Memorandum from Tameside MBC (SPP 64)

Summary

Ø Government has delivered on most of the priorities of the national strategy by appointing regional champions; establishing a pathfinder to test the inclusion of SP in the Area Based Grant; updating the Quality Assessment Framework and commissioning evidence of the financial benefits of supported housing services.

Ø However, the monitoring requirements of SP funding remain onerous for small providers, and third sector organisations have serious concerns about the long-term impact of the removal of the ring fence.

Ø The impact of the removal of the ring-fence is likely to vary from authority to authority depending on the profile of SP within the authority. It may also take until 2011 for the full impact of this to be realised.

1. Introduction

 

1.1 Tameside MBC is a unitary authority. It is located in the North West region and is part of the Greater Manchester sub-region. It is assessed by the Audit Commission as a four star authority. The Supporting People team is based in Housing and Community Regeneration. Supporting People funding in 2009/10 is £7.25 million. The Audit Commission assessed the programme as an Excellent programme with Excellent Prospects for improvement in October 2007.

 

2. Delivering the priorities in the national strategy

 

2.1 Keeping people that need services at the heart of the programme: in Tameside we have striven to meet this objective by:

 

Ø Involving service users and potential service users in the development of specifications for new services. For example during 2008 we re-tendered the Community Response Service for older people and other vulnerable groups. We consulted with service users about the new service by a written questionnaire and by focus groups. This resulted in us designing a service that is able to provide two tiers of support on a flexible basis, depending on peoples needs. So that more support may be provided for a short period following a crisis such as a fall or a bereavement, or a change such as hospital discharge. In addition it resulted in us extending the eligibility for Supporting People funding to include those in receipt of Council Tax Benefit and Pension Credit. A potential service user was also involved in the assessment of tenders and the selection of the successful provider.

 

Ø Involving service users in the assessment of the quality of services: we have trained service users and carers to accompany the SP team on visits to services. The service users and carers are involved in interviewing service users about the quality of services they receive and assessing the standard of the living environment (where relevant).

 

Ø We propose to pool SP funding for people in receipt of Care and Support services with Adult Services in 2010, as part of the development of the personalisation of services.

Ø Tameside does not operate local connection rules on access to SP funded services. In 2008/9 23% of service users moving into short term services were from outside of Tameside.

 

2.2 Enhancing partnership with the Third Sector; good relationships with the Third Sector are maintained in Tameside by:

 

Ø Representation of the Third Sector Coalition on the SP Commissioning Group

 

Ø Joint work with the Third Sector Coalition on ensuring providers are prepared for tendering processes and for personalisation by organising briefing days and training

 

Ø Chair of the SP Provider Forum is a member of the SP Commissioning Group

 

Ø A provider led Continuous Improvement Group works with the SP team to ensure that providers have access to mutual support and appropriate training.

 

Ø An SP provider, NACRO chairs the Tameside Training Consortium which provides high quality training for council staff and for staff in partner agencies

 

Ø Third Sector organisations remain nervous about the impact of the removal of the ring fence on SP funding, particularly in the context of the current international financial downturn, and that enabling supported housing services is not a statutory requirement.

 

2.3 Delivering in the new Local Government landscape:

 

Ø Both SP National Indicators (NI 141 and 142) are included in Tameside's Local Area Agreement

 

Ø Tameside was one of the Pathfinder authorities that tested the inclusion of SP in the Area Based Grant in 2008/9 (see below for information about our experience of this)

 

Ø Tameside is a member of the NW Regional Supported Housing Strategy Group, this group is integrated into regional structures and is developing a regional strategic framework for supported housing that complements the regional housing strategy.

 

2.4 Increasing efficiency and reducing bureaucracy:

 

2.4.1 Cap Gemini work on the financial benefits of the Supporting People programme demonstrates the efficiency of the programme in achieving value for money for example by contributing to reducing re-offending, or delaying the need for older people to enter residential care.

 

2.4.2 The programme remains relatively bureaucratic in its demands on service providers with requirements for the submission of quarterly workbooks, self-assessment against the Quality Assessment Framework, client record forms and outcome returns. These requirements benefit us in determining the outcomes of the programme, however they disproportionately impact on small providers.

 

3. Impact of the removal of the ring fence: experience of being a Pathfinder

 

3.1 Tameside was one of the Pathfinder authorities during 2008/9 so we have had the opportunity to test out arrangements during this period. Below is an extract of a report I prepared for the Tameside Strategic Partnership on being a pathfinder:

 

3.2 In March 2008 the Tameside Strategic Partnership agreed that during its participation in the Pathfinder, Tameside would

 

· Retain the existing governance structures, i.e. the Supporting People Commissioning Body in its current role to oversee the Supporting Programme during the Pathfinder period

· Maintain the existing contractual obligations to services funded via the Supporting People programme grant;

· Receive reports on the operation and outcomes of the SP programme at Strategic Partnership meetings;

· Receive reports on the progress of the Pathfinder in other authorities;

· Include NI 141 and NI 142 in its selection of 35 priority performance indicators.

 

3.3 The rationale for retaining the existing governance structures was the outstanding success of the Supporting People programme in Tameside up to that point as verified by the Audit Commission report.

 

3.4 Tameside was constrained in its ability to utilise the flexibility in funding services afforded by involvement in the Pathfinder. The relatively late timing (December 2007) of the invitation to participate meant that Tameside had already confirmed contract values for 2008/9 in writing to all providers. The small programme grant was almost fully allocated against three-year contracts and a commitment to pay inflation.

3.5 With regard to eligibility for funding Tameside already enjoyed Excellent status and so was able to use Supporting People funding for "welfare services". The Commissioning Body agreed that Supporting People funding would continue to be used for housing support services except where the Commissioning Body assessed that there would be a benefit to Tameside MBC and its strategic partners.

 

3.6 During the pilot period Tameside used the flexibility to jointly fund a new Family Intervention Project providing intensive support to families, including children that are at risk of eviction or homelessness due to anti-social behaviour. Tameside Commissioning Body also approved a tenancy support and compliance service targeted at high-risk offenders, e.g. those subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements or Prolific and Priority Offenders.

 

3.6 Tameside has also agreed variations to existing services as an outcome of the review process. A tenancy support service for young and teenage parents is providing housing advice clinics in partnership with Connexions and the Housing Options Centre at the teenage parents antenatal clinic and a young persons drop in centre. A tenancy support service for people with physical and sensory disabilities includes a part SP funded occupational therapist and is linked to a Disability Housing Register.

 

3.7 Tameside re-tendered its Community Response Service during this period and the new specification extends the passport for Supporting People funding to include people in receipt of Council Tax Benefit and Pension Credit.

 

3.8 At the end of the year 2008/9 our providers performance against the NIS is among the best in the North West. They have achieved 88% on NI 141 and 98.87% on NI 142.

4. Ensuring the successes of the programme are maintained

 

4.1 CLG are putting in place some elements to ensure the successes of the programme are maintained, these include a revised Quality Assessment Framework and the development of a toolkit to enable local areas to assess the financial benefits of supported housing services.

 

4.2 The role of the QAF in improving quality in service delivery, particularly in those services that had previously not been subject to any scrutiny, has been crucial. In Greater Manchester SP teams are developing a joint approach to using the revised QAF to ensure that this key element of the programme to date continues and to ensure a consistent approach across the sub-region.

 

4.3 The North West needs model (commissioned by 4NW) shows a high current and predicted future level of unmet need in the region for supported housing services, particularly for those service users identified as at risk of social exclusion. It is likely that the current recession will see an increase in the demand for supported housing services.

 

4.4 One of the greatest risks to the continuing success of supported housing would seem to be the combined impacts of economic recession and potential reductions in public sector funding in 2011.

 

May 2009