APPENDIX 19
Memorandum by the NCVO
Executive Summary
NCVO represents the interests of the voluntary sector
in England. We are actively involved in national policy development
in the areas of Welfare to Work, social exclusion and partnership
development.
This paper focuses on the role that voluntary organisations
can play in the SWFG. It examines issues of design, scope, quality
and evaluation. NCVO concludes that the establishment of a SWFG
will be an extremely complex process involving the management
of a diverse network of organisations and information sources.
The process by which this network is established and the role
and responsibilities of the Personal Adviser in maximising the
benefit to be gained from its existence are key areas to be addressed
at the levels of both policy and implementation.
Recommendations
The process of partnership development
should be addressed at an early stage in each SWFG area. Voluntary
organisations must be enabled to participate in this process.
Time should be allowed for partnerships to develop
before they are required to meet appropriate performance criteria.
Capacity building resources
should be available at an early stage of development in SWFG areas
to enable voluntary organisations to work effectively in partnership.
The relationship between Orientation Advisers
and Personal Advisers should be clarified
in each SWFG area.
A "virtual" one-stop-shop
is a more appropriate model for the SWFG than a single physical
entry point.
Performance indicators
should cover more than simple outputs and should measure performance
within specific local contexts.
Local partnership members should be consulted
on the development and implementation of performance and evaluation
criteria. Voluntary organisations are potentially key access points
for many unemployed people. These organisations' experiences must
be included in the consultation process.
NCVO
NCVO champions the cause of the voluntary sector.
It believes that the voluntary sector enriches society and needs
to be promoted and supported. NCVO works to increase the effectiveness
of the voluntary sector, identify unmet needs and encourages initiatives
to meet them. Established in 1919 as the representative body for
the voluntary sector in England, NCVO now has over 1200 members
ranging from "household" name charities to small organisations
involved in all areas of voluntary and social action.
NCVO's Interest in the Single Work-Focused Gateway
NCVO is extensively involved in Welfare to Work policy
development. It is a key representative of voluntary sector opinion.
Chief Executive, Stuart Etherington, is a member of the Advisory
Group to the Government's New Deal Task Force and NCVO staff are
members of a number of Employment Service and Home Office advisory
groups relating to the New Deals for unemployed people. NCVO has
recently published a number of policy reports on Welfare to Work,
social exclusion and partnership development more widely1,
from which much of the evidence for this submission is drawn.
Copies are available on request. As a membership-based organisation,
NCVO is continually developing policy to reflect information provided
by members. Relevant issues arising from this ongoing communication
are reflected in this submission.
1. Introduction
1.1 NCVO welcomes the introduction of the Single
Work-Focused Gateway (SWFG) as an attempt to provide intensive,
individually-focused support to unemployed people. The SWFG has
the potential to simplify the relationships between the confusing
array of institutions and services with which unemployed people
come into contact. Furthermore, we welcome the specific requirement
for four pilot SWFG areas to be led by voluntary or private sector
organisations.
1.2 NCVO believes that the involvement of voluntary
organisations in the strategic development of locally delivered
policy initiatives is critical to their success. NCVO's experience
of other government programmes, particularly the New Deal for
Communities, suggests that partnership initiatives led by voluntary
sector organisations are effective in addressing the needs of
individuals within a specific local context. They are better able
to provide independent, "joined up" access to local
services. In essence, the value that the voluntary sector adds
to services is its ability to be flexible, responsive and focused
on the needs of the individual.
1.3 This paper focuses on addressing some of the
key issues identified by the Employment Sub- Committee and Social
Security Committee from the perspective of the voluntary sector.
The main issues we consider are:
- design (including the scope of SWFG); and
- evaluation and quality.
Design
1.4 NCVO sees 4 key factors in the design of the
SWFG:
- partnership;
- location;
- the role of the Personal Adviser; and
- access to information
(i) Partnership
1.5 NCVO welcomes and promotes the current emphasis
on partnership working across government. The focus on partnership
within the design of the SWFG is thus encouraging. However, we
recognise that true partnership is difficult to achieve. Recent
practice has highlighted a number of barriers to partnership working
which may reduce the impact of policies to the extent that partnership
can fail to produce effective outcomes, in the short-term at least.
1.6 NCVO's experience of recent partnership-based
initiatives demonstrates that the process of partnership
working is critical to the outcomes that partnerships can achieve.
Specific issues of process must be addressed at an early stage.
This will be particularly true of the SWFG which, by necessity,
will be a complex network. At the very least it will involve staff
from, and the expertise of, the Benefits Agency, Employment Service,
local authority and local voluntary organisations. It will thus
involve a number of inter-related organisational and individual
relationships. This is an issue for national policy development
as much as local delivery because each SWFG will be developed
within a national policy framework which will be critical in defining
the shape, activities and, ultimately, effectiveness of the partnership.
1.7 National policy measures which could encourage
the development of effective partnership arrangements include:
- allowing time for SWFG partnerships to develop
before they are required to meet appropriate performance criteria
(see paras 2.1-2.3 below). Initially short reporting timescales
push partners away from an emphasis on the necessary primary work
of developing relationships. This is particularly important in
the SWFG because the Benefits Agency will be a new partner to
many other organisations;
- the development of evaluation criteria which
reflect the partnership process;
- making clear in the policy framework that the
evaluation of the SWFG will reflect the extent and quality of
partnership working in an area; and
- improving the capacity of partners to work together.
The voluntary sector tends to have poorer access to capacity building
resources than other sectors. A lesson from the whole range of
Welfare to Work initiatives is that the availability of capacity
building resources at an early stage of partnership development
significantly increases the chances of voluntary organisations
assuming a leadership role and, thereby, provides access to the
benefits provided by voluntary sector leadership. Capacity building
measures with particular benefits to voluntary organisations include:
— secondments between organisations;
— holding meetings at times when voluntary
sector staff can attend;
— underwriting the costs/risks of
participation; and
— providing open access to information.
1.8 In summary, the development and operation of
the SWFG will be extremely complex partnership operation which
will require much attention to be paid to joint working arrangements.
(ii) Location
1.9 NCVO welcomes the SWFG as an attempt to provide
an integrated benefit, training and employment service. However,
we question whether a single physical point of access is either
desirable or possible.
1.10 A number of young people are deeply suspicious
of the Employment Service and Benefits Agency who are often associated
with the role of policing benefit rather than providing access
to support. NCVO believes that it is important that the SWFG is
seen by clients as a welcoming, supportive and individually-focused
service. For this reason, we believe that the SWFG should be accessible
to unemployed people in familiar locations within their own community.
A number of remote access points to the SWFG should be available
in any particular area. These should all have access to the same
resources. It is likely that many such sites would be run by voluntary
organisations. It may ultimately be that this role becomes the
main form of voluntary sector involvement with the SWFG.
(iii) The Personal Adviser and Orientation Adviser
roles
1.11 The question of how the SWFG Personal Adviser
(PA) service is provided is critical. The emphasis on PAs within
the New Deal programmes has been welcomed by many, including NCVO.
However, the new responsibilities placed on ES employees in the
PA role have proved demanding and, in some cases, Advisers have
tried to fulfil too many roles, including both case manager and
specialist counsellor. The distinction between different advice,
counselling and support roles in the New Deals has often been
unclear, resulting in an inefficient service provided to the client.
1.12 The use of both a PA and an Orientation Adviser
(OA) in the SWFG creates the potential for a further blurring
of responsibilities. It is essential that the relationship between
these two roles is clarified in each SWFG area.
1.13 Voluntary organisations, with their roots in
local communities, will often provide the most appropriate PA
or OA service for the most disadvantaged people. However, there
is a danger that the compulsory nature of the SWFG will cause
the PA or OA to be seen by clients as a benefit policemen. This
may discourage voluntary organisations from performing the PA/OA
function. It will need to be made clear that the PA/OA is not
the person that assesses benefit claims or determines when sanctions
should be used.
(iv) Access to information
1.14 The use of the PA and OA roles in the SWFG,
and the need for remote points of access will create huge demands
on the information provision function. At the very least, PAs
will require access to information on benefits, local labour market
conditions, employment initiatives, counselling and social support
services, and education and training services. NCVO believes that
PAs will need to access a number of agencies to gain the information
required for many clients. At the same time, PAs and OAs will
need to hold a certain level of knowledge in order to have credibility
with the client.
1.15 PAs will require a greater awareness of local
information and advice sources than has been displayed in the
New Deals. This, in turn, will require the operation of a sophisticated
network of advice, information and support as well as open information
sharing between organisations. The involvement of many voluntary
organisations with SWFG is likely to be as specialist service
providers for individual clients and, thus, the relationship between
voluntary organisations and PAs is central to enabling clients
to access appropriate individual packages of support.
1.16 The wide range of information and support needed
by many clients further militates against the SWFG being seen
as a single physical place. The model of a "virtual"
one-stop-shop may be more appropriate.
2. Evaluation and Quality
2.1 The areas in which voluntary organisations may
be most effective in their involvement with SWFG are where problems
of unemployment and related deprivation are most acute These are
also the areas where, by definition, there are the fewest employment
opportunities. Historically, output—related funding mechanisms—which
Employment Service information indicates will be put in place
to quality control the SWFG in pilot areas—have discriminated
against such areas. Given many voluntary organisations' low levels
of financial reserves and subsequent difficulty in supporting
risk, output—related funding mechanisms are a disincentive
to voluntary sector involvement.
2.2 Also, a focus on outputs can hinder partnership
development. It draws attention away from shared objectives and
centres on control relationships. That is not to say that outputs
are not important. Indeed, evaluation of the work of partnership
is essential to its effectiveness. However, in developing relationships,
process is as important as outputs.
2.3 Therefore, evaluation criteria need to be broader
than simple outputs and to allow for evaluation of performance
within the specific local context. Local partnership members should
be consulted on the development and implementation of performance
and evaluation criteria.
3. In conclusion
3.1 The SWFG is a welcome attempt to rationalise
and simplify the interplay of benefit, training and employment
services. However, its success will rely on the effective management
of an elaborate network of organisations. Establishing this network
will be a time-intensive process, the outcome of which will have
a direct impact on the quality of the SWFG in any single area.
The policy framework must allow for the development of an effective
network and this should be reflected in the evaluation of the
SWFG.
NCVO Policy Team
April 1999
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