Welcome to the CIPFA Social Care Panel e-newsletter.

The Panel is committed to providing quality events, publications, services and invaluable insights into the challenges facing CIPFA members in Social Care Finance. This newsletter is a summary of current developments at CIPFA and in Social Care Finance and it is hoped that it will be of interest to all finance professionals working in the sector.

If you have any comments or suggestions regarding future editions please send them to us using the Panel feedback at: www.cipfa.org.uk/panels/social_care/feedback.cfm

About CIPFA’s Social Care Panel

CIPFA’s Social Care Panel meets four times a year and is responsible for all financial management and policy issues that affect Social Care finance. The Panel:

• develops Institute responses to Government, professional bodies' and other bodies' consultation/ discussion papers and exposure drafts
• develops, promotes and maintains best practice, standards and guidelines
• produces and disseminates relevant advice and material for members and employers in local authority education
• establishes positive and productive professional relationships with Government, government departments and agencies, the national audit bodies, professional regulators and other bodies falling within the Panel's defined areas of responsibility.

To find out more about the Panel and its work, visit the Panel website at:
http://www.cipfa.org.uk/panels/social_care/index.cfm

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CONFERENCES/SEMINARS

Developments in Social Care Finance
24 September - London

This event will cover the following main sessions:

• An overview of the strategic financial issues facing social care in the context of the CSR announcement due later in the Autumn
• Future Regulation of Social Care
• Individual Budgets and Self-Directed Care
• Practical Business Analytical tools to unlock efficiency opportunities
• Developments in Sheltered and Residential Housing
• Supporting People
• Disabled Facilities Grant

To find out more, or book a place on a course or conference, visit the CIPFA Online Shop or email Alex Goring: alexandra.goring@cipfa.org

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INDIVIDUAL BUDGETS EVALUATION – EARLY FINDINGS

The Individual Budgets Evaluation Network (Ibsen) has published its early findings. The background to this is that before committing to wholesale policy change, the Government wanted IBs to be subject to a full and holistic evaluation strategy, being conducted by the Personal Social Services Research Unit, the Social Policy Research Unit, and the Social Care Workforce Research Unit. Ibsen say that while these are still early days in both the evaluation and policy implementation, they do feel that they have begun to learn from the research so far.

Read a summary of the findings at http://www.cipfa.org.uk/panels/social_care/show.cfm?news_id=31285

A PDF copy of the full report "Individual Budgets Evaluation: A Summary of Early Findings" can be downloaded from the Individual Budgets Evaluation Network website: www.ibsen.org.uk  (then follow the Research Output link).

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DIRECT PAYMENTS SURVEYS

There are two reports on Direct Payments, available for download from the internet.

Direct Payments Survey: A national survey of direct payments policy and practice describes the results of a survey of local authorities.

The Direct Payments Survey is a national postal questionnaire on direct payments policies and practices which took place in Autumn 2004. This collaborative project combines the work of three multidisciplinary research teams currently involved in national studies of direct payments. The Direct Payments Survey was funded by the Department of Health, the Economic and Social Research Council and the Modernisation of Adult Social Care Initiative, and fully endorsed by the Policy Management Unit (Older people and Disability) at the Department of Health.

and - available "shortly:"

The National Survey of Schemes Providing Support to People using Direct Payments

In both cases, this work was undertaken by the PSSRU (the Personal Social Services Research Unit) and the views expressed in these publications are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funding bodies.

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COUNCIL “SHOULD SHAPE INVESTMENT IN SERVICES” SAYS CSCI

A CSCI report issued on 4 September by Councils urges local authorities to shape investment in services. “Councils need to take the lead in attracting investment to social care services that meet people’s present and future needs, says our new report.” The report found that councils have the opportunity to shape the services available to all in their area, not just those they support financially.

CSCI Chair Dame Denise Platt, our Chair, said: “We’ve found that providers often rely on councils for contracts. Therefore councils need to signal the need for new care services that are personalised and really meet the needs of people. Where councils lead, investors will follow."

The report looked at information raised during two seminars - one attended by corporate providers, analysts, investors and national policy makers, the other with members of a regional care association.

To download a copy of the report “Safe as houses - what drives investment in social care?” visit the CSCI website at:
http://www.csci.org.uk/about_csci/news/councils_must_shape_investment.aspx

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SUPPORTING PEOPLE: THE GRANT IN FUTURE YEARS

Speaking at a CIPFA seminar workshop in July, John Kettlewell, independent consultant and CIPFA Housing Panel member, presented his thoughts on the likely future for the Supporting People grant. He suggested that the Supporting People strategy was incomplete in that resourcing issues have not been fully dealt with, either in total or in distribution. Clearly we need to await the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007, but some aspects are already known, such as three year grants settlements and the replacement of the current grant system by a Supporting People Distribution Formula. But key questions remain: how quickly will the move be towards a Supporting People Distribution Formula and what exactly will be the impact of Local Area Agreements.

Read more about John Kettlewell's thoughts at http://www.cipfa.org.uk/panels/social_care/show.cfm?news_id=31284

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SUPPORTING PEOPLE – A NEW PUBLICATION

‘Supporting People: The Essential Guide for Finance Practitioners (Fully Revised Fourth Edition 2007) (2007) (Available as book or as CD Rom)’ can now be ordered. CIPFA’s Supporting People guide provides comprehensive finance coverage for this important and constantly changing programme. Written by independent consultant and former City of Westminster Finance Director, Paul Cook, for CIPFA’s Housing Panel, this major revision for 2007 embraces:

• The new opportunities to use Supporting People resources flexibly in local area agreements.
• Progress on DCLG’s national strategy for Supporting People.
• The funding settlement for 2007-08.
• Guidance on the revised programme grant conditions for 2007-08 and updated statutory guidance.
• Freedoms and flexibilities now clarified by DCLG under new the CPA.
• Supporting People and services to clients with learning disabilities.
• Supporting People and individual budgets.
• Supporting People authorities now expected to monitor and prevent the charging of top-up fees by providers.
• Revised Supporting People key lines of enquiry and the future of inspection arrangements.
• Analysis of the 2006 Commission for Social Care Inspection’s review of Supporting People.
• Supporting People efficiency gains reported by authorities.

All the financial provisions are explained in clear tables, and there is extensive cross-referencing to legislation, regulations and DCLG guidance. Tables also include expert commentary on Supporting People in practice.

Complete with a revised glossary and bibliography, Supporting People: the Essential Guide for Finance Practitioners is aimed at keeping Supporting People managers and finance leads in command of the finances for the programme, whilst enabling them to plan ahead strategically.

For further details, visit the CIPFA shop website where you can order online.

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STANDING COMMISSION ON CARERS

In addition to the wide-ranging consultation currently under way on a new deal for carers, the Prime Minister has announced that a Standing Commission on Carers will be established, reporting to the Secretary of State for Health. Philippa Russell, a leading expert and advocate for carers, will work with Ivan Lewis, as Minister for Carers, to take forward this proposal.

The Standing Commission will:

• Ensure the voice of carers is central to the development of Government policy; Look at how carers will be affected by the long term issues of:
  • Changes in demography meaning that carers are getting older while there is growing demand
  • Changes in the choices people are making about how and where they want their care with more people wanting to be cared for in their own home
  • Changes in technology which are supporting people to live independently for longer
  • Changes in the caring relationships in families with, for example young and older carers
  • Changes in the locations of families with more people working or living in areas that are further away from those who need to be cared for
  • Changes in the number of adults and children with chronic conditions and mental health problems;
• Have an overview of the current consultation and oversee the carers' strategy due to be published next year;
• Monitor implementation of the carers' strategy and the new deal for carers.

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DISABLED FACILITIES GRANT PROGRAMME: GOVERNMENT’S PROPOSALS

This document provides a summary of responses to its recent consultation process, taking each proposal in turn and providing the Government’s interim response ahead of the results of the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) 2007. Decisions on funding will be subject to the results of the CSR which are expected in the Autumn.

Altogether, the Department received 253 responses to its consultation paper, of which 179 were from local authorities.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/doc/disabled-facilities

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COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANIES: AN ARTICLE BY ADRIAN WAITE

Cynics have been confounded as numerous ‘Community Interest Companies’ have been registered since part two of the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004 was passed and the Community Interest Company Regulations 2005 came into force on 1st July 2005. The hundredth Community Interest Company – ‘Social Enterprise London’ was registered on 27th January 2006 and by March 2007 a total of 845 Community Interest Companies had been registered in Great Britain. Of these, 694 were new registrations and 151 were conversions of existing companies. In April 2007 it also became possible to register a Community Interest Company in Northern Ireland.

Visit http://www.cipfa.org.uk/panels/social_care/show.cfm?news_id=31283 for the full text of the article.

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CHARITIES PANEL NEWSLETTER

Readers are invited to subscribe to a free newsletter, produced by CIPFA’s Charities Panel.  The newsletter is written by finance practitioners working in the Charity Sector. 

CIPFA’s Charities Panel is interested in:

• Finance and policy issues relating to Charities and the wider Voluntary and Community sector
• The development, promotion and maintenance of best practice, standards and guidelines and the production and dissemination, including signposting of relevant advice and material for members and employers
• Responding to Government, professional bodies' and other bodies' consultation/discussion papers and exposure drafts
• The establishment of positive and productive professional relationships with Government, Government Departments and Agencies, the national audit bodies and professional practitioners, regulators and other Charity umbrella bodies.

To receive the latest and future issues, and access previous issues, please email:
julian.smith@cipfa.org or visit http://www.cipfa.org.uk/corporate/newsletters.cfm

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TIS PERSONAL SOCIAL SERVICES

The TIS Personal Social Services editorial board is keen to recruit a number of new members. If you have a background in social care and health, adult services, performance management or older people, the board would like to hear from you.
The board meets twice a year to discuss the existing and future content of the website, and each member takes responsibility for a specific topic. In return for keeping this section up to date and attending meetings, each member receives complimentary access to www.tisonline.net, has their work published in a resource accessed by over 33,000 people, and can use their contribution as evidence of CPD.

If you would be interested in contributing, contact the editor, Sarah Jeal on 020 8667 8156 or email sarah.jeal@ipf.co.uk.

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THE PUBLIC MANAGEMENT AND POLICY ASSOCIATION (PMPA)

PMPA AUTUMN/WINTER PROGRAMME 2007/2008

PMPA Free Evening Lectures
3rd October “Can Local Government Save the Planet?”
Speaker: Warren Hatter, Formerly of the New Local Government Network and Forum for the Future
Chair: Ed Cox, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Local Government Information Unit

November 2007 (Date to be Confirmed) The Act of Union: The next 300 years.
Speaker: Professor Robert Hazell, Professor of Government and the Constitution, University College London.

Spring 2007 Modern Democracy Lecture Series
28th January 2008: “Beyond Liberty”
Speaker: Nick Clegg, Member of Parliament and contributor to the recent IPPR publication entitled “Beyond Liberty” on the subject of “progressive liberalism and modern justice”.

February 2008: “Tomorrow’s Councillors”
Speaker: Dame Jane Roberts, Chair of the Councillors Commission.

March/April 2008 “Constitutional Reform”
Speaker: Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP

PMPA evening lectures are open to members and non-members and take place at CIPFA, 3 Robert Street, London WC2N 6RL at 5:45pm unless otherwise specified. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis and PMPA members have priority. Book online at www.pmpa.co.uk or by emailing info.pmpa@cipfa.org

PMPA/BT “Vision at Lunch” Free Lunchtime Seminars
11 October  “A rainbow alliance of possibilities or dulled to the grey of average? Partnership working in Practice” Speaker: Dr Andy Gill, Outcomes UK

27 November “Leading and managing change to deliver progress in the public sector” Speaker to be confirmed.

PMPA lunchtime events are limited numbers and only open to PMPA members. They take place at BT Innovation Centre, Queen Anne’s Gate. 12:00pm – 2:30pm. To request a place at a BT/PMPA lunchtime seminar please email info.pmpa@cipfa.org

PMPA PUBLICATIONS

Managing Stakeholders in the Public Sector (Publication September 2007)
Merlin Stone, Ashley Semmens and Neil Woodcock, WCL This report will investigate some private and public sector ideas about customer and stakeholder management, and identify whether these ideas add value to the current debate about policy formulation and implementation. In particular, it will seek to answer the question as to whether treating organisations and individuals within them as stakeholders helps or hinders the policy delivery process.

Watchdogs Straining at the Leash (Publication Autumn 2007)
This report is based on a debate on Internationalising the accountability profession, organised by the Public Management and Policy Association (PMPA) and CIPFA, and hosted by the National Audit Office (NAO) on 26th March 2007. Fifty-plus senior figures from all parts of the UK public audit and accountancy profession met to hear presentations from David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, Caroline Mawhood; Assistant Auditor General, NAO and Chair of the Public Sector Committee of the European Federation of Accountants; Robert W. Black, Auditor General for Scotland, Jeremy Colman, Auditor General for Wales, Steve Bundred, Chief Executive of the Audit Commission;  and John Dowdall, Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland. The event was chaired by Sir John Bourn, the UK Comptroller and Auditor General.

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USEFUL WEBSITES

The Department of Health has a section on Individual Budgets on its website:
http://www.dh.gov.uk

The Care Services Improvement Partnership has a website devoted to Individual Budgets: http://individualbudgets.csip.org.uk/index.jsp

In Control have a number of guides and tools to help local authorities create a system of Self-Directed Supports in their website: http://www.in-control.org.uk/

Commission for Social Care Inspection website: http://www.csci.org.uk/

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