This list is intended to help you understand the language of Supporting People.
If you come across a word or a phrase not listed here, please let us know and
we’ll add it in. The definition of the words or terms in
blue can be found elsewhere in this list.
| Accreditation |
This is a regular assessment of a
support provider to check if they are
able to provide a good quality Supporting People service. We check
their competency, capability and financial viability. |
| Administering Authority (AA) |
The local authority which receives the
Supporting People Grant and administers
contracts for Supporting People services on behalf of the
Commissioning Body. In Manchester,
this team is based in the Housing department of Manchester City Council,
and is called the Supporting People Commissioning and Strategy team. |
| Audit Commission |
An independent body responsible for ensuring
that public money is used responsibly, economically, efficiently and
effectively. |
| Benchmarking |
A comparison of similar services by quality, performance
and cost. This is one of the ways of ensuring the quality of services
in Manchester continually improves |
| Best Value |
A duty on local authorities to assess and review the services
they provide for local people and improve them by the best means available.
This must be done in consultation with the people who use the services and
the wider local community. |
| Block Contract |
The means by which the Supporting People team purchase support
services for more than one person, usually in advance of the service being
delivered. |
| Block Gross Contract |
A contract for a support service
which is delivered for a short period, i.e. less than two years. Payments
are made for a fixed number of service users.
Service users are not charged for the support. |
| Block Subsidy Contract |
A contract for a support service which is usually long-term
or permanent, e.g. sheltered housing. Grant payments to the provider will
vary, depending on how many people receiving the support service qualify
for the subsidy at any given time. Providers tell the SP team on a
monthly basis who has moved in and out of their service, and the subsidy
payment is adjusted accordingly. Some service users may be charged
for this service. |
| BME |
Black Minority Ethnic. |
| Care - personal and social |
Supporting People does not pay for care. It only pays
for housing related support. It may
fund some services which also provide care, but Supporting People
only pays for the housing related support in those services. |
| Client Group |
A category, such as ‘older people’ or ‘single homeless’
used to help the Supporting People teams monitor who is accessing services,
and identify where there is need for new services. |
| Client Record Form |
These are completed by providers each time they take on
a new client. Details such as previous type of accommodation,
client group and ethnicity are recorded
so Supporting People teams can monitor who is using the services.
No personal details are recorded. |
| Commissioning Body/Group/Board |
In Manchester, the Commissioning Group is made up of representatives
from all of the partners involved in Supporting People, such as Housing,
Social Services, Health (PCT) and
Probation. This group looks at the existing supply of supported housing and identifies
areas where there is a need for new services. It then starts the process
of asking providers to bid to provide the new service. |
| Contract Schedules |
These are part of the Supporting
People contract and contain details of the services to be provided
in that contract and the cost of each service |
| Cross Authority Group |
Neighbouring AAs working
together to plan and develop policies and services across the group.
Manchester participate in the Greater Manchester CAG, which also includes
Tameside, Stockport, Trafford, Salford, Bury, Rochdale, Wigan, Bolton and
Oldham. |
| Cross Authority Provision |
A service designated by the ODPM
to provide support for service users originating from another Administering
Authority's area i.e. not Manchester residents. |
| CLG |
Communities and Local
Government (formerly the ODPM) - this is the Central Government
Department which is responsible for the Supporting People programme and
monitors the performance of each administering authority. |
| DV |
Domestic violence |
| Fairer Charging |
For chargeable services a Fairer Charging financial assessment
can be done for service users who do not qualify for
Housing Benefit. It is a locally set
means test that will be used to assess how much, if anything, service users
have to pay for their support service. |
| Floating Support |
This kind of support is ‘attached’ to the person, not the
property and can follow a service user if they move to another address.
It only lasts for as long as the client needs it, then ‘floats away’. The
client does not have to live at a certain address to receive the support. |
| Foundations |
The National Co-ordinating Body for Home Improvement
Agencies (HIAs)
|
| Home Improvement Agency (HIA) |
An agency which enables vulnerable people to maintain their
independence in their chosen home for the foreseeable future. ‘Vulnerable
people’ may include older people, people on low incomes, disabled people
etc. The homes would usually be private rented, leasehold or owner-occupied. |
| Housing Benefit |
A means tested state benefit paid to council or private
tenants who need help paying their rent. |
| Housing Related Support |
Support specifically aimed at helping people to establish
themselves, or stay in, their own homes. Examples of housing related
support include helping people learn to: manage their money, apply for benefits,
keep their home secure, access other services. |
| Joint Commissioning Body (JCB) |
See Commissioning Body -
above |
| Legacy Funding |
Legacy funding is the total amount of money paid to a service
before the Supporting People programme came
into effect. There were seven types of legacy funding, including
transitional housing benefit,
supported housing management grant and
PAGs. The total legacy funding forms
the existing SP contract price |
| LSVT |
Large scale voluntary transfer of council housing.
This could be to a private company or a registered
social landlord |
| Managing Agent |
A managing agent is an organisation providing housing management
services (such as collecting rent) on behalf of another body, often a
Registered Social Landlord. The managing
agent may also provide the support services. |
| National Directory of Services |
A directory of all Supporting People funded
services in England which is accessed via the SPkweb
or at www.spdirectory.org.uk |
| NHF – National Housing Federation |
Also known as the NatFed, the NHF provides advice and support
for not-for-profit housing providers. Their website address is
www.housing.org.uk. They
have regional Supporting People advisors to help their members understand
and prepare for the implementation of Supporting People. |
| PAGs |
Probation Accommodation Grant; paid by the Home Office to
probation services to fund accommodation and support to ex-offenders. The
PAG was transferred to the Supporting People Grant in April 2003. |
| PCT |
Primary Care Trusts – the 3 PCTS in Manchester are responsible
for planning and providing healthcare services in the city. They are
partners in the SP programme, along with Social Services and Probation. |
| Performance Indicators (PIs) |
Performance statistics submitted to the Supporting People
teams by support providers. They are used as part of contract and
quality monitoring. |
| Pipeline Scheme |
In Supporting People terms, this is a service which was
due to open after 1st April 2003. |
| Procurement |
The process to obtain materials, supplies
and contracts, which is the best value, through open and fair
competition. |
| Provider adjustments |
These are sent, on a monthly basis, to the Supporting People
teams by providers of block subsidy services. They details clients
who have moved in or out of the service and payment is adjusted accordingly. |
| Provider notification |
Notification from the Supporting People team to providers about their SP
payment. |
| QAF |
Quality Assessment Framework. Providers self assess
their service against national objectives (such as consulting service users
on how they want the service to be run). The Supporting People team
use the results as part of the benchmarking
process, with the aim of continually improving the quality of services in
Manchester. |
| Registered Social Landlord (RSL) |
A non profit-making voluntary group, generally a Housing
Association, formed to provide affordable housing. |
| Service Review |
A service review examines the support provided to see if
there is a need for it, if it is good quality support, if it gives value
for money and if there needs to be any changes. |
| Sheltered Housing |
Housing specifically for older and/or disabled people. Includes
a block or group of houses with resident or visiting warden, and individual
houses, bungalows and flats which receive support from a mobile warden or
pendant (emergency) alarm service. |
| SP3 |
A form used by the Supporting People teams to collect information
form providers about their services. This information was stored on
an ODPM database called SPIntLS |
| SPLS |
Supporting People Local System - a local authority computer system used to hold service,
provider, payment and client details for Supporting People. SPLS systems
replace SPIntLS |
| SPIntLS |
Supporting People Interim Local System – a database provided
to Supporting People teams by the ODPM to
collect provider and service information in order to accurately price services
and contract with providers. |
| SPkweb |
The Supporting People Knowledge website – this is accessible
to all by logging on to www.spkweb.org.uk
The Kweb contains all the guidance, discussion and related documents on
the Supporting People programme |
| Spot contract |
The purchase of support services for individuals,
usually on an emergency basis or on demand. Such purchases can also be paid
for after the service has been delivered. |
| Steady State Contract |
When Supporting People was introduced in 1
April 2003 Administering Authorities had an
Interim Agreement with providers to pay for existing support services.
The Steady State Contract is issued to replace the Interim Contract once
a service review has been completed, and if it has been decided that the
provider will continue to receive Supporting
People Grant. |
| Supporting People Distribution Formula |
A formula, currently being developed by the
DCLG, to decide how much Supporting People Grant each Administering
Authority will be allocated |
| Supporting People Grant |
Money from the government to pay for housing related support
services under the Supporting People programme. |
| Supporting People programme |
The programme came into effect on 1 April
2003, and pays for services providing housing related
support. Services are monitored on their quality, performance and
cost. |
| Supporting People 5 year strategy |
The Strategy is a five year plan (2005-2010) for managing the Supported
Housing sector in Manchester. |
| Support Provider |
The organisation providing housing-related support services
paid for by Supporting People. Organisation types include Registered
Social Landlords, voluntary sector organisations, local authorities, charities
and the private sector. |
| Support Service |
A service eligible for funding through Supporting People.
This could include advice on maintaining a tenancy, help with filling in
forms, help with keeping accommodation safe and secure, etc. |
| Transitional Housing Benefit (THB) |
Upto 31 March 2003, THB paid for housing related
support when the service user needed help to pay for their
service. |
| Validation Visit |
A 'reality check' by a SP Quality Officer to a support service
to establish whether the provider is achieving the standards they have been
contracted to deliver. The Quality Officer also consults services
users and staff, to find out their views of the service. The aim of
these visits is to work with providers to improve the quality of services
in Manchester, and the findings feed into the service
review. |
