Issue - meetings

Issue - meetings

Short Breaks: Future Partnership and Grant Funding with Voluntary Organisations

Meeting: 22/01/2019 - CHILDREN'S SERVICES OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (Item 69)

69 Short Breaks: Future Partnership and Grant Funding with Voluntary Organisations pdf icon PDF 57 KB

 

The Committee will receive an update on recent activity and funding arrangements with voluntary organisations who deliver short breaks to families and children in Central Bedfordshire.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

The Director for Children’s Services (DCS) welcomed representatives from the voluntary sector and the parent/carer forum SNAP who had been invited to deliver a joint presentation with the DCS. Members were appraised of the joint partnership working between the Council and the voluntary sector, the governance structure and those issues and concerns impacting organisations and families following the introduction of changes to grant funding. The DCS and partners were committed to operating in a more effective and person centred way however they acknowledged that any changes must be of benefit to children and the families accessing services. Proactive steps had been taken to work with all partners in order to stabilise the situation and as a result funding had been secured for 2019 and 2020, with a clear operation model in place after that date in order to ensure a smooth transition to a different grant funding model in the future.

 

In light of the presentation Members discussed the following in summary:-

·         That the scale for referral pathway would highlight user need and that tiers of support would not interfere with a clinical diagnosis.

·         That the voluntary sector did not traditionally experience those with no need of particular services trying to access them.

·         That activity planning for families was undertaken with an outcome focussed approach which enabled support workers to gauge need and that parents and carers were required to meet a clearly defined set of criteria.

·         That the Council’s wider relationship with the voluntary sector would be addressed by the Executive.

·         That the Partnership Vision for Education would be refreshed and updated as part of the schools for the future programme and that the Council was working closely with schools to ensure that vacancies on the Special Education and Disabilities (SEND) Board were recruited to as soon as possible.

 

RECOMMENDED:-

1.    That the Committee acknowledge the recent activity on the short breaks programme, the decision to stabilise grant funding to voluntary organisations providing short breaks to March 2020 and the plan to deliver the personalisation agenda from April 2020.

2.    That an update be delivered to the Committee within six months.