On the edge of a precipice
Blog entry October 2009
So we’ve reached the halfway point of the political conference season. Labour are prioritising a fight back against anti-social behaviour and a return to mother and baby homes, sorry a “network of supervised housing for young teenaged mothers”. The Conservative Party will be next to serve up their ideas for dealing with the horrendous public sector debt problem and no doubt will pour scorn on the current administration’s ideas.
It’s all very entertaining, but the reality is that we are on the edge of a precipice in relation to housing and support services. So-called ‘new’ initiatives are coming thick and fast, but in reality there is no new money and in some cases there will be no money at all! What is needed is a hard look at unnecessary expenditure right across government and a prioritising of what matters – helping those who cannot help themselves. We were sort of getting there with the insistence that all services funded by the public purse prove their worth and deliver something tangible for all service users, giving responsibility back to those who receive services for their progress. The withdrawal of benefits for example is an understandable reaction, but it completely misses the point. It’s a monetarist policy and the policy makers need to understand the nature of addiction, before implementing something that will drive up criminality and suicide rates.
Supported housing works best when local communities trust the providers and statutory agencies involved in its commissioning and delivery. It works best where the existence of schemes enhance and improve communities not divide them.
I would ask whoever is in power next for two things. Firstly, enable services to be part of the community by including the community in the delivery of service. Secondly, maintain funding for the vulnerable groups not protected by statute and thereby ensure that other parts of the social policy agenda fit together.
The Supporting People programme has the ability to build bridges and strong communities, please don’t let us fall victim to the political football tournament which is about to start next year.
