10.03.2026 | Press
DCMS Minister Stephanie Peacock & MP Harpreet Uppal visit the pioneering Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership
Last week, Stephanie Peacock, Minister for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and Harpreet Uppal, MP for Huddersfield, joined participants, staff, and partners at the Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership to learn about the pioneering programme supporting adults at risk of homelessness to live independent and fulfilling lives, in their own homes.
Faced with a ‘revolving door’ of people at risk of homelessness, Kirklees Council decided to try a different approach to tackling the challenge in 2019: it brought expert organisations together to work in partnership rather than as public service siloes. Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership (KBOP) provides the time, space and opportunity to focus on wider impact and individual outcomes for each person it supports – enabling it to address the root causes of homelessness and achieve lasting change.
The Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership has helped more people, more effectively, at a lower cost per person (according to government research[1]) than the previous service. To date, it has supported approximately 7,000 individuals to improve their lives.
Minister Stephanie Peacock and Harpreet Uppal, MP, spoke to participants about their journeys: from being referred for support, to becoming peer mentors on the programme’s impactful Peer Mentor programme, to starting full-time employment.
This highly effective model of tackling complex social challenges – paying for meaningful, long-term outcomes – is the focus of the £500m Better Futures Fund announced by the Chancellor last summer, to support up to 200,000 struggling children, young people and their families over the next 10 years.
DCMS Minister Stephanie Peacock commented: “Behind every one of the 7,000 people supported here is a story of real, lasting change – testament to the dedication of everyone involved in this partnership.”
Harpreet Uppal, MP for Huddersfield, said: “I was delighted to join the Minister Stephanie Peacock in Huddersfield today as she met with local services providing specialist support to people at risk of homelessness to fulfil their potential and lead independent, fulfilling lives. It was inspiring to see the dedication of frontline teams and the genuine partnership across organisations. Above all, it was a privilege to hear directly from individuals whose lives have been transformed by this support.”
Sarah Cooke, Director of KBOP said: “It was a huge honour to be able to showcase the incredible work of our people-powered partnership today. Because we are able to move away from rigid service specifications dictating how support is delivered, and work via a model that receives funding in recognition of the outcomes and impact enabled, we can identify each person’s motivation for change and focus on that. Rebuilding lives and addressing the barriers faced through strengths-based interventions.
Many individuals we work with have experienced severe and multiple disadvantages, but they also have hopes, aspirations, goals and determination. Our vision is to listen to, enable, and empower individuals to thrive in their community.
It is wonderful that the government is increasingly backing this more effective and better value approach to public services.
The session was led by Kirsty and Asma, who represent everything KBOP stands for having utilised their skills to progress from participant, to peer mentor and onto full time roles. We’re lucky enough to now call them colleagues”
Harpreet Uppal, MP and DCMS Minister Stephanie Peacock with KBOP’s Asma and Kirsty.
