Council's new Supporting People Strategy out for consultation

Reporter: David Bartlett (RoFTRA)
Date online: 22/04/2008

Rochdale Borough's Supporting People Strategy went public on the government's Community and Local Government's web site for a consultation period that ends on 16 May.

Executive Director Andy Zuntz issued a medias release under the heading Serious Promise the Improve Health in the Borough that ends with the statement: "I am confident that our joint working [Council & PCT] will continue to deliver impressive and sustained improvements".

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/8401

Which will be quite a task, since the Supporting People Strategy document includes the information that:

• Rochdale Borough is the 25th most deprived area of the 354 in England
• Its position has worsened between 2004 and 2007 as measured by the official Index of Multiple Deprivation
• It is the third most deprived of the 10 Greater Manchester Local Authorities, after Manchester and Salford.

Rochdale Borough's draft Supporting People Strategy 2008-11 is out for consultation until 16 May. Comments will be welcome both because the Supporting People programme is important if the borough is to improve its deprivation rating and there have been real difficulties to date in the delivery of it.

Comments should be sent directly to:

angela.harris@rochdale.gov.uk

Or

Angela Harris, Supporting People, Floor 4, Municipal Offices, Smith Street, Rochdale OL16 1WB.