North West Provider Forum

Minutes of Meeting

Date:  Thursday 14th April 2011

Venue:  National Housing Federation, Manchester Office.

Present

• Donna Kelly  -  LHT
• Alison Turner  -  Harvest
• Lyn Kelly  -  Villages
• Mike Leigh-Bergin  -  MACC
• Steve Goslyn  -  Threshold
• Cath McAndry  -  Riverside Housing
• Chris Allen  -  Forum Housing
• Paula McGlynn -  Wirral  Partnership Homes
• Janet Hardwick  -  Regenda Group
• Eva Holt  -  Adactus Housing Association
• Jacqui McCann  -  Great Places
• Jake Elliot  -  NHF
• Sallie Bridgen  -  NHF
• Lisa Purchase  -  St  Vincents Housing Association
• David Jones  -  DOH
• Paul Greenwood  -  Bay Housing Association
• Dianne Sodhi  -  People First Housing Association
• Sally Watts  -  Great Places
• Mark Weights  -  SHAP

  Apologies

• Patricia Grierson  -  Johnnie Johnson Housing Trust
• Mark Elliott  -  Johnnie Johnson Housing Trust
• Andrew White  -  Irwell Valley
• Janine Iyanda  Richmond Fellowship
• Ishtiaq Ali  -  Inward House
• Kathryn Ambrose  -  Guinness NC
• Melanie Davenport  -  Weaver Vale Housing Trust
• Dave Mathews  -  Warrington Community Care
• Martin Morton  -  VSNW
• Lisa Bennett Thornton  -  Adullam
• Steve Carney  -  Home Group

1.  Apologies of absence

Above.

2.  Minutes of the last meeting

Agreed.

3.  Matters Arising

None

4. Impact of cuts to services: 

Liverpool

• Cuts ranging from 12.5% and 100%. Many specialist projects have been cut and generic services are expected to pick them up. Teenage Pregnancy Services cut by 50%. Affecting Floating Support and Accommodation Based Services.

Wirral

• No notification of cuts.

Knowsley

• Projects being cut by 10/15% over 2 years. Expecting larger cuts in 2012.

Halton

• Cuts up to 25% in floating support services and currently reviewing accommodation based services.

St Helens

• Deferring cuts that were imposed this year from 2012 will impose cuts of 37%. Meeting regularly with providers.

Bolton

• Maintaining funding but undertaking a strategic review.
• 3 services lost.

Blackburn

• Asked to take a 15% cut across the board. Some providers have negotiated a smaller reduction.

Bury

• Asked to take a 10% cut with no flexibility.

Rochdale

• 15% reduction. Need to save £8.5m next year. 0 value on contracts and retendering.

Manchester

• Contracts under £1m 15%, over £1m 30%. Commenced a strategic review.

Cheshire West

• No cuts.

Blackpool

• 15% reduction.
  1 floating support cut 20%.
  1 sheltered scheme cut 50%.
  All contracts extended for 12 months to March 2012.

Manchester continued.....

• A drug and alcohol scheme has funding from drug and alcohol services which is also at risk.

Trafford

• All floating support going out to tender seeking similar number of contacts. Very little consultation – 10% cut to sheltered this year – 30% over 3 years. Floating Support Services closing.

Manchester continued.....

• Questionnaires are about how they decide what is strategically relevant. Cost will also be taken account of. The questionnaire asks about what proportion weighting to each and what is strategically relevant.
• Questionnaires are on line. Will then do an equality impact assessment on offers made for savings.

The Connecting People Forum met with Manchester about the issues for landlords if care providers service end. Landlords can be left with the building and vulnerable residents.

• (Eva agreed to close 2 services).
• Also consulting on Sheltered services.

Wigan

• Have been more prepared. Asked providers of non sheltered to assess how they will deliver services on 10% less and those are now being agreed.
• Have said they will look at extra care. Riverside agreed 10% cuts.

Lancashire

• Re-tendering all sheltered but an initial closed process used the new accreditation process of PQQ. Moving towards unit rates and set hourly rates between 25-40 minutes per customer per week.
• Also considering assistive technology and have gone in to partnership with BT to deliver call services. BT assisting Lancashire to review all their call services.

Salford

• Have decided to do a block gross contract on all sheltered housing based on size of scheme minus 10% for voids and self funders £8.00 per unit per week. (Including Telecare services).
• Riverside – Salford have developed a new model for supported housing based on their places for change model.

Regenda - Tameside

• Have 2 schemes delivering floating support based on a block gross which have not been affected.

Riverside agreed 25% cuts and moved to block gross.

 Wirral

• No cuts this year but will speak to providers regarding efficiency savings, particularly focussing on learning difficulties.
• Have said there will be cuts next year. The Provider Forum are working together to think through how to protect services via innovation. Regularly meet lead officers.

Sefton

• 5% cuts or VFM savings. Contracts ended on
• 31st March, intend to put this out to tender in 6 months.

Manchester continued.....

• Riverside making 30% cuts – awaiting feedback on this proposal and really concerned about the delay in getting a decision on this. Have also been told there will be 25% cuts on drugs and alcohol services.

Stockport

• Riverside have closed a small service. Overall budget not been cut. Some progress made in providers collaborating.

Oldham

• Around 8% - Produced concentric circles of risk. Women’s Refuge merged with Threshold – both cut by around 30%.
• Message is that there will be further cuts to come.
• Trends

- Accommodation Based – Looking at costs. Floating Support – seeking larger contracts.

- Issue of the enormous costs of retendering, merging etc.
- Commissioning staff disappearing, so rash decisions being made in the  churn.
- Are commissioners listening enough to the users of services.
- Services being cut appear to be preventive services rather than crisis  services.

Cheshire East

• Statutory services cut hourly rate, but SP secure, issuing 2 year contracts.
• Have tendered 2 women aid services and these have gone to new providers.

Cumbria

• Looking to re-tender all services.

Federation Update

• Please see presentation from Jake. (Attached).

Health

• David Jones updated his role and priorities in terms of implementation.

Churn in PCT’s – “transition” involves:

• Commissioning – led by Joe Rafferty
• Creating the architecture and assurance process. There will be 5 clusters in the region broadly based in the 5 sub regions. The CE’s have been announced recently. Their role will be to maintain relationships with LA’s.
• Different councils will be signed up to the change to various degrees.

Provision:

• Idea of ‘transforming community services’ joining up services commissioned through local government, health etc. E.g. some areas have developed Community Trusts.

Public Health:

• Will have a national architecture delivered through LA’s.

Health & Well Being Boards:

• Give LA’s health responsibilities.

JSNA’s:

• Need to link in with housing.

Spending review announced £2bn for social care and a further £2bn though health service with the intention that this is passed to social care.

Sector led improvement – “think personal not local”.

Have a transitional alliance that will continue for 12 month period looking at health and well being boards, JSNA, transition, leadership development, personalisation and safeguarding.

David Nicholson (Head of National Commissioning Board) has written to NHS Trusts, PCT’s, local government etc regarding how to keep momentum going during this period of uncertainty.

Every LA in the North West except one applied to be a pilot for Health & Well Being Boards and is planning to be an early implementer.

Message is to keep going with reference to changes likely to be made.

Date of next meeting: 

29 June 2011
10.30am