Corporate Issues Scrutiny Committee

1

CORPORATE ISSUES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

WEDNESDAY 7 JANUARY 2004

REPORT FROM DIRECTOR OF PERSONAL SERVICES

CORPORATELY FUNDED VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS

PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

To inform Members of the performance of three voluntary organisations which receive corporate funding:

• Citizens Advice Bureau [CAB]
• Association of Voluntary Organisations in Wrexham [AVOW]
• PSL Group [formerly known as Pentra] – Second Circle furniture recycling project

INFORMATION

1.On 7 October 2003 members of the Executive Board agreed proposed changes to corporate arrangements for providing grant aid to voluntary organisations. [DPS/25/03]. In broad terms, these enabled the Social Services Department to develop a commissioning approach to the purchase and provision of services from voluntary organisations. The re-allocation of resources to the appropriate service budget will ensure that commissioned services are explicitly linked to the priorities of the Social Services Department and are balanced with arrangements for other forms of service provision. It also allows for the longer term planning of resources to meet identified client needs.

2.However, the report acknowledged that three organisations have a corporate focus in that the services they provide to support Council wide objectives. Therefore the Citizens Advice Bureau, AVOW and the PSL Group contracts would continue to be administered by the Social Services Department but would be scrutinised corporately. This report sets out the level of compliance for each of these organisations in relation to their contract for 2002/3 and the progress made by each during the current financial year.

Citizens Advice Bureau [CAB] - £81,889 [2002/2005]

Wrexham CAB provides advice, information and advocacy on a range of issues, including:

• Benefits
• Debt
• Housing
• Employment
• Consumer issues

Results obtained to the benefit of clients include:

• Income maximisation
• Debt rescheduling
• Negotiating with housing providers to prevent eviction
• Creditor action suspended
• Information and access to other support services via referral

Funding from the Council supports the core project. This has enabled CAB to provide an open access service at their office [18 hours per week], a telephone advice line [15 hours per week] and outreach support in Chirk [3 hours per week] in addition to maintaining the project infrastructure.

3.The CAB core project recorded £3,257,359 of debt during 2002/3. Support was given to 558 clients to reschedule payments. In many cases this avoided debt recovery through the courts. During 2003/4 CAB have identified a sharp increase in the overall level of debt, with mental health problems being a significant factor. This has been addressed in three ways:

• Increasing multi agency work particularly with the Social Services Mental Health Teams.
• Increased support enabled by the Welsh Assembly Government funded project ‘Better Health, Better Advice.’
• Increased support enabled by the Community Legal Services funded debt project.

4.In 2002/3 the CAB maximised clients’ income by £496,931 within the core project. Across all the CAB projects this rose to £1,059,098.

5.The Citizens Advice Bureau continues to be fully compliant with the requirements of our service level agreement. The audited accounts have been reviewed by the Social Services Department Finance Manager.

2004/5

6.During 2004/5 the Citizens Advice Bureau plan to develop their rural outreach service and increase the support and information available to young people regarding debt and personal financial responsibilities.

Association of Voluntary Organisation in Wrexham [AVOW] - £21,115 [2003/4]

7.The service level agreement with AVOW requires them to provide support for the Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy and for other specific initiatives as they arise through the year.

8.The level of activity in regard to the Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy has been limited. This is due in part to the high levels of independent activity from voluntary and community groups within the various sub-groups. In view of this we are reviewing the requirements for 2004/5. More specific performance indicators will be negotiated with AVOW.

9.During 2002/3 and the current financial year AVOW have continued to support the Council’s economic development work. They are active members of the European Partnership for Objective 2 [5b Transition] and for Objective 3, and are members of the Appraisal Panel for both funding streams. A key achievement has been a partnership bid with the Council to secure European funding for the establishment of a Social Enterprise Team to be based within Economic Development Department and AVOW. On-going support for voluntary sector applicants for European funding has alleviated pressure on Council staff to do so. Funding advice has also been made available to Council officers seeking external funding.

10.Officers from the Council have identified that in addition to 16 Council-led partnerships – including the Framework for Partnership and the Health and Well Being Strategy Steering Group. AVOW are also active members of a number of external groups which interface with the Council at a strategic level e.g. Local Health Board. Further details are provided in the Members Library.

11.AVOW have complied with the main requirements of our service level agreement. External evaluation of AVOW’s partnership working with the Council is made by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action. Further work is required for 2004/5 to ensure the agreement meets our current and future needs. The audited accounts have been reviewed by the Social Services Department Finance Manager.

2004/5

12.The Welsh Assembly Government has made it clear that services, although increasingly provided by the independent sector must be subject to a commissioning framework. This will be essential for the successful implementation of the Community Strategy. AVOW will play a vital role in the coming year in ensuring that the voluntary and community sector contributes effectively to our strategic plans. At an operational level AVOW will support the sector to be able to respond effectively to these service delivery requirements.

The PSL Group - £39,140 [2002/2005 – tapered funding]

13.The services provided locally are known as Second Circle furniture recycling project. The three-year service level agreement requires that the project is implemented in three phases and that it is fully operational from April 2003. Key achievements include:

• Establishment of a multi-agency advisory group. On-going support for the project has been provided by officers from Environmental Services and from Social Services.
• Publicity campaign to increase awareness of the project. The official launch will be on Friday 30 January. Members will receive personal invitations.

• Implementation of the funding strategy to achieve long term sustainability. This includes a range of funding bids and the operation of a pricing structure.
• Collection and delivery of good quality furniture across the County Borough commenced in July 2003 and is available five days per week. The prolonged delay was due to difficulties in identifying a suitable premise. Further details on the range and quantity of donations are provided in the Members Library.
• Implementation of a revised recording system to identify donations by type, source and destination. Further details are provided in the Members Library.
• Introduction of a ‘reduced corner’. Items that have not sold within 2 weeks are offered for sale at a reduced price. If they remain unsold after 3 weeks they are placed in the reduced corner. This has ensured a high turnover of items.

14.There has been a considerable delay in moving the Work Opportunities scheme to the Llay site, due to the difficulties in securing suitable premises. Consequently the existing Work Opportunities clients prefer to remain at their current placement. Social Services are now identifying clients who wish to join the project in January 2004. A supervisor has been appointed and ongoing support from the Work Opportunities Team will ensure a smooth transfer for clients. From January the placements will be available five days per week.

15.A range of funding applications have been made to local, national and international funders, including:

Further details are in the Members Library.

16.The PSL Group is compliant with our service level agreement. All health and safety issues raised by the WCBC Health and Safety Officer have been addressed. The annual accounts of PSL Group Ltd and the management accounts of Second Circle Furniture have been reviewed by the Social Services Finance Manager.

2004/5

17.Once funding has been secured the Intermediate Labour Market placements will begin. The PSL Group plans to extend the retail area and a structural engineer has been employed to inspect the balcony area and make recommendations. Opportunities for partnership working with other voluntary and community groups are being actively explored.

18.Within the current service level agreement it is agreed that funding is tapered over 3 years. It is however accepted that an ongoing level of reduced funding will be made available to the project to support the core activities. The different levels of funding were not made explicit and funding has been maintained for the 2003/4 at the year one level. In order not to jeopardise the existing project, the Social Services Department will defer proposals for the level of funding for 2004/5 until the decisions on the outstanding funding bids as described above are known.

RECOMMENDATION

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to note the progress of Citizens Advice Bureau, AVOW and the PSL Group during 2003/4.

BACKGROUND PAPERS

The Annual report, audited accounts and performance indicator returns for each organisation have been placed in the Members Library for information.

WEBSITE INFORMATION

None.

Rep Ref: DPS/01/04S

Council-led Partnerships of which AVOW is a member:

Community Strategy

Objective 3 and 8f Partnership

Objective 5b – Transition Partnership

Equal Partnership

Partnership Liaison Group

Framework Partnership

Northern Marches Cymru Partnership Board [LEADER + etc]

Out of school hours learning

Children’s University

Community Care Partnership

Direct Payments Development Group

Older Peoples Planning Group

Learning Disabilities Planning Group

Mental Health Planning Group

Physical Disability and Sensory Impairment Planning Group

Carers Planning Group