Agenda item

The Director of Finance submits a report giving an update on the re-procurement of Council funded Social Welfare Advice contracts and providing details of the current public consultation on the proposed model of advice provision in the city.  The Commission is recommended to note the update on the social welfare advice re-procurement exercise.

The Director of Finance submitted a report giving an update on the re-procurement of Council-funded Social Welfare Advice contracts and providing details of the current public consultation on the proposed model of advice provision in the city.

 

Councillor Waddington, Assistant City Mayor for Jobs and Skills, introduced the report, stressing that no decisions had been taken to date on how the contracts would be re-procured.  She explained that the current social welfare advice contracts with external organisations were ending, so the opportunity was being taken to consider what should be provided in the future.

 

Councillor Waddington explained that external advice providers funded by the Council currently were managed by different service areas.  This had resulted in some inconsistency in the performance and monitoring of the contracts.  It therefore was important that the new service provided good quality social welfare advice for residents that was consistent, accessible and appropriate to people’s needs.  The re-procurement exercise also was an opportunity to facilitate closer working relationships between advice providers. 

 

Councillor Waddington offered to present the findings of the consultation and information on the proposed new delivery model to the Commission.

 

It was stressed that, although savings were being sought, as in all service areas, this should not be to the detriment of the advice services provided.  The Project Manager for the re-procurement exercise confirmed that the cost of the re-procured services, and therefore whether any savings could be achieved, was not known yet, as no decisions had been taken on what service model would be adopted.

 

The Project Manager further advised that:

 

·           It had been difficult to bring together robust statistics by which to assess the current contracts.  Different contracts contained different requirements regarding the methods and extent of data recording;

 

·           This also meant it was difficult to know exactly how many clients were being seen, as one person could be being helped by more than one organisation.  This also highlighted the need for centrally co-ordinated record keeping;

 

·           Demand for social welfare advice was increasing, so the service could not remain in its current format.  The Council therefore wanted to find a service model that ensured the continued delivery of free, quality advice across the city;

 

·           Clients in crisis would continue to be “fast-tracked”;

 

·           Individual meetings were being held with the agenciescurrently funded by the Council to provide welfare advice;

 

·           It was suggested that some agencies would need to consider changes to the way in which they delivered services, as they had been using the same delivery methods for a considerable length of time;

 

·           The consultation on the re-procurement of these contracts had included a city-wide call for evidence, but there had been a limited response to this;

 

·           It was anticipated that the welfare advice services would be delivered from a dedicated area in the Council’s Customer Service Centre in Granby Street.  This would help facilitate the provision of standardised, quality advice across the city, as well as according with the Council’s Using Buildings Better programme.  There was insufficient room for telephony services to be provided from there, so the lead provider / partnership could be expected to find a location from which telephone services would be offered;

 

·           It was anticipated that advice providers would be required to introduce the channel shift aspects of the contract on a phased basis over three years from the start of the contract; and

 

·           Advice agencies had stated that they felt they could work together more.  The contract specification therefore would set out the need for formal inter-agency working relationships, as well as formal relationships with the Council.  These would not be prescribed in the contract specification, (for example, whether there should be a lead provider, whether a consortium should be formed, or whether it would be a looser form of collaboration), as the voluntary sector should decide how it could best establish these relationships.  However, the contract specification could state that the Council was seeking agencies with local knowledge.

 

The following points also were made in discussion:

 

o    Over the last few years there had been many surveys about people’s welfare rights which showed a lack of awareness of those rights and how to access services.

 

o    Monitoring of contracts was very important, as there had been occasions when it had been found that the services being provided under some contracts, (unrelated to the ones currently under consideration), were not those anticipated.  This also was important if any of the services were sub-contracted.

 

Reply by the Project Manager:

It was anticipated that agencies would sub-contract elements of the service, but this would be vigorously monitored by the Council through the lead agency.

 

o    What training would be provided for those providing the advice?  Training also would be useful for Councillors, especially in relation to newer benefits, such as Universal Credit.

 

Reply by the Project Manager:

The contract specification would include the requirement that robust training and development for staff and volunteers be provided.  The opportunity to also provide training for Councillors would be welcomed.

 

o    The high rate of success in appeals was welcomed, but it was questioned whether it was felt that demand for Tier 3 advice had been monitored sufficiently and whether anticipated demand could be met.

 

Reply by the Project Manager:

Demand for Tier 3 advice had been monitored carefully and, based on an assessment of data provided by agencies, currently was considered to be approximately 2% of reported footfall.  Anticipation of an increase in this demand for the next few years would be built in to the contract.

 

o    How would the Council protect its income in respect of potential rent arrears arising when people moved on to Universal Credit?

 

Reply by the Director of Finance:

When Universal Credit was fully introduced in March 2018, the Council would no longer be commissioned to provide the benefits, although it would remain be an option for the Council to provide support. 

 

The Council was aware of issues this could create.  For example, housing benefit would no longer be paid to the Council, as landlord, but would be given to the tenant.  Councils in areas where this was happening already were finding that high levels of rent arrears were accumulating, as some tenants had never had to pay rent themselves before.

 

The Council did not have the resources to support all tenants, so it needed to focus on those most in need, while providing tools for others to help themselves.  The provision of welfare advice services was part of this.

 

The Council also had a very limited amount of funding it could use to support people, but this would only enable small amounts to be awarded to successful applicants.  The Department for Work and Pensions would be providing the Council with some financial support to facilitate this, but it would be very limited and the exact amount was not known yet.

 

o    Some concern was expressed that the specialist services currently provided by some voluntary groups would be lost.

 

Reply by the Project Manager:

One of the aims of the re-procurement exercise was to encourage advice agencies in the city to work together, without losing the specialist knowledge and services they currently provided.

 

o    What assistance could be provided to those experiencing language barriers?

 

Reply by the Project Manager:

Support was in place for those needing language assistance.  However, those experiencing language barriers would be encouraged to bring someone with them to face to face meetings to help.  If this was not possible, the Council’s translation services would be used where possible.  It also was hoped that people who spoke community languages would volunteer to work with agencies contracted to provide advice services.

 

The Project Manager thanked participating agencies for their co-operation and contribution to the preparation work for the re-procurement exercise and reminded Members that the consultation would close on 6 October 2017.  All Members were invited to respond to the consultation if they had not already done so.

 

AGREED:

1)    That the Chair be asked to respond to the consultation on the re-procurement of social welfare advice services on behalf of Commission, asking that the points raised above to be taken in to consideration and drawing particular attention to the following points:

 

a)    Partnerships are very important to the future of these services, so it is essential that all organisations involved in delivering welfare advice services maintain productive and transparent relationships, (for example, with defined roles and how they will be managed).  The Council needs to manage these partnerships effectively, so a robust monitoring framework needs to be included in the service contract;

 

b)    Priority groups for inclusion in the contract specification should include those whose first language is not English and those who do not have information technology knowledge and/or experience; and

 

c)    Care should be taken to ensure that advice commissioners and providers are aware of the different access needs of clients;

 

2)    That the Director of Finance be asked to report back to Commission on responses received to the consultation and setting out proposals for the future delivery of the service; and

 

3)    That the Director of Finance be asked to provide training for Councillors on the new welfare system.