Agenda item

Councillor Scuplak submits a report providing proposals for a future configuration of selected advice services which aim to best meet the corporate priorities of the Council. The review also delivers a level of savings as identified in the Council’s budget strategy. The Cabinet is asked to approve; the proposed savings measures as set out in the table at paragraph 1.4 of the supporting information; the proposed priorities for future advice service delivery as set out in paragraph 2.13 of the cover report and 3.4 of the supporting information; the proposed future configuration of advice service provision as set out in the table at paragraph 2.1 of the supporting information; and that officers conduct a review of directly delivered welfare benefits functions with a view to re-investing any savings that may arise in the service.

The relevant minutes extract from the Strategic Planning and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee held on 4 August 2004 will be circulated as soon as they are available.

The Appendices to the report are attached for members of the Cabinet only, copies of the appendices can be obtained either from the Council’s website www.cabinet.leicester.gov.uk or by phoning Committee Services on (0116) 252 6022.

Councillor Scuplak submitted a report providing proposals for a future configuration of selected advice services which aimed to best meet the corporate priorities of the Council. The review also delivered a level of savings as identified in the Council’s budget strategy. The report sought to make the best use of remaining resources, taking into account the role of the Legal Service Commission in providing Advice Service in the City.

It was noted that the proposals sought to make advice services available both across the whole city and where there was the highest need and therefore it was planned to create a more flexible team of workers so that provision could be spread more widely.

It was also noted that the review had highlighted the need to link advice service across the City Council. For example there were currently welfare rights advice services in two separate departments of the Council.

Councillor Scuplak also stressed that the advice services that were the subject of this current review were only a very small proportion of the entire advice service provision in the Council and the Council itself was not the only or the largest advice provider in the city.

The relevant minutes extract from the Strategic Planning and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee held on 4 August 2004 were circulated to the Cabinet. Councillor Scuplak noted the recommendations of the Committee and commented that the Cabinet was able to support most of their recommendations. However with regard to recommendation 4, regarding the alleged activities of one of the advice services providers during the recent Leicester South by-election he stated that this matter was irrelevant to the report which Cabinet were considering at this meeting, therefore the Cabinet wouldn’t be commenting.

Councillor Scuplak also noted that there had been a delay to the report during the consultation phase, and the Council would not be able to make the full projected savings this year. He therefore would be moving a resolution to make the decision urgent and allow no call-in.

The Leader noted that one of the review’s priorities was to deal with debt problems and he enquired what measures were being included to ensure that the poorest communities benefited from this advice. The Head of Advice Services explained that better use would be made of national services such as Legal Services Commission phone service which would free up local resources for more face to face provision for those unable to use a phone. He also said that better targeting would need to be done through the setting of Service Level Agreements with the organisations the Council would be funding to provide services. He also noted other initiatives such as the development of social money lending services and additional resources from the Housing Revenue Account being used to seek to reduce rent arrears.

Members of the Cabinet also enquired whether the proposals would lead to the closure of the Leicester Law Centre. The Head of Advice Services stated that this wasn’t raised as part of the initial consultation but it emerged at the Highfields Area Forum that this might be the case from April 2005. The Head of Advice Services stated that Officers would be looking at how this could be dealt with from April 2005 but that there was no threat to their viability in this financial year. Members of the Cabinet asked that this be addressed in a future report.

RESOLVED:

(1)that the proposed savings measures as set out in the table at paragraph 1.4 of the supporting information, be approved;

(2)that the proposed priorities for future advice service delivery as set out in paragraph 2.13 of the cover report and 3.4 of the supporting information report, be approved;

(3)that the proposed future configuration of advice service provision as set out in the table at paragraph 2.1 of the supporting information, be approved;

(4)that Officers conduct a review of directly delivered welfare benefits functions with a view to re-investing any savings that may arise in the service, including an evaluation of the feasibility of introducing a mobile advice service;

(5)that Officers provide support to all organisations that do not meet the criteria for funding to help them to access other funding;

(6)that funding be continued to the Leicester Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Centre until March 2005, to be funded from the transitional fund;

(7)that a further report be submitted to Cabinet by the end of October 2004 which details all the Council and city wide advice services including details of the Supporting People Programme and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and the potential use of these funds to fund advice services providers;

(8)that the report be considered urgent because of the need to make budget savings and any further delay would lead to cuts to services in other areas, therefore no call-in be allowed in accordance with Cabinet procuedure rule 12d of the Constitution.