Bolton Council celebrated being singled out for praise by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for its Supporting People scheme. Its Supporting People service user involvement project was awarded Regional Champion status by the DCLG.
The government department, headed by Secretary of State Ruth Kelly, has awarded Regional Champion status to just ten local authorities, covering nine subject areas. Bolton has been highlighted as a Champion for Service User Involvement for the North, while Torbay takes up the mantle for the South of England.
Between now and March 2008, Bolton will be expected to promote and share positive practice with other authorities and become an expert point of contact for Supporting People schemes.
This is the second accolade for Bolton's Supporting People scheme, which was awarded the Audit Commission's highest accolade when it was deemed "excellent" last year. Working in partnership with the Primary Care Trust and Greater Manchester Probation Service, the scheme was awarded three-star status with excellent prospects for improvement.
The scheme has since developed and enhanced its service user involvement by forming the Community Expert Panel (CEP), which includes representatives from all client groups who help to improve the services on offer.
The group meets once a month, and work includes creative and arts-based projects, such as role-play and drama.
Barking and Dagenham Council have warned that Right to Buy rules are depleting its housing stock and leaving the authority out of pocket. The Council's executive member for housing, Councillor Liam Smith, is spearheading a campaign to stop council tenants from buying their properties in a bid to avert a social housing crisis.
He said that Barking and Dagenham was one of only two local authorities, together with Havering, which had to give discounts of up to £38,000 to property buyers. Councillor Smith has demanded that the Government change the discount rules, bringing Barking and Dagenham in line with the rest of the capital.
Due to housing problems such as homelessness and property shortages, nearly all London boroughs have been allowed to reduce the maximum discount they give on Right to Buy properties - to £16,000. This makes Right to Buy a less attractive proposition and means local authorities loose less properties to the scheme.
But two boroughs - Havering, and Barking and Dagenham - are still forced to give the full maximum discounts on their properties - £38,000. This means that in Barking and Dagenham, the authority and the people living in the borough miss out on around £24,000 every time a council home is sold - money which could be reinvested to provide better housing services.