SUPPORTING PEOPLE

That this House notes the overall five per cent. cut to the Supporting People budget for housing-related support for 2004-05 announced in December; understands that it now falls to each local authority to determine how the decrease will be passed on to service providers and ultimately to local people who need extra support; is concerned that simply ordering across the board cuts could put at risk projects in which the building is integral to the support such as hostels; urges all local authorities to review their housing-related support on a case by case basis, rather than issuing a universal grant reduction; and, in particular, calls on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, local authorities and service providers to work in concert to reduce administrative costs, the savings from which can be used to better support vulnerable people.