Wokingham Borough Council is launching a new £3 million contract to support young people in care and those maturing into adulthood.
Providing children’s and adult social care is a core duty. April figures show the council supports 157 children in care, 213 care leavers and 39 young people in supported accommodation.
Supported accommodation gives people their own or shared home, with support workers visiting or on-site to help with cooking, budgeting or medication. It covers 16-17s and care leavers aged 18-25.
Floating support for adults aged 18+ helps people keep tenancies, build independent living skills, stay in education, employment or training, and reduce the risk of homelessness or crisis.
The council is seeking a single provider to deliver an integrated Supported Accommodation and Floating Support service. The executive has agreed to begin a tendering process for a contract worth £3.14 million to deliver the accommodation and support.
Prue Bray (Liberal Democrats, Winnersh), deputy council leader and executive councillor for children’s services, said: "We are providing more and more local accommodation for our care leavers and young people who need accommodation.
"As a result, the rather fragmented methods of support we had in place are no longer suitable.
"So we need a unified contract that covers everything, that will be much easier to manage, it will also provide better value for money, and will be fit for purpose going forward as we increase the amount of accommodation of this type that we have.
"So it will be much more sustainable and a much better deal for the council as well.
"I don’t think there is anything not to like in this, it is a sign we are doing more for young people locally who need our help with accommodation, particularly our care leavers and vulnerable people."
The executive - made up entirely of the ruling Liberal Democrats - unanimously agreed to launch the competitive tender during a meeting on Thursday, July 30.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
