A £20 million a year Bradford Council programme is failing to meet the housing needs of vulnerable people for the second year in a row, according to a Government spending watchdog.

The Supporting People scheme has again been awarded zero stars out of a possible three following another independent inspection.

The critical Audit Commission report also states the programme's prospects for improvement have dropped from "uncertain" to "poor".

While there has been improved performance and quality in some services, there has been a lack of strong leadership and direction which has delayed the review of services needed by vulnerable people, says the report.

It highlights weaknesses in how the Government grant is managed - but there is no criticism of the services now being delivered. It goes on to say there were some indications of future improvement with a very recent impetus to rapidly progress the programme.

Supporting People helps approximately 9,000 across the district to live independently, including older people, people with disabilities, homeless families, women fleeing domestic violence, people with mental health needs, young people leaving care, people with HIV, offenders and travellers.

Yvonne Davies, the Audit Commission head of housing in the north, said: "The Council has made very slow progress in delivering improvements to the Supporting People programme. Our January 2006 report included a range of recommendations for improvement and it is very disappointing that so many of these have not yet been implemented. The programme has suffered from a lack of vision; slow progress in identifying the needs of service users and subsequent re-alignment of services as well as poor governance and leadership.

"However, there have been some improvements to individual services that users will have benefited from. Bradford Council has responded positively to the report and we have already begun support work with it to ensure improvements are delivered within 12 months."

The Council has drawn up an action plan which has seen the responsibility for the programme transferred from the Council's housing services department to adult services.

It also includes: a robust project management; more resources; advice and support from external Supporting People experts; and arrangements to brief councillors, service providers and user representatives.

Councillor Dale Smith, executive member for adult services, said: "We are absolutely determined to ensure we improve how the Supporting People programme is administered. However it must be stressed that the inspection does not criticise the services provided by individual organisations.

"We have drawn up a detailed plan to ensure we make progress and will closely monitor our improvement.

"Relocating the service into Adult Services and the welcome and significant support that has been offered by the Government will see a dramatic change in performance."

The Audit Commission will return in 18 months to inspect the service again.

e-mail: jo.winrow @bradford.newsquest.co.uk