The overriding theme of this year’s conference is ‘making sense of personalisation’.The importance of personalising services is rapidly gaining momentum. Significant and radical changes on the scale envisaged will create uncertainty. Are we clear about what this means for service users, providers and commissioners? In particular, how will these changes impact on the vulnerable people who have relied on supported housing services? Is the recent progress in supporting more vulnerable and hard to reach groups being put at risk? Three other key agenda themes will remain crucial to explore from a variety of perspectives: outcomes for service users, efficiency and effective commissioning, and integration of services. This year’s conference offers participants the opportunity to learn about, reflect on and debate the critical future changes in service delivery from the service user perspective and from providers and commissioners.

Aims of the conference

This year’s conference brings together speakers from central government, national providers, policy institutes and local authorities to consider the implications of modernising public services to provide a more personalised response.This is a major national conference with the aim of helping people to share their experiences and to learn about what is happening in other parts of the country. Plenary speakers will address the big themes while workshops will address examples of ‘best practice’ in specific areas and examine how the agenda will affect specific service user groups. Speakers and workshops will look to explore the commonality of the key themes across agency boundaries and help participants to see what is valuable in current arrangements while gearing up for further changes. The conference aims:

  • To provide a strategic overview of the implications for the housing, care and support sector of the government’s changing agendas and how the sector can maximise the benefits from the opportunities available
  • To consider the latest lessons from the Individual Budget pilots and their wider implications for the personalisation agenda of promoting independence and choice
  • To illustrate a range of good practice in commissioning to improve performance
  • To help people implement the efficiency agenda and to report on innovatory work on contract rationalisation in learning disability and mental health services

Speakers at the event

  • Jeremy Porteus National programme lead, Housing Network, Department of Health
  • Melinda Phillips Chief Executive, Housing 21
  • Martin Routledge Department of Health 
  • Yvonne Maxwell Service and Improvement manager, Housing Networks and service users
  • Bill Hodson City of York Council
  • Jeremy Swain Thamesreach Housing Association
  • Tracy Fielding Chief Executive, and service users from the Cheshire Centre for Independent Living
  • Veronica Jackson Executive Director Adult and Community Services, Oldham Borough Council
  • Prof Gerald Wistow Visiting professor in Social Policy, London School of Economics
  • Gary Lashko Chief Executive, Carr Gomm Society and Editor of Housing, Care and Support
  • Alan Hagger Commissioning Lead, Hampshire County Council
  • Charlie Culshaw Care and Support manager, NomadE5
  • Hilary Bartle and CGUK
  • Les Billingham Head of Supporting People, Thurrock Council and Lead of the East Region Improvement and Efficiency Project
  • Stuart Nevill St Mungo’s
  • Kathleen Boyle Look Ahead 
  • Gillian Connor Age Concern England
  • Mark Carroll Programme lead for Housing and Support at CLG

Who should attend

The conference is designed to bring together a diverse group of people working in supported housing, social and community care, health, housing, homelessness and the criminal justice services.Those who should attend include:

  • service commissioners
  • senior policy, research and planning staff
  • managers and practitioners in housing associations, care providers, local authorities and voluntary organisations working across the full range of service users
  • Supporting People officers
  • tenants and service users of housing and support services.

Workshops

none

Pricing

£ 225.00 + VAT for Unwaged/student/small vol orgs two day rate
£ 345.00 + VAT for Public sector/edu/NHS/Charity/Local gov/Vol orgs two day rate
£ 425.00 + VAT for Cental gov/private orgs two day rate
£ 145.00 + VAT for One-day rate - Unwaged/student/small voluntary orgs
£ 255.00 + VAT for Public sector/NHS/Educational/Charity/Local gov/vol orgs - One day rate
£ 325.00 + VAT for Central Gov/Private orgs - one day rate