Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of support that helps older people continue living in their own homes for as long as they wish to.

Design/methodology/approach
– The research made use of a participatory approach in which service users, service providers and commissioners were involved in the design of the approach in addition to contributing to the research as participants in their own right.

Findings
– This paper presents analysis from the research which focuses on the importance of caring relationships for providing a support mechanism. The authors question whether budget cuts and efficiency drives within statutory care providers preclude the notion of caring relationships.

Practical implications
– The authors suggest, in the light of the evidence presented, that statutory service providers should acknowledge the role that caring relationships play in providing support for older people. Whilst budget cuts make providing support for caring relationships more challenging, the authors suggest that there is scope for delivering services and support in ways which promote the types of interactions which better support older people living independently.

Originality/value
– The analysis presented here provides a distinctive, timely and thoughtful insight into support for older people at a time when public sector budgets are under increasing pressure.