Delivering for Communities - Engagement and Participation
North Lanarkshire Council · 16 May 2023
Back to Adult Care and Social Work Committee — 16 May 2023 and its agenda
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Adult Care and Social Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref MD/MW Date 16/05/23 Delivering for Communities – Engagement & Participation From Morag Dendy, Chief Officer (Planning, Performance and Quality Assurance) E-mail dendym@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 332001 Executive Summary The report provides Committee with an update on progress to date and seeks approval to implement a revised approach to resourcing engagement and participation. The commitment to ensure ongoing meaningful involvement with the communities we serve, remains. Previous reporting outlined our planned approach to strengthen engagement and participation, following a review of the existing arrangements. Following this review, we are seeking to increase the allocation of funding to local provider organisations who can facilitate support to promote increased active participation across our communities. Our intention is to create an Active Participation and Coordination remit, hosted by one lead organisation, which will: • Become the central point for the partnership to route engagement and participation activity • Strengthen the feedback loop back to the partnership • Provide representation across key forums • Co-chair relevant forums/working groups • Administer small pockets of funding on our behalf, to enhance E&P activity across underrepresented groups We propose to reinvest the current resourcing that supports engagement and participation and augment this from the Self-Directed Support (SDS) Transformational Programme budget, to support the activity described above. SDS is Scotland’s national Social Care policy, promoting a whole system approach that enables people to have more choice and control in their lives. It extends beyond the allocation of individual budgets and maintains a focus on achieving positive individual outcomes. Ensuring robust mechanisms for those with lived experience to engage and participate is paramount to our SDS approach. To ensure momentum continues and that we continue to build upon our engagement and participation work to date, our intention is to have new arrangement in place from July 2023, subject to Committee approval.
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1. Background 1.1 Scotland’s national and local public bodies are committed to improving the ways individual people, and communities are engaged in decision-making that affects them. This is particularly relevant to the development of the health and social care services upon which we all rely. 1.2 North Lanarkshire has a strong history of engagement and participation and long- standing relationships with community organisations that have facilitated care group involvement, representation, information sharing and amplified the voice of supported people and their carers. Our Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) want to ensure ongoing meaningful involvement with the communities we serve. 1.3 The approach to strengthen engagement and participation considered an independent review that concluded in June 2022. Whilst the structures to bring people together on issues important to them were recognised as an achievement, improvements were suggested including: • More investment to broaden reach. • A broader range of approaches and opportunities for people to get involved. • Recognising that exclusion and removing barriers to participation is required • Supporting engagement to improve relationships with people and organisations. 1.4 We recognise that effective engagement and the participation is essential to ensure that support and care services are efficient and result in positive outcomes. Extensive networks are needed to ensure the effective and timely delivery of planned activities. This investment will deliver a more co-ordinated, pro-active approach with planned programmes and actions, as well as creating capacity to be reactive to emerging opportunities and changes. Planning and co-ordination will increase linkages and reduce duplication, promote inclusion, support meaningful engagement, ensure a positive impact, and reduce any risk of ‘consultation fatigue’. Recommendations It is recommended that the Adult Care and Social Work Committee: 1. Review the report and approve the revised model. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Enhance participation, capacity, and empowerment across our communities Ambition statement (20) Improve the involvement of communities in the decisions, and development of services and supports, that affect them
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2. Report 2.1 Our proposed approach to invest in Engagement and Participation is based on similar models already in place around Community Solutions and Support to (Unpaid) Carers, whereby the Health and Social Care Partnership directly commissions one lead delivery organisation, which then has devolved responsibility and a degree of autonomy for developing and supporting activity to support engagement and participation. 2.2 We have hosted several forums and engaged with organisations who currently facilitate our engagement and participation activity. Relationships with these existing organisations is a significant factor in our achievements to date. 2.3 Investment has been in place to develop networks, connect people with shared experiences, share information, raising issues that are important to supported people and communities in NL and delivering programmes of work to improve wellbeing. There has been direct representation in governance structures and strategic forums, involvement in improvement areas, consultation, and co-production. However, we have identified a gap in engaging with some groups, particularly with harder to reach groups and those who experience exclusion. Our revised model will be achieved through reaching out, finding out, making connections, and presenting opportunities. 2.4 Within HSCP there are actions that provide further opportunities for engagement and participation in our day-to-day practice. Locally we want to ensure that we have the best possible approaches to engagement with and participation of supported people and unpaid carers. By supported people we include: • People are supported in some way by Health and Social Care • People who have previously been supported or may be in the future. • People who are supported in their communities through natural supports. • Members of the public 2.5 This approach fits with key drivers of health and social care, prevention and ensuring people can live independently and are supported withing their own networks and communities. We also seek to ensure “lived experience” can influence and shape strategic direction, policy, and support services. 2.6 Stakeholders have been engaged in developing the approach and model and there was extensive participation in the review of engagement and participation that concluded in June 2022. In addition, stakeholders were invited to consultative sessions to explore options and develop ideas. 2.7 Engagement and Participation events have recognised the efficacy of this approach and the positive outcomes being achieved across Community Solutions and unpaid carer support. We are confident that a similar approach around engagement and participation with supported people will achieve similarly positive outcomes. 2.8 There is recognition of the distinct nature of engagement with supported people and their participation across Health and Social Care. Our approach supports one contract with one organisation as a single connection point through which engagement and participation is routed, planned and co-ordinated. This host organisation would have a lead role in ensuring oversight of engagement and participation.
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2.9 To strengthen this approach, we will implement: a) A governance structure to support transparency, fairness, and accountability. b) A robust monitoring, evaluation, and reporting framework with both qualitative and quantitative measures of success c) A broad approach that works to reach supported people including minority and underrepresented groups. 2.10 We envisage that the lead organisation will develop a network to broaden reach. An element of funding will be made available to strengthen engagement and participation activity as some may require financial support, whilst others may already be funded through other routes and already have elements of engagement and participation processes in place. All networked organisations will have a key role to play in a 2-way continuum of information and feedback, whether from national policy level to individual level, or individual level to national policy level. 2.11 Our ambition remains to create a more robust process that promotes active participation and meaningful engagement to help shape, inform and develop the whole system into the future. To realise this ambition, the procurement approach and service specification for a lead/host organisation will include key eligibility criteria that will: • Increase the level of funding allocated to support E&P activity to approx.. £300,000 per annum to reflect the ambitions of the Strategic Commissioning Plan (SCP). This will be achieved by reinvesting funding currently paid by NLC directly to services and augmenting with funding through the SDS transformation agenda. • Offer a 3-year funding cycle to ensure organisational stability. • Support a lead organisation and ensure a mechanism is in place for funding to be distributed across a wider range of local groups that bridges gaps for those currently under-represented (for example, ME, LGBTIQ, Youth Groups). • Support a coordination role hosted by the lead organisation. • Ensure robust parameters are in place to operate a custodian fund model. • Ensure a clear job role descriptor for the lead organisation/coordinator. • Identify clear roles/responsibilities/ expectations for each key partner organisation including any lead. • Maintain E&P as a separately identified structure that compliments Carers and Community activity. • Establish clear governance and reporting around managing the custodian funding allocation. • Have a new structure in place for July 2023. Assurances regarding the allocation of recurring funding, over a 3-year period have been agreed with NLC finance. 2.12 Procurement – To ensure the process is fair, robust and transparent, we have held local forum events to explore next steps. The agreed preference would be to procure through a single contract award to one organisation. We acknowledge the lead organisation may be a national provider, a local provider or represent a collaborative such as a group of organisations with a nominated lead. Through a competitive tender process, submissions would be required to: • Detail the ability to resource the requirement to facilitate, manage and administer custodian funds.
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• Reflect a stepped approach, clearly identifying milestones to deliver the full contract and work towards achieving the outcomes detailed in the specification. • Indicate the intention to lead as a single agency or as a collaborative to meet the requirements and standards set out in the specification. 2.13 Governance - The commissioned service would be subject to the Councils contract management arrangements, with further reports on progress and activity to Committee. Evidence of robust governance would be required as part of the procurement and award process including: • Assurance appropriate governance arrangements are in place • Partnership Agreement are place for any collaborative bid • Assurance fund recipients can fulfil the terms of the contract • Establishing due process to ensure allocation of funding is fair, transparent and accountable • Participation as key partner in HSCNL Engagement & Participation group, • Robust representation of supported people and a key link with other partners/stakeholders • Establishing a robust operational model, including clarity of delegated authority and reporting planning and performance activity 2.14 As we seek to strengthen our approach to supporting engagement and participation across our communities, this revised model will ensure all care groups and communities are engaged, included, and represented. By increasing investment, we create better opportunities for under-represented and seldom heard people to participate and have their voices heard. By creating more capacity to engage with supported people and care groups, we can facilitate improved opportunities to co- produce and co-design services and have a better route to consult and seek feedback. 2.15 The review of our locality planning group arrangements and partnership boards continues to be progressed in parallel with the development of our Programmes of Work aligned to the new Strategic Commissioning Plan and considers our sector arrangements and the findings of the engagement and participation review. The emerging overall structure from this work will provide sector, locality, and thematic forums, which can be influenced and shaped by the engagement and participation activity set out above. 3. Measures of success 3.1 All care groups and communities are engaged, included and represented to the extent they wish to be. 3.2 Creation of better opportunities for under-represented and seldom heard people to participate and have their voices heard. 3.3 Improved opportunities to co-produce and co-design services, our Strategic Commissioning Plan and associated Programmes of Work and a better route to consult and seek feedback.
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3.4 Provision of sector, locality and thematic forums that can be influenced and shaped by the engagement and participation activity set out above. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 This proposal directly links to NL Health and Social Care, Strategic Commissioning Plan 2023-26. Strategic Commissioning Plan att100339.pdf (northlanarkshire.gov.uk) 4.2 Planning with People - Community engagement and participation guidance. Published by COSLA and The Scottish Government 2021) https://www.gov.scot/publications/planning-people/ Morag Dendy Chief Officer (Performance, Planning & Quality Assurance) 5. Impacts
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5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? From the proposed investment there will be a direct impact arising from the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty. The assumption is that this impact will be positive- reducing inequality of outcome, caused by socio-economic disadvantage, through broadening reach and ensuring that people otherwise at risk of marginalisation, can play a part in shaping policy. To test this assumption an Equality and Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment is in progress. NB. This is progressing through final stages and following approval will be published If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☒ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Increased investment reflects the enhanced reach of Engagement and Planning processes - to widen the inclusion of supported people who may otherwise have been at risk of exclusion from such processes. Increased investment will be met from within existing resources. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒
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If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g., Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e., does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex-Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. The proposed realignment of investment has developed to include the principle of inclusion by broadening the current reach. In broadening this reach, the inclusion of communities, including the Armed Forces Community, can be undertaken where necessary. Armed Forces are referred to the Equality Impact Assessment and Fairer Scotland Duty. See 5.1
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