Draft Peterborough
Supporting People Communication and Consultation
Strategy
1. Introduction
The Supporting People programme commenced in
April 2003 and is a government funded initiative offering housing
related support to help vulnerable people live independently in the
community. The programme is delivered by 150 administering
authorities throughout the country, of which Peterborough is one.
In each administering authority Supporting People is overseen by a
Commissioning Body which is a partnership between the council, the
Probation Service, and Health. In Peterborough, the Commissioning
Body consists of the Member of the Council with responsibility for
Housing who acts as chair, the Director of Community Services, the
Director of Strategic Development and Commissioning of the Greater
Peterborough Primary Care Partnership and the Assistant Chief
Probation Officer from Cambridgeshire Probation service.
Housing related support services funded through
Supporting People include:
- support services for vulnerable older people who wish to live independently, including those in sheltered housing
- support services for people with mental health problems, learning disabilities and physical disabilities
- floating tenancy support services to help people keep their tenancies
Supporting People will provide the
following:
- a programme that delivers quality of life and promotes independence
- services that of high quality, strategically planned, cost effective and which complement existing care services
- needs-led services that are planned and developed
- a working partnership between local government, probation, health voluntary sector organisations, housing associations, support agencies and service users
Vision for Supporting People in Peterborough
The Commissioning Body has adopted a five year
strategy for the development of supporting people services in
Peterborough, which aims
'to provide flexible housing related support services which are innovative, cost effective, high quality and fully integrated to enable people to live as independently as possible and maximise their potential in the community'
2. Purpose and standards
The purpose of this strategy is to:
- ensure all stakeholders are aware of Supporting People and what it can provide
- provide information on how services can be accessed
- involve stakeholders in the operation, development and improvement of services
- ensure Peterborough's Supporting People Strategy is integrated with other key strategies
- encourage sharing of information and good practice to contribute to improved services
Communications will be:
- accurate, timely, open and honest
- easy to understand and free from jargon
- consistent in quality and style
- appropriate for the audience
- cost effective
- accessible and inclusive
We will treat all stakeholders equally, and
will ensure appropriate efforts are made to communicate with
minorities and those groups with whom we tend to have less contact.
We will provide information in a range of formats and languages to
meet the needs of all members of the community.
3. Who we will communicate
with
To ensure effective delivery of the Supporting People
Programme we need to communicate effectively with:
- people who are receiving Supporting People funded housing related support our service users;
- potential service users and residents in
Peterborough who may fall into one of the following Supporting
People service user categories:
- frail elderly
- generic service users
- homeless families with support needs
- mentally disordered offenders
- offenders or people at risk of offending
- older people with mental health problems/dementia
- older people with support needs
- people with a physical or sensory disability
- people with alcohol problems
- people with drug problems
- people with HIV/AIDS
- people with learning disabilities
- people with mental health problems
- refugees
- rough sleepers
- single homeless with support needs
- teenage parents
- travellers
- women at risk of domestic violence
- young people at risk and young people leaving care
- people who provide information or advice or interact with potential service users
- providers and potential providers of Supporting People services
- colleagues in Peterborough City Council and Board members of Cambridgeshire Probation Service and the GPPCP;
- the media
- Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) which oversees delivery of the programme
4. Communication structures and
methods
Use of Information
Technology
Although many people do not have access to
computers or email, the Council is promoting the availability of
this communication method through its libraries.
Website
Peterborough City Council's website contains pages dedicated
to Supporting People including:
- general information on supporting people
- key contacts
- information on how to access services
- information on charging
- directory of services
- relevant policies and procedures
- consultation documents
Delivery of
information
Wherever possible, information from the Supporting People team
will be delivered electronically, generally by email. This will
include information such as:
- Supporting People newsletter
- details of events and training
- minutes and agendas for meetings
- reports and briefing papers for meetings
- responses to queries and requests for information where appropriate
Records will be kept on which
organisations/individuals to not have access to email or the
website and information will be sent to these by post or fax.
Peterborough is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic
city. The Council is committed to the active promotion of genuine
equality of opportunity for all its citizens and information will
be provided in alternative formats or languages on request. Key
information leaflets and posters (such as those advertising
Supporting People in Peterborough and providing information on
where/how to obtain more information) will be provided in a variety
of languages and displayed at key customer access points including
all receptions and libraries.
Five Year Strategy Awareness
Raising
In order to ensure that the strategy is
integrated with other key strategies in Peterborough the Strategy
is posted on the Supporting People web pages. In addition, the
Supporting People Manager will visit key management teams to
discuss the priorities and action plan. Responses will be
considered when producing the annual update of the strategy.
Core Strategy and Development
Group
This group has formal responsibility for
overseeing the development of Supporting People and makes
recommendations regarding the commissioning of Supporting People
services. The membership of the group has been established to
ensure that appropriate communication with stakeholders is
maximised and includes representatives from the commissioning
organisations and service providers.