Supporting People

Launched in 2003, Supporting People was a £1.8 billion ring-fenced part of local authority funding intended to fund services to help vulnerable people live independently. This includes groups such as the homeless, the mentally ill, HIV/AIDS patients, people with disabilities and young care leavers. The amount of Supporting People grant received by each authority was based on a formula which included 3 IMD domains: Employment, Income and Geographical Barriers, as well as the Indoors Living Environment sub-domain.

Ring-fencing was removed in 2009, giving local authorities the power to use their Supporting People funding tranche for other purposes. This caused some in the social sector to call for the ring-fence to be reintroduced, for example this article in the Guardian by the director of the Mayday Trust.