Minute of the Dundee Partnership Co-Ordinating Group

Minute of the Dundee Partnership Co-ordinating Group

held on Friday, 7th February 2014

at 2.00 pm in Committee Room 3

Present: Bert Sandeman, Integrated Children’s Services, DCC

Janet Wade, Environment, DCC

Janice Kennedy, Scottish Enterprise

Laura Bannerman, Social Work, DCC

Lucy Rennie, NHS Tayside

Marie Dailly, Community Learning and Development, DCC

Martin Tait, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Maureen Esplin, Scottish Government

Morna Wilson, Dundee Voluntary Action, Third Sector Interface

Neil Gunn, Communities, DCC

Paul Davies, Community Planning, DCC

Peter Allan, Community Planning, DCC (Chair)

Rory Young, City Development, DCC

Shaun McKillop, Police Scotland

Steven Dalton, Alcohol and Drug Partnership

Stewart Murdoch, Communities, DCC

In Attendance: John Hosie, Regeneration & Health, DCC

Karen Gunn, Integrated Children’s Services

Sheila McMahon, Equally Well

Apologies: Ken Laing, Environment, DCC

Action
1. / INTRODUCTIONS/APOLOGIES
Peter Allan welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.
2. / MINUTE OF PREVIOUS MEETING
The minute was agreed.
3. / COMMUNITY HUBS AND CO-LOCATION APPROACH
Peter opened discussion on the potential for a ‘Hub & Connect’ model that might be able to be adopted within Dundee. Noted that the Theme Groups were at different stages at present and so discussion would be useful to help identify common themes within the models being considered.
Peter invited Lucy, Neil, Bert and Steven to outline their respective plans with respect to Hubs, posing a number of questions
Questions framing the discussion included;
·  What services are proposed to be in place in Hubs?
o  Which agencies will be involved?
o  Will community facilities also be incorporated?
·  What proposals are there in relation to supporting and connecting people?
o  Who would be doing the supporting and connecting?
·  What sorts of buildings will be needed / available for the Hubs?
o  Where will the Hubs be located?
·  How developed are plans?
o  What Chief Officer agreement is there at present for plans?
Lucy outlined the development of the Life Services Complex in Whitfield, known as The Crescent, which has been in development since 2008 as a joint piece of work between NHS and DCC. A wide range of services will be located within the centre including; community mental health for older people, district nursing, school nursing, anti-coagulation nursing, a community centre, adult learning, a library, youth work, the community regeneration team. In addition a number of sessional workers will be able to make use of space within the building.
Two other Hubs are in the early planning stages in Menzieshill and Hilltown. Those planning developments are working hard to show the benefits of working together.
Neil described the potential sites for Menzieshill (a new build on the site of the current community centre) and Coldside (Alexander Street), stressing that local consultation is important and that Local Management Groups are involved in the development of specifications for the new centres. Additional input is also required form NHS to determine space requirements.
The Crescent has had some sessional / multi-use space built into it, taking into account that space at a nearby school should also be available for community use some of the time.
Lessons learned from developing The Crescent include;
·  The community will probably seek larger space than planners anticipate and this should be taken into account
·  Inclusion on a school campus may have its benefits in terms of more productive use of space
Bert outlined plans for a facility in Lochee, which would be more community focussed, for intensive use by the community. Services planned to use this facility include; Dundee Healthy Living Initiative, Equally Well, school family development workers, Support & Connect, Employability staff, Welfare Rights, Community Regeneration, Social Work staff, and potentially Housing staff. In addition a Police drop-in, space for children and families, and ICT provision will be included. At present £200k has been identified to contribute towards development costs.
In terms of location, several sites are being looked at, and it has been discussed that using more than one building is a possibility.
John added to this that the last two Lochee Local Community Plans have had ‘development of a community facility’ in them as an action. In this case, a holistic approach is being undertaken and plans to identify a site in or near the High Street are being taken forward with Rob Pedersen imminently.
In response to a question, it was clarified that the facility as planned would be a community facility with capacity for some joint working. The focus is to be on providing what is wanted by the community, with a broad agreement from providers that this is acceptable to them too.
Rory raised queries as to whether there would be resource / staffing issues, and whether this would result in people’s expectations of the centre not being met.
·  Marie responded that her team had mapped services currently available in the area and concluded that by co-locating, more is likely to be able to be done through joint working and minimising duplication
·  Karen commented that opportunities for drop-ins e.g. to see Housing staff could be useful – as some local residents do not like visiting the main Housing Office
Steven gave an ADP perspective on how a Hub might function. A key element was to reduce / remove stigma attached to those with addiction issues in attending treatment or recovery services. Workers involved in the Hub should be able to support people and connect them with relevant services. In contrast with previous descriptions, a Hub is not necessarily seen as being a single site, but could be geographically spread out and effectively connected via a series of ‘spokes’.
Existing Community Centres do host some Addaction surgeries, but no other drugs services do this at present. These sorts of drop-ins could be developed further and remain fairly anonymous due to the range of people already using Community Centres.
Comment and discussion on a number of Hub-related topics followed, summarised below;
·  Rory raised that affordable childcare is still an issue. At present plans for three social enterprises are being developed in relation to this
·  Stewart highlighted that Creative Scotland has funding for Youth Arts Hubs. These are virtual hubs, providing a focal point / purpose, and an application will be being submitted to host one in Dundee
·  There are five Community Sports Hubs in Dundee. These have to be host to at least three different sports. The West End Sports Hub also includes elements of arts / heritage work
·  A number of existing buildings already host a number of different organisations e.g. Central Library (PAD Note: this is to change soon with developments taking place in the Wellgate Centre leading to several agencies needing to move)
·  Equally Well’s community engagement identified the need for local drop-in’s to be part of the local roll-out. These provide access to local sources of support using a Link Worker approach. In addition, support with social and economic issues is available at some GP practices via social prescribing
·  Karen outlined how Total Place looked at how staff in different agencies work together and with their clients. Noted that services need to be made welcoming to young people and that the Life Changes Trust provide funds for work with looked after young people
Overall, there appeared to be reasonable agreement with respect to a general Hub model, with a number of items raised needing to be considered. Peter informed the group that a meeting with David Dorward has been scheduled for 24th February and that preparation of a position paper for this meeting would be useful.
A meeting of the Chief Officers Group on the 25th February will also cover development of Hubs.
·  Prior to the 24th, Lucy, Bert, and Steven are to meet to agree content of the position paper, incorporating working definitions of a Hub and Support Worker roles
·  It was also noted that there is need for agreement from various Chief Officers on the way forward. At present there appears to be approval in principle, but approval of more detailed proposals needs to be gained once these are developed
Some final points indirectly linked to the above discussion were raised, summarised below;
·  Three current areas of focus that may inform / impact on Hub development are; the Lochee Pathfinder, Equally Well Roll-Out, and ADP Review
·  A task group exists for Lochee that includes John, Steven and Bert. It would be useful for Sheila to also be included in this group
·  Sheila and Lucy are meeting with the NHS Board on 27th February regarding Equally Well Link Workers. These may become funded from recurring funds / LR, BS, SD
4. / MATTERS ARISING
a)  Our Place 2 – Douglas Update
The Big Lottery Fund (BLF) has committed to Our Place funding in Douglas and a meeting is to be arranged by them with the LCPP, Registered Social Landlords, Voluntary Sector and Local Groups for an informal briefing, with a more formal launch to follow in a few months.
BLF appoint their own team to work with communities, and it is hoped that local staff and the LCPP will be able to work alongside the BLF team. This work is to be put out to tender. At present it is not clear whether DCC are eligible to tender for work and Marie offered to check and feedback to the group. / MD
b)  DP Community Conference
This is taking place on Saturday 22nd February with Asset Transfer as its topic. In addition to local community representatives, sports hubs and members of the Dundee Social Enterprise Network have been invited to attend. Speakers include Alisdair McKinley (Scottish Government), and Eric Samuel (BLF) as well as John Hosie and Carole Jenkins.
c)  Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill
Neil Gunn has submitted a collated response on behalf of DCC which included a range of stakeholder views and this will be circulated to members. The Bill is expected to come into force later this year. Lucy added that a response on behalf of NHS Tayside has also been sent, which would also be circulated. / LR
5.. / DUNDEE FIRE & RESCUE PLAN 2014-17 CONSULTATION
Martin gave a presentation on the above, a copy of which had been circulated with the meeting papers along with the Plan and a manual feedback form. Martin encouraged anyone with comments to feedback using the form or via;
http://www.firescotland.gov.uk/about-us/local-plans/local-plans-public-consultation.aspx
Consultation is open until 14th February, with the Plan due to go to Committee on 17th March.
Laura commented that the ‘key partnership arrangements’ section could include mention of links with the Adult Support Committee.
6.. / SOA DEVELOPMENT PLAN
a)  Self Assessment
The Improvement Service (IS) process will be piloted in one Theme (ADP), then with the Management Group and then across all Themes, unless they already have self assessment measures in place. A rolling programme will be agreed with Tanya Brienesse that takes into account any previous self assessments.
The ADP pilot is progressing quickly. Steven has met with Tanya Brienesse and the checklist is being used to ensure nothing is omitted. The IS will be attending the ADP meeting on 18th February. Anonymous feedback will be provided by ADP members during February / March, with the aim to reach a consensus by May. An improvement planning day will be held in August (or earlier if feasible). Overall, the process fits in well with the ADP review of services.
b)  Performance Reporting / Balanced Scorecard
The focus is to be on a small number of key priorities. Peter circulated a list with the twelve top ‘deliverables’. While key items, many of these will not change much, if at all, each quarter. Other items may change more, but again little change will be seen each quarter.
Tony Jenkins (Information & Research Team) had compiled a table displaying a range of performance indicators focussing on the four areas covered by the key priorities above. This was still fairly complex, and the issue of ‘little or no change each quarter’ still apparent. Further development of the Balanced Scorecard is needed.
Paul speculated as to whether a report that highlighted indicators that had changed over the previous quarter would be a useful alternative.
c)  Prevention
Peter indicated that he’d received some useful information from Steven and agreed that a better diagram showing the different types of Prevention would be useful.
Several Themes are doing work on this topic, including Health, Children & Young People, and Community Safety. The latter group are looking into costings associated with each stage. Peter is collating information as it is generated and noted that the Coordinating Group may need to set milestones for progression of this item.
d)  Joint Working and Resourcing
The Scottish Government has been placing emphasis on this area of work and wants to see evidence, especially with respect to the local authority and health, that funding is following the priorities.
It has been suggested that the Partnership should;
·  Map processes from a DCC and NHS perspective to help identify who needs to be involved and when
·  Arrange for the Directors of Finance to meet in relation to this
·  Look at the top four priorities and see what money mapping can be done. This should help to;
o  Identify what can change
o  Complement changes that are already underway within the ADP and Employability Partnership
o  Make better use of finance in supporting outcomes
Janice added that Scottish Enterprise will be able to share their business plan (being launched at the end of April) and can attend the DP Management Group on the 7th March in the interim.
Comment was made that staff resources need to be looked at as well as the financial resources.
7. / UPDATES
a)  ADP Review
An improvement event was held in December, with the next one planned for April / May.
Decisions will need to be made on the role of ‘support and connect’ workers; on whether they will be peer mentors, health professionals, or specialists. Whatever is decided, it has been noted that communities want changes to be made.
Some work is being done with ex-offenders post-release. They are met with at the point they collect methadone prescriptions. It was also noted that today’s local press had articles on crime which would be covered at the next ADP meeting
b)  Early Years Collaborative
Bert circulated an update on the Early Years Collaborative (EYC) and briefly talked through it. Noted that the ETC now fits better within Integrated Children’s Services than in the past, with; decreased duplication, increased sharing and interlinking of services. For further information EYC contacts are;
·  Hazel Bell, Programme Manager, ext. 3018
·  Kerstin Jorna, Senior Information Officer, ext. 3316
·  Pauline Stirling, Information Assistant, ext. 3880
Peter asked if an item on Family Literacy mentioned in the update had been written up. It has, and Bert agreed to forward to Peter for information. / BS
8. / AOCB
None raised
8. / DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Friday, 25th April 2013 at 2.00 pm. Room 4.7, Dundee House.
(Please note this is one week later than originally scheduled and that the venue has been changed)

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