Inspection of housing support services gives a thumbs up

Councillor Alexander – welcome for positive report on housing support services in Moray

AN INSPECTION OF Moray’s housing support service called with just one week’s notice in February has produced an overall rating of ‘very good’ for the region.

Inspectors looked at the Quality of Care and Support, Quality of Staffing and Quality of Management and Leadership in their inspection, giving each the same rating.

Providing support to people over the age of 16 who are either homeless or sleeping rough, the support service was helping 180 people at the time of the inspection. Five who were using or who had used the service were amongst those interviewed by the inspection team.

The inspectors said they had heard from staff and people who were receiving support of very positive changes in their lives, in dealing with debt, gaining and keeping tenancies and in education and employment.

In their report inspectors said: “This service continues to provide a comprehensive housing support service to people at risk of homelessness in Moray.

“People we spoke to who used the service were very positive about it and credited it with helping them make substantial changes in their lives.

“This showed that as well as having sound structures in place they were also working hard and successfully in supporting people to achieve the outcomes they had set for themselves.

“All of this meant that the service had a structured approach to supporting people who were experiencing or who were at risk of homelessness, with a strong record in assessment, planning, the provision of relevant support and regular review of the support provided.”

Speaking in his role as chair of the communities committee, Councillor George Alexander welcomed the report, saying: “I would like to commend the staff of the housing support service for their excellent work in supporting so many vulnerable tenants whose needs are provided for in such a way that they can maintain their tenancies.

“The Care Inspectorate staff were clearly impressed with what they witnessed.”