Sitra bulletin no 6 2014

www.sitra.org

bulletinTHE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH HEALTH, CARE AND SUPPORT 2014 – NO.6

SurmountingChallenges

RestorativeJustice

Deprivation ofLiberty

A Workforce forthe Future

The Road toImplementation

Housing andSafeguarding

expertise, training & consultancy inhousing with health, care & support

A Workforce forthe Future

Wakingup toReality


Wakingup toReality

1400 Bulletin No.6 2014_Layout 1 08/12/2014 16:20 Page 1

02 bulletin 2014 No.6 www.sitra.org

Contents03 CEO’s Comment

04 Deprivation of Liberty – What Providers of Housing with SupportNeed to Know and DoWith the recent changes to the definitions of Deprivation of Liberty’ Rose Molloy bringssome clarity to the implications for Supported Housing.

06 Restorative Justice – reducing the impact of crimeMichael Pearson tells us about the SIFA Fireside Restorative Justice pilot and therole the housing sector can play in crime reduction.

08 Towards HopeJenny Hudson Project Officer at 300 Voices talks about a pilot project “Better MustCome – Towards Hope” to support men in Birmingham living with mental illness.

10 A Workforce for the FutureSitra’s Lauren Sadler looks at the new, emerging and changing job roles in AdultSocial Care within the Extra Care Housing Sector; what are the workforce challenges?

12 The Skills ExchangeIn 2010 Broadway (now St Mungo’s Broadway) launched a Timebanking Project calledSkills Exchange. Kaaren Morris tell us more.

13 The Road to ImplementationWith the Care Act now law, Sitra’s Tim Parkin guides us down the road toimplementation.

14 A New DealThe Bromford Deal where tenant and landlord work together to make things better -Director John Wade explains.

15 Feeling Cross & Sorting it OutIf we want to see improved outcomes and care for people with learning disabilities,what resources need to be available to support this? Asks Kayley Worsley of Dimensions.

16 Housing and Safeguarding – New Care Act RequirementsSitra’s Rose Molloy looks at what the new safeguarding requirement means forhousing providers.

17 Waking from a nightmare?Sitra’s Geoffrey Ferres looks at Personal Independence Payment (PIP),the new disability benefit.

20 Sitra Training

Cover Story

SurmountingChallenges

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Sitra OfficesLondon3rd Floor, 55 Bondway London SW8 1SJTelephone: 020 7793 4710Fax: 020 7793 4715BirminghamBVSC, 138 Digbeth, Birmingham B5 6DRTelephone: 0121 678 8891Email: [email protected]

Charity Reg No 290599 Company Reg No 1869208 ISSN 0956-6678Sitra is partly funded by DCLG.

Sitra StaffChief ExecutiveVic RaynerDeputy Chief ExecutiveLisa HarrisonPolicy OfficersGeoffrey FerresRoselee MolloyPolicy and Research Co-ordinatorsDani CohenBurcu Borysik

Training and Events Manager Stephanie HillContracts OfficersAnna RobertsonWendy GreenBusiness SupportLana LewisSarah Pink (Maternity leave)Head of Finance & Central ServicesBerihu Mohammed

EU Funding and Finance OfficerRay NaickerFinance AssistantSharelle HuntOffice Co-ordinatorGill CottonCentral SupportMonica AntolinMembership Co-ordinatorRory Desch

expertise, training & consultancy inhousing with health, care & support

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03THE MAGAZINE FOR HOUSING WITH HEALTH, CARE AND SUPPORT

CEO’s Comment

Read all about it…….

Vic RaynerChief ExecutiveEmail: [email protected]

Keep up to date with our BlogKeep up with developments and add to the debate at Sitra CEO’s blog at www.sitraceo.wordpress.com

About SitraSitra is a membership organisation championing excellence in housing with health, care and support.

Membership benefits include discounts on all services and events, access to free advice, an annual subscription to the bulletinand regular briefings on key policy developments in the sector. Sitra works with local and central government to ensure thatthe needs of its members are recognised, understood and met by resource providers. If you would like to join Sitra pleasecontact the Membership Administrator on 020 7793 4710 and ask for an application form, or download one fromwww.sitra.orgContent ©2014 SITRA (Services) Ltd except where stated, All right reserved. All images © individual photographers & illustrators. Opinions expressed by individuals writers are notnecessarily those of Sitra or the magazine’s Editorial Team. E&OE. Design: Aquatint BSC 020 8947 8571 www.aquatint.co.uk

There is a strong legal thrust to this edition of the Bulletin, providing detail of howchanges in legislation are beginning to impact behaviour on the ground. As we draw tothe close of 2014, we are seeing the last vestiges of activity generated by our currentgovernment come into force.

One of the big changes has been the Care Act 2014. As we are only three months awayfrom the implementation of Part 1 of the Act, it seems appropriate to look again at whatthis will mean for the housing sector, and a reminder of the core components of the Act.

Continuing this focus, we pick up on how provider’s responsibilities around safeguardingwill change. The Act reinforces the need for both general needs and housing supportproviders to have specific safeguarding policies and procedures in place, and raises thepotential involvement of housing providers in Adult Safeguarding Boards. Away fromprimary legislation, the importance of case law hits home, with a detailed article on thehow recent rulings have clarified how deprivation of liberty can take place in any domesticsetting. This is critical information for providers of services, and our resident expert, RoseMolloy, brings you up to date and encourages a proactive response.

Changes in legislation can often drive a change in workforce requirements, and this timeis no different! Sitra have been working with Skills for Care to look at emerging workforce issues. The research identified a suite of new ‘cross over’ roles, which mergedhousing care and support responsibilities together – and recognising that the skills of thefuture are not necessarily adequately served by the current learning and developmentstructures. Focus on resilience, wellbeing, integrated working and expertise aroundwelfare reform are high on providers list of future learning needs.

Perhaps – unsurprisingly – I shall be making a bid for the Bulletin to be a compulsory partof all future workforce development programmes – and this edition is a perfect exampleof all these core issues coming together in one place!

For example – we have an article on excellent practice around resilience from the 300Voices project, which aims to empower young African and Caribbean men, to share theirstories, to help reduce stigma and discrimination often experienced when accessingservices in inpatient mental health settings. We also include an update on Timebanking,this time focussing on how St Mungos Broadway has supported this community-ledinnovation that uses time as currency.

We also have an essential update on the roll out of Personal Independence Payments andhow to support your workforce in understanding the changes.

Finally it gives an insight into one organisations focus on working in a more integratedway within the criminal justice sector. SIFA Fireside have been piloting a RestorativeJustice project, working in partnership with West Midlands Police and across the housingsector to help generate referrals to the project and to encourage victim-led referrals.It contextualises the impact of a strong housing partner within the system, andshowcases some of the essential workforce skills of integrated working.

So – there it is – Sitra Bulletin – compulsory reading for all housing, health, care andsupport professionals – now – I am sure someone mentioned there was a holiday comingup as a great opportunity to read all about it!

Best wishes to you all for 2015



allowed? This briefing and theCheshire West case onlyconcern the first question.The question of whether adeprivation is lawful involvesan examination of the bestinterests of the service userand the level of restriction.That analysis is undertakenafter a potential deprivationhas been raised.

The legal standard

A deprivation of liberty is alimitation on a person’s free willand can take different formsincluding restricting a person’smovements by only allowing themoutside with staff or usingrestraints. If a service user’s libertyis deprived, or at risk of beingdeprived, an application must bemade to ensure an independentreview of care arrangements andestablish a process for regularreviews of care. Where to makethe application depends uponwhere the deprivation will takeplace: for non-hospital or carehome residents applications are tothe Court of Protection, for care

With the recent changes to the definitions ofDeprivation of Liberty’ Rose Molloy brings someclarity to the implications for Supported Housing.

In March 2014, the definition of‘deprivation of liberty’ was clarifiedand widened by the Supreme Courtin the cases of P v Cheshire Westand Chester Council and (generallyreferred to as Cheshire West)P & Q v Surrey County Council.Following this case, it is clear that adeprivation of liberty can take placein any domestic setting, includinghousing with support, extra-carehousing, adult placement/sharedlives or domiciliary care.

There are two important questionsto consider if you provide housingrelated support services to adultswho may lack the capacity toconsent. The first is: is it possiblethere is a deprivation of liberty? Thesecond is: is that deprivation

home residents applications to thelocal council, and for hospitalresidents applications to the localclinical commissioning group(CCG). If an application is notsought, the deprivation is unlawfuland in violation of Article 5 of theEuropean Convention on HumanRights.

When does a person lackcapacity to make a decision?This threshold question does nothave an easy answer. People maymake ‘bad’ decisions or decisionsyou don’t agree with but thatdoesn’t mean they lack thecapacity to make the decision.Fortunately the standard does notrequire front line staff to make thefinal assessment, it is enough thatcommon sense indicates that aservice user might be lackingcapacity. Four factors to look for arethe ability to:l understand the relevantinformation,

l retain that information,l use or weigh that information aspart of the process of makingthe decision, or

l communicate the decision.

Deprivationof Liberty –What Providers ofHousing with SupportNeed to Know and Do



When is a service user is subject tocontinuous supervision and control?

Again there are no bright lines.Some important factors to considerare whether staff:l control who the incapacitatedperson can have contact with;

l control the activities that theperson is allowed to participate in;

l do not allow the person to leavethe placement withoutsupervision; and

l control if the person is allowedto permanently leave thescheme and move to anothersetting (i.e.; service user is notfree to move out).

Is the person free to leave?Importantly, the court made clearthat this question does not arisewhen someone tries to leave;rather the question is what wouldhappen if the person tried to leave?Indeed one of the parties inCheshire West was living with herfoster mother and never expressedany wish to leave.

State action

The final factor is the role of thestate in the person’s life and againwhen do we cross over the lineinto state action? If the state ispaying for a service that isdepriving someone of their libertyis an authorisation required?

Irrelevant factors

It is important to note that thefollowing factors are not relevant indetermining whether there is adeprivation of liberty:l a person’s compliance or lack ofobjection to a placement

l the suitability or relativenormality of the placement and

l the reason or purpose leading tothe placement

While these factors may berelevant to the best interestanalysis of whether a deprivationmay be authorised, that only comesinto play after a deprivation ofliberty has been identified.

The way forward forhousing with support

Cheshire West states thatproviders ‘should err on the side ofcaution in deciding whatconstitutes a deprivation of liberty’and ‘a gilded cage is still a cage.’Organisations might be tempted tobelieve there is no need to seekCoP authorisation because thecurrent support, care and livingarrangements provide the bestpossible solution for the individual.However, the threshold question isnot best interests, it is an analysisof ‘continuous supervision andcontrol’ and ‘freedom to leave.’

As to be expected, there has beena sharp rise in the number ofapplications for deprivations ofliberty. It has been reported thatsince Cheshire West there hasbeen a nine fold increase in thenumber of applications fordeprivation of liberty. This has led todelays in authorisation which couldbe resulting in as many as half ofthe applications breaching statutorytimeframes. The potential liabilityfor providers is an open question.

The best approach now is to beproactive. Both the Care QualityCommission and the Departmentof Health have issued papers whichoffer some guidance for providers.Please see the longer article on ourwebpage to review these tipshttp://bit.ly/SitraDOLs

In the longer term, there is a light onthe horizon. Following CheshireWest and the House of Lords postlegislative scrutiny findings on theMental Capacity Act (March 2014),the Law Commission has beenasked to review the Deprivation ofLiberty Safeguards in all settings.They intend to publish a consultationpaper in the summer 2015 and afinal report and draft legislation insummer 2017. Sitra will be activelyinvolved with this issue and provideupdates throughout the process.Watch this space.

1 The information and any commentary on the law contained in this article is provided for information purposes only. The information andcommentary does not, and is not intended to, amount to legal advice to any person on a specific case or matter. You are strongly advised toobtain specific, personal advice from a lawyer about your case or matter and not to rely on the information or comments in this article. Noresponsibility is accepted for the content or accuracy of linked sites.

Cheshire West tells us that a deprivation takesplace when the service user is over 18 and:

lacks, or may lack, the capacityto consent to their support planor living arrangements,

is subject tocontinuoussupervision andcontrol,

is not free to leave, and

The State is responsiblefor imposing thesupport plan or livingarrangement

The problem for providers is that each of these factors is not clearlydefined1.



Restorative justice (RJ) is aprocess that brings together theharmed (victim) and harmer inan attempt to facilitatecommunication, repair the harmdone and find a positive way tomove on. The harmed, are able toopenly communicate to theoffender, the true impact of thecrime. This not only empowers theharmed and helps them feel part ofthe restorative process, but alsoholds offenders to account for theiractions in order to help them takeresponsibility and make amends.

This is very different to traditionalsystems within the criminal justiceprocess as it fully integrates heharmed into the process and putsgreater emphasis on reducinglasting harm. Restorative justicegives the harmed an identity,increases their autonomy andrepairs traumatic impact.

Restorative justice projects clearlydemonstrate their positive impacton rehabilitation and victimrecovery, however their integrationwith law enforcement and criminaljustice systems can be

problematic. It’s the flexibility ofSIFA Fireside’s services thatrevealed its potential to host a thirdsector-based restorative justiceproject. As well as utilising aperson-centred approach we werealso able to also offer additionalprovision to participants that moremainstream RJ projects wouldstruggle to provide.

In mid-2013 we began to developthe concept of a charity-basedrestorative justice project thatencompasses the rehabilitationand trauma-reducing themes of atypical restorative justice project,but removes it from the criminaljustice sector and thus anyenforcement elements. Bringing itto the third sector increasesautonomy and sheds theperceptions that are sometimesassociated with criminal justice.Housing and related sectors alsohave unparalleled access to clientsand client conflicts giving them animportant access route to referralsand pre-established clientrelationships; essential insuccessful restorative justiceprocesses.

Autonomy

Clearly in some scenariosenforcement is needed, however itis imperative to offer alternativeopportunities to participants toincrease their sense of autonomy,and in particular to empowervictims who often feel they havelost their voice as a result of thecriminal justice process.

Innovation

Freedom to innovate is key to whatthe third sector can provide. Beingopen to absorb new opportunitiesand practices, we can react andamend more easily, so if somethingis not working, or indeed workingwell, or if new research implies abetter way of doing something, wehave the potential to quickly adaptto this, which can be vital in settingup pilot projects. For example, ourrestorative justice project has thescope to work closely with alcoholmisusers, rough sleepers andpeople with complex needs, inorder to bring people together,increase cross-group empathy, and

Michael Pearson tells us about the SIFA Fireside Restorative Justice pilot and the role thehousing sector can play in crime reduction.

RestorativeJustice –reducingthe impactof crime



move clients from maintenance tolong-term impact.

Our RJ project began in April 2014so is still very much in its infancy,and is a pilot project funded untilMarch 2015 by the late Bob Jones,West Midlands Police & CrimeCommissioner. Bob was anincredibly forward thinkingadvocate of victim services andinnovative solutions, particularly inthe third sector, and as such heentrusted the funds to ourorganisation to pilot the newproject. Of course, we are alreadylooking for other sources of fundingso this project can flourish beyondthe pilot stage and believe thatrestorative justice projects shouldaim, where possible, to run beyond12 month terms in order to becomefully efficient.

Currently we work very closelywith West Midlands Police togenerate referrals but already,as with many restorative justiceprojects, generating sufficientreferrals is becoming an obstacle.We are currently looking atalternative routes within andoutside of the criminal justicesystem whilst ensuring we do notbecome part of the enforcementprocess. For any new restorativejustice project, it is imperative thatreferral processes are fullyestablished before launching, thatalternative routes are consideredand where possible set up, and toconsider the resources needed tocontinue generating referrals. It isa labour intensive and challengingprocess that can quickly eat intothe project’s time.

SIFA Fireside establishedrelationships with the police eightmonths before the projectlaunched and before money wasmade available for restorativejustice in the West Midlands.Planning and pre-emptive actionis crucial. I would go beyond thisand suggest that buildingrelationships with the individualswho will actually be referring,for example police officers onthe streets, is as important asbuilding strategic and seniorrelationships.

Having two fantastic facilitators inplace for over 3 months, we arecurrently in the middle ofconducting our first conferences.Initial targets were to conduct fiveconferences per week with one fulltime and one part-time member ofstaff, but realistically this will not bemet until a consistent and higherflow of referrals is achieved.

Tailoring

Depending on their settingrestorative justice projects havethe potential to adapt to suit theirenvironment, whilst adhering to thecore principles which have beenestablished internationally. It isimportant not to deviate too muchfrom what is an evidenced andeffective process, however thisdoes not mean they do not havethe opportunity to innovate.

Housing and third sectororganisations often haveunparalleled access to strongand pre-established clientrelationships; this is where theirstrengths lie. Projects canpotentially build upon therelationships they already haveto generate referrals and increaseawareness of access torestorative justice.

There is also potential to generatevictim-led referrals, although thispresents its own obstacles thatneed to be tackled. Victims mustbe fully aware of the potential foroffenders to decline invites into theprocess and this needs to be verycarefully managed by thefacilitators.

Within the housing sector there isoften elevated awareness ofresident conflicts. This increasesthe prospects for referrals and alsofeeds into the preparation stage forrestorative justice conferences, soin effect an element of the labourneeded for preparation is alreadycompleted.

There is huge potential for thehousing sector to reduce time andcosts directly related to residentconflicts and sometimes resulting

offences, and if conflicts, harm andreoffending can be reduced there isthe potential to reduce the vastamount of resources that areinjected into disputes every year.Ultimately our aim is to bringsectors and people togetherthrough this project in order toenhance the presence, autonomyand healing of the harmed, andimprove understanding andrehabilitation for the harmer.

SIFA Fireside works acrossBirmingham to tacklehomelessness, alcohol misuse,health inequalities and offendingbehaviour. As well as offeringpractical support we work withpeople to promoteindependence and social andeconomic inclusion, and it wasfor this innovative work that SIFAFireside was awarded the 2013GSK King’s Fund Impact Award.If you are interested in findingout more about our project,conducting research or have thepotential to feed in referrals thenplease get in touch:[email protected]

If restorative justice is going tosurvive in the third sector, it iscritical that we work together andacross sectors. Your organisationmay not be part of the criminaljustice process, but you couldbenefit from walking alongside it.

We bring thoseharmed by crime andthose responsible forthe harm together; tomeet and to talk,enabling everyoneinvolved to play a partin repairing the harmand finding a positiveway forward.

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with key agencies such as theTrust, the police, as well asvoluntary and community agenciesand the young men themselves.Together, the partnership willdeliver events throughout the yearto facilitate open and honestdiscussions between young Africanand Caribbean men and statutorystaff to identify the stigma anddiscrimination that can beexperienced when accessingservices. As part of the eventsfamilies, friends and carers of theyoung men will also be encourageto participate and have their sayon how things can be done better.These frank discussions will becrucial to achieve success and aspecific toolkit has been co-produced by young African andCaribbean men, with experience ofin-patient mental health care, toguide the sessions.

It is hoped that by bringing stafftogether to listen to the young menand their experiences it will open

Jenny Hudson Project Officer at 300Voices talks about a pilot project“Better Must Come – Towards Hope”to support men in Birmingham livingwith mental illness.

Research shows that young Africanand Caribbean men are more likelyto have negative experiences whenusing mental health services. Theyare over represented in the mentalhealth system and typically enterservices too late and at a point ofcrisis. This is often due to fear andmistrust.

To improve this experience, Time toChange, England’s biggest mentalhealth anti-stigma programme runby the charities Mind and RethinkMental Illness, has launched a pilotproject in the West Midlands inpartnership with Birmingham andSolihull Mental Health NHSFoundation Trust and WestMidlands Police. Through the 300Voices pilot project they aim toempower 300 young African andCaribbean men to share theirstories and help to reduce thestigma and discrimination that isoften experienced when accessingservices in inpatient mental healthsettings.

Building on existing knowledge andexpertise, Time to Changerecognises the importance ofworking in partnership by working

up a conversation, build trust andaim towards a more hopeful future.

At a recent launch event, oneattendee talked about their hopesfor the project. He said: “It’s verygood to bring people together andlook at the priorities of wheremental health teams need to headtowards. We need to worktogether to find ways of reachingyoung men before they get to acrisis point.”

Time to Change works with allcommunities to tackle mentalhealth stigma and discriminationand this project has beenestablished to address particularissues that people from African andCaribbean communities face. It hasbeen designed to create a legacyand will be sustainable for otherorganisations and communities totake forwards after the projectends in March 2015.

To find out more or to get involved in the projectplease visit www.time-to-change.org.uk/300Voices.



Steve Gilbert, one of menwho co-produced the toolkit

shares his experiences andexplains why he got involved

with 300 Voices.“I have experienced mental health problems on and off since my late teens

and was diagnosed with depression in 2008. After repeated episodes ofdepression and a serious manic episode, I was sectioned and subsequently

diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. So why is this important? It’s because I now havea deep understanding of mental health that can only be obtained through personalexperience.

Earlier this year I was asked to get involved in a new Time to Change project called300 Voices, which aims to improve the experience that young African andCaribbean men have when accessing mental health services. When it comes toproviding improvements to care and services in mental health it is essential thatsomeone with their own experience is involved. Enter the Lived ExperienceConsultant (LEC). We have been selected not only for our direct experience of

mental health and for coming from an African or Caribbean background, but becausewe have the skills and knowledge to be able to add value to the project.

I am one of three such people working on an engagement model called “Better MustCome – Towards Hope”, for the 300 Voices project. The engagement model will be

developed into a practical toolkit which will form a key part of the 300 Voices project and it ishoped that it will facilitate meaningful discussion between young African and Caribbean malesand statutory professionals, resulting in more positive outcomes and experiences for youngAfrican and Caribbean men.

There is a common misconception that people who have experienced mental health problems areweak-minded and unable to cope with the pressures of a demanding role. As people co-developing and co-piloting the model we are demonstrating the exact opposite. Our role hasincluded developing an understanding of the theoretical models we are using, contributing to theengagement model and design of the programme for the pilot sessions, delivering presentationsand jointly run pilot sessions.

The result will be a practical toolkit that will allow teams from mental health services to discoverwhat gives people hope within mental health settings, building on their past successes, to createthe most effective and positive experiences in the future. Teams work together to create a sharedunderstanding of what helps to support young African and Caribbean men in leading activefulfilled lives and then decide how to take this forward, agreeing the next steps for action.The toolkit will support discussion workshops which will involve participants working througha set of carefully crafted questions and tasks. The result is a vision and plan of action for whatboth teams and individuals can do to improve their relationships with young African andCaribbean men.

I think that our contribution to 300 Voices as LECs gives it integrity because it hasbeen designed through the eyes of people who truly understand thereality of life with a mental health problem. I have greatlyappreciated the opportunity to use my lived experience andinteractions with statutory staff in a positive way, to producesomething which will help improve outcomes and experiencesfor other young African and Caribbean men.”



Sitra’s Lauren Sadler looks at the new, emerging and changing job roles in Adult SocialCare within the Extra Care Housing Sector; what are the workforce challenges?

Historically, social care and housinghave developed in relative silos,both as professions and in theirdevelopment pathways. However,more recently there has been a shiftin culture of enabling independenceand also towards a more outcomesbased approach which is beingdriven by commissioning andcontracts. This has led to thecreation of new roles straddlingsocial care and housing, includingthose focused on: health andwellbeing; welfare and benefitsadvice; independent living; activitycoordination and reablement/rehabilitation.

Earlier this year Skills for Carecommissioned Sitra to undertakeresearch into the workforce needsof new, emerging and changing jobroles that have a housing and socialcare overlap. During the summer of2014, over 100 organisations withinthe extra care housing sector weresurveyed and 13 ‘strategic thinkers’across the housing sector wereinterviewed.

This research provided anopportunity to reflect on howsignificantly this picture has changedand the possible future direction oftravel. By exploring the workforcedevelopment needs of the ‘crossover’ roles, both now and in thefuture, it is hoped to ensure that we

have a well skilled andknowledgeable workforce.

What is the Existing Landscapewithin Extra Care and SupportedHousing?

l Extra Care is a growing andexpanding market with manyproviders positive about thefuture of housing with care.Creativity and innovation indelivery models is evident withhealth and wellbeing a priority.

l Perspectives indicate a huge shiftin the care and support beingrequested, accessed and offeredto adults. Specifically, serviceusers want choice.

l The shift and change in service isalso being attributed to thechanges in service users’expectations, with tenantswanting more choice andflexibility in their housing and careoptions.

External Factors InfluencingChange in the Sector

l Providers confirmed that thecurrent operating space ischallenging. Commissioners arelooking for value for money and amore integrated approach,

funding is increasingly comingfrom across health and housing,and outcome measures arefocusing more on delivery andcontracting.

l Awareness of the Care Act 2014was mixed, with most providersbeing unaware of it and othershaving only some awareness. Itwas evident, however that theCare Act 2014 has encouragedsome providers to explore thefurther potential of localpartnerships.

l Strategically the themes ofisolation and loneliness werehighlighted along with anemphasis on the increasing needsof those with dementia. Thesewere increasingly importantconsiderations for service deliverywhich will also have a directimpact on workforcedevelopment as well asworkforce and organisationalstructures.

Existing, New and EmergingRoles Across the Sector

l Traditionally care staff appear tohave had a task-orientedapproach. However, there is ashift towards a more holisticapproach based on a deeper

A Workforcefor the FutureA Workforcefor the Future



understanding of the person theyare providing the care for,particularly with regard to buildingsocial networks but also to beingable to signpost colleagues tosupport elsewhere.

l The integration agenda is notedby many as driving these changeswith care and support beingbought close together. Funding isalso cited as driving changes injob roles with joint commissioningand shared services.

l Providers suggested that the newand emerging roles and skillsneeded tend to impactlower/middle managers who haveto manage multiple areas of work.It was also highlighted that carestaff must have a broader andmore generic portfolio of skillsand an awareness of the holisticneeds of customers.

l Extra Care Housing is much morefocused on lifestyle and a holistic,choice-based housing option forservice users. Therefore there is agreater reliance on the schememanager to integrate these variedroles.

Workforce DevelopmentApproaches

l The majority of providers hadformal workforce developmentapproaches in place and reportedthat vocational qualifications areused within the sector. There wasalso an appreciation that not allnew recruits will have theappropriate skills and would needan in-depth indication and trainingplan

l Despite the drive for value formoney and the need to controlcosts, providers demonstrated acommitment to learning anddevelopment for their workforce.However, budget constraintsnecessitate more innovativedelivery models, for example e-learning and the use of othertechnologies.

l Providers suggested that genericskills may need to be enhanced

in existing qualifications (forexample, functional skills and inparticular communication skills)and included in newqualifications.

l Overwhelmingly there wasacknowledgment that seniormanagement, and in particularScheme Managers, needed to berobust and resilient in order tolead services in the changingenvironment of Extra CareHousing. The role needs not onlycare and support skills but alsobusiness acumen to cope withchanges and demands ofcommissioning.

Apprenticeships – now and in thefuture

l Whilst there was evidence that

the Health and Social CareApprenticeship framework wasbeing used by the sector therewas uncertainty around the fit ofthe framework in Extra CareHousing. Many of theApprenticeship pathways beingadopted in the sector are aroundadministration, business andrepairs and maintenance. Theseare viewed as more appropriatefor the sector, with someproviders uncertain about how aHealth and Social CareApprenticeship framework wouldfit within housing related support.

l The training needs of the existingworkforce are currently the focusof workforce developmentapproaches. There does howeverappears an appetite to alsoencompass training throughapprenticeship frameworks.

The skills and knowledge needed for ‘cross over’ roles are wide anddiverse – providers acknowledged a need for guided support toidentify the appropriate skills and knowledge to match these roles.

One

Guidance is needed for employers to be able to use learning that iscurrently available to meet the needs of this workforce – there is aneed to map current and future workforce needs to current learningprovision and explore new technologies to enhance training anddevelopment.

Two

Promotion of careers in the sector needs to be undertaken, as well asimprovement with recruitment and retention by employers – staffrecruitment into ‘cross over’ roles should be considered as part of thewider recruitment ‘challenge’ that social care experiences. Oncerecruited, employers face a challenge in retaining their employees.

Three

The sector are not fully aware of the impact of policy changes – theextra care housing sector needs information and advice on wherepolicy changes such as the Care Act (2014) impacts their sector.

Four

The sector does not utilise Health and Social Care apprenticeships ina comprehensive way – there is work to be done to understand howthis situation could be improved.

Five

Overall the research highlighted five key messages

Your can read the full report we produced for Skills for Care –www.sitra.org/new-emerging-and-changing-job-roles


it, people getting work orgetting external volunteer jobsand maybe people who were thekind of clients that would notusually have engaged, engagedwith the art and then selling theirstuff on market stalls.”(Stakeholder, year three)

Benefits to participants include;people using specific skills whichother volunteering opportunitiesmay not offer, a flexiblecommitment, giving and receivingand a real sense of achievement. Ithas also helped people developconfidence and self worth and evenproved a starting point to developbusiness ideas.

The organisation also benefits fromhaving increased engagement inclient involvement, betterengagement with and outcomesfor work and learning activities.Timebanking also complementsexisting support provision andincreases engagement with othersupport services.

Prior to the pilot, staff had workedto link Broadway’s clients intoexisting Timebanking projectsacross London. However, it soonbecame evident that while theinterest was there, some barriersto engagement meant our clientstended not to participate evenwhen registered.

In 2010 Broadway (now St Mungo’s Broadway)launched a Timebanking Project called SkillsExchange. Kaaren Morris tell us more.

Skills Exchange a four year project,funded by Oak Foundation, was thefirst attempt to bring Timebankinginto the homelessness sector. Inaddition to establishing a Timebank,Skills Exchange also conducted alongitudinal research project withthe Centre for Housing Policy at theUniversity of York.

What is Timebanking?

Timebanking is a community-ledinnovation that uses time ascurrency. One hour of time ‘earns’a one-hour time credit. This canthen ‘buy’ an hour of anotherTimebank participant’s time andservices. For example, Bob couldcut Rachel’s hair, Rachel could paintAhmed’s wall, Ahmed could hold aCV workshop session for Racheland Bob.

Timebanking is like volunteering butwith a core of exchange andreciprocity, which brings a greatersense of self-worth to participants

The Skills Exchange demonstratedthat Timebanking is an effectiveand innovative way of providingsupport, building self-confidence,engaging clients with work andlearning activities and reconnectingthem to paid employment.

“We definitely saw the fruit from

Skills Exchange was designed tofocus on what clients wanted to doat locations they could access andwith the support they felt theyneeded.

“Time Banking is very organic andit’s moving all the time, the beautyof it is that is adaptable...we’re alsowanting to give a bit of flexibility toprojects if they can find a betterway of doing it.” (Stakeholder, yeartwo)

Joanne Bretherton, ResearchFellow at University of York said: “It is clear that Timebanks have thepotential to help address the needsof homeless people. The principles

TheSkillsExchange

What I have isvalued, I give and I getsomething back.“

”12 bulletin 2014 No.6 www.sitra.org



at the core of Timebanking giveresponsibility to people who have

sometimes been regardedas, or made to feel that theythemselves are the problem.Timebanks strive to makepeople feel useful in situations

in which they had previously feltuseless, and in doing so have thepotential to transform lives….”

The feedback from clients wasreally positive.

One client said: “It keeps youmotivated, not sat at home. Youcan make new friends if that’swhat you want to look for. If you’vegot friends that do Timebankingyou can build up friendships andhave that support”

Another added: “I think theTimebank is good for, you knowthere are a lot of people that arebored and have nothing to do…it’ssomething to keep themoccupied, and if they can do acourse and learn something,even better”

Broadway’s Skills Exchangefocussed on the engagement ofhomeless people and, with a greatdeal of learning along the way, hasproven an effective model. Thereis real scope for exploring furtherpilots with different client groupsin different locations.

We are a member of TimebankingUK, which shares valuableresources for establishingTimebanks and also offersinformation days and training toorganisations. Find out moreinformation atwww.timebanking.org

The full evaluation report isavailable at www.york.ac.uk/chpor www.broadwaylondon.org

It gives me purpose… It normalises your life.“ ”

l 50 people secured employment l 23 people entered accredited external trainingl 9,753 hours of Timebanking were delivered – The equivalent

to someone working full time for five years. 68% fromBroadway clients, 32% from external volunteers

l 88 different activities were undertaken, from volunteering onreception to gardening, cooking, IT training and arts basedactivities

l 48% of activities engaged in were IT related (jobapplications, CVs, IT skills, use of eBay, bidding for housing)

l 45% of all activities were related to client involvementl 28% of all activities were directly work and learning related

Key outcomes from the project:

A FINAL WORD FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF YORKBroadway sought to develop ways of working that created links between the Broadway Timebank, otherTimebanks and the wider community; and, importantly, to develop a Timebanking model for homelesspeople that could be replicated.

There was good evidence that, alongside successes in engaging Broadway clients, Timebanking wasdelivering a wide range of work and learning related activities, helping homeless and formerlyhomeless people become more self-confident and progress into paid work. There is a case forreplicating the Broadway Timebanking approach because of these successes.

Innovation requires piloting because issues that are difficult to anticipate often arise when using a newapproach for the first time. Timebanking with homeless people therefore needs to be flexible enough tobe accessible to the minority of homeless people with high needs, and yet also of direct use to thosehomeless people who were immediately capable of paid work.

One of the key strengths of the Broadway Timebank was the success in engaging with a large numberof homeless people with diverse needs. Making the earning of Timebank credits very accessible was aspecific modification to enable the Broadway Timebank to work withhomeless people with high support needs. A more rigid interpretation ofwhat Timebanking is would have probably been less accessible to somehomeless people and therefore less successful.

By the autumn of 2013, awareness of the Broadway Timebank had increased acrossthe homelessness service sector as a whole. Timebanking UK had begun to directcharities and voluntary sector organisations, which were interested in developingTimebanking for homeless people, to Broadway for advice and information.



With the Care Act now law, Sitra’s Tim Parkin guides us down the road to implementation

In May of this year, after lengthygestation, the Care Act 2014became law, creating for the firsttime a single statute for adult careand support.

The Act essentially does threethings: l consolidates a mishmash ofsocial care legislation that hadgrown up since the 1948National Assistance Act;

l gives legal effect to recentpolicies, notably personalisation,for example, by conferring alegal right to a personal budget;

l and sets out a new settlementfor care and support with theintroduction of national eligibilitycriteria, consistent arrangementsfor charging and deferredpayments, and perhaps mostsignificantly, a limit on theamount people will have to payfor their own care.

This cap on contributions, as it isknown, is a response to large scalepublic concern over the inequities ofa system where people have beenfaced with the prospect of large billsfor their care which were notpossible to predict or make provisionfor. Underpinning the Act is for thefirst time a requirement that localauthorities promote wellbeing whencarrying out any of their care andsupport functions, a landmark

change, when combined with itsarticulation of the need to join uphealth and care around people’sneeds, for more prevention andearly intervention, better advice andinformation, and by placingsafeguarding on a statutory footing.

Following passing of the Act, theDepartment of Health (DH) launcheda consultation on the guidance andregulations aimed at assisting localauthorities with implementation.Over the summer Sitra pulledtogether its formal response to theguidance, drawing on the feedbackfrom two consultation events thatSitra organised in partnership withthe National Housing Federation andDH1. In common with others in thehousing sector Sitra was pleased tosee that the contribution of housingto achieving the goals of thereformed care and support systemhad been recognised, and ratherthan being pigeon holed in a singlesection, described in a number ofimportant sections of the guidancesuch as prevention and earlyintervention, information and advice,market shaping, and integration andpartnerships. Within this overallpositive picture our responseconcentrated mainly on highlightingwhere greater emphasis could beafforded to housing related support(beyond ‘bricks and mortar’),together with submitting a number

of case studies provided bymembers illustrating how theprinciples and intent of the Act arealready being put into practice.Informed by concerns from theconsultation events, we expressedthe need for greater clarity in anumber of areas including the intentand implications of the Act andguidance for those groups of peoplethat have traditionally been servedby housing related support such aspeople experiencing homelessness,people with substance misuseneeds, people experiencingdomestic violence. We stressed toothe importance of local Health andWellbeing Boards and SafeguardingBoards incorporating a housingperspective and suggested anumber of areas where supportedhousing providers might be able totake on certain functions on behalfof local authorities, for example bybeing part of a local information andadvice hub, undertakingassessments under delegatedauthority, and providing independentadvocacy.

At the end of October, after havingreceived and analysed over 4,000responses, the DH published thefinal guidance and regulations,together with an ImpactAssessment2. It is evident thatconsiderable work and effort hasgone into making the guidance and



regulations clearer and fuller inresponse to the feedback and morecase studies have been added tothe guidance. While overall therehas been little by way offundamental change, there havebeen some significant changes toparts of the regulations andguidance. For example, theapproach to determining thenational threshold for local authorityfunded support is more closelylinked to outcomes and wellbeingand thought by the DH to beproofed against local authorityconcerns over a perceived risk ofmaking more people eligible thanis currently the case. Carersentitlement has also been madesimpler and more explicitly on apar with adult eligibility, whilst thesafeguarding guidance has beenstrengthened to make the scopeof safeguarding and theresponsibilities of local authoritiesand other partners moretransparent. See our article on page18 for more about Safeguardingand the role of housing.

The evolution of the Care Acthas been long run. As theimplementation date of 1st April2015 for the first phase of the Actmoves closer a public awarenesscampaign will be run for peoplewith “existing care needs” and atoolkit provided to support councils

and trusted partners to help themcommunicate the changes. By theend of the year further consultationwill take place on the second phaseof implementation from April 2016covering the cap on care costs,extended means test for chargingpurposes, and a new appealssystem from April 2016 for peoplenot happy about the assessmentprocess.

As things move from policy todelivery Sitra, working with memberorganisations and national partnerswill continue to maintain close linkswith DH and others organisationssuch as the Association of Directorsof Social Services in order to makesure that housing stays on theagenda and to act as a conduit forfeeding in good practice and raisingconcerns.

1 Sitra’s response to the draft guidance consultation –http://www.sitra.org/documents/care-act-2014-consultation-sitra-response

2 The Care Act 2014 Statutory Guidance –http://www.sitra.org/news/care-act-2014-statutory-guidance-is-published

3 Sitra/LGA integration Events –http://www.sitra.org/training/lga-and-sitra-integration-development-events/

In support of the integration aspects of the Care Act, Sitra isrunning on behalf of the Local Government Association fourregional workshops on developing integrated approaches tomeeting the housing, health and care needs of vulnerableadults3. We have also developed a suite of training andconsultancy resources around the integration of housing,health and adult social care.

We are very interested to hear about your experience of localimplementation and how you are being involved. If youwould like to find out more, or want to tell us about yourexperience please contact [email protected].



At Bromford – we know we havealways done great stuff. We havebuilt new homes that have helpedfamilies escape overcrowded ortemporary accommodation. We’veprovided housing related support toyoung people just starting out orindividuals with mental healthneeds on their journey to recovery.We’ve provided advice and trainingto help our unemployed customersinto sustainable employment.

But like most organisations we’vetended to tackle these things asisolated issues. We’ve organisedourselves into separate teams thatdeliver interventions in a disjointedway with big gaps between them.Much of the value we could havecreated for individuals andcommunities has been lostbetween these gaps.

What’s more we have tended tosee our customers somewhat asinvisible consumers of our servicesat best or as over reliant on us andrather needy at worst.

We started to try and do thingsdifferently a couple of years agowhen we launched the BromfordDeal. For all new general needscustomers we decided to take thefirst step towards being more thanjust a landlord. We felt it was timewe did more than simply handover the keys to a home and waitto respond only if things wentwrong.

At first we used terms like‘something for something’ and‘self-reliance’ to capture the newtype of relationship we thought weneeded to establish and purpose ofthis relationship. But with hindsightsome of this early language was abit clumsy.

The more we got to know ourcustomers the more we realisedthe Deal was all aboutdeveloping a real, two-wayrelationship. A relationshipdeveloped as much throughlistening as telling. A relationship asmuch about finding out what ourcustomers can do as providingservices designed to help themovercome the things they can’t do.

We had become increasinglyaware that the issues faced bymany of our general needscustomers were very similar tothose we knew were faced bymany of our supported housingcustomers too. The focus of ourcustomer relationships hasincreasingly moved towards thesort of one familiar in supportedhousing. We get to know eachother. We find out what isimportant to our customers;what their goals and aspirationsare; and then we talk about whatsteps they might take to achievethose goals and how Bromfordmight play a part.

Of course this relationship isunderpinned by what you might callthe ‘terms and conditions’…..thetenancy agreement. But the focushas shifted. We are redesigninghow we do things and testing out arange of new approaches that startwith the customer and which areaimed at building trust andunlocking potential.

And it’s working. We are havingmuch more open, honestconversations. Asking ourcustomers about where they’regoing and not just where they’vecome from is game changing.Many tell us it’s the first time anyagency has asked them what theywant; where they want to get to.

It’s still very early days but it’sreally, really exciting.

A NewDeal

The Bromford Deal where tenant and landlord work togetherto make things better – Director John Wade explains.

Find out more about the Bromford Deal – http://www.bromford.co.uk/the-bromford-deal/ and read John’s Blog – johnbromford.wordpress.com



If we want to see improved outcomes and care for people with learningdisabilities, what resources need to be available to support this?Asks Kayley Worsley of Dimensions.

In the wake of Winterbourne View,reducing the risk of abuse towardspeople with learning disabilities andthose with autism is crucial.Strategies such as PositiveBehaviour Support, which areplanned, implemented andpracticed by specialist behaviourconsultants, can help people tomake the move into communitiesand live more independently byaddressing behaviour thatchallenges.

People with learning disabilitiesneed to be supported in the bestway possible by those aroundthem. It is important thatappropriate training and resourcesare available to that ‘circle ofsupport’ so they can implementand maintain the strategiesintroduced by behaviourconsultants in their relative’sBehaviour Support Plan. This plancan include approaches likemodelling, role-play practice andperformance feedback.

A collaborative approachbetween practitioners, familiesand paid support workers willenable strategies to beembedded in a way that addressesbehaviour that challenges. In turn,the risk of abuse is reduced in thesector as people supporting themknow how best to approachsituations that could act as atrigger.

Nick Barratt, Head of BehaviourSupport at learning disabilitysupport provider Dimensions,explains:

“A key aspect of behavioursupport, and one that has greatrelevance in the wake of theevents at Winterbourne View, isthat if we want to preventincidents of challenging behaviour,we must support people in a waythat enhances their quality of lifeand meets their specific needs.

This includes communicating withpeople in ways they understand,respecting their wishes, and givingthem the opportunity to exercisemeaningful control over theirlives.”

A new specialist book, calledFeeling Cross and Sorting It Out,shares best practice techniques foraddressing behaviour thatchallenges. MP Norman Lamb,launching the book in the House ofLords said these resources were animportant step to ensuring peoplemove into personalised services inthe community. He said: “Peoplewith learning disabilities haveexactly the same rights aseverybody else to live independentlives. It is not acceptable to just put

someone in an institution.”

As well as the book, part of theBooks Beyond Words series, atraining package focusing onsupporting people with complexbehaviours is available and willinclude online learningopportunities. The book, and thetraining package, is a resource forpeople with learning disabilities,their support teams, families andprofessionals to work through ascenario depicting behaviour thatchallenges.

It is also important thatprofessionals from across allorganisations in the sector shareknowledge and best practice;various Positive Behaviour Supportgroups working together leads to adeeper understanding and widerdissemination of behaviour supportpractice and outcomes achieved.

Only by a collective approach willthe sector achieve many of thegoals laid out in the Department ofHealth’s report: getting people outof institutional settings, avoidingfuture admissions and givingpeople the behaviour support theyneed to live more independently intheir local communities whilstminimising the risk of abuse.

Feeling Cross &Sorting it Out

Feeling Cross ad Sorting It Out was written by Dimensions and BooksBeyond Words. For more information, visit http://booksbeyondwords.co.uk/bookshop/paperbacks/feeling-cross-and-sorting-it-out



Providers of housing with support have long understood the need to safeguardtheir vulnerable tenants from abuse and neglect. Recent research demonstratesthat a significant number of adults in general needs housing are also in seriousneed of safeguarding1. In the Care Act, Parliament has responded by firmlyestablishing adult safeguarding as the responsibility of all housing providers –Sitra’s Rose Molloy looks at the what this means in practice.

From April 2015, all housing providers must have specific safeguardingpolicies and procedures in place covering all staff. The policies mustensure that:l Staff are familiar with the six principles that underpin adult safeguarding l Staff are trained in recognising the symptoms of abuse and that thetraining program is on-going to guarantee all staff are included as peoplejoin

l Providers have a senior manager with responsibility for safeguarding ora lead for adult safeguarding

The six principles of adult safe-guarding are: l Empowerment: This meansthat interventions mustsupport people to makedecisions and have a say intheir care. It is thepresumption of person leddecisions and informedconsent.

l Protection: Supportingvictims and allowing them tohave a say. This includessupport and representation forthose in greatest need.

l Prevention: It is better to takeaction before harm occurs.There should be an emphasison health promotion and areduction in isolation before aneed arises. Interventions forpeople at risk should focus onpreventing care and supportneeds. In populations withestablished care and supportneeds, there should be afocus on re-enablement andincreasing independence.

l Proportionality: Interventionsmust represent the leastintrusive response appropriateto the risk presented. This isin keeping with human rightsprinciples.

l Partnership: Local solutionsfrom services working withinthe community have a part toplay in preventing, detectingand reporting neglect andabuse. This means thathousing providers, theircontractors and residents allhave a role to play.Safeguarding is everybody’sbusiness.

l Accountability: Safeguardingpractice and arrangementsshould be accountable andtransparent to the public.There should be a leadsafeguarding officer that isknown and available to staff.

Safeguarding Adult Boards: an Opportunity for Housing

Safeguarding Adult Boards (SABs)have been operating in somecommunities but from April 2015they will be required for councilsunder the Care Act. Statutorymembers include representativesfrom the NHS, ClinicalCommissioning Groups, job centres,the police, prisons, and probationservices. Representatives from thehousing sector are not required toparticipate on the SAB but areallowed. There are number ofreasons why housing should buildon this opportunity. Firstly, it willstrengthen connections with otherlocal agencies working with theirresidents and this can have positiverepercussions across the board: fromassistance in managing hoarding to

developing youth programs withinproperties. Additionally, housingproviders are ideally positioned topick up on safeguarding issues astheir staff and contractors seepeople in their home environmenton a regular basis. Finally, in theunfortunate event of a serioussafeguarding incident occurring,the SAB is now required to conducta Safeguarding Adult Review(previously called a Serious CaseReview) and publish their findings.If the incident occurs in socialhousing, the SAB can compel thehousing provider to supplyinformation and a representativefrom the housing sector would beinvaluable in assisting the SAB inthese situations.

Sitra is available to providetraining and consultancy toassist you in preparing forCare Act implementation or toprovide you with all you needto know about Safeguarding.

1 Research by Imogen Parry – Parry (2014a) ‘Adult Serious Case Reviews: lessons forhousing providers’ Journal of Social Welfare and Family Lawhttp://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09649069.2014.895506



Sitra’s Geoffrey Ferres looks at Personal IndependencePayment (PIP), the new disability benefit to replaceDisability Living Allowance (DLA) for people of workingage. So far it hasn’t gone according to plan – but slowturning wheels are gathering speed.

New DLA claims from over 16sstopped in June 2013 but sinceFebruary 2014 the number ofpostcode areas where any existingDLA claimants are being switchedto PIP has stuck at 32 (out of 120)1.On 17 October 2014 the DWPannounced the halt was over: from17 November 2014 PIP will startaffecting some DLA claimants withCH (Chester), HD (Huddersfield),L (Liverpool) and M (Manchester)postcodes.

It’s all gone Pete Tong

The DWP handed contracts forface-to-face assessments to twocompanies in a “sandwich”arrangement:l Atos got Scotland and the Northand South of England

l Capita got Wales and CentralEngland.

Both companies struggled. By 25October 2013 over 92,000assessments were outstanding andonly Capita was ready to starttaking PIP claims from existing DLAclaimants – termed “naturalreassessments”:l Approaching 16 (unlessterminally ill)

Implications for staff

When to train staff? If you:l Only help clients with PIP whoare not receiving DLA, you mayonly need a few staff trained onPIP

l Work in areas where some DLAclaimants are being switchedonto PIP, consider whether toget everyone trained eventhough the number of clientsaffected is still small.

We believe staff generally need:l Half a day’s training if they haveexperience of DLA

l A full day’s training if new todisability benefits.

Contact [email protected] forinhouse or public courses.

Assumptions andreality

Government assumed:l75% of claimants would havean assessment – reality hasbeen 97%

lAssessments would take 75minutes on average – realityhas been two hours

Government estimated:lNew claims from terminally illpeople would take 10 days –average has been 28 days

lOther new claims would take74 days – average has been107 days.

Figures from Public AccountsCommittee report4

1 You can reach details of the relevantpostcodes by using the Government’sPIP checker, available at:https://www.gov.uk/pip-checker

2 Available at: http://www.nao.org.uk/report/personal-independence-payments-pip-2/

3 Available at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/news/personal-independence-payments-statement/

4 Available at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmpubacc/280/280.pdf.

The text of the report only covers eightpages and there is a summary that occupiesless than half a page.


Wakingup to

l Reporting changes ofcircumstances

l Reaching end of fixed-termawards.

Early in 2014 Atos started takingsimilar PIP claims in parts ofScotland and Northern England. Thenin February 20142 a National AuditOffice report appeared. MargaretHodge MP (who chairs the PublicAccounts Committee) commented:

“I was shocked to learn that, notonly will Personal IndependencePayment claims cost almost threeand a half times more to administerthan Disability Living Allowance,they also take double the amountof time to process3.”

The National Audit Office reportforced the Department for Workand Pensions (DWP) to stop furthermoves to switch existing DLAclaimants onto PIP until it hadstopped the backlog growing.

The DWP had planned for claims totake just over 10 weeks (see Box).It now warns PIP claimants theymay wait six months for anassessment. So the expansion of“natural reassessments” does notmean an end to delays.

Reality


Pulling TogetherThis autumn Sitra launched our Train the Trainer programme for service users; this new offeringhas been designed for people with a lived experience of using services, who are committed todeveloping their knowledge, skills and abilities as trainers and is part of our increasing focuson Co-production.

This opportunity for services users is the second stage of the ‘Pulling Together’ collaborationbetween Sitra and Single Homeless Project (SHP), funded by the London Housing Foundation.The first stage of Pulling Together resulted in the development of training resourcesco-produced by staff and clients, focusing on supporting homeless people faced with thechallenges of welfare benefit reform and negotiating the requirements of the system (hostedon: www.pullingtogether.org.uk)

Our aim is to have Co-production as a ‘golden thread’ running through the work we do; throughthe work we are engaged in partnership with nine European countries in the transfer ofinnovative Co-production practices across the European Supported Housing (to find out more:www.elosh.eu) we adopt this definition:

“Co-production is inclusive working practices between experts by experience… andorganisations. It is about equal partnership and collaboration between parties passionate aboutimproving service provision. Every person involved in the process of co-production is valued,respected and listened to, with everyone involved in designing, developing and delivering.Co-production improves services, improves communities and can help make Independent Livinga reality for all.” (ENIL, 2014)

Sitra training already offers a range of Co-produced and Co-delivered training through our LiveCase Study Approach; this Train the Trainer programme will build on this through developingthe capacity of service users to become training professionals.

The programme is split into three main stages; the first two are bespoke awards in DevelopingTraining Resources in the Charity Sector and Presentation Skills. The third stage is the nationallyrecognised Level 3 Award in Education and Training (formerly PTLLS).

We are excited about how this programme supports the holistic approach Sitra takes to co-production. It not only places considerable value on the wealth of experiential knowledge andskills service users can bring to learning and development in the sector, but will support themto engage in a sustainable way through earning these accredited qualifications.

On finishing the programme, the intention is for participants to join our network of Sitra trainersand work with us to develop and deliver courses which offer staff across the sector a richertraining experience. Having a nationally recognised training qualification will also enableparticipants to branch-out vocationally with the option of developing careers in training.

To find out more about this and our other co-produced courses, contact our training team on: 020 7793 4713 or [email protected]

Co-Production in ActionThis first stage received

incredibly positive feedbackfrom both staff and clients

involved. Lisa Harrison,Deputy CEO of Sitra says

“The experience of creating the

Pulling Together training, a truly

co-produced set of resources

built around what service users

and staff felt was important and

useful, was one of the most

rewarding projects I have been

involved in at Sitra. Working this

way gives these learning

materials a resonance that they

would not otherwise have. Even

the name of the programme

‘Pulling Together’ came from

the participants, and reflects the

positive feeling that went into

this work.”


Documents

Sitra bulletin no 6 2014