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Inspection report February 2005 Supporting People Programme Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council p 2 Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council - Supporting People Programme Contents Summary 3 Scoring the service 4 Recommendations 7 Report 9 Context 9 The locality 9 The council 9 The service 10 How good is the service? 12 Summary 26 What are the prospects for improvement to the service? 27 What is the evidence of service improvement? 27 How good are the current improvement plans? 28 Will improvements be delivered? 29 Summary 31 Appendices 32 Performance indicators 32 Documents reviewed 36 Reality checks undertaken 37 List of people interviewed 37 Positive practice 38 Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council - Supporting People Programme p 3 Summary 1 The Borough of Telford and Wrekin is a unitary authority in the West Midlands of England. The population is 158,325 of which 5.2 per cent are from minority ethnic communities. 2 The Council is Labour led with 27 of the 54 seats. 3 The Council employs 2,329 equivalent full time staff across all services excluding schools. 4 ‘Supporting People’ is the Government’s long-term policy to enable local authorities to plan, commission and provide support services which help vulnerable people live independently. The programme went live on 1 April 2003. 5 The aim of the Supporting People programme is to establish a strategic, integrated policy and funding framework, delivered locally in ...
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| Publié par | Unsa |
| Nombre de lectures | 14 |
| Langue | English |
Extrait
February 2005
Supporting People Programme
Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council
p 2 Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council - Supporting People Programme Contents Summary Scoring the service Recommendations Report Context The locality The council The service How good is the service? Summary What are the prospects for improvement to the service? What is the evidence of service improvement? How good are the current improvement plans? Will improvements be delivered? Summary Appendices Performance indicators Documents reviewed Reality checks undertaken List of people interviewed Positive practice
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Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council - Supporting People Programme p 3
Summary 1The Borough of Telford and Wrekin is a unitary authority in the West Midlands of England. The population is 158,325 of which 5.2 per cent are from minority ethnic communities. 2The Council is Labour led with 27 of the 54 seats. 3The Council employs 2,329 equivalent full time staff across all services excluding schools. 4‘Supporting People’ is the Government’s long-term policy to enable local authorities to plan, commission and provide support services which help vulnerable people live independently. The programme went live on 1 April 2003. 5The aim of the Supporting People programme is to establish a strategic, integrated policy and funding framework, delivered locally in response to identified local needs, to replace the previous complex and uncoordinated arrangements for providing housing related support services for vulnerable people. 6of Telford and Wrekin Council acts as the administering localThe Borough authority for the Supporting People Programme in its area. The council works in partnership with Telford and Wrekin Primary Care Trust and West Mercia Probation Service in commissioning Supporting People services. 7The Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council was inspected in the second year of the Supporting People programme. This report therefore reflects the current context for the council as it continues to deliver the programme and focuses on determining the effectiveness of current service delivery, the value for money presented by the contracted services and the outcomes for vulnerable people. 8The total amount of Supporting People grant available to the council in 2004/05 is £4,119,195. In addition the council receives £121,155 Supporting People administration grant to fulfil its role as the administering authority. 9The highest cost Supporting People service at the time of our inspection was £561.44 per person per week for a service for people with learning disabilities and the lowest cost service was £1.85 a week for a community alarm service.
p 4 Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council - Supporting People Programme Scoring the service 10We have assessed the Borough of Telford and Wrekin council as providing a ‘fair’, one-star service that has promising prospects for improvement. Our judgements are based on the evidence obtained during the inspection and are outlined below. Scoring chart1: Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council Supporting PeopleProgramme Prospects for improvement? ‘a fair service that Poor Fair Good Excellent has promising prospects for Excellent improvement’
Promising Uncertain
A good service?
Poor 11The service is fair because there is evidence of an increase in the number of services delivered to vulnerable people in Telford and Wrekin and an improvement in the delivery of some of the services as a result of the review programme which is well established. The governance structure is working well with effective decision making and staff at key customer access points are able to effectively signpost to appropriate services. However capacity issues around staffing levels and in house expertise have resulted in delays to both administrative procedures and strategic development. Arrangements for ensuring access to Supporting People services for BME communities also remain underdeveloped and the council has not addressed the housing support needs of the BME communities or vulnerable groups such as people with HIV/Aids. Details around local eligibility criteria still need to be confirmed and value for money work needs to be developed further. Strengths Supporting People is delivering a wider range of services to the vulnerable groups that it has identified. Frontline staff are able to signpost customers towards Supporting People services where appropriate. Arrangements for fairer charging have been introduced and are linked into wider benefits realisation work. The Supporting People programme is recognised corporately as an important contributor to the council’s priorities.
1two dimensions. The horizontal axis shows how good theThe scoring chart displays performance in service or function is now, on a scale ranging from no stars for a service that is poor (at the left-hand end) to three stars for an excellent service (right-hand end). The vertical axis shows the improvement prospects of the service, also on a four-point scale.
Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council - Supporting People Programme p 5 The accountable officer for the Supporting People programme is of a sufficiently senior level to ensure the programme has a profile within the council and the profile is being further enhanced through the Beacon Status for Supporting People. The placement of Supporting People within the Resources & Business Development section of the Social Care directorate has allowed the programme to develop at arms length from related care or housing services managed elsewhere in the department. All Supporting People contracts are in place and were signed by the end of July 2003. Savings to the Supporting People budget required by the ODPM were found through negotiated decommissioning of schemes and reductions in administration charges. have received an inflationary award with reductions in contractAll providers prices achieved through negotiated reductions in the cost of individual contracts. The timetable for the service review programme has been agreed with due consideration for high cost schemes and risk and is subject to ongoing review. A process for reviewing disputed service review decisions has been agreed and published. All elected members receive regular portfolio holder briefings which have contained information on Supporting People. Weaknesses Work on preparation of the five year strategy has fallen behind schedule. Within the Supporting People programme, the needs of BME communities and vulnerable groups such as people with HIV/Aids have not been addressed at either a strategic or operational level. The council has not been effective in engaging with service users where there is no existing forum and as a result there are user groups where no appropriate forums for discussing Supporting People issues exist. There is a lack of clarity regarding procurement decisions. The administration grant is not monitored through the partnership. The approach to Value for Money needs further development. Customer information on Supporting People is poor with limited information available. This reduces the opportunities for access to potential service users. There is no local directory of Supporting People services through which potential service users could assess the full range of services available and make informed choices regarding access to appropriate services.
p 6 Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council - Supporting People Programme 12We have judged that the Supporting People programme has promising prospects for delivering further improvements. We found the following drivers for improvement in place. Drivers for improvement Partnership working is embedded in the work of the council and this extends to Supporting People. There is a strong corporate record in responding to the results of inspection. The council is prepared to supplement the administration grant in order to progress areas that are not performing well. New and re-configured services are being delivered as a result of savings in the programme. Financial management is strong with regular monitoring arrangements in place. The Single Assessment process whereby a service users health, housing and social care needs are co-ordinated and shared is about to be rolled out to encompass Supporting People. Benchmarking work with the West Midlands Regional Implementation Group has been agreed. Service reviews are delivering improvements to the housing related support delivered to service users. Barriers to improvement 13There are, however, a number of areas which are currently barriers to improvement. of the diverse needs within the Telford and WrekinA thorough understanding community has not been established to inform the debate around what should be the future priorities for service delivery. not agreed any local indicators by which it willThe Commissioning Body has measure success of the programme. Service users and providers have had a limited role in helping to shape the service through the development of the five year strategy. The Supporting people team plan is not SMART and there has been slippage against some areas of the plan. The procurement process for Supporting People does not consistently follow Best Value principles. Value for money work within the programme needs further development.
Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council - Supporting People Programme p 7 Recommendations 14To rise to the challenge of continuous improvement, organisations need inspection reports that offer practical pointers for improvement. In this context, the inspection team makes the following recommendations. Governance Ensure that the commissioning body is able to agree shared outcome focused measures of success which are then monitored through the commissioning body. Delivery arrangements Undertake a review of the Supporting People team structure with the agreed structure having the capacity to deliver the programme without the current over reliance on consultancy work. Urgently implement a recovery timetable for production of the five year strategy. Introduce clear procurement guidance for new services. With immediate effect introduce contingency plans aimed at safeguarding service users from the effects of service failure. Financial management and monitoring of the grant fairer charging in order to ensureUndertake an assessment of the take up of that all service users are aware of this policy and are accessing fairer charging assessments. Introduce monitoring of the administration grant through the core strategy group by March 2005. Service reviews and implement local eligibility criteria which have been agreedPublish through consultation with providers by March 2005. review and peer review in theExplore the potential benefits of joint completion of the service review programme with members of the West Mercia Cross Authority Group. Widen the remit of service reviews in order to encompass a full assessment of the ability and effectiveness of the service provider. Value for money Agree a methodology for the procurement of Supporting People funded services that will ensure a consistent and transparent approach that establishes cost effectiveness and value for money by March 2005. User involvement & partnerships With immediate effect commence stakeholder consultation on the draft five year strategy to enable meaningful consultation, which will influence the final strategy document, to take place. Introduce a consultation strategy by March 2005 which includes provisions to ensure that there are effective, appropriate and timely mechanisms for engaging with all groups that may require services that could be Supporting People funded.
p 8 Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council - Supporting People Programme Customer care and access to services Ensure that a local Supporting People service directory which is accessible to all stakeholders is in place by April 2005. By March 2005 undertake a comprehensive piece of work to assess take up and acceptability of existing Supporting People services by members of BME communities and take action on findings. Ensure that with immediate effect the information already available on Supporting People is on display at customer access points. Ensure that information on Supporting People is made available in community languages and in different formats by January 2005. Diversity commissioning body needs to ensure that the needs ofBy March 2005 the all vulnerable sections of the community in Telford and Wrekin have been assessed and understood with their needs used to inform development of the Supporting People programme. This includes people from BME communities; travellers, people with HIV/Aids; refugees and rough sleepers. 15We would like to thank the staff of The Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council, particularly Jo Richards and Paul Donohue, who made us welcome and who met our requests efficiently and courteously. Judith Jones, Andy Crowe, Jo Dooher Housing Inspectors Phil Green Social Services Inspector, Commission for Social Care Inspection Mary Barnish Probation Inspector, HMIP Elizabeth Leonard Service User Inspection Adviser Deborah Good Lead Housing Inspector (West Midlands) Domini Gunn - Supporting People Inspection & Assessment Co-ordinator Dates of inspection: 25 29 October 2004 Email: judith-jones@audit-commission.gov.uk d-gunn-peim@audit-commission.gov.uk For more information please contact Audit Commission Central Region First Floor, Bridge Business Park Bridge Park Road Thurmaston Leicester LE4 8BL www.audit-commission.gov.uk Telephone: 0116 250 4100 Fax: 0116 250 4101
‘© Audit Commission The official version of this report is also available on the Audit Commission's web site at audit-commission.gov.uk. Copies of this report are also available from the address above. The Audit Commission cannot verify the accuracy of and is not responsible for material contained in this report which has been reproduced by another organisation or . individual ’
Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council - Supporting People Programme p 9
Report Context 16This report has been prepared by the Audit Commission (the Commission) following an inspection under Section 10 of the Local Government Act 1999, and issued in accordance with its duty under Section 13 of the 1999 Act. The locality 17The Borough of Telford and Wrekin council is a unitary authority in the West Midlands area of England. The population of 158,325 live in 63,768 homes of which 68.8 per cent are owner occupied. 5.2 per cent of the population are from minority ethnic communities. 18of the 20 fastest growing local authority areas inTelford and Wrekin is one England with the overall population expected to increase by 8 per cent over the next ten years. The elderly population is expected to increase significantly over the same period with the number of people over 75 expected to increase by 21 per cent and the number over 85 by 29 per cent. 19In terms of deprivation, Telford and Wrekin ranks 93rd out of 354 areas of England, where one is the most deprived. Unemployment at 2.1 per cent is below the national average of 2.6 per cent. The primary source of employment is manufacturing followed by public services and the service industry. 20Geographically, the council is predominantly rural with 69 per cent of the area being classified as rural although over 84 per cent of the population live in the areas main town of Telford. The council 21The Council comprises 54 Councillors. The Labour party has overall control with 27 seats. Currently a leader and cabinet model of government supported by scrutiny committees governs the business of the council. 22The council’s overall revenue budget for the year 2004/05 is £169 million with a budget for the delivery of social services of £66 million. 23The Telford and Wrekin Strategic Partnership was formally established in May 2002 and, in addition to the council, includes partners from the statutory, private and voluntary sectors. The vision for the Borough of Telford and Wrekin is set out in the Community Strategy entitled, ‘Telford and Wrekin in the 21st Century’. 24The vision for Telford and Wrekin is of: ‘A Successful, Pros erous and Health Communit which offers a ood ualit of life for all the people of Telford and Wrekin’. 25The council’s priorities are identified in the community strategy and are: an economy that is diverse, dynamic, competitive and successful; a community that is well educated and skilled; a community that is healthy, cared for and well housed; a community that feels safe and protected; a place that is attractive, vibrant and with a high quality environment; and a strong and socially inclusive community.
p 10 Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council - Supporting People Programme 26An update of the community strategy was published in June 2003 with Supporting People featuring in a number of the key areas for action in the period 2003 to 2005. 27The assessment was based upon the Supporting People Key Lines of Enquiry and covers the following areas: governance of the programme; delivery arrangements including strategy and needs assessments; financial monitoring & management of the grant; service reviews carried out by the administering authority; value for money; user involvement, partnerships with providers & others; customer care, access to services & information; diversity; and outcomes for service users. 28There are 1,869 units of accommodation based support being funded through the Supporting People grant in Telford and Wrekin and 163 units of floating support. In addition 1,779 community alarms are funded through Supporting People. The service 29The council acts as the administering local authority for the development and delivery of the Supporting People programme in their area. 30The Supporting People programme subject to inspection is designed to meet the housing related support needs of vulnerable people. The vulnerable people included people with learning disabilities, people with mental health problems, offenders, young people at risk, women suffering domestic violence, and older people. 31Telford and Wrekin Council was inspected in the second year of the Supporting People programme. This report therefore reflects the current context for the council as it continues to deliver the programme and focuses on determining the effectiveness of current service delivery, the value for money presented by the contracted services and the outcomes for vulnerable people. 32The Borough of Telford & Wrekin has been classed as an excellent authority under the Comprehensive Performance Assessment and is subject to the ‘Supporting People Programme Grants for Excellent Authorities (England) Grant Conditions 2003’. In relation to excellent authorities the Supporting People ‘Statutory Guidance’ does not apply. 33The total amount of Supporting People grant available to the council in 2004/05 is £4,119,195. In addition the council receives £121,155 Supporting People administration grant to fulfil its role as the administering authority. 34The highest cost Supporting People service at the time of our inspection was £561.44 per person per week for a service for people with learning disabilities and the lowest cost service was £1.85 a week for a community alarm service. 35The Accountable Officer for the Supporting People programme in the council is the Head of Resources & Business Development within the Social Care directorate. 36The Supporting People team comprises the head of the Supporting People Team, a payments officer, an administrator and an administrative assistant.
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Borough of Telford and Wrekin Council - Supporting People Programme p 11
In addition to the Supporting People team other posts funded from the Supporting People administration grant are a contracts quality monitoring officer, a monitoring & review officer, a contract support officer (part funded) and an performance and information officer (part funded).
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