Objectives for the day:To:

• bring Local Authorities up to date with progress in key areas of development of the successor arrangements to CCGs and CLs for Living Expenses,

• help them prepare for implementation

• help them build their networks and share practice with other Authorities.

COMMUNITY CARE GRANTS AND CRISIS LOANS FOR

LIVING EXPENSES – SUCCESSOR

ARRANGEMENTS IN SCOTLAND

LOCAL GOVERNMENT EVENT - 3 October 2012

Outline Timeline• April – Design Group discuss high level scheme.• May – Gather information and verify practicalities. • June to Sept – stakeholder events, consult on guidance,

EQIA, application form, monitoring, communications, training, liaison with IT suppliers, funding.

• Oct - political agreement and announcement of high level scheme.

• Oct to Dec - Finalise guidance, finalise and consult on application form, training materials, options appraisal for independent review. LG – planning for implementation.

• Jan to Mar ‘13– Set up, training, testing, communication.• April 1 2013 – Go live.• April onwards – Monitoring and evaluation, service

refinements, legislation for permanent arrangements.

Finance• Grant fund 23.8m• Set up Costs – bid made to DWP – initial

award £238k – still in discussions• Running costs – £5m falling to £4.6m• Proposal for distribution agreed by Joint

Settlement and Distribution Officer Group – based on historic pattern of spend.

• Allocations to be announced as part of the Local Government Settlement

Data for ScotlandCombined CCG and CLLE Expenditure - £

2010/11 29,051,700

2011/12 27,667,200

CCGInitial

Applications Initial Awards Success rateInitial

Expenditure (£)

2010/11 78,580 38,320 48.8% 20,451,200

2011/12 80,500 28,700 35.7% 20,400,000

CLLE

2010/11 203,510 155,770 76.5% 8,600,500

2011/12 180,070 140,790 78.2% 7,267,200

Awards by reason:CLLEs - Expenditure by Reason for Application, April-Sept 2011 % of Expenditure

Leaving care and not entitled to benefit 0.6%

Leaving care – rent in advance 0.1%

Disaster e.g. fire, flood, explosion, chemical leaks etc 1.0%

Emergency travelling expenses 0.2%

Lost or stolen money/giro 27.%

Capital not realisable 17.2%

Reconnection of fuel supply 0.2%

Homelessness – securing accommodation 1.4%

Benefit spent – living expenses required 51.9%

Expenditure on Community Care Grants by Criteria, April – September 2011 % of Expenditure

Moving out of residential/institutional accommodation 6.5%

Helping people stay in the community 32.0%

Families under exceptional pressure 54.1%

Prisoners/offenders on temporary release 0.1%

Planned resettlement 6.2%

Travel expenses 0.9%

Awards by Reason:

Application Purpose

CCG ExpenditureScotland, 2011/12 % in Scotland

Cooker £ 3,849,600 18.1%

Bed £ 3,942,300 18.6%

Floor Covering £ 2,466,900 11.6%

Misc Household Items £ 4,111,000 19.4%

Washing Machine £ 2,262,400 10.7%

Bedding £ 746,500 3.5%

Informal Consultation – Key Themes

• More detail needed on some aspects of the guidance – particularly prioritisation

• The need for good communication to avoid confusion

• The need for strong local partnerships to support holistic delivery The importance of a customer centred approach, training and quality assurance

• The importance of monitoring and evaluating • The need for the application process and other

communication to offer a range of options• Support for holistic approach

Scottish Welfare Fund - Purpose

The Scottish Welfare Fund will offer grants or in kind support such as travel warrants, fuel cards, furniture etc in order to:

• provide a safety net in an emergency or when there is an immediate threat to health or safety

• enable independent living or continued independent living, preventing the need for institutional care.

The grants will not need to be paid back.

Key features• A national scheme delivered through Local

Authorities • 2 year interim period• Fund split between CCGs and CGs• Grants or in kind support provided• Scottish Govt: Guidance under Section 21 of

the Local Government Act 2003, national application form, training and monitoring framework

• Local Authorities: manage the fund, integrate with other services, monitor performance.

Eligibility will be determined by:• Receipt of qualifying benefits

• Certain restrictions e.g. relating to residence or previous applications.

• Exclusions for specific items not covered by the fund

• Limits on other resources, savings, capital

• Personal circumstances meeting the conditions set.

Award of a grant will be determined by:

• The priority attached to the application – determined by severity of need, the impact an award would have on the applicant’s circumstances, certain other factors e.g. presence of a disabled child in the family

• The level of priority at which awards are being made at that time and whether there is sufficient money in the budget to make a payment .

Equalities Impacts

• Revised definition of families under “exceptional pressure” disadvantages disabled people

• channels for delivery communicating decisions- arrangements for people with impairments/who need support

• The exclusion of mobility expenses will impact on disabled people.

• The exclusion of telephone connections (for alarms) will impact on older /disabled people

• A standard price list/maximum award threshold would disadvantage disabled people if exceptions are not made

Single application form

• Promote consistency/give service a national character

• Ensure ease of access for applicants

• Ensure right questions are asked for decision making

• Ensure data is captured for monitoring

• Links to IT requirements

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Interlinked with other work on-going – application form & guidance

• Dependence on IT software development • Quantitative indicators envisaged from systems

reports • Qualitative indicators – need to strike a sensible

balance – central and local input• Info will inform permanent arrangements

Review

Judicial review through courts

Options for Independent Review

First tier review, independent of decision maker but within the team

Applications go to decision maker

57.7% CCGs18.9% CLs initially refused (UK figs)

29% CCGs and 16.6%CLs go to first review

42% CCGs and 27.5% CLs rejected at first tier review go on to Independent review

In Scotland – 5243 CCG’s 3185 CLs (excluding budgeting loans) to independent review 2010-11

Communication StrategyStrategic objective - Ensure those on low

incomes and the people who support them know they should approach their own Local Authority rather than DWP from April 2013 for community care and crisis support.

• Collaboration with DWP

• Application form, leaflets and posters

• Work through intermediary networks

Some Ideas from the Consultation

• A roadmap for frontline staff – who is eligible for what support and where it is provided.

• National website – address finder for Las

• Joint working DWP/LA – shadowing/ briefings/hotline/backlog warning

• Use existing forums/a partnership agreement with JC+

Training• National training programme to support

delivery and improve consistency in decision making – staff skills are key

• Issues - content, format, timing, IT, who is to be trained

• Options for delivery? LA trainers? Private/third sector trainer?

• Need to balance cost and time issues with likely effectiveness and long term impact.

Options for training delivery

• Local Authority internal training.

• Training provided by an external supplier

• Third sector trainer

• E-learning

• Blend of training styles

Questions for table discussion

• What should be included in the training package? budgets, decision-making, customer service skills, diversity awareness training?

• How would you want the training to be delivered?

• What sort of support materials would be most useful?