'Housemates schemes' can cut living costs, Knight suggests. (17 March, Pavilion/Paradigm, London).

New funding arrangements for supported living will allow organisations providing care to be more creative in their approach. the conference heard.

Jayne Knight. chief executive of the Ling Trust, an Essex-based supported living organisation, said that supported living could be a much cheaper option than residential accommodation, as well as giving a better quality of life to the person with a learning disability.

The new supporting people grants will mean reviews will need to be carried out of each client's support package. Factors such as utilisation levels of the service, service availability and staffing levels will be crucial, said Ms Knight.

'The support plans should be based on an up-to-date assessment of their need and should be drawn up with the full cooperation of the client,' she said.

Providers should examine, for example. whether a 'housemates scheme' would be a better option than sleep-in support. taking into consideration that the average cost of a sleep-in support worker is [pounds]40 a night. or [pounds sterling]280 a week.

'This can work out at around [pounds sterling]145,000 a year for ten people, which is very costly and it is worth reviewing all people with sleep-in support to see if a housemates scheme could be an alternative. said Ms Knight.

Under the housemates scheme, lay people. such as students and nurses, are offered free accommodation for living on-site with people with learning disabilities.

Another area where money could be spent is in providing new technology for services such as internet banking or home shopping. she said.

'When I've spoken to them, many people with learning disabilities say they do not particularly enjoy queueing in the bank or going to the supermarket. so this is an area where we could be spending the funds more creatively.' said Ms Knight.

The emphasis should be on the personal requirements of the service user. Ms Knight cited the case of a man with bipolar disorder and autism, who had been living in secure accommodation at a cost of around [pounds sterling]170,000 a year.

Once his case was reviewed and it was deemed safe for him to live independently. he was given a certain amount of support a week, at a cost of around [pounds sterling]15,000 a year. This met his needs and his personal preference much more satisfactorily. Ms Knight added.

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