Michael has approaching 25 years experience in housing-related support and care. He currently specialises in the changing economy of "Supporting People" and housing-related support and social care in general. He still retains an involvement in consultancy and especially in training. He has particular expertise in the developing issue of Local Area Agreements and holds a Diploma in Neuro Linguistic Programming NLP). He is actively working towards Master Practitioner status in NLP. His role is increasingly associated with the development of SSL as a business, the objective of contributing rigorous research and thinking to the housing-related support sector, and the growth and development of SSL's electronic media such as The Briefing and The Forum.

michael@supportsolutions.co.uk

Marcia has over 15 years experience of supported housing and care. She began her career as a learning disabilities support worker (adults) and became a registered care manager within the meaning of the (then) Registered Homes Act 1984 (since superceded by the Care Standards Act). Subsequently, Marcia worked as a local authority Social Worker responsible for out-of-borough learning disabilities placements.

Marcia is the mother of a young son with learning and physical disabilities.

marcia@supportsolutions.co.uk

Lorraine began work with SSL in late 2006 .

Lorraine is responsible for the day-to-day management of The Forum and the research and production processes associated with The Briefing. Lorraine has a background in housing-related support having, until recently, managed a Foyer.

Lorraine organises and administers Support Solutions' training events and is responsible for the general administration of the company.

lorraine@supportsolutions.co.uk

Danny has successfully assisted numerous organisations in significantly increasing their proper housing and support revenue entitlements. This includes constructing claims, undertaking appeals, rent setting, review and reallocation. Danny has been very successful in optimising organisations' finances and improving the quality, cost effectiveness and efficiency of their Housing Benefits revenue management.   Danny began work with Support Solutions in 2004.

danny@supportsolutions.co.uk

John has huge experience of senior level work within the housing care and support sector. Prior to embarking on a career in consultancy he was the Supporting People Lead Officer for Birmingham, the largest local authority in the UK. Prior to that he was Supporting People Lead Officer for Coventry City Council. John is available for the following areas of work:

• Assistance with procurement planning (SP Teams)
• Assistance with tender submissions (Providers)
• SP Strategy development and/or maintenance
• General Project implementation/development
• General systems and administrative development
• Partnership/liaison work with Government departments and other funders
• Research and turning research into practical development
• Risk Assessments and Planning
• Communication processes
• Conducting external investigations
• Training

And specific to Supporting People

• SP Contract negotiation
• Preparing for SP Reviews and coping with Action Plans
• Identifying and promoting 'strategic relevance'
• KPI's and VFM work
• Benchmarking
• Future funding changes
John began work with Support Solutions in 2006

john@supportsolutions.co.uk

Paul became a consultant in 1998 after working for 23 years in Social Services and Health, mainly in the fields of mental health and learning disabilities. Paul works on a sessional basis for the Valuing People Support Team and also is the Chair of a learning disabilities charity involved with advocacy and rights for 22 years. Paul has significant experience in finding housing options with and for vulnerable people. He is a national expert on care home deregistration. Paul has been with Support Solutions for 2 Years.

paul@supportsolutions.co.uk

Kris has worked as a consultant since 2001. He has particular expertise in Housing Benefits Regulations and the optimisation of revenue streams in general. Kris also has in-depth knowledge of the Supporting People initiative and has worked with many providers to assist them in Supporting People review and compliance issues. Kris has undertaken a lot of work on matters related to the "Valuing People" agenda. Kris has strong IT and technical skills which are geared to the needs of our sector.

kris@supportsolutions.co.uk

Alison has recently joined Support Solutions as a Consultant and Trainer and has particular expertise in Outcomes Measurement systems..

Alison is a regular contributor to The Briefing and is the author of the "Daily Living Skills Programme".

alison@supportsolutions.co.uk