Supporting People funds 63 services in Kingston, and all of these services must be reviewed by the Supporting People Team before April 2006. An in depth review will be carried out on each service, which will include looking at service quality, service user views on their service, value for money and the the views of other stakeholders.
The team work closely with our providers on service reviews to ensure a thorough assessment of the service, and to work towards future continous improvement. The team will support the provider during and after the review process.
The approach that we take to Supporting People reviews is outlined in our Review Procedures. The procedures will soon be available on this website.
Supporting People reviews in Kingston are carried out using guidance from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). All services are reviewed using the same framework and applying the same quality standards.
Service reviews are carried out in 4 stages.
The first thing we will look at, is if the service fits within Kingston's 5 year Supporting People Strategy. We make sure that the service provides housing related support that meets the councils objectives, and is providing support that is eligible for Supporting People funding. We will also check that there is current and future demand for the service.
Stage 2 will look at the service in greater detail. The review officer will look at the quality of the service and its past performance. This will be done using the Quality Assessment Framework a tool produced by the ODPM. The review will also look at whether the service gives value for money to the council and to the service user. The review officer may also carry out a validation visit to the service, and will interview staff and speak to the people receiving the service for their views.
If there are any areas we have concerns about we will investigate further. We may need to meet with the service provider again, or we may need to know more about service users or stakeholders views.
The Supporting People Team will make a decision about the service and whether we offer a new contract to the provider.
Providers should let anyone receivng the service know about the review and that their views play an important part in the process. We value service user's views highly and would encourage any service user to talk to us about the service they receive.