Torbay's Supporting People programme has been praised for the quality of its services and the dedication of the Supporting People Team.  Also information provided to service users is singled out as "amongst the best ever seen".

The praise comes from the Audit Commission's housing inspection team, which has rated the council-run programme as ‘fair’ following its inspection in November 2005.

The inspection looked at the Supporting People programme across Torbay – the partnership of Torbay Council, Torbay Probation, and the Primary Care Trust. The inspectors interviewed service users, stakeholders, the Supporting People Commissioning Body, Core Strategy Group, Councillors and Supporting People Team. The inspectors also visited Supporting People services across the bay.

The report states that significant improvements have been made following the original inspection in August 2004, when the programme was rated as poor with uncertain prospects for improvement.

The inspectors stated that since the last inspection a huge amount of effort and resource has been committed to making up lost ground. They also acknowledge the effectiveness of reviews of Supporting People services carried out by the team. These ensure that the services provided under the programme represent good value for money and clearly meet the needs of the service users.

The rating of 'fair' with uncertain prospects for improvement has formed the basis of an action plan to drive forward the recommendations that have been made in the report’

For further information on Supporting People and the re-inspection report contact the Supporting People office.