A FIVE-YEAR programme is being prepared to improve the quality of life and independence for vulnerable people in Darlington.

Darlington Borough Council's Supporting People Programme, to be launched in 2003, aims to improve choice of accommodation and the quality of service available.

The scheme will take in all areas of accommodation, in the public and private sectors, and residents will be able to choose where they want to live based on individual needs, rather than proximity.

Newly-appointed supporting people manager Jeanette Crompton and her assistant, Emily Munday, will lead the project, which will be linked to those being run by other authorities.

Eventually, the Darlington project will be linked with others around the country to form a national database, allowing vulnerable people more geographic mobility.

Payment for accommodation will also change, with those on housing benefit having their rent paid directly to the provider from the authority.

Ms Crompton said: "The intention is that it is going to give people a better quality of life, because they will be able to choose the type of support they live in.

"It's more about tailoring the type of support people get to their needs."

Regular reviews of these services will be carried out, identifying what needs are catered for and where, how good they are, how they can be improved and added to.