Briefing Note

CE/15/10

To: All Elected Members

Date: 11 November 2010
Subject: Strategic and operational case for the transfer of
Financial Inclusion and Community Work services
to the CPP
Person to Contact: David McMillan
Background
1. As members are fully aware, West Dunbartonshire Council is currently
experiencing financial challenges.

2. At the same time it is experiencing increased pressure to deliver improvements

and reform to its core services. The Improvement Service and Audit Scotland
have influenced a progressive agenda reflected in the Council’s Best Value
Improvement Plan and Assurance and Improvement Plan.

3. These difficult times require innovative solutions that can deliver significant
savings and bring some financial stability, at the same time as improving the
quality of services overall. Community Planning processes have identified
approximately £1.5 million of savings from the CPP budget within a 16 month
period, without any reduction in overall services, and provide useful models for
the future management of specific key services.

4. In addition community planning processes introduced during the last year,

challenge council services to reduce duplication, focus services better, align
performance management and financial controls and ensure that services
contribute effectively to the overall delivery of the SOA.

5. The CPP has highlighted these concerns and at the same time offered positive
solutions to driving forward service improvements in a difficult financial
environment.

6. Efficiencies should be considered across Council departments as opposed to

only seeking efficiencies within departments themselves. The CPP process is
ideally suited to provide this level of strategic analysis and leadership. This is
more likely to identify and reduce competition and duplication. Current funding
arrangements are not likely to deliver the savings required whilst at the same
 time prioritising work appropriately, and maintaining the best possible services
overall.

Main Issues

7. The transfer of Financial Inclusion and Community Work services is an internal

Council staff transfer, with no overall impact on staff terms and conditions.
Staff affected by the transfer continue to be employed by the Council. The
Organisational Change policy will be deployed if staff are affected by the
requirement to achieve the savings.

8. Those Elected Members that sit on the Regenerating and Growing our Local
Economy CPP thematic Group will retain close and influential scrutiny over the
wider Financial Inclusion programme that sits under this theme.

9. The performance of the Financial Inclusion services will be scrutinised by the

CPP Executive and Board.

10. Financial Inclusion services in West Dunbartonshire have to date been funded
through core Council budgets and CPP investment, with a small additional
income from the MacMillan Trust and NHS. Although some duplication has
been identified, there is still much to be done to reform this service area.

11. A review of Financial Inclusion services was carried out by Blake Stevenson
during 2010. The review is being considered by officers and will be the subject
of a report to Council in the coming period. A clear need to develop a new
partnership with closer collaboration amongst all providers was identified in the
report. A key finding of this review was the difficulty in comparing performance
across the range of three providers. The review found

“It is impossible to make robust, accurate comparisons between the three

agencies’ performance due to the different methods they use to measure
financial gains. For example, agencies vary in the length of time for which they
continue to record a ‘gain’ – while one might only record the gain
achieved for the client in the first month they receive a new benefit,
another might continue to record the money the client receives from that
benefit for two or three years as a ‘gain’.”

12. Drawing these services together under CPP management will address this
problem. A significant benefit of CPP performance management and financial
controls has been an increased understanding of what services are working
well, efficient and delivering results. CPP processes and management
provides previously underdeveloped links between inputs and outputs. This
understanding must be further developed and allowed to flourish. Improved
management information and streamlining of services should inform decisions
on budget reductions. This will protect those frontline services that are
effective, and that deliver Council and CPP priorities.

13. There are a large number of providers of related services including the Council,
Citizens Advice Bureaux and the Independent Resource Centre. However
 there are also a number of other secondary providers including RSLs,
MacMillan Trust, NHS and local projects. This landscape is messy and should
be subject to informed management analysis to ensure that services are
targeted at communities and individuals that have the greatest need, and that
duplication is reduced and eliminated.

14. Given the direction of UK welfare reform, with the emphasis on work related
benefits, stronger links and new partnerships will be required with the
employability landscape, which is match funded & monitored through the CPP.
This transfer of staff and resources will assist in strengthening these links.

15. At the same time other Council departments can play a more positive role in
delivering coherent joined up financial inclusion services including Council Tax
benefit and Housing Benefit staff.

16. A similar approach will be applied to Community Work services. Community

work staff will be able to develop closer collaboration and joined up services
with CLD, CVS equalities work and other initiatives.

17. Community planning is founded on partnership principles and is more likely to

be able to provide the leadership to facilitate partnerships and collaboration
required across Council departments and with external partners.

18. It should be noted that the current Manager Community Planning and Policy
has over 20 years experience of managing, designing and delivering financial
inclusion & other community based services.

Financial Implications

The full budget for advice services currently located within CHCP will transfer to CPP
management. Identifying the detail behind the savings agreed by Council on 14
October will therefore be the responsibility of the Manager Community Planning and
Policy.

The budget being transferred is likely to be in the range of £1,561,200. This figure
includes
• £1,108,172 for Council advice staff (35.5 FTE posts) & related costs
• £322,448 for Citizens Advice Bureaux
• £96,790 for the Independent Advice Centre
• £22,000 for the Clydebank Asbestos Group
• £11,790 for Dalmuir Credit Union

Additional income to the Council from MacMillan Trust (£66,660) and NHS (£41,523)
for the delivery of specific services is currently under negotiation with these agencies
for the financial year 2011/2012, and has not yet been secured.

The budget will reduce by £25,000 during 2010/2011; £200,000 during 2011/2012;
and a further £100,000 during 2012/2013.
The full budget for community work services currently located within CHCP will
transfer to CPP management. Identifying the detail behind the savings agreed by
Council on 14 October will therefore be the responsibility of the Manager Community
Planning and Policy.

The indicative budget for this service area is

• £170, 724 for Council staff (4.6 FTE posts) & related costs

This budget will reduce by £20,500 during 2010/2011, continued on an ongoing basis.
No further reductions in the community work budget are being considered at this
point.

What it means for Council

The transfer of staff is an internal transfer within the Council with no overall effect on
terms and conditions. The decision to transfer staff and resources to a new approach
to management under the CPP is based on a commitment to address the exceptional
financial restrictions while at the same time seeking to bring improvements to the
coordination, management and strategic direction of these services.

The transfer will

• Reduce risks to these service areas
• Address current and future financial challenges to these service areas
• Facilitate better coordination of services and stronger partnerships by bringing
budgets and staff together
• Ensure the Council and its partners are better prepared for the impact of
proposed UK welfare reform
• Promote Best Value
• Lead to improved outcomes for the residents of this area.