewing how we fund and procure supported accommodation services for young people.  It is proposed that the retained £1.35M of Supporting People funding is pooled with current budgetary provision for supported accommodation for care leavers in order to provide a more cost effective approach to supporting young people. 

 

This will be achieved by extending Supporting People contracts until September 2018 and reviewing processes in relation to assessment, prioritisation and control of access to Supporting People services, with a view to ensuring that young people to whom the County Council owes a statutory responsibility are able to access services. 

 

Activity will be monitored by the Access to Resource Team and the findings will inform future commissioning intentions.  In order to fulfil our responsibilities as a corporate parent and to avoid the "cliff edge" faced by care leavers at 18, it is proposed that services can be accessed by young people aged 16 to 21 years old.

 

This is deemed to be a Key Decision, and the provisions of Standing Order No. 25 have been complied with.

 

Decision:

The Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services and the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools approved:

(a)  The pooling of  £1.35M of Supporting People funding and £3.6M of Children's Social Care funding for supported accommodation for young people;

(b)  That services can be accessed by 16 to 21 year olds to whom the County Council owes, or has previously owed, a statutory duty under the Children Act 1989 and that in exceptional circumstances, where there is capacity, other young people who find themselves homeless between the ages of 18 and 21 years old can access services on a time limited basis.

Reason Key: Expenditure > £1,400,000;

Divisions Affected: (All Divisions);

Contact: Sarah McCarthy Email: Sarah.McCarthy@lancashire.gov.uk Tel: (01772) 531482.

Date of decision: 14/03/2017

Effective from: 18/03/2017

Accompanying Documents: