10.10. 2025
Better outcomes at lower cost: insights from Kirklees Social Outcomes partnership on person-centred support
Fresh from the GO Lab Conference in Oxford, where 400+ practitioners gathered to share what’s actually working in outcomes-based contracting, we are starting a series of articles to demystify Social Outcomes Partnerships and Contracts, because after a decade of hype and failure, we finally have enough evidence to separate what works from what doesn’t.
Person-centred support that delivers impact and value
In a 2025 report titled “Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership: Understanding the effects of person-centred service reforms in housing support”, a crucial question is raised:
How can public services most effectively support individuals facing severe and overlapping disadvantage, particularly in achieving employment and stable housing, in a manner that is both impactful and financially sound?
This question matters because traditional support mechanisms often fall short. Identifying effective and efficient approaches can profoundly improve lives while optimising public spending. Inspired by their rigorous research, this article explores the challenges, implementation, and outcomes of a person-centred support model in Kirklees, highlighting its potential to transform social service delivery.
Why rigid legacy models couldn’t meet complex needs
Historically, housing-related floating support in Kirklees was delivered under legacy “Supporting People” arrangements. These contracts were built around specified activities and fee-for-service payments. They provided oversight but were rigid, focusing on inputs rather than outcomes.
As a result, services tracked activity but rarely adapted to the holistic and individual needs of participants. People with overlapping challenges – such as unstable housing, unemployment, or health issues – were channelled into standardised pathways that didn’t reflect the reality of their lives. The system emphasised deficits over strengths, showing the need for a more flexible, person-centred approach.
A turning point: shifting from legacy models to person-centred support
The Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership (KBOP) intervention grew out of the limitations of legacy models. Launched in September 2019, it marked a strategic shift in philosophy.
By January 2020, new leadership embraced a person-centred and holistic approach, drawing on the Person-Led, Transitional and Strength-Based (PTS) framework developed by the Mayday Trust. This model is grounded in strengths-based, asset-focused principles, empowering individuals by focusing on their capabilities, ambitions, and self-defined goals.
While the original PTS framework promoted minimal professional direction, KBOP adapted it to local realities. Support workers played a more active, advisory role in housing-related challenges, ensuring acute needs were met. Practitioners were also encouraged to use their judgment – constructively challenging decisions when needed to support progress in education, training, or employment.
Evidence of impact: how KBOP strengthened employment and housing stability
The evaluation of KBOP revealed statistically significant improvements in both employment and housing stability. In terms of work, participants were 3 percentage points more likely to sustain their employment prior to joining the programme or to secure a new job within six months. They were also 5 to 6 percentage points more likely to record an employment spell in both the first and second years after intervention, with a similar increase in the likelihood of sustaining work for at least six continuous months. Although average annual earnings rose by £518 in the first year and £402 in the second, these gains were not statistically significant.
The findings were equally encouraging in the area of housing. KBOP participants were between 6 and 10 percentage points more likely to stop receiving the housing support component of Universal Credit for up to eighteen months. They were also 6 to 8 percentage points more likely to remain off this support and avoid claiming Housing Benefit during the follow-up period, indicating a more sustained independence from welfare support.
Subgroup analysis added further nuance: older participants, those with a history of disability benefits, and individuals unemployed before entering the programme experienced the greatest benefits, underscoring how a person-centred approach can adapt to different profiles of need.
Innovations that made KBOP’s person-centred model work
The KBOP model introduced a series of innovations designed to make support more personalised and effective. Central to this shift was the commitment to tailoring support around each participant’s strengths, ambitions, and goals, with no prescribed duration or frequency. In 2020, a centralised referral hub was launched to streamline access and ensure more equitable triaging across services.
Flexibility was another defining feature. Short-term triage was available for those who did not require full engagement, while other cases remained open until participants achieved their desired outcomes. To complement this, frontline workers were entrusted with discretionary funding, enabling them to respond rapidly to urgent needs such as essential goods or transport costs without waiting for formal approvals.
Finally, KBOP embedded the voices of those with lived experience directly into governance structures, creating a forum that strengthened accountability and ensured that services evolved in line with the realities of the people they were designed to support.
Better outcomes at lower cost: the financial case for KBOP
The cost-effectiveness evaluation showed that KBOP achieved better results at a lower cost per person, even though overall expenditure was higher. The programme’s total cost reached £23.2 million, compared to £17.8 million under the previous model, largely due to investments in set-up, IT systems, and evaluation. However, because KBOP reached a larger number of participants, the cost per person was significantly reduced – £3,236 compared with £4,856 under legacy arrangements, representing a 33% decrease.
The analysis also highlighted striking differences in cost per unit of outcome. For every additional £1 in earnings generated, the cost was £0.46 less than before. Each extra month of employment cost £639 less, and every reduced month of housing support cost £510 less compared to the legacy model.
Together, these findings demonstrate that strategic investment in person-centred approaches not only improves outcomes but also delivers greater efficiency, combining social impact with economic value.
Why investing in person-centred reforms delivers long-term value
The 2025 report by Patouna, De Gruyter, and Carter offers compelling evidence that person-centred, strength-based models like KBOP can drive meaningful improvements in employment and housing for people facing severe and overlapping disadvantage. While the programme required higher initial investments in design, training, and evaluation, it ultimately delivered lower costs per person and per outcome compared to traditional fee-for-service models.
The broader lesson for the public sector is clear: investing upfront in person-led reforms pays off in long-term efficiency and impact. If we know that person-centred models deliver both impact and efficiency, what’s stopping us from funding them at scale?
