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SSNW eNews No 5 January 2001
Page 1
For the year 2001…
Health and Finance are the top issues
There is no doubt of the two key challenges facing social services authorities in the North West as we start the
New Year - our partnership with the NHS and the budgetary challenges both this financial year and next.
The key interface with the NHS will continue to command our attention with the publication in the week before Christmas
of a flurry of Government 'must-do's'. See Page 2 for more
And our survey of member authorities in December revealed that, despite a generous local government settlement,
there were continuing concerns about needs and budgets. See Page 3 for more.
Website century!
Since the update on 2 January 2001, over 100 pages of information now available! Revisit every Monday morning for
the very latest news and info!
log on to www.ssnw.org.uk
Raising the profile of disability
Star presentation at the 15 December meeting of Social Services North West in Blackpool was made by Kate Smyth,
on her new research report for the North West Regional Assembly, Committed to Inclusion: Accepting the Challenge
In the North West Region, Kate said, there are 858,000 of working age as well as many elderly people with varying
degrees of disability. 49% of those of working age are in receipt of benefits and not in work.
Her report looked at six areas:
Housing
Education and Training
Health and Social Care
Transport and Infrastructure
The Economy and employment
Overarching issues
A few of the many key findings were:
- A lack of understanding that disability is not just about mobility problems
- People with disabilities have a very low profile, with few occupying senior or public positions
- Few public sector meetings have proper facilities for people with disabilities
- Health and social care is too illness based in its focus with far too little quality of life concern
- A great deal more flexibility is needed, with more disabled people in the health and social care workforce, along with a greater understanding on the part of frontline staff.
Kate's report had been launched that week and received the backing of the North West Regional Assembly, and
Social Services North West pledged to study the report and support its implementation.
To obtain a copy of the full report, contact Elaine at the Social Services North West office - 01772 262452, or
email ssnw@btinternet.com
Page 2
Making NHS Partnership a Reality
Working with the NHS
Social Services North West has warmly welcomed the NHS Plan, and its commitment to equal partnership between health
and social services in delivering the integrated care that people need. Members and officers are working hard on
these issues in their authorities, and the 15 December meeting in Blackpool heard of the further actions being
taken by Social Services North West to support them in this task.
Minister of State John Hutton wrote in reply to the Chairs's letter of 28 June, which had expressed concern about
the NHS Confederation's proposals that the NHS should take over the commissioning of social as well as health care
for older people. The reply sets out the NHS Plan's visions for the development of Care Trusts:
"As outlined in the NHS Plan, our vision for a local Care Trust is that by agreement with the relevant local council, these single multi-purpose bodies will be able to commission all community care services for older people and perhaps for those with mental health problems. We will issue new statutory regulations setting out the governance arrangements of Care Trusts to ensure a better balance between health and social care partners."
Member authorities had agreed at the October meeting to:
· In a spirit of partnership with the NHS, continue urging that we are treated as equals in the single health and social care system, regionally and locally
· urge a recognition that the welcome additional Government resources should be allocated with the total health and social care system in mind
· reject enforced organisational change as a route to integrating health and social care
· press for a joint approach in key areas such as mental health and intermediate care
Conference
To further our own understanding of the issues, it was agreed to hold a conference in January 2001 for members,
Directors and relevant senior officers. This has now been arranged for 18 January at the Reebok Stadium Bolton,
with a strong and varied line-up of speakers. It was decided to extend invitations to the conference to colleagues
in health organisations. See back page for details
Regional Summit
Following the very positive meeting with the Regional Chair of the NHS Executive North West in July 2000, it is
pleasing to report that her officers have instigated a follow-up meeting, to take place in Bolton Town Hall on
6 February 2001. Agenda items already identified include updates on issues such as reconfiguration of NHS organisations,
mental health, continuing/intermediate care, performance assessment and resource allocation. Members also decided
that a trawl of the current state of health/social care partnerships locally should be undertaken before the meeting,
so that SSNW delegates are aware of the current position.
NHS Modernisation
In the week before Christmas, two weighty documents emerged about the implementation of the NHS Plan. The main
programme is supplemented by a specific document: 'Planning for Health and Social Care'. There is concern that
the Government's sharp focus on the NHS may tend to cause the partnership with local authorities to be marginalised,
or harnessed only to the specific objectives in the Implementation Plan.
Meantime, NHS Regional Director Robert Tinston has announced the formation of a North West Modernisation Advisory
Board, and other arrangements for carrying forward the implementation of the NHS Plan within our region. Social
Services North West has protested that, so far, only two of the Board's 34 members are from social care, and that
the NHS / social care interface features little in the work programme. We will continue to work with NHS colleagues
locally and regionally to ensure that equal partnership between health and social care completes its transition
from rhetoric to reality.
Page 3
Matching Resources and Needs
Key Service and Financial Pressures
This was the title of a survey undertaken jointly during the Autumn with ADSS North West. It revealed some startling
figures from the 21 North West authorities about the gap between local needs for social care and the resources
available. Our regional findings bore a striking resemblance to the findings of an ADSS national survey. Finally,
when the 2001/02 financial settlement for local authorities was announced, we undertook another quick trawl of
member authorities for their reaction. All these matters were reported to the SSNW meeting on 15 December.
Key points from the first North West survey included:
- 18 authorities are spending above their Standard Spending Assessment for social services, ranging from 0.6% above SSA to 26.58% the average being 9%.
- A majority - 11- overspent their budgets in 1999-2000: 15 overspent on their children's services and 8 on their adult services.
- There is a high risk of overspending in many authorities in the current year, with 16 continuing to overspend on children's services.
- 9 authorities are expecting to experience problems with delayed discharges.
- 20 authorities report having to alter the way they work to meet budget pressures by such means as the tightening of eligibility criteria.
- As previously reported to SSNW, Specific Grants create complications within the corporate process and can subject mainstream budgets to increased pressure. The long term future of services funded by these grants is source of real concern
- The efficiency gains expected by the Department of Health, Best Value and local authority corporate processes are placing heavy demands on capacity to maintain services.
National Picture
The ADSS national survey, based on 71 responses from 150 authorities, found:
- the average mid-year budget over-commitment is
2.1% (ranging up to 7.5%), necessitating tough remedial action in 12 authorities, which impacted most on children's services; also on those for older people and people with disabilities
- The major overcommitment is in children's services
- Comparing the position with 12 months ago, 72% of authorities said it was worse, and 68% expected worse for next year.
The 2001/02 Financial Settlement
Following the announcement of the 2001/02 settlement, we undertook a further survey of our members. We acknowledged
the above-inflation increase for local government generally, specific extra resources for social services, and
a 'floor' to the loss of grant in authorities experiencing falls in SSA. Despite these, the difficulties in many
authorities will persist into next year.
Members are also particularly concerned that the precise impact on resources cannot be quantified clearly until
more information is available about specific grants (for instance leaving care and independence) and the conditions
attached. The extra £100m for winter pressures is most welcome, but the uncertainty about the funding situation
beyond 2002 remains a matter of concern. When it comes to meeting increased need and maintaining innovative and
successful schemes, this lack of clarity impedes the planning process. The details of planned changes to charging
regimes, eg preserved rights changes, statutory guidance on home care charges, implications of 'free' nursing care,
are also still unknown.
Members resolved to write to Ministers John Hutton and Hilary Armstrong to express these concerns, and also to
contact SIGOMA, the special interest group within LGA which represents many Northern urban authorities. Already
our full survey findings have been supplied to SIGOMA, who took them to London for a meeting with Ministers.
For full details of our survey results, log on to www.ssnw.org.uk
Page 4 News from Blackpool
More from the SSNW meeting on 15 December
As well as the key issues of disability, health and finance, considered on earlier pages, Social Services North
West took decisions on other issues including:
*The LGA is to be thanked for sending representatives to our meeting in October, and asked to make a return visit next year
*The contract of SSNW Co-ordinator Peter Hewitt is to be extended to 31 July 2001, with a report to the March meeting about longer-term staffing arrangements
*TOPSS England's North West Regional Training Forum will be serviced by SSNW at least until March 2001, and Councillor Jim Middleton (Tameside) will represent SSNW on the Forum
*A comprehensive review of the regional role in promoting good practice in foster care will be undertaken, jointly with ADSS NW. Meantime, for a final year, a set of rates for boarding out allowances has been recommended to those authorities still relying on them
*A further conference will be held in the Spring on Performance Assessment and Quality issues, and joint work established with an officer group
*Vice Chair Brian Strett (Wigan) will represent SSNW on the North West Health Partnership, which meets under the auspices of the North West Development Agency
*Members noted reports on the current conference programme and on the accommodation of asylum seekers in the North West
The full text of the reports and minutes of the 15 December meeting can be found on our website:
www.ssnw.org.uk , updated every Monday morning!
- and our next conference
SOCIAL CARE AND THE NHS PLAN
equal partnership in serving people and communities
Thursday 18 January 2001 - Reebok Stadium, Bolton
Social Services North West has welcomed the NHS Plan as the most fundamental reform of health and related services
for over fifty years. Achieving the vision of an integrated approach to health and social needs is not going to
be easy, and there are further challenges: to focus on the needs of users and their carers and to link to the related
agendas of regeneration, social inclusion and sustainable development.
This conference brings together experts and champions of these issues to engage with members and officers from
North West authorities. Presentations will include:
MODERNISING SOCIAL SERVICES AND HEALTH -
Six months on from the NHS Plan
Professor Gerald Wistow, Nuffield Institute for Health, University of Leeds
IMPLEMENTING THE NHS PLAN IN THE NORTH WEST
Peter Rowe, North West Regional Office,
NHS Executive,
MENTAL HEALTH: NEW PLANS AND NEW PARTNERSHIPS
Peter Clarke, Director of the North West Mental Health Development Centre and colleagues
INVESTING FOR BETTER HEALTH
Kath Reade, Chair of East Lancashire Health
Authority and a member of the North West Development Agency
Book now for this flagship conference by phoning 01772 262451 or emailing us on ssnw@btinternet.com
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