AGENDA ITEM NO.10
REPORT TO: Executive Board
REPORT NO: HHPP/118/11
DATE: 13 December 2011
LEAD MEMBER: Councillor Joan Lowe
(Social Care and Health)
LEAD OFFICER: Head of Housing and Public Protection Service
CONTACT OFFICER: Robert Loudon (Tel 315521)
SUBJECT: WG Consultation on Supporting People Programme Guidance
WARD: N/A
1. PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
To seek Member approval to the draft response on the Welsh Government’s (WG) Consultation Guidance on the future delivery of the Supporting People programme in Wales.
2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2.1 Following the review of the Supporting People programme in Wales in November 2010, revised guidance from the WG on how the programme will run in the future has been issued on Friday 11 November for a six week consultation.
2.2 The key changes proposed within the Guidance are the introduction of a single funding stream payable to Local Authorities as a ring fenced grant to replace the current two; the re-distribution of Supporting People funding across Wales which early modelling suggested may result in a 20% cut in the Wrexham budget over 3-5 years and the introduction of new governance arrangements through the Supporting People National Advisory Board and Regional Collaborative Committees (RCC). Their job will be to oversee the work of Local Authority teams.
2.3 The potential impact of some of the changes around governance is difficult to assess as the chapter on the relationship between the proposed Regional Collaborative Committee and the Local Authorities is confusing. The new arrangements will require more reports to be produced for the RCC and may lead to micro management by the RCC. It is unclear as to how much local control there will be over how Wrexham’s Supporting People budget will be spent.
2.4 There may also be some risk that any future underspends on Wrexham’s budget could either be clawed back by the WG or spent on regional initiatives by the RCC.
2.5 There are many aspects of the guidance that require further work and clarification. There is concern that a failure to resolve these issues will create significant problems and additional workload following the planned introduction of the new arrangements in April 2012.
3. RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1 That Members approve the draft response to the Welsh Government contained at Appendix 2.
3.2 That this item be dealt with as a matter of urgency in accordance with Standing Order 43 (1) of the Council’s Standing Orders.
REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
The WG have issued guidance on the management of the Supporting People programme in Wales and invited Local Authorities to respond with their views by 23 December 2011.
Andy Lewis
Head of Housing and Public Protection
4. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Supporting People Programme
4.1 Supporting People is the national funding framework established in 2003 to deliver housing related support services to vulnerable people living in the community. The Supporting People team in Wrexham is responsible for a budget and funds a range of housing support services through contracts across a range of vulnerable groups:
· People experiencing Domestic Abuse
· People with Learning Disabilities
· People with Mental Health Problems
· People suffering from Alcohol Dependency
· People suffering from Drug dependency
· Refugees
· People with a Physical Disability/Sensory Impairment
· Young Single Homeless/Young Care Leavers
· Ex-Offenders
· Homeless/Potentially Homeless
· People with Chronic Illness (including HIV)
· Vulnerable Single Parents
· Older People
· Black / Minority Ethnic (including Gypsies and Travellers)
4.2 The programme aims to improve the independence, choice and quality of life of vulnerable people. This will promote their health and social well-being and help create sustainable, cohesive and safe communities. Good targeted housing support will for example:
· Reduce offending, anti-social behaviour and improve communities
· Improve rent receipts for the Housing Service
· Reduce homelessness and the consequences of homelessness
· Keep people at home rather than having to move into residential care
· Reduce the problems associated with substance misuse in our community
4.3 There are presently two funding streams for the Supporting People programme in Wales. The WG funds Authorities through Supporting People Grant (SPG) to finance eligible community care and older people’s services. It also funds providers directly through Supporting People Revenue Grant (SPRG) to deliver housing support to other client groups such as the homeless, substance misusers or women fleeing domestic violence. There is around £4.8 million coming directly to the Council’s Supporting People Team as a ring-fenced grant (SPG) and a further £1.5 million currently paid directly to certain providers of SPRG funded services in the Borough.
4.4 The Council’s Supporting People Team reports to the Wrexham Supporting People Planning Group, which meets regularly to monitor the delivery of the Supporting People Programme and consider the development of new priorities. In addition to Council representatives the Group includes Officers from the North Wales Probation Service, the Local Health Board and the Voluntary Sector.
Background to the Guidance
4.5 The WG commissioned an independent review of the Supporting People programme. The report by Sir Mansell Aylward was published in November 2010 and made 25 recommendations (these are listed at appendix 1). The WG subsequently accepted all the recommendations and initiated 3 multi agency Workstream groups to identify how the recommendations would be implemented. These Workstream groups have included WLGA officials and Supporting People lead officers alongside providers and WG officials and have been meeting since April to work through the report’s recommendations.
4.6 Alongside this work the WG has stated for some years that it would re-distribute the Supporting People budget across Wales to ensure a more equal distribution across the 22 Local Authorities. The review recommended a methodology by which this could be done and one of the Workstream groups has been looking at how and when this methodology could be introduced.
4.7 It is planned that the changes identified in the Consultation Guidance will come into effect from April 2012.
Key Elements of the Guidance
4.8 The Guidance covers all aspects of the delivery and governance of the Supporting People programme, including:
· Governance
· Commissioning and pricing
· Re-Distribution of Supporting People Grant across Wales
· Charging
· Eligibility
· Accreditation
· Reviewing and Monitoring
4.9 The key changes that would take place if the Guidance is implemented as outlined are as follows:
· From April 2012 for all Supporting People funding to be paid as a single ring-fenced grant to Local Authorities
· For the re-distribution of the Supporting People budget to commence in April 2012
· For the establishment of new governance arrangements including the establishment of Regional Collaborative Committees (RCC) and a Supporting People National Advisory Board (SPNAB) chaired by the Minister.
Funding Re-Distribution
4.10 There is no detail in the guidance on the size of cut Wrexham will incur or on the length of any phasing in. This is to be determined by the Minister. Also the re-distribution methodology and timeframe is not being consulted on. It is possible that Supporting People funding in Wrexham could be cut by around 20% in cash terms, commencing in 2012/13 with a ceiling on the cut of 3% to 5% per year and phasing in over 3-5 years. This would result in the overall pot for Supporting People services in Wrexham shrinking from around £6.3 million to £5 million. This cut has been anticipated for some time and work is underway as to how this cut will be managed.
Governance Changes
4.11 The WG have introduced two new bodies to ensure that the new single Supporting People budget is managed appropriately by Local Authorities. The SPNAB will be a multi agency group chaired by the Minister, with Local Government representation alongside provider and independent representatives.
4.12 There will be 6 RCC’s including one covering the 6 North Wales Authorities. The representation will again be multi-agency. The Guidance identifies that Local Authority teams will continue to identify local needs and plans and continue to work through local democratic processes; however these plans and the work of local teams will be overseen by the RCC. The RCC will seek to identify scope for regional collaboration and priorities. The new governance arrangements are also not being consulted on.
4.13 There is a degree of confusion as to the roles of the RCC and Local Authority Supporting People teams and how it will work in the future. It is unclear as to whether the RCC will direct the work of local teams or whether the work of local teams will help develop any potential regional collaborations and proposals.
4.14 It is possible that there may be less control over how Local Authorities manage the new Supporting People Grant and what they can do with any underspends as the guidance identifies that underspends could either be clawed back by the WG in future or diverted to funding regional projects. Up until now the WG have allowed any grant underspends to be carried forward year on year.
5. CONSULTATION
5.1 A consultation event has taken place with local Supporting People providers. Further consultations will take place regionally and nationally over the coming weeks with the WG and providers.
6. SCRUTINY COMMITTEE COMMENTS
6.1 A report was taken to SAHHSC on 9 November 2011. At that point the guidance had not been issued by the WG. However the committee made the following points which have been reflected in the draft response to the WG:
· Disquiet regarding the process for consultation. Concerns were voiced regarding the lack of time for meaningful consultation and the difficulty for the Committee to make comments when the final consultation document was not yet available.
· Members were unconvinced that the role of the RCC was necessary and commented that this would be likely to result in further bureaucracy.
· Concern was expressed at the proposal only one RCC to cover North Wales given that all local authorities would have differing needs.
· Concern that control over financing of projects could be removed from the local authority as a result of the formation of RCCs.
· Uncertainty regarding the role of the elected Member and local authority under the new governance arrangements.
· Concern expressed regarding potential conflicts of interest arising from the membership of the RCCs
· The proposed redistribution of funding around Wales was to the detriment of people of Wrexham and would advantage other areas. Concerns expressed regarding the rising unmet need in the face of proposed funding cuts and the impact of the changes to the financing of the programme on vulnerable client groups. It was felt that funding redistribution should be based on growth.
· Authorities should be allowed to locally retain and manage justified underspends.
· Members were in support of the proposal to ringfence funding.
· Members were in support of the proposal to move to a single unified funding stream.
· The Lead Member (Social Care and Health) echoed the concerns of the Committee.
7. IMPLICATIONS
7.1 Policy Framework: The Supporting People programme contributes to
Wrexham’s Community Strategy and Corporate priorities, as well as to
major strategic plans such as the Health, Social Care and Well-Being
and Local Housing strategies. Loss of control over the allocation of
budget and the proposed budget cut would impact on our ability to
support these major programmes and strategies.
7.2 Budget: A possible cut of 20% in Supporting People funding over 3-5 years. Work is underway in addressing this. In addition within the Guidance there may be two risks to Wrexham’s Supporting People budget under the new proposed arrangements. Firstly it may be that the RCC will have some control over the budget and secondly there is now a requirement to notify the WG on any grant underspends, whereas in previous years grant underspend could be carried forward by the authority, this may be less likely in the future.
7.3 Legal: None
7.4 Staffing: None at present, although the future governance arrangements and budget cuts may have staffing implications in the future.
7.5 Equalities/Diversity: The WG will carry out a full impact assessment following the consultation process.
BACKGROUND PAPERS / LOCATION / WEBSITE INFO.Welsh Government Consultation Document-“Supporting People Programme Guidance” / Copy in Members Lounge and on WG Website / http://wales.gov.uk/consultations/housingcommunity/supportingpeopleguidance/?lang=en
Appendix 1
Supporting People Review recommendations- November 2010
1. The current funding streams require urgent revision. The Supporting People Grant (SPG) and the Supporting People Revenue Grant (SPRG) should be brought together to constitute a single, unified Supporting People Programme Grant (SPPG).
2. It is recommended that the SPPG is allocated to Local Authorities outside the Revenue Support Grant (RSG), ring-fenced and used solely to fund support-services, projects and programmes to meet the needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable people within the context of the Supporting People Programme for whom that programme is intended to support. Arrangements analogous to “Indicator Based Assessments” should be explored to establish robust mechanisms for this allocation of the SPPG.
3. Administration of the allocated portion of the SPPG to each Local Authority should be undertaken by a collaborative, multisectorial committee duly constituted to include representatives of the Local Authority, housing related services, probation service, providers of supporting people services, public health, Local Health Board and independent members. The overriding purpose of the committee shall be a collaborative approach to the administration, commissioning, procurement, quality assurance, local regulation and oversight of services, projects and programmes with an abiding emphasis on co-design and co-production and the securing of tangible outcomes, their assessment and evaluation.
4. It is recommended that this collaborative arrangement could well form a subcommittee of the relevant Local Service Board.
5. It is recommended that the collaborative arrangement would be best placed for developing short, medium and long-term service planning that is more effective and unified. A culture could thereby be engendered to ensure that leadership and engagement are encouraged, that the voice of the citizen is heard and that allocated funds are used solely to meet the needs of those people for whom the Supporting People Programme is intended to support.