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Supporting people client statistics 2006-07
25/03/2008
Information on clients assisted through Supporting People funding has been released today by Scotland's Chief Statistician. The summary report presents information about client profile, client group, type and duration of support and accommodation type.
The main points to emerge are as follows:
- In 2006-07, about 175,930 individuals were assisted through Supporting People funding, seven per cent more than reported for 2005-06 (about 163,760). This increase may be due in part to a number of factors, including changes in the way that services are provided and improvements in data collection methods
- Clients receiving support were mainly older people (46 per cent), homeless or rough sleepers (20 per cent), and people with a physical disability, illness or sensory impairment (eight per cent). Nearly 60% of clients are female and 50 per cent are aged 65 or over
- Overall, four per cent of the adult population received support in 2006-07. This proportion rises to 13 per cent for people aged 75-84, and to 28 per cent for those aged 85 and over
Data on people receiving services funded through the Supporting People programme have been collected since 2003-04, and show the range of client groups and type of support provided. The data collection process was simplified for 2006-07 in order to improve data quality and reduce burden on data providers.
Supporting People is an integrated policy and funding framework designed to provide housing support services to a range of vulnerable people over the age of 16, in order that they can move into or remain living in their own homes.
The Supporting People programme was introduced in Scotland in April 2003, when funding was transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions to the Scottish Executive. This is administered as a ring fenced grant to the Scottish local authorities who have the responsibility for assessing local need, providing these services or purchasing housing support services from external providers in order to meet these needs. This ring fencing will be removed from April 2008 and the Supporting People budget will be absorbed into the main local government settlement.
In the longer term, the collection of information on people receiving housing support is being reviewed with the aim of moving to a more outcome focussed approach and integrating more with social and community care data collections.