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| SSNW eNews No 6 March 2001 |
Interactive edition: Click on the links to go straight to the full story |
Page 1
Making our mark
Plenty of evidence in the last three months that Social Service North West is making its presence felt on the regional and national stage.
We held our best-attended conference yet in January at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton on Social Care and the NHS Plan, with 80 members, officers and health colleagues present, and another valuable meeting with Regional Chair Joan Higgins of the NHS Executive North West. See Page 2 for more.
We received detailed replies from two ministers to our financial concerns. See Page 3 for more.
And our views are increasingly sought after, by the LGA, the North West Development Agency and the North West Regional Assembly. See Page 4
All there on the web!
All the news of Social Services North West, and most of our reports and papers, can be found on our website, updated each Monday morning. Log on to www.ssnw.org.uk
It’s TOPSS!
The TOPSS England North West Regional Training Forum, administered by Social Services North West, held its second meeting in January 2001, in Liverpool.
Over 20 representatives of employers and trainers from the statutory, voluntary and private sectors, together with representatives of educational and service user interests, came together to hear from TOPSS England managers about what is expected of the Regional Forum.
The Forum has to produce a Regional Workforce Development Plan, by collecting workforce information from across the region, setting regional targets and identifying funding. Following this, regional commissioning and monitoring processes will be necessary. This work must be backed by effective working arrangements for the Forum itself, and for Communications and Promotion.
Chair Vic Citarella proposed that the Forum set up a working group of members to begin the tasks of data collection, beginning with a full database of social care employers in the North West, for communication and planning purposes. Another group will begin to plan the operational strategy for the Forum, and its partnerships with related organisations.
Both these groups have met and begun their work, and compilation of the database is well under way.
The Forum is anxious to promote communication and partnership with all social care employers and the many organisations with related tasks. The Forum's website, hosted by SSNWeb, will play a key part in this.
Click here for information and current papers on TOPSS England North West Regional Training Forum
Click here for a report of the January meeting of the Regional Training Forum
Click here for the minutes of the January meeting of the Regional Training Forum
Page 2 - Working at the Health interface
Reebok conference
"SOCIAL CARE AND THE NHS PLAN - equal partnership in serving people and communities" was the title of our flagship conference held on Thursday 18 January at the Reebok, Bolton.
Professor Gerald Wistow, Director of the Nuffield Institute for Health, University of Leeds reviewed the key elements of public sector modernisation, with particular reference to local government and the NHS. He asserted the wider role of social services in empowering vulnerable people, mobilising community resources, and promoting holistic governance to meet the holistic needs of individuals in their communities. He identified events still to come and issues still to play for.
Peter Rowe, Director of Primary and Community Care, NHS Executive NW, spoke about implementing the NHS Plan in the North West, under four main headings: the vision; structural changes; the modernisation architecture; and targets for 2001. He concluded that there was a massive change agenda and the pace is accelerating. He and his colleagues are genuine about partnership - but know we must do better!
Peter Clarke, Director of the North West Mental Health Development Centre, and colleagues Helen Lasham and Lily Reid looked at changing concepts of mental health and mental illness. New plans and partnerships are needed to deliver outcomes in the life experience of individuals and communities, to sustain citizenship and secure inclusion. Peter's remarks were powerfully reinforced by the personal experiences of Helen Lasham, who had used mental health services, and Lily Reid whose son has an enduring mental illness.
Kath Reade, Chair of East Lancashire Health Authority and a member of the North West Development Agency, spoke of the need for multi-agency, multi-sector partnerships across the region, which is how we need to operate if we want to make a real difference. The North West Strategy pledges to integrate three cross-cutting issues: social inclusion, health and sustainable development. Healthy people are more productive, make fewer demands on the health and social care systems, and have more opportunities to participate in social and economic life. Kath described a number of initiatives she is involved in to take forward this vision, and spoke from her own past experience of how working with people to improve provision in communities can transform their lives. She ended with a powerful call to us all to play our part in challenging the causes of poverty, injustice and inequality, and improving health across the North West.
Click here to go to full reports of the conference
Health Summit
Chair Cliff Morris and Vice Chair Brian Strett met in February at Bolton with Professor Joan Higgins, Regional
Chair of the NHS in the North West. They were accompanied by Conservative spokesperson Chris Holtom and officers
of SSNW and ADSS NW. Key matters discussed at the meeting included the following:
-Briefing on developments in Primary Care Trusts and consequential plans for Health Authorities.
-Briefing on proposed configuration of mental health services and plans to respond to the forthcoming Learning Disability White Paper.
-Pressure from Social Services representatives for more progress on reviewing the continuing care criteria, in the context of the National Service Framework for Older People.
-Exchange of information on developments in both services on Performance Assessment, including the efforts being made to bring the two PAF systems closer together.
-Stress from Social Services on the need for transparency in identifying resources applied at the interface between health and social care, with acknowledgment of the progress made in this area in recent months.
-Briefing on the Regional Modernisation Board and a commitment by Social Services to support each of the Task Forces.
-Discussion on the future for Care Trusts, with concern expressed by Social Services on their status in relation to the NHS and local government.
Click here to go to the minutes of the meeting with the Regional Chair of the
NHS Executive
Page 3 - Finance – telling it how it is
What we told Ministers…
Following the December meeting which looked at the regional survey on key service and financial pressures, SSNW
Chair Councillor Cliff Morris wrote to ministers John Hutton and Hilary Armstrong about the pressures facing member
authorities.
"The 2001/02 settlement is certainly more generous than in previous years," he wrote: "there is
nevertheless concern amongst members that it may still be insufficient to meet current needs. Nearly all North
West authorities are currently spending above their Standard Spending Assessment for social services; a majority
also overspent on their budgets in 1999-2000, most commonly on their children's services. The costs of placements
for children being looked after, and rising numbers of children needing care, are the main factors here. There
continues to be a high risk of overspending in many authorities in the current year, with the vast majority overspending
on children's services.
"Nearly half of the Region's authorities are also expecting to experience problems with delayed discharges.
Virtually all authorities report having to alter the way they work to meet budget pressures by such means as the
tightening of eligibility criteria. Specific Grants are creating complications within the corporate process and
can subject mainstream budgets to increased pressure. Members are also particularly concerned that the precise
impact on resources cannot be quantified clearly until more information is available about these grants.
"We fear that, despite an above-inflation increase for local government generally, specific extra resources
for social services, and a 'floor' to the loss of grant in authorities with falling SSAs, the difficulties will
persist into next year. We would much appreciate your comments about the matters I have raised, and your reassurance
that there will be sufficient money available to maintain, develop and improve services in partnership with the
NHS and in accordance with the aims of modernisation."
Click here for the full text of Councillor Cliff Morris' letter
…and their replies
Beverley Hughes MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at DETR, (and formerly Leader of Trafford Borough Council)
replied:
"Can I firstly assure you that we carefully considered the points you made alongside all the others on the
settlement as we took final decisions... I do understand the difficulties which your members are facing… As you
recognised, the settlement provides a substantial increase in government grant for local authorities overall of
£2.9 billion. We have also recognised the particular pressure faced by councils meeting the needs of children
in care. We are therefore providing significant additional resources for these services...
However, I recognise that there are authorities who will still face difficulties in this area. We will continue
to give priority to social services… We will also continue to seek improvements in the early announcements of specific
grants."
Click here for the full text of the letter from Beverley Hughes MP
John Hutton MP, Minister of State at the Department of Health also wrote to say:
"The level of resources for social services next year will be just over £9.8 billion, 6.2% more than
in 2000-01... I believe these increases in funding demonstrate our commitment to improving the quality and quantity
of the social care services that are available." John Hutton said he had seen and examined the recent LGA/ADSS
survey, and met Sir Jeremy Beecham on 14 February to discuss the implementations for social services authorities.
"We take these issues very seriously," Hutton concluded, "and my officials are meeting with the
ADSS to try and establish the reasons for the growth in the number of children looked after and to decide upon
a way forward."
Click here for the full text of the letter from John Hutton MP
Welcome responses
Social Services North West Chair Cliff Morris said; "It is pleasing that Ministers from both Government Departments
concerned with social services finance have replied personally to me about the concerns I expressed on behalf of
Social Services North West. Increasingly our voice is being heard in the corridors of power when we express common
concerns on the part of our member authorities."
Page 4 - Update from Halton
More from the SSNW meeting on 15 December in Halton
A strong contingent of Social Services North West members and officers met on 16 March at Lawton House, Runcorn
for their quarterly meeting, as guests of Halton Borough Council. The meeting confirmed the strengthening role
of Social Services North West in pursuing its key policy aims, and its increasing influence with Government and
with national and regional organisations on behalf of its members.
Key decisions included:
- as a follow-up to our lobbying of ministers on financial issues, check with member authorities on financial pressures
anticipated in 2001-02 and report in June
- consider further action needed in relation to children's services, and report in June
- press for continuing high-level meetings with NHS Executive North West, and do more work on the concept of Care
Trusts
- mount a conference on Performance Assessment and Quality on 17 May (see column on right)
- pursue the question of charges for police checks on volunteers working with vulnerable adults
– confirm invitation to Rita Stringfellow and LGA colleagues to another joint meeting this Autumn
- develop further links with the North West Development Agency
- nominate Chair Cliff Morris to serve on the Economy and Society Key Priority Group of the North West Regional
Assembly
- make permanent the post of SSNW Co-ordinator (part-time), and consolidate the administrative and finance functions
at Lancashire Social Services headquarters in Preston
-SSNW to continue administering the TOPSS England North West Regional Training Forum during 2001-02
Click here to go to the minutes of the 16 March meeting of Social Services North
West
Our next conference
MAKING QUALITY COUNT
delivering the best to our service users and communities
Thursday 17 May 2001 - 10 am - 4 pm
Reebok Stadium, Bolton
Social Services North West is totally committed to the pursuit of quality in the personal social services, and
wishes to support its member authorities in achieving continuous improvement. It is important to make sense of
the raft of scrutiny mechanisms, and to develop communication with the various agencies involved in administering
them. From such understanding and dialogue, we can maximise the effectiveness of the monitoring tools, and of the
services themselves.
The target audience is Members, Directors, Assistant Directors, and managers and policy staff with responsibilities
for performance assessment and quality of service.
PROGRAMME FOR THE DAY
DEVELOPING SCIE -THE SOCIAL CARE INSTITUTE FOR EXCELLENCE
Don Brand, Director of Policy and Workforce Development, National Institute of Social Work
THE CONTRIBUTION OF JOINT REVIEWS TO PERFORMANCE MONITORING
John Bolton, Review Director of the Joint Review Team at the Audit Commission.
MEASURING PERFORMANCE AT THE HEALTH / SOCIAL CARE INTERFACE
Sue Lightup, Deputy Director at Bolton and currently on secondment to the North West Regional Office of the NHS
Executive
INTEGRATING PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT AND QUALITY
A Director of Social Services and an Inspector from the Social Care Region of the SSI
Click here to go to the full programme of the 17 May conference
Click here to email us and make a booking for the conference
DON'T FORGET!
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Social Services North West
and the TOPSS England North West Regional Training Forum
is to log on to
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