A view on implications of the White Paper and Draft Bill for local voluntary Organisations Jon Burke, NAVCA 1/10/12

Roles of Local Voluntary & Community organisations Harnessing the skills, resources & networks of local communities Expansion of volunteering & time-banking Models of working e.g. Development of personal budgets & direct payments and Social Impact Bonds Providing information, advice, advocacy & guidance

Context Directors of adult social services in England are taking £890 million out of the nation’s total social care budget between April this year and March 2013 (Adass Budget Survey 2012). An increasing number of councils are only providing services to people with ‘Substantial’ levels of need (Adass Budget Survey 2012). At the same time as this A recent NAVCA ‘survey of surveys’ of local voluntary organisations across England showed that while cuts in most areas surveyed ranged from 55% to 83%, increase in demand for services ranged from 57% to 80% (Funding local voluntary and community action, NAVCA 2012)

Investing in Communities A Wider Variety Of Providers - The government will introduce a duty on local authorities to promote diversity and quality in the provision of services. Innovative approaches to investment - The government will explore whether new approaches to investment, such as Social Impact Bonds, can be used in care and support. Social care workforce – The government propose to double the number of apprentices in social care to 100,000 over the next 5 years. To do this we will encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to create apprenticeship opportunities for the first time.

Information Independent Advice – The government wants everyone eligible for support to access independent advice to develop care plans and choose how their needs could be met. They will work with the vcs and local authorities to achieve this. Local Authority Support - The government will legislate to ensure that people get information on how the care and support system works locally, regardless of whether they are entitled to any state-funded support towards the costs of their care. Independent care services - The government want people to have access to clear information about the quality of individual care providers

Building community based support 1 Helping local people share their time and skills – The government want to make it easier for everyone to contribute to their communities and provide a helping hand to those who need it. We will support commissioners to develop a range of approaches that help people share their time and skills, while improving the health and wellbeing of our communities. Supporting community input to JSNA - The government want local commissioners to identify how the skills and networks in communities can contribute to Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNA) and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies (JHWS). Use of community facilities - The government expect local authorities to maximise the potential for community spaces and buildings in communities. We hope that promoting the innovative use of venues will help to reduce social isolation and increase connections.

Building community based support 2 Connecting care home residents to their local communities - The government want care home residents to be more connected to their local community networks and we want to encourage volunteers from local communities to get involved with those care homes. Social Work input to communities - The government want social workers to work with community organisations to connect people to peer-support networks and befriending schemes and to incorporate community development activities into their own practice.

Supporting service users & carers Prevention and early intervention - The government will include a duty on local authorities to commission and provide preventative services in the draft Care and Support Bill. Choice and control over assessment - The government want people to have choice and control over who carries out their assessment and we want more new providers to offer assessment service. Safeguarding Adults Boards - The government will give local authorities responsibility for convening a statutory Safeguarding Adults Board. Core members will be from the police and NHS but the boards will have to work collaboratively with the community, including local Healthwatch. Carers - The government want the NHS to work with local partners and carers’ organisations to agree plans for identifying and supporting carers.

Conclusion  There are lots of opportunities for local voluntary and community organisations in the white paper & draft bill BUT everyone is going to have to get used to doing more with less  A lot of proposals in the white paper do not need the draft bill  Most proposals in both the white paper and draft bill depend on local implementation

Further Information To share ideas and discuss health and social care issues, join the Social Care and Health discussion group on NAVCA's social networking site, navcaboodle To ask a question about a health or social care topic, or to find out what others are doing in other areas, sign up to HealthNet, our health and social care group, by ing: For the latest health and social care news visit Or for any other health and social care related enquiry please contact Jon Burke Development Adviser (Health and Social Care) Tel: |