Inspectors praise supporting people services

HairBall101 · Site Admin Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 4

Services for some of the most vulnerable people in the borough have been praised by the Audit Commission, the Government's local authority watchdog.

Inspectors concluded that Barnet�s supporting people service, which provides housing related support services to help vulnerable people live independently, is a good �two-star� service and has promising prospects for improvement.

The rigorous inspection process included a week-long visit to Barnet, when residents who use the services and providers were interviewed.

The Commission acknowledged strong leadership delivering value for money and sound financial control, and that the council works well with its partners in health and probation to deliver good outcomes for people most in need in the borough.

As with every inspection, some areas for improvement were identified � increasing the engagement of service users and involving providers more in strategy development.

Cabinet Member for Community Services, Cllr Lynne Hillan, says: �This encouraging report endorses our approach to delivering important services to people most in need. The Commission has commended our strong track-record in providing these services, councillors� commitment to leading the programme, and the experience and skills of the team of officers to deliver further improvements. We have a good strategy to ensure support is provided to help vulnerable residents do things for themselves because they lack the skills or confidence to do so.�

More info: http://www.barnet.gov.uk/press_releases.htm?id=1564