Agenda Document Pack - Social Work Resources Committee - 06/03/2024
South Lanarkshire Council · 6 March 2024
Back to Social Work Resources Committee — 6 March 2024 and its agenda
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Council Offices, Almada Street Hamilton, ML3 0AA Tuesday, 27 February 2024 Dear Councillor Social Work Resources Committee The Members listed below are requested to attend a meeting of the above Committee to be held as follows:- Date: Wednesday, 06 March 2024 Time: 10:00 Venue: Hybrid - Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton, ML3 0AA The business to be considered at the meeting is listed overleaf. Yours sincerely Paul Manning Chief Executive Members Margaret B Walker (Chair), Kirsty Williams (Depute Chair), Joe Fagan (ex officio), Alex Allison, John Anderson, John Bradley, Walter Brogan, Robert Brown, Archie Buchanan, Mathew Buchanan, Janine Calikes, Maureen Devlin, Mary Donnelly, Allan Falconer, Elise Frame, Celine Handibode, Graeme Horne, Martin Hose, Eileen Logan, Hugh Macdonald, Catherine McClymont, Richard Nelson, Carol Nugent, John Ross, Graham Scott, David Watson Substitutes Maureen Chalmers, Margaret Cooper, Poppy Corbett, Margaret Cowie, Colin Dewar, Geri Gray, Susan Kerr, Ross Lambie, Richard Lockhart, Elaine McDougall, Mark McGeever, Davie McLachlan, Bert Thomson 1
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BUSINESS 1 Declaration of Interests 2 Minutes of Previous Meeting Minutes of the meeting of the Social Work Resources Committee held on 6 December 2023 submitted for approval as a correct record. (Copy attached) 5 - 12 Monitoring Item(s) 3 Social Work Resources - Revenue Budget Monitoring 2023/2024 Joint report dated 31 January 2024 by the Head of Finance (Strategy) and Director, Health and Social Care. (Copy attached) 13 - 20 4 Social Work Resources - Capital Budget Monitoring 2023/2024 Joint report dated 14 February 2024 by the Head of Finance (Strategy) and Director, Health and Social Care. (Copy attached) 21 - 24 5 Social Work Resources – Workforce Monitoring – October to December 2023 Joint report dated 1 February 2024 by the Chief Executive and Director, Health and Social Care. (Copy attached) 25 - 32 6 Social Work Resource Plan: Quarter 2 Progress Report 2023/2024 Report dated 20 December 2023 by the Director, Health and Social Care. (Copy attached) 33 - 60 7 Social Work Resource Risk Register - Update Report dated 14 February 2024 by the Director, Health and Social Care. (Copy attached) 61 - 72 Item(s) for Decision 8 Sustaining Social Work Children and Families Services: Budget Recovery Actions Joint report dated 22 February 2024 by the Director, Health and Social Care and the Chief Executive. (Copy attached) 73 - 84 9 Justice Social Work Whole Systems Approach: Service Development and Capacity Building Joint report dated 19 February 2024 by the Director, Health and Social Care and Chief Executive. (Copy attached) 85 - 92 Item(s) for Noting 10 Chief Social Work Officer Annual Report 2022/2023 Report dated 29 December 2023 by the Director, Health and Social Care. (Copy attached) 93 - 146 11 Family Support Strategy – Family Support Hubs Report dated 1 February 2024 by the Director, Health and Social Care. (Copy attached) 147 - 162 2
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12 Notification of Contracts Awarded: April to September 2023 Report dated 1 November 2023 by the Director, Health and Social Care. (Copy attached) 163 - 166 Urgent Business 13 Urgent Business Any other items of business which the Chair decides are urgent. For further information, please contact:- Clerk Name: Tracy Slater Clerk Telephone: 07385370089 Clerk Email: tracy.slater@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 3
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SOCIAL WORK RESOURCES COMMITTEE Minutes of meeting held via Confero and in Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton on 6 December 2023 Chair: Councillor Margaret B Walker Councillors Present: Councillor Alex Allison, Councillor Walter Brogan, Councillor Robert Brown, Councillor Archie Buchanan, Councillor Mathew Buchanan, Councillor Janine Calikes, Councillor Margaret Cowie (substitute for Councillor Celine Handibode), Councillor Maureen Devlin, Councillor Mary Donnelly, Councillor Allan Falconer, Councillor Elise Frame, Councillor Graeme Horne, Councillor Richard Lockhart (substitute for Councillor Martin Hose), Councillor Eileen Logan, Councillor Catherine McClymont, Councillor Richard Nelson, Councillor Carol Nugent, Councillor John Ross, Councillor Graham Scott, Councillor David Watson, Councillor Kirsty Williams (Depute) Councillors' Apologies: Councillor John Bradley, Councillor Joe Fagan (ex officio), Councillor Celine Handibode; Councillor Mark Horsham, Councillor Martin Hose, Councillor Hugh Macdonald Attending: Finance and Corporate Resources G Booth, Finance Manager (Resources); S McLeod, Administration Officer; E McPake, HR Business Manager; A Norris, Administration Assistant; L O’Hagan, Finance Manager (Strategy); M M Wilson, Legal Services Manager Health and Social Care/Social Work Resources S Sengupta, Director; G Booth, Justice Service Manager (Children and Justice Services); C Cunningham, Head of Commissioning and Performance; I Beattie, Head of Health and Social Care (Hamilton and Clydesdale); L Purdie, Head of Children and Justice Services; C Rae, Head of Health and Social Care (Rutherglen/Cambuslang and East Kilbride) 1 Declaration of Interests No interests were declared. 2 Minutes of Previous Meeting The minutes of the meeting of the Social Work Resources Committee held on 27 September 2023 were submitted for approval as a correct record. The Committee decided: that the minutes be approved as a correct record. 3 Social Work Resources – Revenue Budget Monitoring 2023/2024 A joint report dated 27 October 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) and Director, Health and Social Care was submitted comparing actual expenditure for the period 1 April to 6 October 2023 against budgeted expenditure for 2023/2024 for Social Work Resources. As at 6 October 2023, there was a breakeven position against the phased budget. The Resource position was outlined in Appendix A to the report. 2 5
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Budget pressures were ongoing within Children and Family Services and there was one-off funding of £9.2 million available this financial year to contribute towards those pressures, with work ongoing to manage them. The period 7 overspend was currently being offset by an underspend in Performance and Support, and Justice Services. Within Adult and Older People Services, the outcome of the Home Carers’ job evaluation would result in recurring costs of approximately £7 million from 2023/2024. Those costs were not included in the Integration Joint Board (IJB) budget set for 2023/2024 and, as at 6 October 2023, costs of £3 million had been incurred in relation to the grade changes. At its meeting on 18 October 2023, the IJB had agreed the funding solutions and recovery plan which had been submitted, and budgets would be realigned as required to reflect this change. Virements were proposed to realign budgets, which were detailed in appendices B to E to the report. The Committee decided: (1) that the position on the Social Work Resources’ revenue budget, as detailed in Appendix A of the report, and the forecast to 31 March 2024 of a breakeven position, be noted; and (2) that the proposed budget virements be approved. [Reference: Minutes of 27 September 2023 (Paragraph 3)] 4 Social Work Resources – Capital Budget Monitoring 2023/2024 A joint report dated 16 November 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) and Director, Health and Social Care was submitted advising of progress on the Social Work Resources’ capital programme for 2023/2024 and summarising the expenditure position at 6 October 2023. The capital programme for Social Work Resources for 2023/2024 was £2.030 million. Anticipated spend to date was £1.118 million and spend to 6 October 2023 amounted to £1.251 million. This represented a position of £0.133 million ahead of profile and was a result of a timing issue with the data migration costs for the SWiS Plus Replacement project. The Committee decided: that the Social Work Resources’ capital programme of £2.030 million, and expenditure to date of £1.251 million, be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 27 September 2023 (Paragraph 4)] 5 Social Work Resources – Workforce Monitoring – August and September 2023 A joint report dated 26 October 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) and Director, Health and Social Care was submitted on the following employee information for Social Work Resources for the period August and September 2023:- attendance statistics occupational health statistics accident/incident statistics disciplinary hearings, grievances and Dignity at Work cases analysis of leavers and exit interviews Staffing Watch as at 9 September 2023 6
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The Committee decided: that the report be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 27 September 2023 (Paragraph 5)] 6 Social Work Resource Plan – Quarter 4 Progress Report 2022/2023 A report dated 14 October 2023 by the Director, Health and Social Care was submitted on the Social Work Resource Plan Quarter 4 Progress Report 2022/2023 for the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. The Social Work Resource Plan 2022/2023 set out the objectives and actions to be managed and delivered by the Resource in the financial year 2022/2023. The Resource Plan measures were rated using a traffic light system of red, amber or green as well as blue (BRAG) which indicated that an action had been completed. Details were provided on:- progress made against all Resource Plan measures, as detailed in the Quarter 4 Progress Report 2022/2023, attached as Appendix 2 to the report key achievements made by the Resource to date, as detailed in Section 5.3 of the report areas for improvement and associated management actions, as detailed in Section 5.4 of the report scrutiny of change in measure status between Quarter 2 and Quarter 4, as detailed in Appendix 3 to the report The Committee decided: (1) that the Quarter 4 Progress report for 2022/2023, as detailed in Appendix 2 to the report, be noted; (2) that the key achievements made by the Resource to date, as detailed in Section 5.3 of the report, be noted; and (3) that the additional scrutiny of change in measure status between Quarter 2 and Quarter 4, as detailed in Appendix 3 to the report, be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 15 February 2023 (Paragraph 6)] 7 Update of the 2022/2023 Risk Register and Risk Control Plan A report dated 7 November 2023 by the Director, Health and Social Care was submitted on risk management arrangements and the Risk Register for Social Work Resources. The Resource had followed Council guidance in developing, monitoring and updating its Risk Control Register on an ongoing basis. The Register had been developed to ensure that the Resource was fully aware of the main risks that it had, was able to prioritise those risks and had controls in place to eliminate or minimise the impact of risk. The scoring matrix and definitions for likelihood and impact were outlined in Appendix 1 to the report. This had resulted in risks being scored between 1 to 25 (low to very high). Risks were scored on their inherent risk (risk if nothing was done) and their residual risk (risk after applying controls). 7
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At its meeting on 27 September 2023, the Social Work Resources Committee agreed the current top 5 risks impacting on the delivery of Social Care Services, as detailed below, each of which remained unchanged following review:- workforce availability and capacity public protection and legislative duties market and provider capacity funding and budgetary pressures winter demands and pressures The description of the risk ‘Failure to comply with or meet the expected standards, scrutiny levels, or improvement as identified by regulatory bodies’ had been amended to reflect the introduction of new legislation. Appendix 2 to the report provided further detail on each of the top risks, alongside the inherent and residual risk scores and sample controls. Information was also provided on:- 12 other risks rated as high which continued to be monitored risk appetite and tolerance levels the review of the Council’s top risks partner risks The Committee decided: (1) that the contents of the report be noted; and (2) that the set of top risks for Social Work Resources be approved. [Reference: Minutes of 27 September 2023 (Paragraph 6)] 8 Keep the Promise Fund Round 2: Youth and Justice Rights A joint report dated 23 October 2023 by the Director, Health and Social Care and Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted advising of secured CORRA funding from the category - Keep the Promise Fund Round 2: Youth Justice and Rights. The Council had strongly committed to keeping ‘The Promise’ to care experienced young people to ensure they grew up loved, safe and respected. Implementation of The Promise was supported by key strategic partnership structures. The Champions Board ensured that the voice of care experienced young people was influencing strategic planning through The Promise Board which was attended by key leaders from the Council, health and third sector groups. The Promise Board scrutinised performance to ensure that specific commitments to care experienced young people were implemented. A key national commitment had been made to reduce the disproportionate criminalisation of care experienced young people and Social Work Resources’ Children and Justice Services was strongly committed to improvements in this area, with structural changes and improvements already made. To support continued improvement, a partnership application was successfully made to CORRA Keep the Promise Fund Round 2: Youth and Justice Rights. Funding had been granted to support young people on the edges of, or who were already involved in, the youth justice system to work with the Council, Covey and the University of the West of Scotland to implement a contextual safeguarding approach. 8
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It was proposed that a 0.5 Full-time Equivalent post of Team Leader on Grade 3, Level 8, SCP 79-80 (£46,972 to £47,684) be added to the staffing establishment within Social Work Resources on a fixed term basis for 12 months. The Team Leader would have responsibility for networking with young people and partner agencies, co-ordinating the Strategic Oversight Group, reporting to CORRA on performance and progress, and reporting on the learning from the project to The Promise Board. The University of the West of Scotland would support evaluation of the project. The Committee decided: (1) that the use of CORRA funding for the Youth Justice and Rights project be noted; and (2) that the addition to the Social Work Resources’ staffing establishment on a fixed-term basis, as detailed in the report, be approved. 9 Enhancing Trauma Recovery Capacity A joint report dated 14 November 2023 by the Director, Health and Social Care and Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted on enhancing trauma recovery capacity. It was the Scottish Government and COSLA’s ambition for Scotland to have trauma-informed services and workforces. The Scottish Government had allocated recurring funding of £15 million per annum to enhance community mental health and wellbeing services. South Lanarkshire’s allocation was £840,000 per year. The new, or enhanced, supports were aimed to focus on early intervention and prevention support for children and young people aged 5 to 24. Trauma informed practice was a priority and a Reflective Practice Co-ordinator was currently aligned to the family support hubs to support staff wellbeing and strengthen their ability to be reflective, trauma-informed practitioners to develop staff in practising in a trauma informed way with families. The addition of a Trauma Recovery Counsellor to work directly with children and families was identified as a gap and would contribute to the delivery of preventative whole family support. It was, therefore, proposed that 1 Full-time Equivalent post of Trauma Recovery Counsellor on Grade 3, Level 4, SCP 72-74 (£42,703 to £43,615) be added to the Social Work Resources’ staffing establishment. The Committee decided: (1) that the contents of the report be noted; and (2) that the addition to the Social Work Resources’ staffing establishment, as detailed in the report, be approved. 10 Planning for Winter 2023/2024 A report dated 21 November 2023 by the Director, Health and Social Care was submitted on the planning arrangements in place to ensure that health and social care services were prepared for winter 2023/2024. Planning for winter 2023/2024 commenced in August 2023 and, as in previous years, was undertaken in accordance with national guidance and was a multi-agency approach. The plan was a dynamic document and was highly likely to be subject to change over the coming months. From a local resilience planning perspective, NHS Lanarkshire was undertaking work to take account of the increasingly likely eventuality of a number of concurrent risks aligning to create increased system pressure. 9
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National guidance had been published on 24 October 2023 which set out the expectations for those areas that local winter plans would be expected to address. Information was provided on the following work areas:- acute services/Unscheduled Care Winter Planning through Operation Flow 2 discharge without delay social care provider sustainability General Practice and pharmacy opening General Practice sustainability Primary Care Out of Hours contingency arrangements for additional deaths Covid-19 and flu vaccine programme carers support staff wellbeing adverse weather concurrent resilience planning and risks communications Information was also provided on:- the significant workforce challenges and the work being done to mitigate those the range of funding sources identified as being able to support planning for winter An officer responded to members’ questions in relation to various aspects of the report and, following a request from a member, undertook to provide further information on delayed discharges. The Committee decided: (1) that the planning arrangements, which had been put in place to ensure health and social care services were prepared for the coming winter months, and the associated costs, be noted; (2) that the potential need for additional support to mitigate the wider impacts of winter across all public services be noted; and (3) that the work ongoing with the Scottish Government to confirm the financial arrangements be noted. 11 South Lanarkshire Children’s Services Plan 2023 to 2026 and Child Poverty Commitment 2023 to 2026 A report dated 27 November 2023 by the Director, Health and Social Care was submitted providing an update on the content of the South Lanarkshire Children’s Services Plan 2023 to 2026 and the Child Poverty Commitment 2023 to 2026. The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 required local authorities and linked health boards to prepare and publish a Children’s Services Plan (CSP) every 3 years. The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 required local authorities and health boards to prepare Local Child Poverty Action Reports (LCPARs) as soon as was reasonably practicable after the end of each CSP reporting cycle. 10
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The CSP final report for 2020 to 2023 had been approved by South Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership in September 2023 and was attached as Appendix 1 to the report. The new CSP 2023 to 2026 was attached as Appendix 2 to the report. The South Lanarkshire Child Poverty Commitment 2023 to 2026 was attached as Appendix 3 to the report. The Committee decided: (1) that the content of the South Lanarkshire Children’s Service Plan 2023 to 2026 be noted; (2) that the final South Lanarkshire Children’s Services Plan Report for 2020 to 2023, endorsed by the Getting It Right for South Lanarkshire’s Children Strategy Group in June 2023, be noted; and (3) that the Child Poverty Commitment 2023 to 2026 be noted. 12 South Lanarkshire Justice Social Work Community Payback Order Annual Report 2022/2023 A report dated 6 November 2023 by the Director, Health and Social Care was submitted on the Community Payback Order (CPO) Annual Report 2022/2023. The CPO Annual Report 2022/2023 was attached as an appendix to the report and information was provided on areas of focus within the report, together with areas identified for future development. A short video was shown on the positive experience of service users engaging with justice and recovery based services. The Committee decided: that the contents of the report be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 15 February 2023 (Paragraph 11)] 13 Lanarkshire Care Academy Update A report dated 17 November 2023 by the Director, Health and Social Care was submitted providing an update on the Lanarkshire Care Academy. A key action within the Social Work Resources’ Workforce Plan was to establish a Care Academy to better promote social care as a vocation in South Lanarkshire, reinforce and expand routes into a career in social care and provide a much more explicit framework to enable the Council to ‘grow their own’ workforce to address workforce requirements. The Care Academy was being progressed on a pan-Lanarkshire basis to build upon existing, and growing, effective co-operation between both North and South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs). Work was being undertaken to develop a revised terms of reference for the Care Academy. The vision, aims and objectives of the Care Academy were outlined in Appendix 1 and the following workstreams would support their delivery:- Workstream 1: Attraction, recruitment and retention Workstream 2: Pathways to care for young people, including all target groups Workstream 3: Adult pathways to care, including all target groups Workstream 4: Funding and procurement 11
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Details were provided on current activity and future areas of work. The Care Academy Steering Group would provide direction on all pan-Lanarkshire activity to increase collaboration and overall effectiveness. The Committee decided: (1) that the contents of the report be noted; and (2) that the work to continue to establish the Care Academy across Lanarkshire be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 16 November 2022 (Paragraph 13)] 14 Care Inspectorate Updates for Registered Social Work Services A report dated 7 November 2023 by the Director, Health and Social Care was submitted providing an update on inspections that had been undertaken by the Care Inspectorate on registered social work services. South Lanarkshire had 41 registered services, which included 5 care homes for older people, 13 day services for older people, 6 day services for adults, 1 care and support service for adults, 1 intermediate care service, 6 children’s houses, 3 child and family services (fostering, adoption and support carers), 4 care at home services and 2 home first services. Since the last report to Committee, there had been 1 unannounced care home service inspection within Dewar House, Hamilton and 2 announced short notice inspections within the South Lanarkshire Council Adoption Service and South Lanarkshire Council Fostering Service. Details were provided on the breakdown of the grades across each area of service in Appendix 1 to the report. The Committee decided: that the contents of the report be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 15 February 2023 (Paragraph 13)] 15 Urgent Business There were no items of urgent business. 12
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Social Work Resources Committee Date of Meeting: 6 March 2024 Report by: Head of Finance (Strategy) Director, Health and Social Care Subject: Social Work Resources - Revenue Budget Monitoring 2023/2024 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] provide information on the actual expenditure measured against the revenue budget for the period 1 April 2023 to 28 December 2023 for Social Work Resources provide a forecast for the year to 31 March 2024 [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- [re (1) that the forecast to 31 March 2024 of a breakeven position after proposed transfers to reserves, as detailed in Appendix A of the report, be noted; (2) that a breakeven position as at 28 December 2023, as detailed in Appendix A, after proposed transfers to reserves be noted; and (3) that the proposed budget virements be approved. [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. This is the fourth revenue budget monitoring report presented to the Social Work Resources Committee for the financial year 2023/2024. 3.2. The Resource has completed its formal probable outturn exercise for the year. This exercise identifies the expected spend to 31 March 2024. Details are included in Section 5. 3.3. The report details the financial position for Social Work Resources in Appendix A, and then details the individual services, along with variance explanations, in Appendices B to E. 4. Employee Implications 4.1. There are no employee implications as a result of this report. 5. Financial Implications 5.1. Probable Outturn: Following the Council’s probable outturn exercise, the Resource is reporting a breakeven position. The Resource position is outlined in Appendix A. 3 13
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5.2. Children and Families: As reported previously, one-off funding totalling £9.2 million is being used in 2023/2024 to contribute towards the residual pressures of residential placements and fostering and kinship care, some of which is a legacy from the pandemic. 5.3. Ongoing actions to manage the budget pressures have been implemented for the remainder of 2023/2024. In addition, the Resource is working towards managing the overall budget pressure in Children and Families into 2024/2025. This is covered further in the Sustaining Social Work Children and Families Services: Budget Recovery Actions report to this Committee. 5.4. Adults and Older People: The Adult and Older People position at Appendix C shows a breakeven position. Included within this position is a commitment in relation to the Integration Joint Board (IJB) in relation to specific funding which is not anticipated to spend this financial year (£1.272m). As this is an underspend on the Council’s contribution to the IJB, this could have been retained by the Council, however this assumed commitment allows the IJB to retain this non-recurring underspend within their reserves. These monies will be retained in the Council’s Balance Sheet and will be available for use by the IJB. 5.5. The Executive Committee, on 24 January 2024, approved that the IJB retains this non-recurring underspend within their reserves, earmarked for future care costs. 5.6. Period 10: As at 28 December 2023, there is a breakeven position against the phased budget. Detailed variance explanations, and proposed budget virements, are outlined in Appendices B to E, as appropriate. 6. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 6.1. There are no implications for climate change, sustainability, or the environment in terms of the information contained in this report. 7. Other Implications 7.1. The main risk associated with the Council’s Revenue Budget is that there is an overspend. There are inflationary and budget pressures including utilities (as well as general inflation pressures) this year which increase the risk of overspend however these have mitigated through the IJB financial plan for 2023/24. The risk is managed through four weekly Budget Monitoring Meetings at which any variance is analysed. In addition, the probable outturn exercise ensures early warning for corrective action to be taken where appropriate. 8. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 8.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function, or strategy and therefore no impact assessment is required. 8.2. There was also no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. 14
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Jackie Taylor Head of Finance (Strategy) Professor Soumen Sengupta Director, Health and Social Care 31 January 2024 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, Effective, Efficient and Transparent Previous References Executive Committee, 24 January 2024 List of Background Papers Financial Ledger and budget monitoring results to 28 December 2023 Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact: - Graham Booth, Finance Manager Ext: 2699 (Tel: 01698 452699) Email: Graham.Booth@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 15
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Appendix A SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report Social Work Resources Committee: Period Ended 28 December 2023 (No.10) Social Work Resources Summary Annual Budget Forecast for Year BEFORE Transfers Annual Forecast Variance BEFORE Transfers Annual Forecast Variance AFTER Transfers Budget Proportion 28/12/23 Actual 28/12/23 Variance 28/12/23 % Variance 28/12/23 Note £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Budget Category Employee Costs 120,304 119,298 1,006 1,006 87,001 86,116 885 Under 1.0% Property Costs 4,534 4,274 260 260 3.080 2,898 182 Under 5.9% Supplies & Services 5,935 6,434 (499) (499) 3,779 4,021 (242)) Over -6.4% Transport & Plant 4,700 4,963 (263) (263) 3,852 4,017 (165) Over -4.3% Administration Costs 1,930 1,989 (59) (59) 789 915 (126) Over -16.0% Payments to Other Bodies 25,832 25,983 (151) (151) 17,842 17,843 (1) Over 0.0% Payments to Contractors 139,611 140,386 (775) (775) 94.456 95,391 (935) Over -1.0% Transfer Payments 4,576 4,712 (136) (136) 3,735 3,837 (102) Over -2.7% Financing Charges 402 432 (30) (30) 28 31 (3) Over -10.7% Total Controllable Exp. 307,824 308,471 (647) (647) 214,562 215,069 (507) Over -0.2% Total Controllable Inc. (68,502 (69,149) 647 647 (56,389) (56,896) 507 Under recovered -0.9% Net Controllable Exp. 239,322 239,322 0 0 158,173 158,173 0 - n/a Transfer to reserves as at (31/03/24) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Position after Transfer to Reserves (31/03/24) 239,322 239,322 0 0 158,173 158,173 0 - n/a Variance Explanations Variance explanations are shown in Appendices B-E. Budget Virements Budget virements are shown in Appendices B-E. 16
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Appendix B SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report Social Work Resources Committee: Period Ended 28 December 2023 (No.10) Children and Families Services Annual Budget Forecast for Year BEFORE Transfers Annual Forecast Variance BEFORE Transfers Annual Forecast Variance AFTER Transfers Budget Proportion 28/12/23 Actual 28/12/23 Variance 28/12/23 % Variance 28/12/23 Note £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Budget Category Employee Costs 19,976 19,154 822 822 14,718 14,125 593 Under 4.0% 1, a Property Costs 522 525 (3) (3) 370 375 (5) Over -1.4% Supplies & Services 583 711 (128) (128) 291 387 (96) Over -33.0% 2 Transport & Plant 636 760 (124) (124) 440 539 (99) Over -22.5% 3 Administration Costs 328 404 (76) (76) 211 285 (74) Over -35.1% 4 Payments to Other Bodies 11,025 10,972 53 53 8,054 7,985 69 Under 0.9% 5 b, c Payments to Contractors 12,727 13,794 (1,067) (1,067) 8,974 9,917 (943) Over -10.5% 6, b Transfer Payments 4,563 4,680 (117) (117) 3,726 3,804 (78) Over -2.1% 7 b, c Financing Charges 19 42 (23) (23) 2 5 (3) Over -150.0% Total Controllable Exp. 50,379 51,042 (663) (663) 36,786 37,422 (636) Over -1.7% Total Controllable Inc. (1,436) (1,809) 373 373 (812) (1,082) 270 Over recovered 33.3% 8 Net Controllable Exp. 48,943 49,233 (290) (290) 35,974 36,340 (366) Over -1.0% Transfer to reserves as at (31/03/24) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Position after Transfer to Reserves (31/03/24) 48,943 49,233 (290) (290) 35,974 36,340 (366) Over -1.0% Variance Explanations 1. Employee costs This is an underspend due to vacancies, mainly with Social Workers, which are being actively recruited. 2. Supplies & Services This overspend is a result of an increase in the costs for provisions, mainly for the children’s homes. 3. Transport & Plant The overspend has arisen from the requirement for transport for both children in the community and looked after children. 4. Administration costs This overspend is attributable to legal expenses in relation to guardianship and contested adoptions. 5. Payment to Other Bodies The non-recurring underspends are in relation to funding to develop a supported accommodation service. 6. Payment to Contractors This overspend is a result of the continuing increased requirement for children’s residential school and external placements. 7. Transfer Payments This overspend is a result of increasing demand for Kinship Care. 8. Income The over recovery of income mainly relates to funding received from the Home Office due to an increase in the number of unaccompanied asylum- seeking young people being supported. Budget Virements a. Incorporation of 2023/24 pay award £1.182m: Employee Costs £1.182m. b. Incorporation of one-off funding for ongoing pressures £9.235m: Payment to Other Bodies £0.975m, Payment to Contractors £7.370m, Transfer Payments £0.890m. c. Incorporation of Scottish Recommended Allowance funding for Fostering and Kinship care £0.952m: Payment to Other Bodies £0.385m, Transfer Payments £0.567m. 17
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Appendix C SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report Social Work Resources Committee: Period Ended 28 December 2023 (No.10) Adults and Older People Services Annual Budget Forecast for Year BEFORE Transfers Annual Forecast Variance BEFORE Transfers Annual Forecast Variance AFTER Transfers Budget Proportion 28/12/23 Actual 28/12/23 Variance 28/12/23 % Variance 28/12/23 Note £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Budget Category Employee Costs 87,733 88,006 (273) (273) 63,134 63,324 (190) Over -0.3% 1, a, b, c, d Property Costs 3,330 3,024 306 306 2,203 1,993 210 Under 9.5% 2 Supplies & Services 4,822 5,154 (332) (332) 3,424 3,532 (108) Over -3.2% 3, a, b Transport & Plant 3,705 3,897 (192) (192) 3,089 3,209 (120) Over -3.9% 4, a, b Administration Costs 756 737 19 19 308 370 (62) Over -20.1% Payments to Other Bodies 14,141 14,290 (149) (149) 9,405 9,426 (21) Over -0.2% a, b Payments to Contractors 126,845 126,553 292 292 85,443 85.435 8 Under 0.0% a Transfer Payments 7 20 (13) (13) 5 23 (18) Over -360.0% Financing Charges 55 57 (2) (2) 14 12 2 Under 14.3% Total Controllable Exp. 241,394 241,738 (344) (344) 167,025 167,324 (299) Over -0.2% Total Controllable Inc. (59,142) (59,486) 344 344 (51,064) (51,363) 299 Over recovered 0.6% 5, a, e Net Controllable Exp. 182,252 182,252 0 0 115,961 115,961 0 - n/a Transfer to Reserves as at (31/03/24) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Position after Transfer to Reserves (31/03/24) 182,252 182,252 0 0 115,961 115,961 0 - n/a Variance Explanations 1. Employee costs The overspend has arisen from additional costs being incurred within the Home Care scheduling service to ensure vacant shifts are covered. The vacancies are due to recruitment and retention challenges. This is offset in part by an underspend due to vacancies across Social Workers, day care staff and Home Carers. 2. Property Costs This underspend is a result of utility increases being less than expected and some building-based day services being non-operational. 3. Supplies & Services The overspend is due to the provision of equipment which is demand led. 4. Transport & Plant The overspend relates to an increase in taxi provision for day services and additional vehicles within Home Care services, some of which have now been off hired. 5. Income The over recovery of income relates to non-recurring income received from service users in respect of prior year care costs being higher than budgeted. Budget Virements a. IJB Budget Recovery Plan 23/24 Net Effect: £0, Employee Costs £4.859m, Supplies & Services (£0.060m), Transport (£0.120m), Payments to Other Bodies (£0.483), Payment to Contractors (£3.724m), Income (£0.472m). b. Realignment of Home First Budget Net Effect: £0, Employee Costs (£0.216m), Supplies & Services £0.089m, Transport £0.125m, Payments to Other Bodies £0.002m. c. Incorporation of 23/24 pay award £2.790m: Employee Costs £2.790m. d. Incorporation of 22/23 pay award £2.160m: Employee Costs £2.160m. e. Replacement funding for IJB Reserves £7.200m: Income £7.200m. 18
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Appendix D SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report Social Work Resources Committee: Period Ended 28 December 2023 (No.10) Performance and Support Services Annual Budget Forecast for Year BEFORE Transfer Annual Forecast Variance BEFORE Transfer Annual Forecast Variance AFTER Transfer Budget Proportion 28/12/23 Actual 28/12/23 Variance 28/12/23 % Variance 28/12/23 Note £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Budget Category Employee Costs 5,399 5,199 200 200 3,948 3,684 264 Under 6.7% 1, a Property Costs 595 607 (12) (12) 427 428 (1) Over -0.2% Supplies & Services 453 468 (15) (15) 18 39 (21) Over -116.7% Transport & Plant 251 184 67 67 238 182 56 Under 23.5% Administration Costs 278 280 (2) (2) 198 192 6 Under 3.0% Payments to Other Bodies 26 50 (24) (24) 4 30 (26) Over -650.0% Payments to Contractors 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - n/a Transfer Payments 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - n/a Financing Charges 319 319 0 0 12 12 0 - 0.0% Total Controllable Exp. 7,321 7,107 214 214 4,845 4,567 278 Under 5.7% Total Controllable Inc. (635) (606) (29) (29) (141) (112) (29) Under recovered -20.6% Net Controllable Exp. 6,686 6,501 185 185 4,704 4,455 249 Under 5.3% Transfer to Reserves as at (31/03/24) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Position after Transfer to Reserves (31/03/24) 6,686 6,501 185 185 4,704 4,455 249 Under 5.3% Variance Explanations 1. Employee costs This is an underspend due to vacancies which are being actively recruited, mainly within Admin and Clerical staff. Budget Virements a. Incorporation of 23/24 pay award £0.348m: Employee Costs £0.348m. 19
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Appendix E SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report Social Work Resources Committee: Period Ended 28 December 2023 (No.10) Justice Services Annual Budget Forecast for Year BEFORE Transfers Annual Forecast Variance BEFORE Transfers Annual Forecast Variance AFTER Transfers Budget Proportion 28/12/23 Actual 28/12/23 Variance 28/12/23 % Variance 28/12/23 Note £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Budget Category Employee Costs 7,196 6,939 257 257 5,201 4,983 218 Under 4.2% 1, a, b Property Costs 87 118 (31) (31) 80 102 (22) Over -27.5% Supplies & Services 77 101 (24) (24) 46 63 (17) Over -37.0% Transport & Plant 108 122 (14) (14) 85 87 (2) Over -2.4% Administration Costs 568 568 0 0 72 68 4 Under 5.6% Payments to Other Bodies 640 671 (31) (31) 379 402 (23) Over -6.1% Payments to Contractors 39 39 0 0 39 39 0 - 0.0% Transfer Payments 6 12 (6) (6) 4 10 (6) Over -150.0% Financing Charges 9 14 (5) (5) 0 2 (2) Over n/a Total Controllable Exp. 8,730 8,584 146 146 5,906 5,756 150 Under 2.5% Total Controllable Inc. (7,289) (7,248) (41) (41) (4,372) (4,339) (33) Under recovered -0.8% b Net Controllable Exp. 1,441 1,336 105 105 1,534 1,417 117 Under 7.6% Transfer to Reserves as at (31/03/24) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Position after Transfer to Reserves (31/03/24) 1,441 1,336 105 105 1,534 1,417 117 Under 7.6% Variance Explanations 1. Employee Costs This is an underspend due to vacancies which are being actively recruited. Budget Virements a. Incorporation of 23/24 pay award £0.402m: Employee Costs £0.402m b. Rephasing of Problem-Solving Drug Court over financial years, Net Effect £0: Employee Costs (£0.189m), Income £0.189m. 20
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Social Work Resources Committee Date of Meeting: 6 March 2024 Report by: Head of Finance (Strategy) Director, Health and Social Care Subject: Social Work Resources - Capital Budget Monitoring 2023/2024 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to: [purpose] provide information on the progress of the capital programme for Social Work Resources for the period 1 April 2023 to 28 December 2023 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- (1) that the Social Work Resources’ capital programme of £2.030 million, and expenditure to date of £1.537 million, be noted; and (2) that the projected outturn of £2.6 million be noted. 3. Background 3.1. This is the fourth capital monitoring report presented to the Social Work Resources Committee for the financial year 2023/2024. 3.2. As noted in the last report to this Committee (6 December 2023), the budget for Social Work Resources for financial year 2023/2024 was £2.030 million. There has been no change to this budget since the last report to this Committee. 3.3. The report details the financial position for Social Work Resources in Appendix A. 4. Employee Implications 4.1. There are no employee implications as a result of this report. 5. Financial Implications 5.1. 2023/2024 Capital Programme Update As detailed in Section 3.2, the 2023/2024 capital programme for Social Work Resources is £2.030 million. 5.2. 2023/2024 Outturn Work has been ongoing to monitor the predicted spend position for this financial year and current estimates from Social Work Resources suggest an outturn of £2.6 million, an overspend of £0.570 million. The majority of the variance is due to the timing of spend on both the Community Alarms – Analogue to Digital and SWiSplus Replacement projects, resulting in additional budget being required in 2023/2024 rather than 2024/2025. Funding for the overall spend on these projects has already been identified into next financial year. 4 21
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5.3. Period 10 Position Anticipated spend to date was £1.391 million and spend to 28 December 2023 amounts to £1.537 million, resulting in Social Work Resources being £0.146 million ahead of programme. This is a timing issue only and as reported previously, this reflects the data migration costs for the SWiSplus Replacement project, which have occurred earlier than originally anticipated. 6. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 6.1. There are no implications for climate change, sustainability or the environment in terms of the information contained in this report. 7. Other Implications 7.1. The main risk associated with the Council’s Capital Programme is that there is an overspend. The risk has been assessed as low given the detailed project management plans prepared and monitored for each project. The risk of overspend is managed through four weekly Investment Management Meetings. 8. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 8.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 8.2. There was also no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. Jackie Taylor Head of Finance (Strategy) Professor Soumen Sengupta Director, Health and Social Care 14 February 2024 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, effective, efficient and transparent Previous References Social Work Resources Committee, 6 December 2023 List of Background Papers ▪ Financial ledger to 28 December 2023 Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact: Lorraine O’Hagan, Finance Manager (Strategy) Ext: 2601 (Tel: 01698 452601) E-mail: lorraine.o’hagan@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 22
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Appendix A South Lanarkshire Council Capital Expenditure 2023-2024 Social Work Resources Programme For Period 1 April 2023 – 28 December 2023 Social Work Resources Base Budget £000 Budget Adjustments £000 Slippage £000 Total Budget £000 Budget to Date £000 Actual Expenditure £000 Community Alarms - Analogue to Digital 1,232 - - 1,232 933 914 Swis Plus Replacement 798 - - 798 458 623 TOTAL 2,030 - - 2,030 1,391 1,537 23
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Social Work Resources Committee Date of Meeting: 6 March 2024 Report by: Chief Executive and Director, Health and Social Care Subject: Social Work Resources – Workforce Monitoring – October to December 2023 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to: - [purpose] provide employment information for October to December 2023 relating to Social Work Resources [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s): - [recs] (1) that the following employment information for October to December 2023 relating to Social Work Resources be noted: - attendance statistics occupational health accident/incident statistics discipline, grievance and Dignity at Work cases analysis of leavers and exit interviews Staffing Watch as of 9 December 2023 [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. As part of the Council’s performance management arrangements, regular workforce monitoring reports are submitted to Committee. This report for Social Work Resources provides information on the position for October to December 2023. 4. Monitoring Statistics 4.1. Attendance Statistics (Appendix 1) Information on absence statistics is analysed for the month of December 2023 for Social Work Resources. The Resource absence figure for December 2023 was 8.1%, this figure has increased by 0.3% when compared to last month and is 1.5% higher than the Council-wide figure. Compared to December 2022, the Resource absence figure has increased by 0.4%. Based on the absence figures at December 2023 and annual trends, the projected annual average absence for the Resource for 2023/2024 is 7.2%, compared to a Council-wide average figure of 5.3%. 5 25
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Managers follow the procedures outlined in the Maximising Attendance Policy to support employees to remain at work, or to return to work after a sickness absence. There are comprehensive employee supports in place and additionally, Personnel Services work in close partnership with line managers and Resource Management Teams on a case management basis to ensure that appropriate actions are taken. 4.2. Occupational Health (Appendix 2) In terms of referrals to occupational health, which include medical examinations and physiotherapy, overall, 344 referrals were made this period. This represents a decrease of 14 when compared with the same period last year. 4.3. Accident/Incident Statistics There were 55 accidents/incidents recorded within the Resource this period, an increase of 29 when compared to the same period last year. 4.4. Discipline, Grievance and Dignity at Work (Appendix 2) During the period, 6 disciplinary hearings were held within the Resource, this figure has increased by 2 when compared to the same period last year. One appeal was heard by the Appeals Panel. No appeals were in pending. No grievance hearings were raised within the Resource, this figure has decreased by 1 when compared to the same period last year. No Dignity at Work complaints were raised within the Resource, this figure remains unchanged when compared to the same period last year. 4.5. Analysis of Leavers (Appendix 2) There was a total of 37 leavers in the Resource this period eligible for an exit interview. This figure has decreased by 23 when compared with the same period last year. Fourteen exit interviews were conducted in this period, a decrease of 9 when compared to the same period last year. 4.6. When processing an employee termination, managers were asked to identify whether they intended to replace the employee who had left the Council. If they indicated that they did not intend to replace the employee, they were asked to select from the following options: plan to hold for savings fill on a fixed term basis pending savings transfer budget to another post end of fixed term post 4.7. Appendix 2a provides a breakdown of vacant posts and whether these are being replaced or held for savings. In the period October to December 2023, 79 employees (56.28 FTE) in total left employment, managers indicated that 75 posts (54.28 FTE) were being replaced, 2 posts (0.00 FTE) due to end of fixed term contracts, 1 post (1.00 FTE) is being held pending a service review and 1 post (1.00 FTE) is planning on being removed for savings. 5. Staffing Watch 5.1. There has been a decrease of 29 in the number of employees in post from 9 September 2023 to 9 December 2023. 26
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6. Employee Implications 6.1. There are no implications for employees arising from the information presented in this report. 7. Financial Implications 7.1. All financial implications are accommodated within existing budgets. 8. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 8.1. There are no Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications in terms of the information contained within this report. 9. Other Implications 9.1. There are no implications for sustainability or risk in terms of the information contained within this report. 10. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 10.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 10.2. There was no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. Paul Manning Chief Executive Professor Soumen Sengupta Director, Health and Social Care 1 February 2024 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, effective, efficient and transparent Fair, open and sustainable Ambitious, self aware and improving Excellent employer Focused on people and their needs Working with and respecting others Previous References Finance and Corporate Resources – 6 December 2023 List of Background Papers Monitoring information provided by Finance and Corporate Resources Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact: - Eileen McPake, HR Business Manager Ext: (Tel: 01698 454647) E-mail: Eileen.McPake@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 27
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2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 % % % % % % % % % % % % April 4.5 6.2 6.5 April 9.6 12.6 9.4 April 6.2 8.3 7.4 April 4.3 5.6 5.1 May 5.0 5.7 5.8 May 9.3 10.1 8.4 May 6.5 7.1 6.6 May 4.9 5.4 5.1 June 3.9 5.9 5.5 June 7.6 11.3 8.6 June 5.2 7.6 6.5 June 4.7 5.3 4.7 July 6.1 6.0 5.4 July 10.3 11.8 8.8 July 7.5 7.9 6.5 July 4.0 4.6 3.8 August 7.3 6.0 4.8 August 10.2 10.8 8.6 August 8.2 7.5 6.0 August 4.7 4.4 4.1 September 7.6 5.9 5.6 September 10.3 9.6 9.3 September 8.5 7.1 6.8 September 6.4 5.4 5.3 October 6.9 5.8 6.5 October 11.3 10.4 8.5 October 8.4 7.3 7.1 October 6.3 5.8 5.1 November 6.2 6.0 7.3 November 10.8 10.4 9.0 November 7.7 7.4 7.8 November 6.9 6.5 6.2 December 5.5 6.4 7.4 December 11.1 10.6 9.5 December 7.3 7.7 8.1 December 6.9 7.0 6.6 January 7.4 5.2 January 13.0 12.0 January 9.2 7.4 January 7.0 5.8 February 7.5 5.8 February 10.1 11.0 February 8.3 7.5 February 6.6 5.9 March 8.0 7.0 March 12.8 10.9 March 9.5 8.2 March 7.9 6.4 Annual Average 6.3 6.0 6.1 Annual Average 10.5 11.0 9.5 Annual Average 7.7 7.6 7.2 Annual Average 5.9 5.7 5.3 Average Apr-Dec 5.9 6.0 6.1 Average Apr-Dec 10.1 10.8 8.9 Average Apr-Dec 7.3 7.5 7.0 Average Apr-Dec 5.5 5.6 5.1 1868 1049 2917 16185 Manual Workers No of Employees at 31 December 2023 No of Employees at 31 December 2023 No of Employees at 31 December 2023 No of Employees at 31 December 2023 Appendix 1 Absence Trends - 2021/2022, 2022/2023 & 2023/2024 Social Work Resources APT&C Council WideResource Total 28
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Oct - Dec Oct - Dec 2022 2023 MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS Number of Employees Attending EMPLOYEE COUNSELLING SERVICE Total Number of Referrals PHYSIOTHERAPY SERVICE Total Number of Referrals REFERRALS TO EMPLOYEE SUPPORT OFFICER 98 132 REFERRALS TO COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY 0 2 TOTAL 358 344 Oct - Dec Oct - Dec 2022 2023 Over 7 day absences 2 2 Over 3 day absences** 0 1 Minor 14 17 Near Miss 0 2 Violent Incident: Physical**** 8 29 Violent Incident: Verbal***** 2 4 Total Accidents/Incidents 26 55 Oct - Dec Oct - Dec 2022 2023 Total Number of Hearings 4 6 Total Number of Appeals 0 1 Time Taken to Convene Hearing October - December 2023 0-3 Weeks 4-6 Weeks Over 6 Weeks 4 1 1 Oct - Dec Oct - Dec 2022 2023 Number of Grievances 1 0 Number Resolved at Stage 2 1 0 Oct - Dec Oct - Dec 2022 2023 Number of Incidents 0 0 Oct - Dec Oct - Dec 2022 2023 Career Advancement 13 7 Moving outwith area 3 2 Personal Reasons 2 3 Poor relationship with managers / colleagues 1 0 Travelling difficulties 2 1 Other 2 1 Number of Exit Interviews conducted 23 14 Total Number of Leavers Eligible for Exit Interview 60 37 Percentage of interviews conducted 38% 38% Appendix 2 119 89 40 14 SOCIAL WORK RESOURCES 101 107 CAUSE OF ACCIDENTS/INCIDENTS *A Specified Injury is any fracture (other than to the fingers, thumbs or toes), amputation, loss of sight, serious burns, crushing injury, scalping, loss of consciousness caused by asphyxiation/ head injury, a chemical or hot metal burn to the eye or penetrating injury as defined by the HSE. **Over 3 day / over 7day absence is an injury sustained outwith specified injury category that results in a period of absence of absence as defined by the HSE. ***Near Miss - Any unexpected, unplanned occurrence (except Dangerous Occurrences) that does not lead to injury of persons, damage to property, plant or equipment but may have done so in different circumstance. ANALYSIS OF REASONS FOR LEAVING ****Physical violent incidents are included in the "Specified" figures, where applicable, to provide the "Total Specified" figures. ****Physical violent incidents and ***** Verbal Violent Incidents are included in the "Over 3-day or Over 7-day" figures, where applicable, to provide the "Total Over 3-day or Over 7-day" figures. ****Physical Violent Incidents and ***** Verbal Violent Incidents are included in the "Minor" figures, where applicable, to provide the "Total Minor" figures. RECORD OF DISCIPLINARY HEARINGS RECORD OF GRIEVANCE HEARINGS RECORD OF DIGNITY AT WORK 29
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FTE H/C FTE H/C Terminations/Leavers 56.28 79 173.18 258 Being replaced 54.28 75 158.83 207 Filling on a temporary basis 0.00 0 1.81 33 Plan to transfer this budget to another post 0.00 0 0.95 1 End of fixed term contract 0.00 2 2.29 5 Held pending service Review 1.00 1 8.30 10 Plan to remove for savings 1.00 1 1.00 2 October - December 2023 Appendix 2a Reason Cumulative total 30
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As at 9 December 2023 Total Number of Employees F/T P/T F/T P/T 200 210 1001 1316 Chief Officer Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Fixed SCP Teacher TOTAL 3.00 333.37 1458.96 525.30 31.80 33.75 0.00 0.00 0.00 2386.18 As at 9 September 2023 Total Number of Employees F/T P/T F/T P/T 199 207 1004 1346 Chief Officer Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Fixed SCP Teacher TOTAL 3.00 350.14 1461.14 529.23 36.80 30.75 0.00 0.00 0.00 2411.06 Salary Bands MALE FEMALE TOTAL 2756 *Full - Time Equivalent No of Employees Appendix 3 JOINT STAFFING WATCH RETURN SOCIAL WORK RESOURCES *Full - Time Equivalent No of Employees Salary Bands 2727 MALE FEMALE TOTAL 31
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Social Work Resources Committee Date of Meeting: 6 March 2024 Report by: Director, Health and Social Care Subject: Social Work Resource Plan: Quarter 2 Progress Report 2023/2024 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- provide the Social Work Resource Plan Quarter 2 Progress Report 2023/2024, for the period 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023 2. Recommendations 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendations:- (1) that the Social Work Resource Plan Quarter 2 Progress Report 2023/2024, as summarised in paragraph 5.2. and attached as Appendix 2 of this report, be noted; (2) that the key achievements made by the Resource to date, as detailed in paragraph 5.3. of this report, be noted; and (3) that the areas for improvement and associated management actions, as detailed in paragraph 5.4. of this report, be noted. 3. Background 3.1. The Social Work Resource Plan 2023/24 was approved by Committee on 3 May 2023 and sets out the outcomes, measures and actions to be managed and delivered by the Resource for the financial year 2023/2024. 3.2. The Resource Plan follows the agreed corporate structure and style. The Plan is a key element of the Council’s performance management arrangements and provides details of the context within which the Resource operates and establishes actions and measures for the year ahead based on the Outcomes set out in the Council Plan Connect 2022-2027. 4. Resource Outcomes 2023/2024 4.1. The Resource has established a number of outcomes to support the delivery of the Connect Outcomes in 2023/2024. These are detailed at Appendix 1. 5. Quarter 2 Progress Report 2023/2024 5.1. Progress against all Resource Plan measures is contained in the Quarter 2 Progress Report 2023/2024, attached as Appendix 2. This report has been produced from the Council’s performance management reporting system IMPROVe, and uses a traffic light format with the following definitions to give a status report on each measure:- 6 33
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Status Definition Blue Project complete Green The timescale or target has been met as per expectations Amber There has been minor slippage against timescale or minor shortfall against target Red There has been major slippage against timescale or major shortfall against target Report later The information is not yet available to allow us to say whether the target has been reached or not. This will be reported when available Contextual Included for ‘information only’, to set performance information in context 5.2. Measures which are classified as ‘red’ are considered in detail at section 5.4. of this report. To ensure adequate scrutiny of performance across all Resources, the Council’s Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum may consider ‘red’ and/or ‘amber’ measures at a future meeting. The overall summary of progress to date is set out in the table below. There remains a legacy impact of Covid-19 and the response to it in some areas, and performance should be considered in that context. Status Measures Statistical Project Total % Blue 0 1 1 4% Green 9 7 16 57% Amber 3 1 4 14% Red 1 0 1 4% Report later/Contextual 1 5 6 21% Totals 14 14 28 100% (Data correct as at 20 December 2023) 34
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5.3. Key achievements for 2023/2024, to date, are noted below: 5.3.1. Connect Outcome: Communities and Environment Resource Outcome Achievements Strengthen engagement with service users and carers South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership has successfully rolled out Phase 1 and Phase 2 of Care Opinion this included all Adult and Older People services. Work is progressing on Phase 3 which will include Children and Justice Social Work services subscribing to Care Opinion by end of October 2023. The Performance and Systems Development Assistant who is supporting the implementation of Care Opinion commenced in April 2023 and will support the continued roll out of this throughout the Partnership. Consultation on the draft Carers Strategy has included a number of focus groups with service users and carers which assisted with final draft, and creation of a plan on a page which summarises the strategic priorities for carers. Social Work Resources embeds sustainable development across services South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership have implemented a change across all services regarding how equipment and adaptation needs are prioritised following assessment using the Prioritised Recommendation and Needs Assessment (PRANA) form. This process will ensure there is improved capacity to assist people referred to the service with identified risk of harm whilst low priority needs are directed for alternative provision including information and advice to self-manage. Connect Outcome: Health and Wellbeing Resource Outcome Achievements Care and protect children, young people and adults from risk of harm As at 30 September 2023, there were a total of 723 Looked After Children, 75 (10%) were looked after in a residential setting including local authority houses, secure accommodation and residential schools. This position has been consistent since 1 April 2021, this reflects South Lanarkshire’s commitment to shift the way care is delivered to Looked After Children, with continued support to children and young people within the community. Continue to support carers good health and wellbeing alongside their caring role The Carers commissioned services from Lanarkshire Carers (Adult Carers) Action for Children (Young Carers) continue to support increased numbers of Carers/Young Carers in the Community as evidenced in their quarterly reporting. The Resource has supported an increased number of adult carers with access to Carers SDS Support packages. 35
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Promote early intervention and intervention to achieve healthy, active lives and reduce inequalities Justice Social Work commissioned Iconic Consultancy to provide external evaluation for the Community Payback Order peer mentors that were established in 2021. This was funded from the Scottish Government Drug Death Task Force funding. The evaluation was positive and highlighted evidence of good outcomes for those transitioning from their CPOs to positive destinations. This included developing trusting relationships with peer mentor staff and successful engagement with recovery services and connections into GP, housing, mental health, and addiction services. The evaluation commended South Lanarkshire Council Justice Social Work’s awareness and action in meeting the support, supervision and training needs of workers recruited with non-traditional social work backgrounds, skills and experiences. For those who have committed offences safely and effectively support them to reintegrate into the community and realise their potential for the benefits of all Justice Social Work Services were successful in their bid to secure Scottish Government drugs mission funding from CORRA in May 2023. This funding will be used to develop the Recovery Orientated Justice Social Work team and deliver Structured Deferred Sentences to Hamilton Sheriff Court’s Alcohol and Drug Problem Solving Court over a 2-year period. South Lanarkshire Justice Services in partnership with North Lanarkshire Justice services and Sheriff Principal of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway have created a clear vision and direction for taking forward a joint dedicated alcohol and drug court that promotes a public health approach with the principles of reducing offending and directing vulnerable people out of the justice system where possible. The service will be supported by peer mentors connected to recovery communities. The Community Justice Partnership hosted a development day on 21 September 2023, where CP Partners from Community Justice Scotland, Justice Services/Police Scotland with experience of a national thematic inspection, and the voice of experience from an individual released from prison who shared their experiences of services and the justice system. Disadvantaged people/groups are provided with access to timely support and interventions Two-year funding has been secured from Alcohol and Drug Partnership for peer mentor service for Alcohol and Drug problem solving court. SLC Procurement services supporting tender with submission to Scotland Excel Framework due in October 2023. Evaluation agreed with University of West of Scotland. Implementation date for Court starting in December 2023. 36
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Connect Outcome: Children and Young People Resource Outcome Achievements Improve the health and wellbeing of children, young people and families South Lanarkshire continue to have no under 18’s in Polmont Young Offenders Institution since September 2021 and this reflects the success of the proactive Whole System Approach and use of secure care (where necessary) and robust multi agency community risk management plans. Family Support Hubs are now open in Hamilton, East Kilbride, Lanark and Cambuslang. South Lanarkshire have been chosen by Scottish Government as a case study area and researchers have met with staff and families in June to gather feedback on their experience of the new family support hubs. 5.3.2. In addition to working towards these Outcomes, it is recognised that the Council will continually aim to improve and ensure effective and efficient use of resources, and that business will be conducted with integrity and transparency and will operate to the highest standards. In order to monitor and report progress against these values, Resource outcomes have also been identified under the heading Delivering the Plan and achieving Best Value. Delivering the Plan and achieving Best Value Resource Outcome Achievement Digital and ICT service meet the needs of the council and its customers Technology Enabled Care (TEC) continues to provide health and care services to help people live independently and safely in their own homes, or near to home for longer. The team continue to progress the upgrade of community alarms from analogue to digital with 2,017 digital alarms installed between April 2023 and September 2023. 5.4. Areas for improvement Measures that have been classified as ‘amber’ (minor slippage against timescale) or minor shortfall against target ‘red’ (major slippage against timescale or shortfall against target) are noted below, together with the reason why, and the management action now being taken, where applicable. 37
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Communities and Environment Resource Outcome: Social Work Resources embeds sustainable development across services Measure Comments/Progress Action by Manager (where applicable) Make an annual saving from using recycled items as opposed to new through the joint store Total number of recycled items = 271 Cost of items = £41,788 Value of items = £90,009 Savings over new = £48,221 To date, there has been a saving for the Council of £91,748, to meet the annual saving target of £200,000. The service implemented a change across SLHSCP services in how all equipment and adaptation needs are prioritised. The Prioritised Recommendation and Needs Assessment (PRANA) form is now used to identify those who have critical and substantial needs for direct provision. Health and Wellbeing Resource Outcome: Care and protect children, young people and adults from risk of harm Percentage of reports submitted to the Children’s Reporter within agreed timescales Current performance is currently reporting at 63% (88 out of 139) of reports being submitted within timescale against a target of 75%. Performance appears to be stabilising and improving since the Q1 position of 51%. Most recent figures for Q2 indicate 37 out of 53 (70%) of reports submitted to SCRA were within timescale. Performance in relation to submitting SCRA reports within agreed timescale has been impacted by ongoing recruitment challenges and demand on resources. Vacancies remain at 30% and whilst recruitment activity continues, there has been little success in appointing experienced social work staff. The service also faced a rise in demand with a 12% increase in the number of allocations from Q1 to Q2. Local managers ensure that there is oversight in relation to reports that are submitted late and these are prioritised on the basis of risk. Service Managers and partner agencies are developing a Single Assessment Framework to reduce duplication and in turn improve the number of reports submitted to SCRA within desired timescales. 38
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Health and Wellbeing Resource Outcome: For those who have committed offences safely and effectively support them to reintegrate into the community and realise their potential for the benefits of all Percentage of people on CPO unpaid work requirement seen within five working days by their case manager There has been a total of 97% Community Payback Orders inducted, with 74% of placements (268 out of 364) inducted within 5 working days, against a 75% target. In quarter 2, 71% (123 out of 174) were inducted within 5 working days, a decrease from 77% in quarter 1. The unpaid work service has continued to be impacted by non- attendance of service users. The majority fail to show for appointment or were late, whilst other reasons include illness, paid employment or a return to custody. In addition, 47% of Unpaid Work requirements were level 1 orders where there is no justice social work report requested by the court prior to the order commencing and therefore the service is unable to engage with the service user before court appearance or monitor their outcomes in court. Justice Social Work implemented a text reminder service for all unpaid work service users as of 18th October 2023 to encourage attendance at unpaid work. This will be supported by 4 weekly reviews for all non- attenders as standard, regardless of circumstances, to ensure robust management of the order(s). 39
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Percentage of people starting their placement within seven days of a CPO unpaid work To date 72% (263 out of 364) of placements have commenced within 7 days against a 75% target. Performance reduced in quarter 2 to 70% (121 out of 174), compared to 75% in quarter 1. The unpaid work service has continued to be impacted by non- attendance of service users. The majority fail to show for appointment or were late, whilst other reasons include illness, attending paid employment or a return to custody. In addition, 47% of Unpaid Work requirements were level 1 orders where there is no justice social work report requested by the court prior to the order commencing and therefore the service is unable to engage with the service user before court appearance or monitor their outcomes in court. Justice Social Work implemented a text reminder service for all unpaid work service users as of 18th October 2023 to encourage attendance at unpaid work. This will be supported by 4 weekly reviews for all non- attenders as standard, regardless of circumstances, to ensure robust management of the order(s). Delivering the Plan and achieving Best Value Resource Outcome: Digital and ICT services meet the needs of the council and its customers Implement the new Social Work IT system by January 2024 The project is on track to meet the revised timescales of June 2024. Liquidlogic have recently adopted the lead role in data migration and the first round of testing commenced on 9 October 2023. Now that Liquidlogic have adopted the lead role in data migration, early indication shows that timescales for system configuration and integrations are progressing well. 6. Employee Implications 6.1. The outcomes noted within the Resource Plan will inform the Service Action Plans, where applicable, and in turn the Performance Appraisal process for individual employees. 40
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7. Financial Implications 7.1. The outcomes within the Resource Plan are reflected in the respective annual Resource Revenue and Capital budgets and, longer term, within the framework of the council’s approved Financial Strategy. 8. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 8.1. There are no climate change or environmental implications as a result of this report. 8.2. The Council acknowledges the serious and immediate threat of climate change and is committed to accelerating the pace of action in response to the climate emergency and in Scotland’s transition to a net-zero and climate resilient society and economy. All Resource Plans have recognised sustainable development and climate change as a key area of focus for 2023/2024. 9. Other Implications 9.1. A significant element of the delivery of the outcomes in the Community Plan 2022 to 2032 will come through the achievement of the actions contained within Connect. 9.2. Resource Plan actions are assessed as part of the Resource’s risk management arrangements and relevant issues have been added to the Resource Risk Register. 10. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 10.1. Many of the actions detailed within the Resource Plan reflect ongoing strategies and policies which will be or have been the subject of consultation and equality impact assessment. Professor Soumen Sengupta Director, Health and Social Care 20 December 2023 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes • The Resource Plan has been structured upon the Vision, Values and Outcomes in the Council Plan Connect 2022-27 Previous References • Council Plan Connect 2022-27 – approved by the full Council on 15 June 2022 • Social Work Resources Plan 2023-24 – approved by Social Work Resources Committee on 3 May 2023 List of Background Papers None Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Ciana Stewart, Planning and Performance Manager E-mail: Ciana.stewart@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 41
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Appendix 1 Social Work Resource Objectives 2023/2024 Connect Outcomes Resource Outcomes Communities and Environment • Social Work Resources embeds sustainable development across services • Strengthen engagement with service users and carers Education and Learning No Resource Outcomes for this Connect Outcome Health and Wellbeing • Promote early intervention and prevention to achieve healthy, active lives and reduce inequalities • Care and protect children, young people and adults from risk of harm • Work with our communities to deliver person-centred care and support • Continue to support carers good health and wellbeing alongside their caring role • Promote self-care and self-management • Community Justice Outcome Improvement Plan is progressed • Disadvantaged people/groups are provided with access to timely support and interventions • For those who have committed offences safely and effectively support them to reintegrate into the community and realise their potential for the benefits of all • Help people to continue to live within their homes and communities through integrated community health and social care services Children and Young People • Improve the health and wellbeing of children, young people and families Housing and Land No Resource Outcomes for this Connect Outcome Our Economy No Resource Outcomes for this Connect Outcome 42
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on 14 Feb 12:13 Quarter 2 : April 2023 - September 2023 South Lanarkshire Council Social Work Resource Plan (This represents the cumulative position to September 2023) Performance Report 2023-24 Appendix 2 6 43
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on 14 Feb 12:13 Summary - number of measures green, amber and red under each Council Plan Outcome / Theme Council Outcome/ Theme Green Amber Red Report later / Contextual Total Communities and Environment 0 1 0 0 1 Education and Learning 0 0 0 0 0 Health and Wellbeing 7 2 1 0 10 Children and Young People 2 0 0 1 3 Housing and Land 0 0 0 0 0 Our Economy 0 0 0 0 0 Delivering the plan and achieving best value 0 0 0 0 0 Total 9 3 1 1 14 Page 1 44
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work Communities and Environment Social Work Resources embeds sustainable development across services Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status 2021/22 2022/232020/21Target To Date -------- Last 3 Years ------------------- This Year ----------- Make an annual saving from using recycled items as opposed to new through the joint store Total number of recycled items = 271 Cost of items = £41,788 Value of items = £90,009 Savings over new = £48,221 To date, there has been a saving for the Council of £91,748, to meet the annual saving target of £200,000. Presently at 92% of Q2 target at reporting. The service implemented a change across SLHSCP services in how all equipment and adaptation needs are prioritised following assessments using the Prioritised Recommendation and Needs Assessment (PRANA) form to identify those who have critical and substantial needs for direct provision. Amber 200,000 91,748 ------ 267,296 296,990 Page 2 45
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work Children and Young People Care and protect children, young people and adults from risk of harm Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status 2021/22 2022/232020/21Target To Date -------- Last 3 Years ------------------- This Year ----------- Percentage of parental attendance at initial Child Protection case conferences In quarter 2, out of 24 invitations sent to parents for initial CP Case Conferences, 23 attended (96%). To date, 89% of parents invited to initial case conferences have attended. (121 out of 136). This is an improvement from the Q1 position of 81%. Supporting the attendance of parents at case conferences continues to be a top priority which is discussed at fieldwork manager meetings and raised through supervision on a regular basis. Attendance remains high but does fluctuate in accordance with a range of family circumstances. Some families prefer to attend virtually whilst others prefer to attend in person. Green 85% 89% ------ ------ 89% Percentage of children in attendance at initial Child Protection case conferences (aged over 5) This measure is a new measure that has been introduced across the service. Functionality has recently been added to support collation of this data, however there is currently no data available. Work is being carried out with local teams to support the collation and reporting of this data. The service is focussing on significantly increasing the attendance of children at case conferences which is also raised through supervision and meetings. Report Later ------ ------ 0% 0% 0% Percentage of our looked after children and young people accommodated in residential placements As at 30 September 2023, there were a total of 723 Looked After Children, 75 (10%) were looked after in a residential setting including local authority houses, secure accommodation and residential schools. This position has been consistent since 1 April 2021, this reflects South Lanarkshire’s commitment to shift the way care is delivered to Looked After Children, with continued support to children and young people within the community. Green 10.0% 10.0% ------ 10.0% 10.0% Page 3 46
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work Health and Wellbeing Care and protect children, young people and adults from risk of harm Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status 2021/22 2022/232020/21Target To Date -------- Last 3 Years ------------------- This Year ----------- Percentage of children seen by a supervising officer within 15 days To date, 80% of children made subject to a new compulsory supervision order have been seen within the 15 days timescale following a hearing. As at 30 September 2023, 400 children in South Lanarkshire are subject to a CSO. The children not seen within the timescales refers to a small population of children where engagement with families has been difficult. The locality Fieldwork Manager is aware of the issues and appropriate actions have been carried out to escalate. Green 75.0% 80.0% 70.0% 94.0% 89.0% Page 4 47
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work Health and Wellbeing Care and protect children, young people and adults from risk of harm Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status 2021/22 2022/232020/21Target To Date -------- Last 3 Years ------------------- This Year ----------- Percentage of reports submitted to the Children’s Reporter within agreed timescales Current performance is currently reporting at 63% (88 out of 139) of reports being submitted within timescale against a target of 75%. Performance appears to be stabilising and improving since the Q1 position of 51%. Most recent figures for Q2 indicate 37 out of 53 (70%) of reports submitted to SCRA were within timescale. Performance in relation to submitting SCRA reports within agreed timescale has been impacted by ongoing recruitment challenges and demand on resources. Vacancies remain at 30% and whilst recruitment activity continues, there has been little success in appointing experienced social work staff. The service also faced a rise in demand with a 12% increase in the number of allocations from Q1 to Q2. Local managers ensure that there is oversight in relation to reports that are submitted late and these are prioritised on the basis of risk. Service Managers and partner agencies are developing a Single Assessment Framework to reduce duplication and in turn improve the number of reports submitted to SCRA within desired timescales. Red 75.0% 63.0% 88.0% 82.0% 77.0% Page 5 48
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Although target has been achieved, a slight decrease can be seen from the quarter 1 2023-2024 position of 95%. To date, there was a total of 133 local authority guardianship visits due with 92% (123) being completed on time. Additional supports are now in place for the locality teams whereby reports are issued regularly providing teams with current performance levels against the target level. Green 90% 92% 93% 94% 93% Percentage of statutory supervising officer visits completed within timescale for private welfare guardianship orders In quarter 2, there was a total of 640 private welfare guardianship visits due with 93% (596) being completed on time. The increase in this quarter is noted when compared from the quarter 1 2023-2024 position of 87%, target has been achieved. To date, there was a total of 1,253 private guardianship visits due with 91% (1141) being completed on time. Additional supports are now in place for the locality teams whereby reports are issued regularly providing teams with current performance levels against the target level. Green 90% 91% 94% 95% 93% Page 6 49
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work Health and Wellbeing Promote self-care and self-management Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status 2021/22 2022/232020/21Target To Date -------- Last 3 Years ------------------- This Year ----------- Number of people participating in a co-produced SDS Assessment to exercise choice and control over their care In quarter 2, 862 co-produced assessments were approved and 392 new co-produced assessments commenced. An increase is noted when compared from the quarter 1 2023-2024 position. To date, there has been a total of 1,668 co-produced assessments approved and 729 new co-produced assessments commenced. This level of activity means the service is on track to exceed the annual target of 3000 and it is reassuring to see that this level of activity has continued from Q1. Workforce learning and development continues in relation to upskilling the Adults and Older People staff group in relation to all elements of SDS, assessment and outcome support planning: this is a collaborative effort between HQ SDS Support staff and SW Learning and Development colleagues. Green 3,000 1,668 0 0 ------ Number of people in receipt of a direct and managed personal budget payment to exercise choice and control over their care In quarter 2, a total of 1,162 people were in receipt of direct payment and managed personal budget payment to exercise choice and control over their care. This shows a 4% increase from the quarter 1 2023-2024 position. Adult and Older People services remain committed to ensuring supported people and carers fully exercise choice and control. Work continues with Take Control (commissioned SDS information and advice service) to upskill the workforce in relation to the options and practice implications for each. Green ------ 1,162 0 0 0 Spend on adults in receipt of direct payments and personal budget payments as a percentage of the total social work spend on adults At the end of quarter 2, the current annual commitment for adults in receipt of direct payments and personal budget payments is £35.5 m. Specific measures have recently been implemented in relation to adult carers: the Adult Carer Support Plan screen went live on SWiS in July 2023 a suite of reports will be developed to support performance monitoring and spending consistency over the localities. Green ------ 36 0 0 0 Page 7 50
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work Health and Wellbeing For those who have committed offences safely and effectively support them to reintegrate into the community and realise their potential for the benefits of all Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status 2021/22 2022/232020/21Target To Date -------- Last 3 Years ------------------- This Year ----------- Percentage of people on CPO unpaid work requirement seen within five working days by their case manager There has been a total of 97% Community Payback Orders inducted, with 74% of placements (268 out of 364) inducted within 5 working days, against a 75% target. In quarter 2, 71% (123 out of 174) were inducted within 5 working days, a decrease from 77% in quarter 1. The unpaid work service has continued to be impacted by non-attendance of service users. The majority fail to show for appointment or were late, whilst other reasons include illness, paid employment or a return to custody. In addition, 47% of Unpaid Work requirements were level 1 orders where there is no justice social work report requested by the court prior to the order commencing and therefore the service is unable to engage with the service user before court appearance or monitor their outcomes in court. Justice Social Work implemented a text reminder service for all unpaid work service users as of 18th October 2023 to encourage attendance at unpaid work. This will be supported by 4 weekly reviews for all non-attenders as standard, regardless of circumstances, to ensure robust management of the order(s). Amber 75.0% 74.0% 57.0% 68.0% 69.0% Page 8 51
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan Performance Indicators South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work Health and Wellbeing For those who have committed offences safely and effectively support them to reintegrate into the community and realise their potential for the benefits of all Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status 2021/22 2022/232020/21Target To Date -------- Last 3 Years ------------------- This Year ----------- Percentage of people starting their placement within seven days of a CPO unpaid work To date 72% (263 out of 364) of placements have commenced within 7 days against a 75% target. Performance reduced in quarter 2 to 70% (121 out of 174), compared to 75% in quarter 1. The unpaid work service has continued to be impacted by non-attendance of service users. The majority fail to show for appointment or were late, whilst other reasons include illness, attending paid employment or a return to custody. In addition, 47% of Unpaid Work requirements were level 1 orders where there is no justice social work report requested by the court prior to the order commencing and therefore the service is unable to engage with the service user before court appearance or monitor their outcomes in court. Justice Social Work implemented a text reminder service for all unpaid work service users as of 18th October 2023 to encourage attendance at unpaid work. This will be supported by 4 weekly reviews for all non-attenders as standard, regardless of circumstances, to ensure robust management of the order(s). Amber 75.0% 72.0% 47.0% 65.0% 67.0% Percentage of Justice Social Work reports submitted to Court by the due date In quarter 2, 97% (442 out of 454) of Justice Social Work Reports were submitted to the court by the due date. This measure is on target. To date, 98% of Justice Social Work Reports have been submitted within timescale. Green 95.0% 98.0% 97.0% 99.0% 98.0% Page 9 52
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Summary - number of measures complete, green, amber and red under each Council Plan Outcome / Theme Council Outcome/ Theme Complete Green Amber Red Report later Total Communities and Environment 0 1 0 0 0 1 Education and Learning 0 0 0 0 0 0 Health and Wellbeing 1 5 0 0 5 11 Children and Young People 0 1 0 0 0 1 Housing and Land 0 0 0 0 0 0 Our Economy 0 0 0 0 0 0 Delivering the plan and achieving best value 0 0 1 0 0 1 Total 1 7 1 0 5 14 Page 10 53
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work Health and Wellbeing Community Justice Outcome Improvement Plan is progressed Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Embed national model for Community Justice in Scotland with out partners in South Lanarkshire Present a progress report on the priorities set out within the Community Justice Outcome Improvement Plan 2023-2026 by March 2024 To be reported on in quarter 4. Report Later Contribute to a reduction of the national prison population through the use of SDS assessments and diversion from prosecution. Provide a report to Social Work Committee on progress Report to Committee to be provided in quarter 4. Report Later For those who have committed offences safely and effectively support them to reintegrate into the community and realise their potential for the benefits of all Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Promote the use of alternatives to remand in South Lanarkshire Provide a report to Social Work Committee on the use of movement restriction conditions, restriction of liberty orders and bail supervision as alternatives to remand Report to Committee to be provided in quarter 4. Report Later Care and protect children, young people and adults from risk of harm Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Report on the Adult Support and Protection Inspection Improvement Plan Report to Social Work Committee on the implementation of the ASP Inspection Improvement Plan The Continuous Learning Group continues to meet 4-weekly to implement and discuss the recommendations from the Adult Support and Protection (ASP) inspection improvement plan. A report on progress will be presented to the Social Work Committee in the future. Green Page 11 54
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work Health and Wellbeing Care and protect children, young people and adults from risk of harm Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Monitor public protection activity Report annually to the Community Planning Partnership on public protection activity To be reported in quarter 4. Date to be confirmed by CPP. Report Later Chief Social Work Officer will continue to provide professional advice and guidance to the Council in accordance with legislative duties Chief Social Work Officer to provide an annual report on key challenges, developments and improvements across Social Work as well as reporting on service quality and performance including delivery of statutory functions by September 2023 The CSWO report 2022-2023 has been drafted and is currently under internal approval processes before submission to the Scottish Government. The timescale for submission to the Scottish Government has been extended to 31 October 2023. Green Communities and Environment Strengthen engagement with service users and carers Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Continue to support the culture where consultation and participation is part of the planning, development and delivery of all our services Provide a quarterly update to Senior Management Team on service user response to the participation methods used and report on the outcomes of engagement activity, to ensure stakeholder views are available in the decision-making process. The Partnership is currently rolling out Phase 3 of Care Opinion with a launch date confirmed for the 26/10/2023. Training sessions have now been delivered throughout the first week of October which was pre-empted with a series of Espresso Webinars to support the dissemination of information regarding Care Opinion. A press release has been drafted which will be circulated to support the launch. Since the Partnership’s soft launch on the 15/02/2023, 33 stories have been received. 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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work Health and Wellbeing Work with our communities to deliver person-centred care and support Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Ensure monitoring, compliance and control of delivered services Provide bi-annual reports to Social Work Committee on internal registered care services A progress report will be presented to Social Work Resources Committee on 6 December 2023. Report Later Continue to support carers good health and wellbeing alongside their caring role Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Report on services and supports provided to adult carers by Commissioned Services Provide quarterly reports to Senior Management Team and a report to Social Work Committee on the support and services provided by commissioned third sector organisations Within Q2 (July to September 2023) high demand for carers support continues across all localities (43% increase with same quarter last year). In Q2, 380 new carers were identified, 316 Adult Carer Support Plan (ACSP) were progressed, and 1,459 carers engaged/supported. 6,274 carers are known to Lanarkshire Carers (per locality areas) in South Lanarkshire. Preparation for the annual report to Social Work Committee continues. Green Page 13 56
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - 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SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work Health and Wellbeing Disadvantaged people/groups are provided with access to timely support and interventions Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Report on MAT Standards 1-5 - to be implemented 2023-24 Report to Social Work Committee on the performance of MAT Standards 1-5 Test of change Triage service in place for 2 locality areas within CAReS patients are called on day of the referral being received. Patient advised on the assessment process what to expect, including choice of appointment location for the assessment. This incorporating patient choice and Trauma information approach. Service user leaflet working on with some lived experience staff members aiming for this to be launched within the next few months. To date the Urgent Response Team have seen 265 patients across North and South Lanarkshire Experiential lead started with the service on 21st August, reviewing all experiential data coming from the service user, provider and external commissioning teams. Experiential lead and MAT implementation manager have collated a project plan to highlight key areas for improvement of patient care and working on putting some of these changes in place. Complete Children and Young People Improve the health and wellbeing of children, young people and families Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Report on services and supports provided to young carers by Commissioned Services Quarterly reports to Senior Management Team and a report to Social Work Committee on the support and services provided by commissioned third sector organisations In quarter 2, young carers enjoyed over 40 short break experiences, including the Young Carers festival. Currently 145 young carers using the service and registered with the service. All children and young people referred to Action for Children who have been assessed have been given access to the support they require, whether that be one to one support, group support, a mixture of both or limited support i.e. help accessing funding and a Carers Statement completed and sent to their school. Action for Children has established their roles within schools across the local authority area. 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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - 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SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work Health and Wellbeing Promote early intervention and prevention to achieve healthy, active lives and reduce inequalities Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Embed Family Support Hubs across each locality Develop effective consultation and feedback methods to identify and report on improved outcomes for families in receipt of early intervention Family Support Hubs in Hamilton, East Kilbride and Cambuslang are fully operational and are utilised by children and their families, as well as partners from Health and Social care, community and third sector. The family support staff group are now operating from Lanark family support Hub and the hub should be open to families and partners in November 2023. In their first year of operation the Hubs have successfully diverted 63 % of new referrals to social work away from our local office teams. This has been achieved through an earlier help and preventative approach to the provision of holistic family support. Feedback from families in receipt of supports from the Hub has been positive and will be included in the annual report at the end of October. Green Delivering the plan and achieving best value Digital and ICT services meet the needs of the council and its customers Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Deliver the implementation programme to replace the existing Social Work IT system within timescale Implement the new Social Work IT system by January 2024 The project is on track to meet the revised timescales of June 2024. Liquidlogic have recently adopted the lead role in data migration and the first round of testing commences on 9 October 2023. Now that Liquidlogic have adopted the lead role in data migration, early indication shows that timescales for system configuration and integrations are progressing well. Amber Page 15 58
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - Social Work IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Wednesday 14 February 2024 Resource Plan actions and measures South Lanarkshire Council - 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In quarter 2, Blantyre Life supported a total of 27 admissions and 21 discharges with 16 service users returning home. Staff have attended SWiS training enabling the team to complete "Living the Life you choose Co-Produced Assessments" ensuring a recent assessment is available and inform future assessments. Green Page 16 59
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Social Work Resources Committee Date of Meeting: 6 March 2024 Report by: Director, Health and Social Care Subject: Social Work Resource Risk Register - Update 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:-[ purpose] provide an update on risk management arrangements and the Risk Register for Social Work Resources [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- [ (1) that the contents of the report be noted; and (2) that the set of top risks for Social Work Resources be approved. 3. Background 3.1. The Council’s Risk Management Strategy promotes consideration of risk in service delivery, planning and decision-making processes. The Strategy requires resources to record and review risks and control actions regularly. Social Work Resources follows the guidance in developing, monitoring and updating the Risk Register, scoring risks in accordance with the Council’s corporately agreed scoring mechanism - Appendix 1. 3.2. From a risk appetite and tolerance perspective, the Council aims to be risk embracing, in that it will accept a tolerable level of risk in seeking service efficiencies and in agreeing control measures. The level of risk facing the Council is measured both before (inherent risk) and after (residual risk) consideration of controls. The Council should both avoid a very high residual risk exposure (as this would be indicative of instability) and a low residual risk exposure (as this could indicate lack of innovation). 3.3. The Council’s universal risk tolerance levels are outlined within the Council’s Risk Management Strategy 2020. The current ideal risk profile is defined as:- no more than 10 per cent of residual risks at a very high level no more than 15 per cent of risks at a high level around 50 to 60 per cent of residual risks at a medium level no more than 30 per cent of residual risks at a low level 3.4. Each Resource has a Resource Risk Management Group which has responsibility for the promotion and management of risk. The Social Work Resources’ Risk Management Group provides operational oversight of all risks impacting on the delivery of social care services reporting to the Resource’s senior management team. 7 61
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4. Update 4.1. The top risks presented to the 6 December 2023 meeting of the Committee have been reviewed. The risk descriptors have been updated as have the controls – Appendix 2. The format of the Resource’s Risk Register has also been reviewed and updated and a revision of residual risk scores has been completed as follows:- meeting Public Protection and legislative duties – reduced from 20 (very high) to 16 (very high) winter pressures – reduced from 20 (very high) to 9 (high) achieve standards and scrutiny levels identified by regulatory bodies – reduced from 20 (very high) to 12 (high) refugee resettlement and asylum seeker dispersal programme – reduced from 12 (high) to 9 (high) 4.2 The top five risks are now detailed in Table 1, with the addition of Cost of Living Crisis following the reduction of the residual risk score for Winter Pressures. Table 1 – Social Work Resources Top Risks Top Risk Risk Level 1. Funding and Budgetary Pressures Very high 2. Workforce Availability and Capacity Very high 3. Market and Provider Capacity Very high 4. Cost of Living Crisis Very high 5. Public Protection and Legislative Duties Very high 4.3. Whilst these top risks are the primary focus of the Resource, there are a wider suite of areas that are also subject to proportionate monitoring, mitigation and review (Appendix 3). A number of these are wider organisational risks that require consideration and responses across the Council. 4.4. The implications arising from the National Care Service (NCS) Bill in terms of risk to the Council are of particular interest to the Resource and to the Committee. As reported to the 21 February 2024 meeting of the Council’s Executive Committee, in June 2023 the Scottish Government reached an initial agreement with local government and the NHS about accountability arrangements for the NCS. The agreement aimed to establish who will be responsible for people’s care once the NCS is established, with overall legal accountability to be shared between the Scottish Government, the NHS and local government. It also included the default position that local authorities retain legal responsibility for the delivery of social care and social work functions, as well as retaining staff and assets. On 17 January 2024, the Scottish Parliament agreed and the Scottish Government confirmed that consideration of the NCS Bill at Stage 1 would be extended to 1 March 2024. 4.5. The Resource’s risk profile is detailed in Table 2, in respect of the risks described in Appendices 2 and 3. The profile currently exceeds the ideal universal risk exposure levels defined above (3.3). This is reflective of the uncertain and highly demanding environment which the Resource currently operates within and mirrors the highest level risks currently facing the Council. Table 2 – Social Work Resources Top Risks Profile Risk category Risk rating Number of risks % of risks 1 Very high (15-25) 6 35% 2 High (8-12) 11 65% 3 Medium (4-6) 0 0 4 Low (1-3) 0 0 62
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4.6. The Year End Risk Management Report (2022/2023) and Review of Council's Top Risks (2023/2024) was approved by the Risk and Audit Scrutiny Committee on 31 October 2023. Resources continue to demonstrate full compliance with the Risk Management Strategy. Two additional very high risks were added to the top risk register:- failure to comply with or meet the expected standards, scrutiny levels or improvement as identified by regulatory bodies changes in response to automatic fire alarms by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) within the Council’s non-domestic estate 4.7. Within Social Work Resources, thirteen partnerships have been identified. Notable risks for these partnerships include significant financial challenges and workforce supply availability. 4.8. The South Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board (IJB) has an approved risk management strategy; and a risk register which is subject to regular review, updating and reporting. That risk register focuses on those very high and high strategic risks directly impacting on the responsibilities of the IJB. The current risks within the IJB risk register are as follows (scores below reflecting risk scoring after mitigation): • financial sustainability – very high • workforce availability and capacity – very high • performance delivery – very high • failure to meet public protection and legislative requirements – high • performance reporting does not capture performance across the whole health and social care system – medium • winter pressures – medium 5. Employee Implications 5.1. There are no direct employee implications associated with the Resource’s risk management process. 5.2. Workforce Availability and Capacity is identified as a very high risk on the Register. 6. Financial Implications 6.1. There are no direct financial implications associated with the Resource’s risk management process. 6.2. Funding and Budgetary Pressures is identified as a very high risk on the Register. 7. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 7.1. Sustainable development issues are included within the Council’s top risk register linked directly to the Council Plan objective ‘make communities safer, stronger and sustainable. 8. Other Implications 8.1. Failure to demonstrate that risk is actively considered and managed can undermine statutory delivery, service performance, financial sustainability, workforce certainty and stakeholder (including public) confidence in the Resource and in the Council. 8.2. Reports presented to the Committee show the correlation and read across with the top risks to demonstrate, were possible and reasonable within available resources, appropriate contributions towards the mitigation of risks. 63
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9. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 9.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 9.2. The content of the risk register reflects ongoing dialogue and regular interaction with key stakeholders. Professor Soumen Sengupta Director, Health and Social Care 14 February 2024 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, effective and efficient Previous References Executive Committee (21 February 2024): National Care Service – Update List of Background Papers None Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Ciana Stewart, Planning and Performance Manager Ciana.stewart@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 64
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Appendix One – Risk scoring matrix, likelihood and impact definitions Likelihood Score 1 2 3 4 5 Description Rare Unlikely Possible Likely Almost certain Likelihood of occurrence 1 in 10 years 1 in 3 years 1 in 2 years Annually Monthly Probability of occurrence The event may occur in certain circumstances The event could occur The event may occur The event will probably occur The event is expected to occur or occurs regularly Impact Reputation Financial Service delivery/ Time to recover Compliance Safety 1 Negligible Public concern restricted to local complaints <£50,000 per annum No impact to service quality; limited disruption to operations. No external interest Minor injury – no lost time 2 Minor Minor adverse local/public/me dia attention and complaints £50,000- £250,000 per annum Minor impact to service quality; minor service standards are not met; short term Very minor attention from legislative /regulatory body Minor injury – resulting in lost time 3 Moderate Adverse national media Public attention £250,000 to £500,000 per annum Significant fall in service quality; major partnership relationships strained; serious disruption in service standards Short-term attention from legislative/ regulatory body Major injury or ill health resulting in lost time 4 Major Serious negative national or regional criticism £500,000 to £1million per annum Major impact to service delivery; multiple service standards are not met; long term disruption to operations; multiple partnerships affected Medium-term attention from legislative/ regulatory body Fatality; Or injuries to several people 5 Catastrophic Prolonged international, regional and national condemnation >£1million per annum Catastrophic fail in service quality and key service standards are not met; long term catastrophic interruption to operations; several major partnerships are affected National impact with rapid intervention of legislative/ regulatory body Multiple fatalities; Or injuries to large number of people The assessments for impact and likelihood combine to provide an overall inherent risk score on the scale of between 1 and 25, using the council’s recognised risk matrix. 65
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Risk matrix Likelihood 5 Almost Certain 5 10 15 20 25 4 Likely 4 8 12 16 20 3 Possible 3 6 9 12 15 2 Unlikely 2 4 6 8 10 1 Rare 1 2 3 4 5 1 Negligible 2 Minor 3 Moderate 4 Major 5 Catastrophic Impact The risk score is calculated as follows: Likelihood score x Impact score = Risk Score Risks scored 15 to 25 are considered to be very high risks and risks scored 8 to 12 are considered to be high risks. Very high and high risks are monitored closely. 66
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Appendix Two - Social Work Resources Risk Register: Top Risks (February 2024) Risk Category Key Risk Inherent Risk Score Sample of Controls Residual Risk Score 1 Very High (15-25) Funding and budgetary pressures • There is a risk that expenditure exceeds available budget given cost and demand pressures alongside the requirement to address budget deficits given the volatile financial landscape. This could undermine sustainable performance delivery; create uncertainty for service users/patients and staff; and compromise the delivery of statutory functions (notably public protection). • There is a particular risk for Children’s Social Work due to significant cost pressures in relation to residential placements, fostering and kinship care. Very High 25 • South Lanarkshire Council financial procedures • Revenue and capital budget monitoring reports to SW Resources Committee • Regular monitoring and reporting of financial performance to Resource’s senior management team and Council’s corporate management team. • Prioritisation of expenditure across Children’s Services to manage current overspend with development of budget recovery actions and proposals. Very High 20 67
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2 Very High (15-25) Workforce Availability and Capacity There is a risk that availability of required workforce not sufficient to meet current service models, given workforce supply challenges locally and nationally. This could undermine sustainable performance delivery; create uncertainty for service users/patients and staff; and compromise the delivery of statutory functions (notably public protection), registration requirements and obligations (notably the provisions of the Health and Care [Staffing] [Scotland] Act 2019). Very High 25 • Social Care Workforce Plan. • Child and Family service transformation has commenced in order to mitigate future risks • Modernising and redesign of Fieldwork and locality based Social Work services • Workforce monitoring reports to SW Resources Committee • Regular monitoring and reporting to Resource’s senior management team and Council’s corporate management team • Personnel targeted recruitment campaigns • Lanarkshire Care Academy Very High 20 68
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3 Very High (15-25) Market and Provider Capacity • There is a risk of market instability due to demands upon and fragility amongst independent sector providers within context of the increasingly challenging financial environment faced by both the sector and local authorities. This could undermine sustainable performance delivery; create uncertainty for service users/patients; and potentially contribute to assurance concerns in respect of registration requirements and obligations (notably the provisions of the Health and Care [Staffing] [Scotland] Act 2019). • As advised by COSLA there is a particular risk concerning the sustainability of the National Care Home Contract, given that Scottish Care do not intend to participate in negotiations on the 2024/25 rate, and have requested that COSLA make an unnegotiated offer to the sector. There is then the risk of providers declining to continue to be part of the NCHC in its entirety and providers seeking to revert to locally negotiated rates. Very High 25 • Care Inspectorate regulation of all care services. • Oversight of all South Lanarkshire based registered care services is maintained by the Resource senior management team • Procurement Network Oversight meetings in place • Mapping tool developed in support of Care at Home service • Social Work Scotland Care Market intelligence shared. • Support to and engagement with COSLA and Scotland Excel. Very High 20 69
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4 Very High (15-25) Cost of living crisis There is a risk that Social Work Resources is unable to meet increased demand to support those most vulnerable within our communities who are impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. Very High 25 • Participation in South Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership to deliver the Child Poverty Commitment • Child Protection Committee and Adult Protection Committee meetings held to discuss public protection issues and to ensure statutory responsibilities are being met • Prioritisation of those with critical and substantial needs through the Social Work assessment and support planning process • Referrals to a range of support services including Money Matters Advice Service, South Lanarkshire Debt Helpline, Scottish Welfare Fund and Community Grants provided by VASLAN to Third Sector • Support from Unpaid Work Service to help people access registered foodbanks • Support for unpaid carers through Lanarkshire Carers • South Lanarkshire Employee Assistance Programme • Very High 20 5 Very High (15-25) Meeting Public Protection and Legislative Duties • There is a risk that financial and workforce instability alongside demand pressures compromises the ability to meet statutory functions (notably public protection), registration requirements and obligations (notably the provisions of the Health and Care [Staffing] [Scotland] Act 2019). Very High 25 • Child and Family service transformation has commenced in order to mitigate future risks • Modernising and redesign of Fieldwork and locality based Social Work services • Ongoing quality assessment framework for risk assessments for service users • Child Protection Committee and Adult Protection Committee meetings held to discuss public protection issues and to ensure statutory responsibilities are being met under the oversight by Public Protection Chief Officers Group • Inspection activity by Care Inspectorate • Mental Welfare Commission Reviews Very High 16 70
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Appendix Three - Social Work Resources Additional Risks No. Risk Social Work Residual Risk Score SLC Residual Risk Score 1 Deliver Strategic Commissioning Plan Outcomes required by IJB 16 16 2 Achieve standards and scrutiny levels identified by regulatory bodies (New) 12 20 3 Business continuity, response and recovery 12 12 4 IT developments and functionality 12 9 5 Fraud, theft organised crime and cyber attacks 12 12 6 National Care Service (NCS) 12 12 7 Sustainable development and climate change objectives 12 15 8 Historic Child Abuse 12 12 9 Disruption to council services due to industrial action 12 16 10 Refugee resettlement and asylum seeker dispersal programme 9 16 11 Winter Demand Pressures 9 - 12 Implications of the SFRS Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals Policy (New) 8 16 71
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Social Work Resources Committee Date of Meeting: 6 March 2024 Report by: Director, Health and Social Care Chief Executive Subject: Sustaining Social Work Children and Families Services: Budget Recovery Actions 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to: - [purpose] provide the Committee with an update of actions to address a projected £10.6m cost pressure for Social Work Children and Families Services for 2024/2025 and beyond present the Sustainability and Value Option Appraisal Screening Scale to support option development and decision-making so as to protect the provision of statutory duties that support the most vulnerable describe the commissioning of a new Intensive Family Support Service to reduce numbers of children currently in high-cost residential placements and reduce the reliance on future residential placements highlight reviews of policies, procedures, services, contracts and use of estate 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s): - [recs] (1) that the contents of the report be noted; (2) that the Sustainability and Value Option Appraisal Screening Scale, as described in section 4, be endorsed to support option development and decision-making so as to protect the provision of statutory duties that support the most vulnerable; (3) that the commissioning of an Intensive Family Support Service be noted; and (4) that the review of the policies, procedures, services, contracts and use of estate be noted. 3. Background 3.1. In it’s October 2023 overview report on Local Government in Scotland, Audit Scotland highlighted that increasing cost pressures jeopardise the sustainability of local services, stating that:- The scale of the challenge that lies ahead is greater than anything local government leaders (elected members and senior officers) will have ever experienced. Councils must work on three planning horizons: continue to deliver services here and now, identify and make improvements in the short term and plan for the longer-term radical change. This is an incredibly hard thing to do with an exhausted workforce 8 73
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but with councils’ future funding position forecast to reduce in real terms, radical change is necessary so that councils can continue to serve their communities, respond to needs, meet demand and improve outcomes for people in the future. 3.2. Social Work Children and Families Services promote the welfare and development of children, young people, and families to support them, wherever possible, to remain together within their own communities. Critically, it discharges key duties on behalf of the Council – and with key partners – to protect children. 3.3. South Lanarkshire’s Chief Social Work Officer Annual Report 2022-2023 highlighted that delivery of Social Work Children and Families Services has resulted in an overspend on budgets. The statutory duties of continuing care, introduced by Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, extended the duty on local authorities to continue to provide options for young people to remain within their foster, kinship, or residential care placement up to the age of 21 years (previously 18 years). There has also been a continued increase in the requirement for children’s residential school and external placements; and increasing difficulty in meeting the rising cost of these services within existing resources. The Chief Social Work Officer Annual Report has underlined that the Resource has continued to reinforce capacity across all social work services to ensure it meets statutory requirements, increased demand, and complexity of service users (and as the Committee has been appraised on). 3.4. The Committee has been regularly updated on the impact of that increasing demand and cost pressures has had on the Children and Families revenue budget and noted the consequent overspend that has had to be managed non-recurrently for a number of years. In budget year 2023/2024, an additional £9.2m was allocated to the actual budget of £39.7m because of a funding gap to meet demand. This one-off non- recurring funding solution was noted by the Committee on 28 June 2023. 3.5. Appendix 1 provides a breakdown of actual budget against projected pressures based on the allocation of 2023/2024. These pressures are projected to continue for 2024/2025 with a projected budget shortfall of £10.6m. 3.6. As Committee has previously been advised, officers have been working towards managing the overall budget pressure in Children and Families into 2024/2025. Work was undertaken with the Improvement Service to compare local trends and benchmark performance particularly in relation to relation to numbers of looked after children and associated budget pressures. 3.7. At its November 2023 meeting, the Council’s Executive Committee was presented with a report titled 2024/2025 Revenue Budget Update and Savings Proposals which illustrated that over the next four years the savings that the Council requires are estimated at approximately £96 million. Within this context, it is clear that there is a need to increase the pace and the scale of budget recovery actions so as to protect the provision of statutory duties that support the most vulnerable; and provide as much clarity as is possible for service users and staff in what are challenging and uncertain times. 74
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3.8. This is then the first of a series of dedicated reports to the Committee identifying areas of action to address the budget gap recurrently going forward. These reports will identify, describe and propose areas for development and options for reducing expenditure over a three year timeframe to address the projected annual £10.6m budget shortfall so that the Resource can operate within its allocated budget. 4. Ensuring Resources are focused on Statutory Duties 4.1. At its March 2023 meeting, the South Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board (IJB) endorsed the development and implementation of the Sustainability and Value Option Appraisal Screening Scale designed to ensure that options to address the budget gap for adult and older people’s social care (as well as health care) are appraised, prioritised and then presented for consideration in a manner consistent with statutory obligations and professional requirements. The development and use of this Option Appraisal Screening Scale has been noted by Audit Scotland, and so it is proposed that a variation of this is now adopted to support the identification of actions to enable Social Work Children and Families Services to be sustained within the allocated budget (Appendix 2). 4.2. The Sustainability and Value Option Appraisal approach adopted is summarised as follows: Ref Screening Scale Index 1 Benchmarking and Efficiencies 2 Service Redesign or Reduction with no/limited impact on outcomes 3 Service Redesign or Reduction with impact on outcomes 4 Legislative and Registration Requirements 5 Public Protection 4.3. In this context, the Sustainability and Value Option Appraisal Screening Scale is a structured tool to distinguish non-statutory activities from the Council’s statutory responsibility to deliver its duties to meeting the needs of vulnerable children with regards to the following legislation: • Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 • The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 • The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 4.4. These statutory duties include:- • fulfilling the responsibilities as a corporate parent • assessing the needs of children and young people • assessing risk and need in relation to child protection responsibilities • care planning, managing risk and effective intervention • safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in their area who are in need • promoting the upbringing of children by their families • providing after care, continuing care for care experienced children • providing support to parents and carers of children at risk of becoming looked after 75
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4.5. Such duties as above are delivered under national regulation and guidance; and also subject to legal scrutiny through the children’s hearing and court processes as well as external scrutiny from the Care Inspectorate. The use of the Sustainability and Values Options Appraisal Screening Scale will also then assist the Committee in ensuring that the prioritisation of resources and models of service delivery in the face of significant demand and cost pressures reinforce the Council’s statutory duties. 4.6. The aim of the Sustainability and Values Options Appraisal approach is to protect those activities that belong within the “red” zones by firstly securing the optimum value of budget and expenditure reductions within the benchmarking and efficiencies “green” zone and also the service redesign or reduction with no/limited impact on outcomes “yellow” zone; and then considering budget and expenditure reductions within the service redesign or reduction with impact on outcomes “amber” zone. 5. Budget Recovery – Actions To-date 5.1. It should be noted that there has been considerable ongoing budget recovery activity, notably:- • Housing and Social Work Tenancy Prioritisation (Green) - collaborative process to identify housing for those young people who are waiting to move out of residential accommodation • a review of existing external placements to identify those that could be ended with the young person being brought back to a South Lanarkshire Council children’s home into vacancies created by young people in the children’s homes moving to their own tenancy (as per bullet one above) (Green) • a due diligence review of all spend lines within Social Work Children and Families to identify any opportunities to reduce discretionary spend (Green) 5.2. As an interim solution it should be noted that the proposed Revenue Budget for 2024/2025 includes a Budget for Social Work Resources. This includes budget for the delegated services of the IJB (Adult and Older People Social Work), as well as non-delegated services such as Social Work Children and Families. Members have previously been advised that the recent actuarial valuation of Strathclyde Pension Fund has meant that the level of Employer Pension Contributions will be reduced into 2024/2025. As is the case for the Council, this means that the IJB will not incur the same level of costs in 2024/2025. The total Social Work Resources Budget for 2024/2025 will remain the same, but funds released as a result of the reduced pension contributions for the IJB in 2024/2025 (£7.7 million) can be used to contribute towards continued pressures in Social Work Children and Families. This adjustment will be made between the delegated IJB budget (Adult and Older People Social Work) and the Social Work Children and Families budget in 2024/2025 and 2025/2026. 6. Budget Recovery – Next Steps 6.1. In addition to continuing the actions referred to in 5.1 above, Social Work Resources and Finance and Corporate Resources have been working closely to identify next step options to further support bringing spend in line with the budget:- • commissioning of a new Intensive Family Support Service to address high-cost residential placements and reduce reliance on future placements (Green) • review and update of policies and procedures (Green) • undertake Service Reviews (Yellow/Amber) • review and Update Contracts (Yellow) • review of Use of Estate (Green) 76
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6.2. A summary of the areas identified above is provided below, noting that further areas for action will be presented to future meetings of the Committee as per 3.8. 6.3. Commissioning of a new Intensive Family Support Service (IFSS) (Green) 6.3.1. The benchmarking work undertaken with the Improvement Service (3.6) considered other areas that have seen positive outcomes for children and young people as a result of investment and redesign that have resulted in reduced residential placements and an associated sustained mitigation of budget pressures. This has identified an opportunity to introduce a new service that targets initial high-cost placements and subsequently, alternative community support for children at risk of residential care. The experience of areas that have established such support has that it has been effective in addressing escalating accommodations. Reflective of the Resources’ commitment to learning from other areas and considering the urgency of wider Council financial challenges, work has been accelerated to develop an Intensive Family Support Service for South Lanarkshire. 6.3.2. A draft tender has been scoped at circa £1.2m over a three-year period for a provider to work with identified children in high-cost residential care. This would be funded from the anticipated annual savings from a reduction in placements (outlined further at 6.3.5. below). The aim is to return them to their family home or alternative low-cost options in the community. This could be in-house residential, or independent living in their own tenancy. This would require care experienced children being a priority for housing allocations. 6.3.4. The plan would be to target young people in residential high-cost placements aged between 12 and 18 years of age. The Council would prioritise those exercising their right to remain under the legislation by offering a viable and supportive option to return to South Lanarkshire, back to their own home or to a support a safe transition to independent living. 6.3.5. Analysis indicates that by reducing placements by 15 over the first two years, then annual savings of £3.6m could be realised thereafter. This is based on a return and reduction of 15 children from high-cost residential places over the two years (which is considered viable). The initiative can then be reviewed as to whether this Service needs to be continued or a new approach developed. A reduction of a further 5 placements in year 3 could realise a further £1.4m per annum on top of the £3.6m outlined above. 6.3.6. The timescale identified for the procurement and awarding of a contract following a tender process is August 2024, with a three-month run-in time for a successful provider to commence this work in December 2024. 6.4. Review and Update of Policies and Procedures (Green) 6.4.1. A due diligence review of a number of Council policies and procedures will be progressed to ensure that they are up to date in respect of meeting statutory requirements and changes in legislation; and to benchmark procedures with other areas of Scotland to ensure best value-for-money:- • Fostering and Kinship rates for Continuing Care • Supported Carer Rates • Adoption Allowances 77
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6.4.2. There is currently no specific policy within the Council in respect of transport support for children and their carers affected by disability. Work will be undertaken to develop such a policy, considering areas such as transport to respite and out-of-school activities. This process will involve consultation with current service users and stakeholders to develop a policy that identifies clear and equitable criteria for inclusion for transport entitlement as part of care planning. It will take into account families who receive Universal Credit or Personal Independent Payments that include a mobility component to assist with mobility in the community. 6.4.3. All of the above will be undertaken through the first quarter of 2024/25 prior to then being presented, updated or new policies drafted to the Committee for approval. 6.5. Undertake Service Reviews (Yellow/Amber) 6.5.1. Reflective of section 4, the following service areas will be reviewed for opportunities for budget reduction so as to protect statutory duties that need to be delivered by the Council under the various legislative frameworks as referenced at section 3:- • The Counselling Service within Social Work. It is not a requirement for Social Work to provide dedicated counselling, noting that there has been significant investment in schools counselling provided through Education Resources. This review would be undertaken through the first quarter of 2024/25, consulting with staff and key stakeholders, prior to then presenting a recommendation to the Committee for approval. • 24/7 Emergency Social Work Services (ESWS). There is no statutory requirement to provide a 24-hour Social Work response and not all local authorities run a 24/7 out of hours service. There are specific out of hours responsibilities that need to be maintained, for example Child Protection investigations as well as providing place of safety for children at risk or unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. This review would be undertaken through to the third quarter of 2024/25, consulting with staff and key stakeholders, prior to then presenting a recommendation to the Committee for approval. 6.6. Review and Update Contracts (Yellow) 6.6.1. Reflective of section 4, due diligence reviews of contracts are being accelerated to identify opportunities for budget reduction so as to protect statutory duties that need to be delivered by the Council under the various legislative frameworks as referenced at section 3. 6.7 Review of Use of Estate (Green) 6.7.1. As members have been made aware and as the Chief Social Work Officer Annual Report 2022-2023 has highlighted, the recruitment and retention to the social care workforce for both qualified and paraprofessional roles continue to remain a challenge in South Lanarkshire as is the case across Scotland. This is impacted further with an existing ageing workforce. As per 3.3. above, the Resource has continued to reinforce capacity across all social work services to ensure it meets statutory requirements, increased demand, and complexity of service users. Given the financial and workforce pressures, work will now be initiated to review accommodation from which staff are based to ensure that there is the necessary reach into communities alongside ensuring staff and teams are located in such a manner as to ensure sufficient critical mass and resilience alongside identifying options for efficiencies so as to future proof statutory service delivery in a challenging 78
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climate for the recruitment and retention of front-line staff. This will include scoping the possibility of delivering services in less buildings. This is with a view to further mitigating financial pressures and to build service resilience given capacity challenges, noting that concentrated staff groups can offer better resilience than smaller teams spread across wide geographical boundaries. 7. Employee Implications 7.1. Service review for the Counselling Service (5 FTE staff) and the ESWS (10.72 FTE staff) and the estate review will be undertaken in accordance with Council policies and procedures, with trade unions engaged. 7.2. The outcome of those reviews will be presented to a future meeting of the Committee. 8. Financial Implications 8.1. The projected budget gap for 2024/2025 and thereafter is projected at £10.6m. This is the first of a series of dedicated reports to the Committee identifying areas of action to address the budget gap recurrently going forward. These reports will identify, describe and propose areas for development and options for reducing expenditure over a three year timeframe to address the projected annual £10.6m budget shortfall so that the Resource can operate within its allocated budget. 8.2. As per 5.2 above and as an interim solution, it should be noted that the proposed Revenue Budget for 2024/2025 includes a Budget for Social Work Resources. This includes budget for the delegated services of the IJB (Adults and Older People Social Work), as well as non-delegated services such as Social Work Children and Families. Members have previously been advised that the recent actuarial valuation of Strathclyde Pension Fund has meant that the level of Employer Pension Contributions will be reduced into 2024/2025. As is the case for the Council, this means that the IJB will not incur the same level of costs in 2024/2025. The total Social Work Resources Budget for 2024/2025 will remain the same, but funds released as a result of the reduced pension contributions for the IJB in 2024/2025 (£7.7 million) can be used to contribute towards continued pressures in Social Work Children and Families. This adjustment would be made between the delegated IJB budget (Adult and Older People Social Work) and the Social Work Children and Families budget in 2024/2025 and 2025/2026. 8.3. In respect of the new Intensive Family Support Service, as per 6.3.2 a draft tender has been scoped at circa £1.2m over a three-year period for a provider to work with identified children in high-cost residential care. This would be funded from the anticipated annual savings from a reduction in placements (outlined further at 6.3.5.). 9. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 9.1. There are no climate change, sustainability, and environmental implications with this report. 10. Other Implications 10.1. In order to protect statutory services and address the budget pressures there is a requirement for Social Work Children and Families Social Work to actively review on an ongoing basis what and how services will be delivered; and the Council needs to determine its risk appetite for significant change in line with the current financial challenges. The Sustainability and Options Appraisal Screening Tool will inform future decision making re any changes to services. 79
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10.2. The actions described within this report will mitigate the following risks within the Social Work Resources Rish Register: • Funding and budgetary pressures – very high • Workforce Availability and Capacity – very high • Meeting Public Protection and Legislative Duties – very high 10.3. The current budget pressures on the allocated budget are not sustainable and all options for savings and efficiencies need to be considered. All options carry consequences which need to be balanced against the risks to financial sustainability and the Council’s ability to deliver its statutory duties with regards to Social Work Children and Families Services. In order to protect statutory services and address the budget pressures there is a requirement for Social Work Children and Families to review how services will be delivered, and the Council needs to determine its risk appetite for significant change in line with the current financial challenges. 11. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 11.1. Equality Impact assessments will need to be undertaken in relation to any future proposals to change Council policy in relation to the areas identified for review of policies. 11.2. A Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) would also need to be undertaken in relation to the savings report under the UNCRC Incorporation Bill to ensure that our policies protect and promote the rights and wellbeing of children and young people. 11.3. Full consultation will be undertaken where necessary with staff, managers, Trade Unions and key stakeholders. External scrutiny and regulatory bodies would also need to be advised of any changes to models of delivery and where that impacts on the delivery of statutory duties. For those areas of policy review and update appropriate consultation will be undertaken with service users, carers and key stakeholders. Professor Soumen Sengupta Director, Health, and Social Care Paul Manning Chief Executive 22 February 2024 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes caring, connected, sustainable communities our children and young people thrive people live the healthiest lives possible Previous References none 80
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List of Background Papers none Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact: - Liam Purdie, Head of Children and Justice Services Email: liam.purdie@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 81
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Appendix 1 Services Annual Budget 2023/24 Forecast Variance 2023/24 £m £m Inhouse Residential Care 4.975 (0.417) External Residential Care 5.000 (8.393) Throughcare including UASC 0.000 0.396 Supported Living External 0.466 0.116 Assessment and Care Management 14.969 1.236 Community Based Services 1.526 (0.169) Fostering and Adoption 6.879 (1.444) Kinship Care 3.545 (0.954) Other Services 1.289 0.068 Young Person Service 1.057 0.036 Children & Families Shortfall 2023/24 39.706 (9.525) Temporary Funding 9.235 9.235 Revised Shortfall 2023/24 48.941 (0.290) Children & Families Shortfall 2023/24 (9.525) Non-recurring Employee Cost Underspend (1.123) Children & Families Anticipated Shortfall 2024/25 (10.648) 82
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Appendix 2 83
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Social Work Resources Committee Date of Meeting: 6 March 2024 Report by: Director, Health and Social Care Chief Executive Subject: Justice Social Work Whole Systems Approach: Service Development and Capacity Building 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] update the Committee on the Whole System Approach (WSA) within Justice Services re-design to support early and effective interventions and preferred outcomes for young people in conflict with the law [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- [recs] (1) that the contents of the report are noted; (2) that Justice Social Work services re-design preferred outcome model for the WSA service are noted; and (3) that the posts to be added to the establishment on a 23 month basis, as detailed in Section 8, be approved. [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. In March 2023, Justice Services embarked on a service re-design scoping exercise to explore alternative models of service delivery as part of the locality based social work modernisation programme. This work concluded in November 2023. 3.2. Evidence from this review endorsed Justice Services’ commitment to increasing an early intervention and trauma informed approach to working with young people. This included drawing from national research that supports an extension of the WSA model to some areas of support for young people up to the age of 25, particularly those who are care experienced and have neurodiversity issues. 3.3. The Scottish Sentencing Council published sentencing guidelines in 2022 for people under the age of 25. Thess guidelines noted that in sentencing a young person, particular regard should be had to the maturity of the young person and rehabilitation. The guidelines also noted that the court, in selecting the sentence, should:- ensure that the sentence imposed takes account of the particular and individual circumstances of the young person have regard to the fact that some sentences could have more of an adverse effect on a young person than on an older person because of the young person’s age, maturity, and/or personal circumstances 9 85
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3.4. Research published by the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ), Rights Respecting Justice for Children in Conflict with the Law, has identified a renewed appetite for diversion practices in Scotland, diverting children and young people not only away from criminal justice systems but into welfare services they required. 3.5. The experience of young people on remand in Scotland has raised serious concerns in recent time, particularly in relation to self-harm, violence, isolation and removal from education. The review of remand for young people across the UK evidenced that often young people are subsequently released on bail or do not receive a custodial sentence. 3.6. This paper proposes a responsive person centred approach to young people aged 16-25 years old who are at risk of entering the justice system to beyond custody. 4. Early Intervention and Preventative Justice 4.1. The current WSA service supports young people between the ages for 16–21 years old who have received diversion from prosecution disposals, bail assessment and supervision, including Structured Deferred Sentences (SDS). These disposals all support young people from entering further into the justice system and receiving formal criminal convictions and sentencing. 4.2. Analysis of data over the last three years in all three disposal areas have shown the following for 16-25 year old service users: 10% increase in Diversion disposals 50% increase in Bail Supervision assessments 40% increase in Bail Supervision orders 50% increase in SDS disposals for 18-21 year olds 4. 3. The Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 was passed by the Scottish Parliament in June 2023. It introduces a number of reforms designed to deliver on the Scottish Government’s commitment to refocus how imprisonment is used. These reforms are intended to ensure that, as much as possible, the use of custody for remand is a last resort for the court, and that a greater focus is given to the rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals leaving prison custody. 4.4. The significance of this legislation for under 25 year olds is that this provision gives a new explicit right for Justice Social Work to offer information to the court to help inform the court’s decision on the question of bail at all first appearances. There is also explicit provision expressly enabling the court to proactively seek information from Justice Social Work on a question of bail throughout the life of a case. It gives the opportunity to Justice Social Work to provide information to the court to inform the bail decision without mandating them to do so where no information is held. 4.5. This provision refocuses the legal framework which is used to make decisions as to when custody is able to be imposed by a criminal court, so that accused persons who do not pose a risk to public safety or to the delivery of justice should be admitted to bail as the criminal process proceeds. As part of how a court determines the question of bail for an accused person, consideration of the safety of complainers from harm in a given case is explicitly recognised as forming part of the court’s consideration of public safety. 86
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4.6. The introduction of these new measures has the potential for a significant increase in both the assessment of bail supervision but also imposing of bail supervision orders. 4.7. Given this it likely that there will be a significant increase in young people under the age of 25 placed on bail supervision. 4.8. This report describes a welfare and restorative justice approach that provides confidence to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and judiciary in placing young people on alternatives to prosecution and custody. 5. Secure Care and Release from Custody Transitions 5.1. In addition to the bail and custody reforms that will imminently change the justice landscape, the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill, if passed, will have a significant impact on 16-18 year old children being placed in custody. The Bill proposes to stop all 16-18 year olds going into custody and providing secure care arrangements where appropriate. 5.2. As part of the Justice Social Work strategy to build capacity within the WSA Service, the importance of supporting young people under the age of 18 years old who are placed in secure care accommodation as an alternative to remand is essential. 5.3. Whilst numbers are relatively low in respect of young people who are not subject to compulsory supervision orders within the Children’s Hearing System, remanded or bailed within secure care, there is an intensity of support required to manage these service users and their families. This requires additional staffing and risk management planning that is both responsive and immediate at the point of need. 5.4. Analysis indicates that there are approximately 10 young people under the age of 21 per year in South Lanarkshire who are released from custody either due to being sentenced to a short term sentence or released from remand. 5.5. Release from custody can often be at short notice or unplanned, with defence agents supporting bail release for those on remand. In these instances, it is important that the Service can develop and respond to release planning that promotes public protection and safety of the young person as determined within their Care and Risk Management plan. 6. Peer Mentor Approach 6.1. Justice Social Work have successfully embedded those with lived experience within its workforce and third sector commissioned services. This is most notably through the Justice locality Peer Navigator and Alcohol and Drug Problem Solving Court initiatives. 6.2. A peer mentor approach is supported by South Lanarkshire’s Alcohol and Drug Partnership strategy within priority 3 Getting it Right of Children, Young People and Families, specifically within planning, developing and delivering services with young people and their families. 6.3. Further to this Justice Social Work supports the Drug Deaths Taskforce report, Changing Lives 2022 cross government approach, which pledges to “put lived and living experience at the heart of what we do”. 87
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6.4. South Lanarkshire Justice Services has been asked to contribute to the National Collaborative project. The purpose of the National Collaborative (Appendix 1) is to bring together people with experience of drugs and/or alcohol, service providers and government (local and national) to develop a Charter of Rights. This Charter will show how existing rights can be included in the forthcoming Human Rights Bill and can be implemented in practice for people affected by drugs and alcohol. 6.5. The aim of the Charter of Rights is to strengthen individual and collective advocacy by people affected by substances in a range of contexts (not just drug and alcohol treatment services). It will also be a tool to improve service delivery and policy development. WSA Services will play a key role in the planning and implementation of this toolkit within Justice Services and utilise the experience of peer mentors in this process. 7. Enhancing Capacity 7.1. Current arrangements to support young people in conflict with the law have been supported through short term contacts with the third sector. Whilst these arrangements have been beneficial with good outcomes for service users, increasing third sector costs of these services make it no longer affordable within the current Section 27 budget. 7.2. Based on the findings and recommendations above it is proposed to enhance local capacity on a fixed term basis with one Social Work Assistant and one Peer Mentor. Current funding to the third sector allows provision of 35 hours of support. Analysis has shown that the service is able to sustain two posts (70 hrs) at 90% of the current allocated funding to the third sector for the equivalent of the one existing provision. The new posts will support a flexible and responsive approach out with core working hours and connect into essential services including housing, addiction and mental health services. 7.3. In addition, bringing these posts within the in-house Service will provide flexibility and opportunity to respond immediate to escalation in needs for individual service users. Examples of this would be whether there is an unexpected bail release from custody on a Friday afternoon or intensive supervision plan which requires additional monitoring and support. 8 Employee Implications 8.1 To support this initiative, the following temporary posts should be added to the Social Work Resources establishment on 23 month basis: Post Proposed number posts Grade SCP Range Hourly Rate Annual Salary Gross cost inc. on costs 30.3% Total Cost Peer Mentor 1 G1 L4 30-31 £13.59 - £13.76 £24,800 - £25,111 £32,315 - £32,719 £32,315 - £32,719 Social Work Assistant 1 G2 L2-4 39-57 £15.23 - £19.05 £27,793 - £34,764 £34,214 - £45,298 £36,214 - £45,298 £68,529 - £78,017 88
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9. Financial Implications 9.1. The posts will be funded from the existing Section 27 budget, specific ring-fenced Justice funding, through funding that has previously been identified for short term contract arrangements with the third sector. 10. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 10.1. There are no Climate Change, Sustainability or Environmental implications associated with this report. 11. Other Implications 11.1. The proposals outlined in this report help to mitigate the following within the Social Work Risk Register: Funding and Budgetary Pressures – very high Workforce Availability and Capacity – very high Meeting Public Protection and Legislative Duties – very high 11.2. There are no other issues associated with this report. 12. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 12.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function, or strategy, or recommend a change to existing policy, function, or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 12.2. Trade Unions have been advised of this increased statutory duty and service re- design. Professor Soumen Sengupta Director, Health and Social Care Paul Manning Chief Executive 19 February 2024 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes focused on people and their needs Previous References None List of Background Papers The development of cognitive and emotional maturity in the adolescents and its relevance in judicial context • https://www.scottishsentencingcouncil.org.uk/media/4d3piwmw/sentencing-young- people-guideline-for-publication.pdf Sentencing young people - Sentencing guideline • 20200219-ssc-cognitive-maturity-literature-review.pdf Rights Respecting Justice for Children in Conflict with the Law • https://www.cycj.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Rights-Respecting-Group- Paper-8.pdf Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill 89
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• Overview | Scottish Parliament Website South Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership Strategy 2020-2023 • South Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership Strategy 2020-2023 Health and medical information - South Lanarkshire Council • Changing Lives Drug Death Task Force publication 2022 Final Report • https://drugdeathstaskforce.scot/news-information/publications/reports/final-report/ • National Collaborative Need Change - Need Rights Summary (appendix 1) Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact: - Gillian Booth, Service Manager (Children and Justice Services) Email: gillian.booth@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 90
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What is the National Collaborative? In January 2022, the former First Minister invited Professor Alan Miller to become independent Chair and build the National Collaborative. The National Collaborative is supported by a team from Scottish Government Drug Policy Division and facilitated by the ALLIANCE (The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland). The purpose of the National Collaborative is to bring together people with experience of drugs and/or alcohol, service providers and government (local and national) to develop a Charter of Rights. This Charter will show how existing rights and rights to be included in the forthcoming Human Rights Bill can be implemented in practice for people affected by drugs and alcohol. The aim of the Charter of Rights is to strengthen individual and collective advocacy by people affected by substances in a range of contexts (not just drug and alcohol treatment services). It will also be a tool to improve service delivery and policy development. What stage is the National Collaborative at? The NC are following a ‘FAIR’ model which sets out the steps of a Human Rights Based Approach. We are now moving into the Identification stage. As a summary, below are some key milestones achieved so far. In October 2022 a Change Team- a group of 15 people who have experience (direct and indirect) of substance use- was recruited to drive forward the process through monthly meetings. In December 2022, after broad engagement with stakeholders, the NC published it’s Roadmap. This set out the plan: 1) To empower people affected by problem substance use to be involved in decision-making concerning the design, delivery and regulation of drug and alcohol support services; 2) To develop a Charter of Rights which set out how the rights to be included in the forthcoming Human Rights Bill can be effectively implemented. From May to Aug 2023 National Collaborative launched a Call for Evidence to gather views from around Scotland about people’s experiences of substance use and human rights. The findings from this Call for Evidence were published in an Analysis Report on 1 Nov 2023. A draft Charter of Rights which will be shared in Dec 2023 for further consultation, particularly on how people will use it. 9 91
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What’s next? Throughout January to June 2024, the National Collaborative wants to bring together the Change Team and a group of key duty bearers from relevant fields (health and social care, regulation and scrutiny) to discuss implementation of the Charter of Rights. These discussions will take place as “InterActions”. The term “InterAction” was coined during the Inquiry into historic child abuse as a way of capturing the intention to bring together rights holders and duty bearers (“Inter”) in a process focused on making change happen (“Action”). The purpose of InterActions process is to ensure the Charter of Rights leads to improvements in people’s experiences of services. It will do this by: • Supporting people working in services and those responsible for delivering services to understand what the Charter is and how it was developed; • Identifying practical changes which are necessary to ensure that the rights can be realised in a range of different service contexts; • Scoping out the forms of guidance and training required for duty bearing organisations • Empowering communities to hold local systems to account through the development of checklists and indicators as a way of monitoring service delivery In August, the Change Team met to discuss how this process should happen. The following points were agreed and a list of people was drawn up who they thought would meet the criteria. Who should we be inviting to take part? • We want representation from across different hierarchies (strategic and operational) and service contexts • It should be a “working group” i.e. small, manageable numbers (max. 8-12) • We should be looking for people who more or less get it already, some of whom are on the ground and who will be the ones who will be required to implement. What level of commitment are we looking for (i.e. timeframe and frequency of meetings)? • Preparatory Briefing paper and discussion with the NC Support Team • 3 full-days workshops in February, April and June CT developed the following Criteria for the duty bearer group: 1. Connected and committed- not just paying lip service to human rights 2. Operating at a strategic level where they can action change 3. Fearless and ready to be involved in a challenging process 4. Experience across varied sectors and have good networks and connections across different areas in Scotland 92
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Social Work Resources Committee Date of Meeting: 6 March 2024 Report by: Director, Health and Social Care Subject: Chief Social Work Officer Annual Report 2022/2023 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] outline the content of the Chief Social Work Officer Annual Report 2022/2023 [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- [recs] (1) that the Chief Social Work Officer Annual Report 2022/2023 be noted. [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. There is a statutory requirement for all local authorities to appoint a professionally qualified Chief Social Work Officer (CSWO). He/she must be registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). The role of the CSWO is to provide professional advice and guidance to local authorities, elected members and officers in the provision of social work services, whether commissioned or directly provided. The CSWO has a responsibility for overall performance improvement and the identification and management of corporate risk insofar as these relate to social work services. 3.2. The CSWO is required to prepare an Annual Report of activity to the Chief Social Work Advisor for Scotland. The report follows a standardised reporting framework and timeframe to ensure key issues are highlighted and to aid learning and the sharing of information nationally. A summary report is also published annually by the Scottish Government. 4. CSWO Report 4.1. The report is split into an introduction and five main sections, a copy of which is attached as an appendix and a brief summary of highlights are outlined below: 4.2. Introduction 4.2.1. Introduces the purpose of the report and contextualises the role of the CSWO. 10 93
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4.3. Section 1: Governance and Accountability 4.3.1. This section details the vision, values, and objectives of South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) and how these link to the work of Social Work Resources. It outlines the key role and responsibilities of the CSWO and the systems, structures and reporting arrangements which assure the quality of social work services. Responsibilities are outlined in relation to the South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership (South Lanarkshire University HSCP), Integration Joint Board (IJB), Children’s Services, Public Protection, Community Planning, and the corporate responsibilities of the Council. 4.4. Section 2: Service Quality, Performance and Challenges 4.4.1. The report provides a service overview which highlights the resumption of full service provision during 2022/2023, following the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific arrangements put in place are now considered the norm with enhanced infection prevention and control measures fully embedded in areas such as day services and care homes and hybrid working arrangements remaining for many office-based services. The pandemic did result in a backlog for some services such as Unpaid Work and assessment activity across adult, children and justice services. As routines have resumed performance has improved and case managers continue to address the backlog based on prioritised risk and need. 4.4.2. Engagement with service users and communities remains strong and is supported by the South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Forum. This is an independent group of community volunteers who work to engage health service and social care users, carers, and communities to improve local services. The Forum also supports wider public involvement in planning and decision-making, and keeps local people informed about the range and location of services. 4.4.3. The South Lanarkshire Inspection of Adult Support and Protection was carried out in August/September 2022 by the Care Inspectorate in collaboration with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Scotland (HMICS) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). The inspection findings concluded that the partnership’s key processes and strategic leadership for adult support and protection were effective at keeping adults safe from harm and interventions supported positive experiences and improved outcomes for adults at risk of harm. Overall, there were clear strengths that collectively outweighed areas for improvement. 4.4.4. Similar to all public services across Scotland, Social Work Resources continues to work in a challenging environment. The cost-of-living crisis; increased morbidity; and financial implications are a few of the ongoing pressures which are faced by social work services. These are coupled with immediate financial pressures being experienced with a number of risks and uncertainties in the health and social care environment and beyond. This level of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) means that successfully planning and delivering sustainable change becomes even more critical to ensure that we continue to support the most vulnerable people in South Lanarkshire. 4.5. Section 3: Resources 4.5.1. Social Work Resources had a net revenue budget of £212 million for 2022/2023. The priority of social work services is to ensure effective delivery of critical services, complying with statutory legislation to protect vulnerable children, young people, and adults in our communities. Services have continued to be delivered to those assessed as most at risk with the focus on public protection throughout the last year. 94
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4.5.2. There are several financial challenges which Social Work Resources continues to manage including: • the financial impact of demographic growth and an ageing population • the increasing numbers of people supported in their community with long term health conditions • an increase in ASP activity • an increase in the number of care experienced children and young people • service user and carer expectations • the Council’s requirement to achieve ongoing savings • the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 4.6. Section 4: Workforce 4.6.1. Social Work and Social Care services are a diverse sector in terms of job roles, career pathways and service structures. The CSWO has a key leadership role in relation to workforce planning and development, from both a local authority and partnership perspective. 4.6.2. A significant number of staff are projected to reach retirement age over the next ten years and this together with high turnover of staff and an ongoing requirement to retain and increase numbers of qualified workers presents a particular challenge. The Social Work Workforce Plan 2022-2025 aims to mitigate the risks of a diminishing workforce against areas of growing demand by enhancing career pathways and succession planning, and the establishment of a Care Academy to ‘grow our own’ workforce. 4.7. Section 5: Looking Ahead 4.7.1. The Resource has continued to reinforce capacity across all social work services to ensure it meets statutory requirements, increased demand and changes in complexity of service users. 4.7.2. A consistent approach remains to be taken through all key stages of transitions, including:- • accelerating the use of technology-enabled care • a commitment to Discharge Without Delay • embedding Home First across the Council area • increasing the use and consistency of Self-directed Support (SDS) • developing provision of intermediate care beds in the community (Blantyre LIFE) • promoting carer support plans • more collaborative working to shape local housing provision 5. Employee Implications 5.1. There are no employee implications associated with this report. 6. Financial Implications 6.1. There are no financial implications associated with this report. 7. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 7.1. There are no implications for climate change associated with this report. 95
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7.2. There are no sustainable development issues associated with this report. 7.3. There are no environment Implications associated with this report. 8. Other Implications 8.1. There are no risks associated with this report. 8.2. There are no sustainable development issues associated with this report. 8.3. There are no other issues associated with this report. 9. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 9.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function, or strategy, or recommend a change to existing policy, function, or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 9.2. There is no requirement for consultation in respect of this report. Professor Soumen Sengupta Director, Health and Social Care 29 December 2023 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes • Focused on people and their needs • Working with and respecting others • Accountable, effective, efficient, and transparent • Ambitious, self-aware and improving • Fair, open and sustainable • Excellent employer Previous References Social Work Resources Committee 15 February 2023 List of Background Papers Annual Report – Chief Social Work Officer, South Lanarkshire Council 2022-2023 Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Liam Purdie, Head of Children and Justice Services and Chief Social Work Officer Ext: 4887 (Phone: 01698 454887) Email: liam.purdie@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 96
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Chief Social Work Officer Annual Report 2022-2023 10 97
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2 Contents Introduction 3 Section 1: Governance and Accountability 5 Section 2: Service Quality, Performance and Challenges 10 Section 3: Resources 30 Section 4: Workforce 32 Section 5: Looking ahead 38 Appendix 1: Performance Data and Trends 41 Appendix 2: Care Inspectorate Gradings for Registered Services 46 98
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3 Introduction The aim of Social Work Resources is to promote social welfare and provide effective care and support to meet the needs of vulnerable people in South Lanarkshire. We are committed to providing responsive and accessible services, with defined standards for service provision and to supporting local people to maximise their potential, maintain their independence and improve outcomes. The requirement for every local authority to appoint a professionally qualified Chief Social Work Officer (CSWO), who must be registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), is contained within Section 3 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. The role of the CSWO is to provide professional advice and guidance to the local authority’s Elected Members and Officers in the provision of commissioned and directly provided Social Work services. The CSWO also has responsibility for overall performance improvement and the identification and management of corporate risks, as far as these relate to Social Work services. The CSWO is required to prepare an annual report of activity for the Chief Social Work Advisor for Scotland. A summary report is published annually by the Scottish Government to aid learning and the sharing of information nationally. All local councils have a duty under the Social Work Scotland Act 1968 to assess a person’s community care needs and, where appropriate, to arrange any services they may require. South Lanarkshire Social Work Resources, in partnership with community planning partners, voluntary organisations and independent providers, offer a range of services designed to enable, support, improve and protect the health and care of those accessing our services. Self-Directed Support (SDS) is Scotland’s mainstream approach to adult social care and the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 places Getting It Right for Every Child at the centre of assessing the wellbeing needs of children and young people. In addition to assessment, Social Work Resources commission a wide range of local private, not for profit and voluntary sector providers together with a range of specialist services from within and outwith the South Lanarkshire area. There are 37 independent care homes for older people, 13 care homes for adults with a range of support needs, and 21 children’s care homes operating within the council area. Additionally, we have a range of care at home, day services and supported living providers operating across our localities. Throughout 2022-2023 Social Work Resources activities included: • supervision and monitoring in the protection of vulnerable children and adults and wider public protection services • providing assessment, specialised assessment, and support • providing targeted services for vulnerable children young people, adults, and their carers • providing care at home, day service, and residential support services • working with those who are subject to requirements within justice and mental health legislation 99
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4 Those who use our services and the wider workforce have all experienced the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Social Work and Social Care Critical Functions Framework was a key governance enhancement introduced and will be a mechanism that is maintained as part of our learning from the pandemic. The framework was recognised by the Scottish Government as an area of best practice and an exemplar shared with all councils throughout Scotland. As restrictions have eased, we have seen the reintroduction of services and continue to respond to the impact that it has had on our workforce and our local communities. As CSWO for South Lanarkshire I will continue to progress our priorities in areas including: • Public protection for children and adults • Multi-agency public protection arrangements • South Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board (IJB) and development meetings for health and social care integration • Health and Social Work Governance Group • Health and Care Standards • Developing and supporting our profession and workforce • Oversight and management of the Social Work Risk Register • Data Protection, GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) • Procurement, contract compliance/monitoring • Eligibility criteria/prioritisation • Self-Directed Support (SDS) • Community Justice • Children and Young People’s legislation • Carers (Scotland) legislation • Care Inspectorate inspections and follow up improvement action plans • Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion • Health and Safety As services recover from the pandemic, households are now significantly impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. This crisis has been caused by a significant increase in the costs of energy, food, and fuel, with the energy price cap increasing significantly in 2022 and forecast to rise further. The council continues to offer advice on finance and debt through the Money Matters Advice Service, with service users supported to access available funding through a range of appropriate funds and grants. The ongoing development of Social Work services and our achievements rely on the continued commitment of our staff, statutory and third sector partners, the local community and support of the council’s Elected Members across all parties, who continue to advocate for the service. I extend my thanks to everyone for their efforts during 2022-2023 and I look forward to working together on shared agendas during the year ahead. Liam Purdie Chief Social Work Officer 30 October 2023 100
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5 Section 1: Governance and Accountability 1.1 Community Planning Partnership 1.1.1 South Lanarkshire Council is part of the South Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership (CPP). A range of partners contribute to a well-established Partnership Board which has a key role in progressing community planning in this area: • Federation of Small Businesses • NHS Lanarkshire • Police Scotland • Scottish Enterprise • Scottish Fire and Rescue Service • Scottish Government • Seniors Together • Skills Development Scotland • South Lanarkshire Community Partnerships • South Lanarkshire Council • South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture • Strathclyde Partnership for Transport • University of the West of Scotland • VASLan (Community and Voluntary Sectors) 1.1.2 The board provides strategic leadership and oversees the activity of partners in achieving the agreed vision and outcomes within the Community Plan 2022-2032. It has established the following thematic partnerships to improve the quality of life of South Lanarkshire residents: • Children's Services Partnership • Health and Social Care Partnership • Community Learning and Development Partnership 1.2 South Lanarkshire Council 1.2.1 There are 64 council members representing the 20 multi-member wards across South Lanarkshire. The composition of the council as of 5 May 2022 is: Political Party Number of Elected Members Scottish Labour Party 24 Scottish National Party 27 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party 7 Scottish Liberal Democrats 3 Greens 1 Independent Group 2 1.2.2 The council’s vision to “improve the lives and prospects of everyone in South Lanarkshire” remains at the heart of the Council’s Plan 2022-2027, along with our priorities which are focused on: 101
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6 • People – we will work to put people first and reduce inequality • Planet – we will work towards a sustainable future in sustainable places • Progress – we will work to recover, progress, and improve 1.2.3 Social Work Resources is one of five council resources, the others being: Community and Enterprise Resources; Finance and Corporate Resources; Education Resources and Housing and Technical Resources. All Resources work together in support of the Council Plan which can be accessed at the following link: Connect 2022-27 1.2.4 Each Resource prepares an annual Resource Plan which reflects the aspirations of the Council Plan and the Community Plan and details the work, achievements, and ongoing performance activity of each service. In addition, this Resource Plan necessarily also reflects the statutory relationship between the IJB and the council with respect to adult and older people’s social care. Those elements of the Resource Plan are a response to the directions within the IJB’s Strategic Commissioning Plan (SCP) 2022-25 and a recognition that the IJB has operational oversight for those areas of delivery. The Social Work Resource Plan can be found at the following link: Social Work Resource Plan 2023-2024 1.3 Social Work Resources 1.3.1 The principal role and purpose of the Social Work service is contained within the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, which gives local authorities the responsibility of “promoting social welfare”. The Social Work service has a statutory duty to provide care and protection to the most vulnerable people across South Lanarkshire. 1.3.2 The CSWO role is understood and valued within the council and partnership. The CSWO provides professional advice directly to the Chief Executive of South Lanarkshire Council on statutory service delivery and on matters relating to the profession. This professional advice and guidance also extend to local elected members, officers within other resources of the council and to senior staff within partner agencies. There is a clear line of accountability including support and challenge that is understood by the Council Leader, the Chief Executive and the five Directors of the Corporate Management Team. 1.3.3 The CSWO holds the position of Head of Children and Justice Services, is a member of the Social Work Senior Management Team (SMT) and a standing member of the IJB. The role is integral in the supervision and monitoring of the protection of vulnerable children and adults and serving as a conduit between the IJB and public protection activity, reporting annually on the discharge of statutory duties. 1.3.4 Social Work Committee consists of 26 elected members and deals with most of the business relevant to the CSWO role, as well as strong links to other key member groups including relevant audit, scrutiny, equality, and member officer working groups. 102
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7 1.3.5 The CSWO actively participates in a range of influential decision-making forums providing a significant leadership role in shaping the overall strategic direction of services, including: Structure Role Community Planning • Community Planning Partnership Board • Safer South Lanarkshire Steering Group • South Lanarkshire Community Justice Partnership • South Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drugs Partnership • Violence Against Women and Girls (Gender based Violence Partnership) Council • Social Work Resources Committee • Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum • Health and Social Work Governance Group • Learning and Development Boards • Corporate Management Team Children’s Services • Getting it right for South Lanarkshire’s Children (GIRSLC) Partnership Group • The Promise Board • Local Government and The Promise (arranged by COSLA) • Childrens Service Partnership Planning (CSPP) Leads Group (SG) Public Protection • Chief Officer's Group • Child Protection Committee • Adult Protection Committee • MAPPA (Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements) Strategic Oversight Group Integration Joint Board • IJB Board • IJB Performance and Audit Sub Committee • Health and Care Senior Management Team • Support, Care and Governance Group • Care Homes Assurance Tactical Group 1.4 South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership (South Lan- arkshire University HSCP) 1.4.1 Within the South Lanarkshire University HSCP, the Director, Health and Social Care has a lead role for Social Work functions, supported by the CSWO. 1.4.2 Child and Family and Justice Social Work services are not included in the South Lanarkshire Integration scheme and sit outside the South Lanarkshire University HSCP. A Performance and Audit Sub-Committee assists with the governance and accountability arrangements in key areas of work which are led by the IJB, including: 103
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8 • the approval and implementation of the SCP • the establishment of locality planning • governance and accountability arrangements • the production of an annual performance report 1.4.3 The SCP 2022-2025 sets out how health and social care services will be delivered in a more integrated way to improve the quality of support for people. Crucially, the plan sets out how services will be delivered against twelve priority areas identified by communities themselves. The SCP is available to download at the following link: South Lanarkshire Strategic Commissioning Plan (SCP) 2022 - 2025 1.4.4 The South Lanarkshire University HSCP has also created locality implementation plans that set out how the priorities outlined in the SCP will be operationalized within each of the four localities to address their specific demographic challenges and health and social care needs of the population. The priority areas are as follows: • Early intervention, prevention, and health inequalities • Addressing mental health and addictions • Supporting carers • Improving unscheduled care and optimising intermediate care 1.4.5 The CSWO has responsibility for ensuring there are recognised governance and decision-making arrangements in place that support the SCP ambitions. The CSWO provides professional leadership and ensures the South Lanarkshire University HSCP delegated statutory functions are being delivered through the chairing of groups such as, the Health and Social Work Governance Group and the Social Work Learning and Development Boards alongside the scrutiny and monitoring of performance and standards within the senior management team. 1.4.6 The CSWO is central to the multi-disciplinary group that enhances professional clinical and care oversight of care homes across South Lanarkshire. This includes arrangements for testing and infection prevention control and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), through an established Care Home Clinical and Care Professional Oversight (CHCCPO) team comprising of the following professional roles: • The NHS Director of Public Health • Executive Nurse lead • Medical Director • Chief Social Work Officer • South Lanarkshire University HSCP Chief Officer: providing operational leadership 1.4.7 Below is the structure chart that the South Lanarkshire University HSCP operates within. 104
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9 1.5 Social Work Resources/Health and Social Care Organisational Structure 105
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10 Section 2: Service Quality, Performance and Challenges 2.1 Service Overview 2.1.1 Social Work Services responded positively to the global coronavirus pandemic ensuring that the most vulnerable citizens in our communities and our employees remained supported and protected. Services are now back delivering full service provision, with specific arrangements now the norm with enhanced infection prevention and control measures fully embedded in areas such as day services and care homes and hybrid working arrangements remaining for many office-based services. 2.1.2 The impact of social distancing during the pandemic did result in a backlog for some services such as Unpaid Work and assessment activity across adult, children and justice services. As routines have resumed performance has improved and case managers continue to address the backlog based on prioritised risk and need. 2.1.3 Service quality, performance management and reporting are intrinsic parts of the duties of the CSWO. The CSWO has responsibility to respond to Care Inspectorate reports and findings from local and national activity, addressing the requirements of internal and external audit and reporting on progress against outcomes and follow-up actions from this activity. This includes discussion with the Chair of Social Work Committee and presentation to Social Work Resources Committee twice yearly. 2.1.4 Engagement with service users and the communities remains strong and is supported by the South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Forum. This is an independent group of community volunteers who work to engage health service and social care users, carers, and communities to improve local services. The Forum also supports wider public involvement in planning and decision-making, and keeps local people informed about the range and location of services. 2.1.5 The Carers Partnership Group is tasked to drive forward the work of the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 (the Act) by: • Offering adult carer support plans and young carer statements • Publishing local eligibility criteria • Providing support to carers • Involving carers (including hospital discharge) • Producing a local carer strategy • Providing information and advice for carers 2.1.6 The Carers Partnership Group leads on the support and delivery of the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 (the Act) and is developing a workplan to progress the Carers Strategy 2023-2026. The Young Carers Steering group has recently refocused and is now operating as a Young Carers Partnership with positive supports and experiences provided to over 100 young carers. 106
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11 2.1.7 A number of joint events have taken place with our commissioned services, Lanarkshire Carers and Action for Children, with more planned to ensure all partners can offer support in their respective duties to support carers. There has been a 34.1% increase in the number of adult carers supported, from 589 in 21/22 to 774 in 22/23. 2.2 Children’s Services 2.2.1 Children’s services promote the welfare and development of children, young people, and families to support them, wherever possible, to remain together within in their own communities. 2.2.2 Social Work Resources has a duty to protect children. Whilst this is a shared responsibility with other agencies and the community, Social Work has responsibility to investigate allegations of child abuse. These responsibilities are carried out in the framework of jointly agreed child protection (CP) procedures. 2.2.3 Children and Justice Services carried out a range of activity in 2022-2023, examples of which include: • Protecting children by undertaking 666 CP investigations. On 31 March 2022, there were 96 children on the CP Register • Prepared 331 reports for children who were supported through the Children’s Hearing system. • As of 31 July 2022, the council after looked 774 children. Of these children 16% were looked after at home with parents, 47% by friends/relatives (kinship), 27% in foster placements and 10% were looked after in a residential setting 2.2.4 The Promise is already well embedded in our work in South Lanarkshire. The Promise Board chaired by the Council Chief Executive, brings together the highest level of corporate parents to ensure The Promise commitments are central to all we do. The Promise Board’s vision is to make sure everyone plays their part in supporting care experienced children and young people as they grow and develop and assists the council and partners in continuing to fulfil its legal obligations and responsibilities towards looked after children and children leaving care. It reports directly to the Community Planning Partnership (CPP) and operates to a set of principles on which to lead and challenge the progress of the corporate parenting agenda and meet collective, corporate parenting responsibilities. 2.2.5 The Champions Board is a group of young care experienced people who are supported to come together to engage directly with those who make key decisions about the care system. The vision for the Champions Board is one where corporate parents build genuine, trusting relationships with care experienced young people in their area and improve the quality of care and support for care experienced young people. 2.2.6 Who Cares? Scotland provides support to the Champions Board along with two Promise development workers, recruited in November 2021 through joint funding by NHS Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire Council, Social Work Resources. The posts were advertised for young people with care experience and are specifically focussed on increasing the participation of care experienced young people. The Promise 107
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12 workers have already been instrumental, in partnership with others, in several successful Care Day events and in recruiting and supporting new members to the Champions Board. 2.2.7 Future plans include further promotion of the Champions Board to care experienced people, corporate parents and partners and developing social media platforms for improved communication. Three task groups have been in place to drive improvement around the priority themes of Throughcare and Aftercare, Children and Young People Looked After by Family Friends and Relatives, and Engagement and Participation. 2.2.8 A Corporate Parenting event was held in October 2022 with over 130 corporate parents and partners attending the “Keeping the Promise” conference in Hamilton. As part of the day, round table discussions were held focussing on the themes identified in the Champions Board Plan with the primary aim of corporate parents identifying practical, tangible solutions that could be delivered in the short to medium term. The outcome was used to inform future discussions with young care experienced people. 2.2.9 Following from this, the Promise Development Team worked closely with partners from Social Work and Education resources to plan and deliver a Care Day conference in February 2023. Meetings between Education, Social Work Children’s Houses and the Continuing and Aftercare Team meant that every care experienced young person could attend if they wished. There were over 130 attendees on the day (more than 90 of whom were care experienced), all secondary school aged and above, who shared their views and experiences. 2.2.10 The ideas from the Keeping the Promise corporate parenting conference were used as prompts to facilitate discussion and better identify what matters most to care experienced people. A report of the event is available and has been circulated to all who attended the Care Day conference. 2.2.11 Residential Children’s Services continue to respond to challenges set by legislative instruments and best practice markers such as continuing care, access to appropriate mental health services and an improved interface with adult services, education and housing. The service is ‘modernising’ the residential Children’s services, making for better transitions and maximising throughput where needed. 2.2.12 The Residential Child Care Operations manager now chairs the Social Work Scotland Residential Childcare Subgroup at a national level, placing South Lanarkshire Council at the forefront of practice sharing and policy development across the sector. This includes compliance with and implementation of the Promise and implications of the Care and Justice Bill. The service has maintained a settled environment and continues to deliver high quality care promoting wellbeing activities and family contact. This has merited meticulous planning and organising involving key stakeholders across the corporate parenting landscape within South Lanarkshire to ensure our young people remain safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible, and included. 2.2.13 Transitional arrangements from children’s services to adult services remains a priority for Social Work Resources and the South Lanarkshire University HSCP with a 108
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13 multi-agency infrastructure embedded into our localities. Transitions from child to adult services for people with complex learning disabilities is progressed via the Pan- Lanarkshire development agenda to further develop integration working relations and life opportunities for young adults. Updates are provided to the Joint Health and Social Work Governance Group. 2.2.14 Whole Family Wellbeing (WFW) investment by The Scottish Government has been instrumental in supporting whole system transformational change required to reduce the need for crisis intervention, and a shift towards prevention and early intervention. Year one funding of £1.827million in South Lanarkshire has supported the Children’s Service Partnership assess local gaps and opportunities and plan activity accordingly, with a view to laying the groundwork for scaling up transformational activity in subsequent years. The funding is intended for new work and additionality of resource to support transformation in-line with the National Principles of Holistic Family Support and our ambition to ‘Keep the Promise.’ 2.2.15 A WFW Fund Partnership Steering Group has been established to review the design and delivery of Children’s Services in South Lanarkshire, promoting best use of WFW funding. Proposals include extending the Pathfinder initiative in schools, contribution to the Family Support Hub model across the four localities in South Lanarkshire from the centralised Hub model, investment in the parenting support groupwork pathway and extending Family Group Decision Making (Children 1st) as part of the WFW approach. Updates will be provided to future Children’s Services Strategy Group meetings. 2.2.16 Police Scotland and Children and Family Services agreed to collaborate on an Integrated Safeguarding and Early Intervention Hub model. Focussing on the whole family approach, Family Support Hubs have been established within each locality to provide a more preventative response to requests for assistance from families and reduce the likelihood of an escalation in risk and concern. Education, NHS, and Third Sector are contributing to the work of the Family Support Hubs whilst they embed and ensure South Lanarkshire’s whole family support strategy is developed and reviewed collaboratively. 2.2.17 Over the last 18 months, provision established has included: • helping to establish a test of change around the Earlier Help Hub • investment in the Blues Programme across South Lanarkshire schools • Family Group Decision Making • increased capacity for Short Breaks • online supports (Togetherall and KOOTH), designed to provide an additional route for young people to access support • investment in refreshing our Parenting Pathways model, and • building additionality in the Trauma Recovery Service 2.2.18 Mental Health supports and community access within South Lanarkshire have benefited from around £800k from the Scottish Government Community Mental Health 109
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14 and Wellbeing Fund. The fund is intended to improve accessibility to support and services to children and young people to promote, manage, and improve their mental health and wellbeing and to help them develop coping strategies and resilience. It underlines the principle that every child and young person in Scotland should be able to access local community services which support and improve their mental health and emotional wellbeing. 2.2.19 South Lanarkshire’s approach is to try to ensure that every child, young person, and their family receive the help they need, when they need it, from experienced, knowledgeable staff. An oversight group has been set up to provide a monitoring role to quality assure the use of the fund in developing the additionality required by the funding criteria. 2.2.20 The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) Incorporation Bill sets out the intention to bring the UNCRC into domestic law and will introduce additional statutory duties on councils, health boards and other public services. The intention is to recognise, respect and promote children’s rights as far as possible. This includes the right to be treated fairly, to be heard, and to be as healthy as possible. 2.2.21 The Bill underlines the role that parents and families, communities, local and national governments, and organisations that work with children and families play in helping children understand and experience their rights. 2.2.22 A Task and Finish Group of public sector partners has been meeting to assess preparedness for the incorporation duties and to develop resources to support staff in respecting Children’s Rights. An extensive staff engagement programme has been completed and work is ongoing to talk to children, young people, and families in relation to their understanding of the UNCRC and Children’s Rights. A staff handbook has been produced with a bespoke Children’s Rights section and a training video has been produced and tested with staff in Community and Enterprise Resources. 2.2.23 The main duties of incorporation include: • implementing the UNCRC and incorporating it into Scots law to make it unlawful for public authorities, including the Scottish Government, to act incompatibly with the UNCRC requirements • an action plan to help children and young people experience their rights • using the Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) to ensure that our policies and legislation protect and promote the rights and wellbeing of children and young people • reporting on our progress to the Scottish Government on an annual basis 2.2.24 Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) refresh has been led by The Scottish Government to review and update the policy resources around GIRFEC. New resources and guidance were published in early October 2022 to share information with staff to clarify what is expected of them in using the materials. A short life working 110
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15 group was established to develop a workforce development strategy to support single and multiagency implementation. 2.2.25 Key aspects of the revised guidance include: • a focus on Children’s Rights and the UNCRC • a strong read across to aligned policy areas including Child Poverty, the Promise, national CP Guidance and Whole Family Wellbeing • simpler language to support engagement with children, young people, and families • policy rather than legislative driven functions for named person and lead professional, and • emphasis on building trusting relationships 2.2.26 The Children’s Services Partnership completed a ‘governance review’ in December 2022 to ensure that its structure, processes, and resourcing of support to families are fit for purpose. This will enable the Partnership to meet any upcoming challenges and help partners contribute effectively to the agreed national policy areas at a local level. This has resulted in a smaller number of thematic groups being agreed to support the evolution of the Children’s Services Plan and implementation of the demands of the relevant policy areas. These groups will take responsibility for driving forward practice under the following themes: • Health and wellbeing • Whole Family Wellbeing • The Promise 2.2.27 The Partnership held a successful Connecting Localities event over 2 mornings in November 2022 for staff from all agencies involved in the support of children and their families. In total 160 staff from health, social work, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, education, leisure, housing and a range of third sector organisations came together to improve their knowledge of UNCRC and children’s rights, the work being undertaken in relation to domestic abuse, the service available to young carers and the developments supporting whole family wellbeing and mental health. The opportunity was also taken to engage staff in a conversation on how services should be developed and how best to respond to families experiencing poverty. The opportunity to participate and share knowledge and experience with colleagues was valued by those who attended, and their views will be an important addition to future planning. 2.2.28 Bairns’ Hoose developments have progressed to achieve the Scottish Government’s vision that all children who are victims or witnesses to abuse or violence will have access to a Bairns’ Hoose by 2025. Those eligible for inclusion in the Bairns’ Hoose are: • children who are believed to have been victims to abuse or violence, which has caused or is likely to cause significant harm 111
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16 • children under the age of criminal responsibility whose behaviour has caused significant harm or abuse • unlawful deprivation of personal freedom • trafficking • children who have witnessed violence against a relative • women subjected to female genital mutilation 2.2.29 North and South Lanarkshire were chosen as a pilot site for implementation of the Scottish Child Interview Model in 2020. This joint investigative interviewing model provides interviewers with the skills to respond to the needs of the child in the interview and minimise the risk of further traumatisation. The underpinning principles of this model will be a fundamental part of Bairns’ Hoose. 2.2.30 Three experienced children and family Social Workers from the Camglen, Lanark and Hamilton localities were relocated to support this pilot. Since 2020 these Social Workers have co-located with Social Workers from North Lanarkshire and dedicated Police Officers in Blantyre. Local implementation is overseen by a Lanarkshire implementation and a strategic group chaired by the Chief Social Work Officer from North Lanarkshire with partners from Social Work, NHS/Health Care, Police Scotland, the Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration (SCRA) and the Procurator Fiscal. These strategic groups will oversee the next steps of the Implementation of the Bairns’ Hoose approach in Lanarkshire. 2.3 Justice Services 2.3.1 Justice Social Work services work within the context of The South Lanarkshire Community Justice Partnership and provide services that meet the national aims and priorities set out with the National Strategy for Community Justice. Justice Social work's key priorities are • Enhancing early intervention and alternatives to custody • Ensuring those given community sentences are supervised and supported, promoting desistance, and enabling rehabilitation. • Managing those that present the highest risk of harm to others within a robust public protection framework • Providing restorative justice approaches which are accessible and visible to our communities 2.3.2 Justice Social Work provide a wide range of statutory services. These include: • Diversion • Whole Systems Approach (16-21 years old) • Bail Supervision, Diversion and Court Services • Drug Testing and Treatment Orders • Caledonian System (Domestic Abuse Programme for men and women and Children’s service) • Moving Forward Making Changes (Sex Offending Programme) • Community Payback Orders and Unpaid Work Services 112
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17 • Adult Throughcare Services 2.3.3 Justice Services carried out a range of activity in 2022-2023, examples of which include: • 527 referrals were supported by substance misuse services, following a referral for alcohol or drug misuse • 645 Community Payback Orders with Unpaid Work requirements commenced • Diversion from prosecution referrals have decreased by 23% since 2021-2022, however there has been an increase in offence complexity including domestic and sexual harm cases 2.3.4 Justice Social Work staff have a responsibility to assess need and identify risks with those they work with. Underpinning this work is a strong focus on relationship-based practice which provides safe and effective interventions and challenges offending behaviours. 2.3.5 We have developed our Justice quality assurance dashboard which reports on all statutory service provision. This allows decision makers to identify trends in workloads and any reduction in orders and service provision. 2.3.6 Over this year there has been a return to in person court appearances which have supported court social work staff to undertake comprehensive vulnerability and bail supervision assessments for those appearing from Police custody. The Pan Lanarkshire Court Services have developed their Bail Supervision and Electronic Monitoring assessment service. There has been a 176% increase in bail supervision assessments and 93% increase in Bail Supervision orders this year. 2.3.7 This has been achieved through a joint social work and Hamilton Sheriff Court initiative in December 2022 in which social work staff assess all bail opposed persons for their suitability for bail supervision. Justice Social Work have developed partnership working with SACRO as part of the Alcohol and Drug Partnership arrest referral, diversion, and bail supervision commissioned service. This service seeks to support those with substance use issues at the point of police custody, court appearance and diversion with peer mentors and assertive outreach into recovery communities. This supports our public health approach to Justice services providing intervention at the earliest opportunity. 2.3.8 In July 2022 SLC Justice Social Work along with Police Scotland and Crown Office Prosecution Service were selected to be part of the national thematic Diversion Review. The Care Inspectorate evidenced that assessment and case management was of a good to very good standard, with strong partnership working and effective use of commissioned services. 2.3.9 Over the last year preparations have been made to introduce a dedicated Alcohol and Problem-Solving Court in Hamilton Sheriff Court. The aim of this court is to address substance use related offending whilst taking a public health approach that prevents further criminalisation of vulnerable people whose offending is related to addiction. 113
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18 Funding has been awarded from CORRA and SLC Alcohol and Drug Partnership with commencement of service in September 2023. 2.3.10 Our project outcomes align to the Scottish Governments (SG) Logic Model to reduce drug deaths and harms and their six priority areas. We aim to commit to: • Reducing drug and alcohol related deaths South Lanarkshire • Reducing the volume of Community Payback Order breaches and non- completion • Preventing those in conflict with the law proceeding further into the justice system • Reducing remand and short-term custodial sentences. • Providing long term Structured Deferred Sentence options for those with problematic drug and alcohol use 2.3.11 Locality Justice Teams: Our four locality-based teams currently work with over 750 individuals subject to Supervision by the Courts and Parole Board. 89% of individuals made subject to a Community Payback Order (CPO) are seen by the service within one working day and 90% have their first meeting with their case manager within five working days, far exceeding the Scottish Government target of 75% for both. 2.3.12 In addition, over the period of 2022-2023 localities have provided over 400 Justice Social Work Reports per quarter for the Courts to inform sentencing options. Of these, 98% have been submitted within timescales – exceeding the target set by the Scottish Government of 95%. In 2022-2023, locality justice teams in South Lanarkshire were one of four local authority areas to participate in a Scottish Government pilot scheme for a new Justice Social Work Report template which is now being rolled out nationally. 2.3.13 We have been able to identify improvement in how we support people at the end of their Community Payback Order (CPO). The current CPO peer mentor service which has been embedded into the localities has been extended for a further 2 years into the Justice staff establishment. An independent evaluation was undertaken by Iconic Consultancy which reported evidence of good outcomes for those transitioning from their CPOs to positive destinations. This included developing trusting relationships with peer mentor staff and successful engagement with recovery services and connections into GP, housing, mental health, and addiction services. 2.3.14 The challenge with sustaining this service has been in relation to funding. We had received funding via CORRA for 2 years, however restrictions are in place that local authorities can only make one bid per fund stream. Due to a bid being submitted for the SLADPSC this precluded further funding requests for the existing service. We have absorbed this into the section 27 grant, however that will have implications for other parts of the service going forward. 2.3.15 Public protection: Justice Social work undertake public protection functions as a Responsible Authority MAPPA partner. This includes collaborative working with Police Scotland, SPS, housing, health services, CAReS (Community Addiction Recovery Services), and adult services. This report period has seen an increase in MAPPA level 114
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19 1 cases (9%) as well as an increase in Category 3 cases (non-sexual offences) in which those that present the greatest risk of harm require to have a multi-agency approach to their risk management. 2.3.16 We have developed our quality assurance model to focus on Annual MAPPA level 1 audits; Annual Bail Supervision and Diversion from Prosecution and Significant Occurrence learning reviews. 2.3.17 In May 2022, following a number of service users’ deaths during their time on statutory orders we undertook a learning development review session with all Justice Team Leaders to explore the findings and identify measures we could take to prevent further escalation of these, and the identified outcomes included: • Early intervention with the use of Peer Mentors to engage with service users who fail to attend • Joint working with Community Addiction (CAReS) services to offer joint home visits and appointments and better sharing of information at point of commencing order • Use of texting services to encourage better engagement with services and prevent breaching of orders • Development of screening tool at Justice Court Report writing stage to identify which addictions service would best meet the person’s needs. This will prevent delays in access to recovery services and reduce unnecessary referrals to CAReS 2.3.18 Programmed Work: The Caledonian programme is for persons convicted of domestic abuse offences and the Moving Forward Making Changes programme for persons convicted of sexually harmful behaviour. A holistic approach is taken to ensure programmatic work addresses inappropriate behaviour but also ensures the safety of persons harmed. The Caledonian programme is a good example of this as it is delivered in partnership with CIRCLE and women’s aid who support the women and children impacted by the behaviour of men. 2.3.19 Young People, the Whole Systems Approach (WSA) and Structured Deferred Sentence: The Whole Systems Approach (WSA) team works with young people aged 16-21 who find themselves in conflict with the law. During 2022-2023 the team have worked with young people providing bail support, bail supervision, diversion from prosecution, structured deferred sentence, CSO and CPO supervision. They have also continued to provide support to young people who are either living within a secure care setting or within HMP/YOI Polmont (on remand or when serving a sentence). 2.3.20 Domestic abuse and violence against women and girls: The Caledonian Systems Delivery Team (CSDT) in South Lanarkshire are supported by Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire East Renfrewshire (WASLER) to support women impacted by domestic abuse. During the period of 2022-2023 WASLER has taken the opportunity to engage with local communities to raise awareness of domestic abuse to support the wider community to have greater knowledge and understanding. 115
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20 2.3.21 In the reporting period of January - March 23, Caledonian Women’s Workers have: • Supported International Women’s Day and attended events across South Lanarkshire, engaging with the wider community and partner agencies • Provided service updates for new staff within our partner organisations and in our own organisation • Engaged with new partnerships within the third sector to establish referral pathways for additional support opportunities for women engaging in the Caledonian Women’s Service • Taken part in the research undertaken by Safelives and Assist to look at court support in relation to domestic abuse in Scotland 2.3.22 Recent reports indicate there are 131 women receiving support from the Caledonian Women’s Service. This included 21 new referrals and assessments for court, 45 women engaged in weekly support and 79 women who access support on an individual needs led basis. 2.3.23 The Caledonian team also work with CIRCLE for the provision of services to children who have been impacted by domestic abuse. Recent reports for the time period January - March 2023, highlight the number of referrals is increasing, with six new children supported since January. 2.3.24 Unpaid Work has been an area of strength of Justice Social Work over 2022-2023 having fully resumed since the Covid pandemic with a significant reduction in the backlog of hours accumulated over this time. The resumption of this service has seen the introduction of an educational gardening project based at Auchentibber and a bespoke kitchen to provide cooking and bread baking skills. These projects will support service users to undertake the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society GLiN Award, REHIS training, and will support emerging needs identified within South Lanarkshire’s strategies on Climate, Sustainability and Environment development and the South Lanarkshire Good Food Strategy 2020-2025 objectives. 2.3.25 Recovery support services: Justice Services in South Lanarkshire throughout 2022-2023 have worked in close partnership with a range of commissioned services, such as the Beacons, Turning Point, My Support Day and the GIVIT in order to ensure that individuals are provided with the tailored support that best meets their individual recovery needs and the needs of their families and wider communities. 2.3.26 Women’s Justice Service in South Lanarkshire is a centralised social work team who provide one to one support and operate four locality-based women’s hubs, weekly. The hubs are aimed at supporting women who have been involved with the adult justice system. Since January 2023 a Structured Deferred Sentence service has been operating through Glasgow Sheriff Court, which provides females involved in the justice system with intensive support over three to six months with a view to addressing their risks and needs before allowing a prompt exit from the justice system. 2.3.27 Lived and living experience: The current CPO peer mentor service which has been embedded into the localities has been extended for a further 2 years into the Justice staff establishment. An independent evaluation was undertaken by Iconic Consultancy 116
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21 which reported evidence of good outcomes for those transitioning from their CPOs to positive destinations. This included developing trusting relationships with peer mentor staff and successful engagement with recovery services and connections into GP, housing, mental health, and addiction services. 2.4 Adult and Older People Services 2.4.1 The service works with other council resources as well as partners in health, the voluntary and independent sector. Staff fulfil duties under the law, and the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013, Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007, Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, and Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 play an important role in guiding how some services are delivered. Assessment and care management staff work collaboratively with partners to protect and reduce the risk of harm to adults and assess the care needs of service users and their carers to plan services to meet those needs. 2.4.2 Adult and Older People’s services conducted a range of activity throughout 2022-2023 examples of which include: • Supporting 3,449 Adult Support and Protection (ASP) inquiries, which led to 1,553 ASP investigations being instigated • For welfare guardianship orders, visits have been maintained at a good level over the course of the year, with 93% of supervising officer visits being held within timescale • Supporting up to 2,200 older people at any time in long term care placements • Supporting 1,103 people with a learning disability to live in their own communities • Working with 528 requests to support individuals with a mental health problem who were referred to Community Mental Health Teams 2.4.3 Self-directed Support (SDS) aims to put the person at the centre of the support planning process enabling them and their carers and families to make informed choices about the social care support they require and how it is delivered. Our Living the Life you Choose assessment is modelled on the co-produced assessment, and a support plan offers individuals choice and control over their personal outcomes, giving the individual better control of their care through four options. 2.4.4 Several key developments have been introduced to strengthen our approach to SDS. In line with the legislation, the National Standards for SDS and Audit Scotland recommendations, these developments aim to put SDS at the forefront of service review activity to ensure it is outcome driven. These include: • Increase capacity within assessment and care management services • Implementing the revised ‘Living the Life You Choose’ assessment for adults • Strengthening our approach to SDS with Children’s Services to improve transitions planning with Adult Services. This has been identified as a priority area within the SCP • An electronic Adult Carer Support Plan (ACSP) has been developed 117
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22 • A new Carers Strategy has been developed which recognises the need for more accessible information, better signposting, and outcome-based conversations with regards to the SDS processes and procedures • Review of public information and guidance 2.4.5 During 22/23 work was undertaken to update the approach to carer support and funding. Additional staff (Social Work Assistants) in locality teams have assisted with case management and reviewing carer support arrangements. An SDS finance team is supporting the work, specifically in relation to linking funding to identified needs and outcomes. The overarching SDS Review team is working to ensure equity in the allocation of finite carers’ support funding and is working in partnership with Lanarkshire Carers to ensure continued effective and efficient support is given to unpaid carers. 2.4.6 The South Lanarkshire Inspection of Adult Support and Protection was carried out in August/September 2022 by the Care Inspectorate in collaboration with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Scotland (HMICS) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). The inspection findings concluded that the partnership’s key processes and strategic leadership for adult support and protection were effective at keeping adults safe from harm and interventions supported positive experiences and improved outcomes for adults at risk of harm. Overall, the clear strengths in both areas inspected collectively outweighed areas for improvement. 2.4.7 In response to the findings the ASP partnership agreed an Improvement Plan with the Care Inspectorate in February 2023, outlining four areas of priority. These included: • improving attendance and consistency at case conferences • improving the quality and consistency of recording of information in chronologies • developing the partnership’s quality assurance processes • improving the quality of supervisory oversight around decision making The plan has been implemented through the local Adult Support and Protection Committee with continued oversight through the South Lanarkshire Public Protection Chief Officers’ Group. 2.4.8 An ASP Decision Support Web and Mobile App has been developed in partnership with the Adult Protection Committee and the national Right Decision Service provided by the Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre. The App empowers partners across all sectors to quickly access and apply ASP guidance consistently and in a person- centred way, ensuring a consistent understanding of how to recognise the risk of harm among vulnerable adults and the actions required to safeguard them. 2.4.9 This is the first Public Protection App to be developed in Scotland and has received high praise and interest from partners across the country. It was launched in February 2023 and the number of users stands at almost 3000 with over 6000 page views. A survey is planned for autumn 2023 to gather feedback at scale and plan for further development. 118
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23 2.4.10 The Home First service provides a short-term reablement and rehabilitation service for a period of up to six weeks with a focus on maximising individual choice, control, and independence. South Lanarkshire IJB has invested in the future sustainability of the Home First programme to provide multi-disciplinary care for people at home (or as close to home as possible) to prevent avoidable hospital admissions and where admissions are necessary, to support timely hospital discharge. The programme triumphed in the Integrated Care category in the 2022 Scottish Health Awards which recognises excellence across health and social care services. 2.4.11 Care at home services have continued to provide support to the most vulnerable individuals against a backdrop of significant challenges and pressures arising from sustained demand for services and an exceptionally challenging employment market. The availability of frontline social care staff continues to present real challenges across Scotland. During 2022-2023 the service prioritised staff recruitment through an extensive recruitment campaign, however, staff supply challenges across the care sector continue to exist and remain a key priority and potential risk to the service. 2.4.12 Despite these challenges the service has continued to progress its modernisation agenda. Improved management and staffing structures, pathways, IT systems and communication with Home Carers has resulted in an improved response to service demands and increasingly complex needs of service users. 2.4.13 Care homes for older people have adopted enhanced infection prevention and control measures with robust staff training following the pandemic. Each home has welcomed the return to full visiting for their service users with rewarding activities and events taking place, for example celebrations of the Queen’s Jubilee and the King’s Coronation. 2.4.14 In response to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s dedicated COVID-19 Death Investigation Team (CDIT), the CSWO established a governance group to support Operation Koper. This group ensures compliance with the Crown Office requests for information via the police. No further deaths have been attributed to COVID in the past year. 2.4.15 The Care Home Providers forum, established during the pandemic and has since continued, includes representation from independent, voluntary, and local authority care homes. Chaired by a Social Work manager, the forum provides the opportunity to share and signpost providers to emerging guidance and reporting requirements, while sharing an understanding of the pressures and identifying solutions. 2.4.16 Transformation and service improvement has progressed with the opening of a new state-of-the-art care facility, Blantyre LIFE in March 2023. This model of health and care delivery will increase the range of choice and options available to support people to live well in the community. 2.4.17 Access to transitional care will provide individuals with short-term strength and asset- based support focusing on rehabilitation and self-care for a maximum of 42 days following a period of ill health or crisis. Adopting this approach will encourage and 119
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24 enable service users to rebuild their confidence allowing them to continue to self-care and learn or re-learn the skills needed to maximise their potential and support their goal to return home. 2.4.18 Onsite there are a further 20 technology enabled homes consisting of 8 bungalows and 12 apartments. All these homes are barrier free and have some consumer technology that might be found in any modern home, ranging from smart appliances to telehealth care depending on assessed need. This new technology will enable people to maximise their independence, particularly in later life. 2.4.19 The facility also extends to the wider population of South Lanarkshire with a Centre of Excellence including a staff training flat; a Technology Enabled Care (TEC) zone designed in collaboration with the Glasgow Science Centre to showcase how technology enabled care can be used to support people to live well, safely, and independently at home; this is the first such collaboration between the Glasgow Science Centre and any Health and Social Care Partnership in Scotland. 2.4.20 Care and Support service offers support to adults with a learning disability to live safely within their own home in the community. The service was reviewed in 2019 to ensure current policy directives such as Self-Directed Support (SDS), South Lanarkshire’s Eligibility Criteria and the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 were embedded, and that the staffing model supported a diminishing number of ageing service users with increased levels of dependency. 2.4.21 Adult and older people’s day services evidence-based review, which started in June 2019 and paused during the pandemic, has now concluded. 2.4.22 Extensive consultation with service users, family and carers, employees and other stakeholders confirmed the need for greater choice of day opportunities to suit the changing needs of service users. The consultation also highlighted the value that many service users and their families placed on retaining building-based services. The outcome of the review was presented to the IJB on 20 June 2023 focussing on the need for future services to provide: • individualised support • reablement focus to support independence • intensive support for those with most complex needs and high levels of dependency 2.4.23 Self-directed support would be placed at the heart of day services to provide service users with greater choice, flexibility, and control over their care. Day support in a setting of their choice would be one option that could be used to meet personal outcomes and address substantial and critical need through an individual support plan. 120
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25 2.4.24 Meanwhile, building-based services have resumed following the pandemic. Services are currently operating from 10 of the original 19 building bases, and this continues to offer sufficient capacity to meet the requirements of the service. 2.4.25 Technology Enabled Care (TEC) continues to provide health and care services to people in their own homes, or near to home, to help them live independently, safely, and well at home for longer. The TEC team’s key services include telecare, Connect Me remote health monitoring service, and Near Me video consultations. The work of the TEC team has also been instrumental in facilitating discharge from hospital, with 241 telecare referrals approved in April 2023, 12% of which were to support hospital discharge. Meanwhile, 17% of hospital discharge referrals were referred through the Home First telecare pathway with the team working swiftly to support people home by installing telecare within 24 hours of the referral being received. 2.4.26 By December 2025 all analogue telephone services in the UK will be switched off and replaced by digital systems using voice over internet protocol technology. The council’s analogue 2 digital programme is well underway with the installation of digital alert alarms with the installation of 3,163 installed as of 31 March 2023. Approximately 350 digital alarms are installed monthly with an expected completion date of the digital alert alarm rollout of February 2024. 2.5 Performance and Support Services 2.5.1 Performance and Support services support the work of all other services within Social Work Resources and embraces a range of business support functions and links with: IT; Procurement; Finance and Personnel; Carers; Equalities; Workforce Planning; Corporate Governance; Information Governance; and Asset Management. 2.5.2 Administration Services: The aim of this service is to assist operational staff in the delivery of Social Work services by providing effective administration and communication support across all service areas. Administration staff are located in a range of settings across the council area including council headquarters, four local offices, court units, residential and day care settings. 2.5.3 Performance: Officers support services with performance reporting, statutory planning, inspection, regulation, and risk management to meet requirements, such as resource planning, Scottish Government returns and statutory performance indicators; local government benchmarking; information to support planning, for example demographic profiles and trends, management information requests as required by services and business needs. 2.5.4 Planning and development: The Resource is required to produce a range of statutory plans and partnership strategies in consultation with key planning partners, including service users and carers. The Resource also contributes to Council corporate planning and reporting activities. 121
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26 2.5.5 These plans guide the planning of service provision across the Resource and commit partners to action. They are reviewed regularly to assess progress towards agreed objectives. Some of the key social work plans include: • Advocacy Plan • Carers Strategy • Children’s Service Planning • Community Plan • Community Justice • Council Plan • Resource Plan • Workforce Plan • Strategic Commissioning Plan /Locality Implementation • Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy • See Hear Strategy • Dementia Strategy 2.5.6 Planning and Development Officers provide a range of support to operational services with regard to self-evaluation, partnership engagement, inspection/regulation, risk management, information governance, customer feedback and GDPR. 2.6 Performance monitoring 2.6.1 Social Work Resources utilise a quarterly performance and monitoring system which allows services within the Resource to assess performance against key Council and Social Work Resource objectives. Performance information is then used to inform the annual Social Work Resource Plan 2022-2023 highlighting areas of progress and approaches to continuous improvement. The Resource Plan also identifies those areas of action where performance requires to be measured for example, ASP, Adults with Incapacity (AWI), Child Protection (CP). 2.6.2 A quarterly performance management meeting takes place in-line with the reporting timescales of the quarterly report. Examples of performance activity, which are discussed include findings from case file audit activity, self-evaluation, Social Work risks and financial performance. 2.6.3 The performance scorecard within the Resource Plan has a number of measures which relate to the Council Plan. These are formally reported to the Council’s Executive Committee twice a year. Any measures which have amber or red progress status are discussed within the Council’s Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum and the CSWO or a Head of Service from the Social Work Resources Management Team is required to attend and explain the performance and potential improvement activity. 2.6.4 The performance management system (IMPROVe) supports frontline Managers with real time management information. This system allows managers to look at detailed caseload or timescale information for aspects of service such as guardianship visits and reviews and the supervision of children under statutory requirements. In addition, the system allows the higher-level performance measures within the Resource Plan to 122
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27 be tracked and measured daily. This enhances performance management capacity and knowledge across the service, allowing for corrective action to be taken instantly. 2.6.5 Key performance trend data is recorded at Appendix 1 that supports some examples of the areas of work identified above. 2.6.6 In common with other Council Resources an Internal Statement of Assurance is produced annually covering general good governance, internal controls, information governance and systems of governance and control. 2.6.7 The Accounts Commission, as part of their statutory responsibilities, audit public performance reporting arrangements each year to provide continuity and support progress of the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF). Social Work Resources reports a range of information to demonstrate that it is securing Best Value in providing services. 2.6.8 The Care Inspectorate continues to regulate and inspect our forty-one registered inhouse care services which include: five care homes for older people; thirteen-day services for older people; six-day services for adults; one care and support service for adults; one intermediate care service; six children’s houses; three child and family services (fostering, adoption, and supported carers); four care at home services and two home first services. Attached in Appendix 2 are the most up to date grades in respect of our registered services. 2.6.9 Analysis and management of information relating to guardianship orders; complex balance of need; risk and civil liberties in accordance with professional standards, for example in relation to ASP and CP guidelines; and decisions relating to the need to place children in secure accommodation and the review of such placements all fall to the CSWO. 2.7 Key Challenges to Service Delivery 2.7.1 Similar to all public services across Scotland social work continues to work in a challenging environment. The cost-of-living crisis; increased morbidity due to people living longer; and financial implications are a few of the ongoing pressures which are faced within social work. These are coupled with immediate financial pressures being experienced with a number of risks and uncertainties in the health and social care environment and beyond. This level of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) means that successfully planning and delivering sustainable change becomes even more critical to ensure that we continue to support the most vulnerable people in South Lanarkshire. 2.7.2 There are several factors which present specific challenges to Social Work Resources in relation to the demand for service provision. • affordability of services as a result of new financial pressures brought about by the global pandemic and increased cost of living. • a projected increase in the South Lanarkshire population from 321,849 in 2022 to 326,771 in 2032, which is around a 1.5% increase from the current population. This 123
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28 projects an increase in demand, further challenged by limited recruitment opportunities across social care. • an increasing ageing population (this is most pronounced in the 75+ age group). As people advance in age their need for health and social care services increases. The average weekly package of care increased by just under 15% from 11.4 hours per user per week in 2016/17 to 13 hours per user per week in 2021-2022. • aligned to this is that the healthy life expectancy for people in South Lanarkshire is lower than the Scottish average and people will spend a higher proportion of their lives in poor health. • there has been a 4% rise in the number of children looked after from 2021 - 2022 (from 747 to 774) • South Lanarkshire has a higher percentage of children with a concern at the 27–30-month health visitor review compared to Scotland. • increased ASP activity from 2021-2022 to 2022-2023 with a 21% increase (from 2,849 to 3,449) in the number of adult protection inquiries. • the rate of people with 3+Long Term Conditions (LTCs) is projected to increase steadily between 2022 and 25 across most age groups 18+, again increasing the demand for services. • South Lanarkshire is more deprived than Scotland as a whole, the publication of the latest Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) statistics highlights persistent levels of deprivation within a number of South Lanarkshire communities. • many factors combine to affect the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. Whether people are healthy or not is determined by their social and economic circumstances and the wider environment, all of which contribute to health inequalities. The pandemic will accentuate these inequalities and service provision will continue to be targeted at the most vulnerable in our communities. • exponential and unprecedented pressure on the capacity of health and social care workforce nationally, with increasing challenges to recruit new staff and retain the current workforce impacting on the delivery of critical care 2.7.3 Social Work Resources funding and budgetary pressures are affected by additional demand and cost of delivering services. The council approves annual budgets which consider areas of efficiency and savings along with opportunities for investment. 2.7.4 Children’s Services have faced challenging budget pressures during 2022-23 that have impacted on both statutory and non-statutory areas of work. The statutory duties of continuing care introduced by Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 2014, extends the duty on local authorities to continue to provide options for young people to remain within their foster, kinship, or residential care placement up to the age of 21 years (previously 18 years). 2.7.5 There is also a continued increase in the requirement for children’s residential school and external placements and increasing difficulty in meeting the increasing cost of these services within existing resources. 124
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29 2.7.6 Within Justice Services, the Scottish Government has committed Covid recovery monies until 2027, however, there remains challenges for the service to commit to third sector contracts. An example of this would be providing additional intensive support to 16–21-year-olds in our Whole Systems Approach team. Given that we are unable to provide contracts over 1 year, this makes it difficult for providers to recruit and retain staff with the uncertainty of the service being withdrawn the following year. 2.7.7 A further challenge for Justice Social Work is the increasing number of Intensive Support Package funding requests. There has been a 50% increase for both MAPPA and young people leaving secure care in 2022-2023 in Justice services. Whilst applications have been submitted to the Scottish Government, 10% funding must be sourced from the Section 27 grant. Should this increase, it will not be sustainable, and management of high-risk cases will be challenged. 2.7.8 Whilst diversion from prosecution numbers are down by 20% from 2021-2022, we are evidencing a significant number of complex sexual harm cases for those under the age of 21 years old and domestic abuse offences for over 21-year-olds. This has presented significant challenges for the service in providing suitably qualified staff to undertake these assessments and provide credible and safe interventions. The thematic diversion review that South Lanarkshire Community Justice Partnership were part of, concluded that additional funding was required to support local authorities to develop their services and we await the conclusion to this. 2.7.9 Attention has been given to the progression of the National Care Service Bill that currently has a further extension of Stage 1 from June 2023 until 31 January 2024 to allow further engagement with stakeholders. 2.7.10 The CSWO will continue to contribute to the consultation process as the Bill progresses, with consideration also to other proposed changes including: • allowing information to be shared between the proposed National Care Service and the NHS • introducing a right to breaks for carers • giving rights to people living in adult care homes to see the people important to them (known as “Anne’s Law”) 125
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30 Section 3: Resources 3.1 Finance 3.1.1 Social Work Resources had a net revenue budget of £212 million for 2022-2023 which was allocated as follows: Service Budget amount in millions of pounds % of the total budget Performance and Support Services 8.400 4 Adult and Older People 166.872 78.7 Children and Families 35.894 16.9 Justice and Substance Misuse 0.860 0.4 Total 212.026 100 3.1.2 There are several financial challenges which Social Work Resources continue to manage including: • the financial impact of demographic growth and an ageing population • the increasing numbers of people supported in their community with long term health conditions • an increase in ASP activity • an increase in the number of care experienced children and young people • service user and carer expectations • the council’s requirement to achieve ongoing savings • the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 3.2 Risk 3.2.1 Risk management is a key duty for Social Work Resources, both in a service wide and individual service-user and carer context. From a service perspective, the council’s Risk Management Strategy promotes consideration of risk in service delivery, planning and decision-making processes. 3.2.2 Social Work Resources follows the council’s guidance in developing, monitoring and updating the Resource Risk Register on an ongoing basis. The service risks identified for the Resource are reviewed and monitored on a regular basis with progress updates reported at every meeting of the Social Work Resources Committee. In the coming year Social Work Resources will take forward all necessary actions, where appropriate, to mitigate or reduce the Resource’s exposure to these risks. Social Work Resources Top 5 Risks – 2022-23 1 Workforce Availability and Capacity 2 Meeting Public Protection and Legislative Duties 126
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31 3 Market and Provider Capacity 4 Funding and Budgetary Pressures 5 Winter Demand Pressures 3.2.3 The Resource continues to review and reshape how it operates and where it can find efficiency and innovation. It has developed a dashboard that comprises a range of performance information and a range of statistical data that assists focus on the strategic needs of the most vulnerable population we are required to support. 127
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32 Section 4: Workforce 4.1 Workforce 4.1.1 The social care workforce is one of the largest employment groups in South Lanarkshire with employees working to provide a range of support within our communities. Excellent social services require a confident, dedicated, and skilled workforce which is valued by employers, service users and the public. 4.1.2 All Social Work staff working with service users are bound by a professional Code of Conduct which is governed by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). South Lanarkshire’s Council’s Code of Conduct for Social Work staff has drawn on this framework; all staff, regardless of qualification agree to adhere to specific professional codes that guide their practice. 4.1.3 Everyone in the workforce needs to feel valued and to be motivated to improve their contribution and be innovative in their practice. The CSWO needs to ensure these workers have the right skills, knowledge, values, and behaviours to provide high quality services. Retaining experienced staff in front line practice is crucial to delivering excellent social care services. 4.1.4 Several initiatives are available through the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), which offers practical and emotional support for all Council employees, including early intervention, counselling, or financial support. As well as the usual supports, new initiatives developed include supporting the mental health and wellbeing of staff. The COVID-19 recovery - Service Re-introduction Toolkit that was developed in July 2021 encourages service managers to adopt a flexible approach that will improve service delivery whilst supporting the resilience of the workforce. 4.1.5 South Lanarkshire Council has been recognised as a Carer Positive Employer at the Engaged Level. The carer positive award is presented to employers in Scotland who have a working environment where carers are valued and supported. 4.1.6 Social Work Resources has 2,859 employees as of March 2023. Employees are supported to deliver their duties through a range of policies including personal appraisal and a robust training framework. The number of employees (per headcount) by service is as follows: Service Number of employees Adult and Older Peoples Services 2,107 Children and Justice Services 560 Performance and Support 192 Total 2,859 4.1.7 Ethical awareness, professional integrity, respect for human rights and a commitment to promoting social justice are at the core of social service practice. The life changing 128
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33 and challenging work undertaken cannot be underestimated. This essential work is underpinned by core values. These values focus on understanding each individual in the context of family and community, supporting participation, and building on the strengths of the individual and their communities to promote enablement. 4.1.8 There are also standards of conduct and practice which Social Services workers and employees must follow. It is the CSWO responsibility to ensure their staff and those of external providers adhere to these standards and are equipped to support service users. 4.1.9 Assessment of risk is undertaken to protect those staff who continue to work on site and for those working agile at home or within another location. Well established trade union and employee forums are in place that enable regular monitoring and resolution of issues. 4.2 Workforce Planning 4.2.1 The CSWO has a key planning and leadership role in relation to workforce planning and development, both from a local authority and partnership perspective. Whilst social care services are a diverse sector in terms of job roles, career pathways and service structures, what unifies the sector is a common set of shared values and ethics which underpins the principles of those that work in the sector. 4.2.2 A significant number of staff are projected to reach retirement age over the next ten years and this together with high turnover of staff and an ongoing requirement to retain and increase numbers of qualified workers presents a particular challenge. The Social Work Workforce Plan 2022-2025 aims to mitigate the risks of a diminishing workforce against areas of growing demand. 4.2.3 The Social Work Resources’ Workforce Plan 2022 to 2025 highlights key challenges, including • sustained pressure on services and an increased demand that will continue over the period of the plan • significant national workforce supply challenges that require action at a national policy level to impact change • implications of the National Care Service and impact on existing workforce and ability to recruit • maintaining the well-being and value of the workforce to enable recruitment and retention across all service areas 4.2.4 An action plan to address these challenges focuses on the need to: • maximise available resources • explore options of service redesign and review current recruitment practices, including the establishment of a Care Academy to ‘grow our own’ workforce • enhance career pathways and succession planning • ensure the workforce feel valued and supported 129
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34 It is however acknowledged that not all risks can be eliminated whilst a national health and social care workforce crisis remains 4.2.5 The national Audit Scotland Report on Social Care (January 2022) described the significant challenges facing the sustainability of social care in Scotland. This was followed in February 2022, with the Scottish Government advising that an additional £22m recurring funding would be made available to provide additional capacity within local authorities. This funding is a direct response to feedback and a recognition that social care services are enduring a level of demand and pressure in the system, beyond anything experienced before. 4.2.6. From a South Lanarkshire perspective, the share of this funding has been confirmed as £1.292m, and has been specified by the Scottish Government to target: • support to the adult social care workload in recognition of the pressures across health and social care • enhancement of frontline capacity for Adults with Incapacity and Adult Support and Protection, inclusive of Large-Scale Investigations (LSI) • additional support to the statutory duties undertaken by Mental Health Officer and Social Workers • increasing capacity within the wider assessment, care management and reviewing functions, for example individualised support planning in line with SDS • enhancing frontline management capacity to increase levels of assurance and supervision of frontline staff • support for Care Home oversight activity as a consequence of additional demands brought about by the pandemic • capacity within teams of support staff to free up pressures on frontline workers to undertake their duties 4.3 Learning and Development 4.3.1 The CSWO is a member of Social Work Scotland (SWS), the professional leadership body for the Social Work and Social Care professions. It is a membership organisation which represents Social Workers and other professionals who lead and support Social Work across all sectors. Membership is included from NHS, local authorities, third and independent sectors. SWS effectively do two things: (1) influence and advise on the development of policy and legislation; (2) support the development of the Social Work and Social Care professions. 4.3.2 The CSWO is active in overseeing the quality of services and is responsible for ensuring that Social Work staff are appropriately trained and supported to carry out their professional and statutory duties. This is undertaken in a number of ways including regular meetings between the CSWO and senior managers to discuss performance and other operational issues, fulfilling corporate governance requirements through the annual Internal Statement of Assurance and overall Governance Assessment Framework with the agreement of the Chair of the Social Work Resources Committee. 130
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35 4.3.3 The CSWO actively promotes continuous improvement and evidence-informed practice, including the development of person-centred services that are focussed on the needs of the service-user. The CSWO also oversees the quality of practice learning experiences for Social Work students and effective workplace assessment arrangements in accordance with the SSSC Code of Practice. South Lanarkshire is a member of Learning Network West and cohorts of students are provided with placements annually across the Social Work Service. Each placement is supported by a Practice Teacher identified from the South Lanarkshire Social Work workforce. 4.3.4 The CSWO has a role in ensuring Learning Reviews take place as required. The outcome of Learning Reviews are published on South Lanarkshire Council’s Adult Protection Committee and Child Protection Committee websites. Learning is crucial for staff across the Resource, with actions agreed and taken forward as a partnership as a result of reports published. 4.3.5 Staff are supported to undertake the Professional Development Award in Practice Learning, with six social workers completing the course in 2022-23. The CSWO made use of the part funding Scottish Government made available for staff to undertake the Diploma in Social Work and as a result of this one Family Support Worker in Children Services and one Social Work Assistant in Adults and Older People Services are completing the Post Graduate Diploma in Social Work. In 2022–23 Social Work Resources resumed providing Higher National Certificate (HNC) placements. In 2022- 23 HNC placements took place in Children’s Houses, Adult Residential Care and Day Support. 4.3.6 The Mental Health Officer Award is funded on an ongoing basis to enable the council to meet legislative obligations under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act (2000) and the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act (2003). A Staff Development Officer for Mental Health Services who is a trained Mental Health Officer provides support to meet the learning and development requirements within this service. 4.3.7 The South Lanarkshire University HSCP Learning and Workforce Development Group has a strategic overview of the learning and development activity that takes place across health and social care and ensures there is openness and transparency in relation to how training is organised and accessed by staff. The development of a Social Work Resource Learning and Development Plan is instrumental to this and contributes to supporting a learning culture. 4.3.8 Each Social Work service area has a learning and development pathway, which highlights the specific learning and development needs for individual staff; and, in addition to the pathways, there are service priorities for all staff within Social Work. These highlight any newly required or ongoing training needs and are presented at the Learning and Development Workforce Planning Boards. This includes inhouse training (virtual, e-learning and only, if necessary, classroom learning) and any externally purchased courses. 131
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36 4.3.9 Learning and development requirements of individual staff members are identified through supervision and reflected in an Annual Performance Appraisal meeting. Additional training requirements are identified through the Corporate Learning and Development Team for Social Work Resources. 4.3.10 Social Work Resources supports evidence informed practice and in developing its research culture funds post-graduate courses to support staff with their learning and development. On an annual basis an agreed number of staff are supported to undertake Post Graduate Certificate qualifications. In 2022-2023 these included ASP, Child Welfare and Protection and Therapeutic Life Story Work. 4.3.11 The ongoing development of the Dementia Strategy details the level of input/training required for each sector of the workforce from ‘Informed’ through to ‘Expert.’ The programme continues to incorporate new members of staff and includes colleagues from other Council Resources and NHS. 4.3.12 Access to Management and Leadership Development training is available through Personnel services to all Social Work staff, in consultation with their line managers. Those who are either first time managers or who are looking to be promoted to a management post can also participate in the Management Induction and Development Programme delivered by the Social Work Learning and Development Team. This programme is specifically designed for social work staff. Staff wishing to develop their leadership skills are also encouraged to make use of SSSC Step into Leadership learning resources. 4.3.13 Registration within timescale for all staff within Social Work Resources is set out by the SSSC. Where staff have conditional registrations or where the achievement of appropriate qualifications is required, support is provided. 4.3.14 All newly qualified Social Workers meet with the relevant Staff Development Officer for a learning and development/Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) induction meeting to draw attention to the relevant learning and development pathway for their post, how to access training and ensure they understand their responsibilities in relation to post registration training and learning requirements. The support that is available in relation to the CPL is also explained. 4.3.15 The Adult and Older People’s service provide mentors to newly qualified Social Workers for the first few months to help them as they settle into post. 4.3.16 Mentoring arrangements also support newly qualified MHOs (Mental Health Officer), and a Mental Health Officer Forum is held quarterly to facilitate learning and discussion regarding MHO practice, developments in legislation and the work of the Mental Welfare Commission. Training opportunities are promoted throughout the mental health service. 4.3.17 Within Children and Family teams we are committed to ensuring that newly qualified social workers are supported throughout their first year of practice. This includes individual and group support as well as a caseload that is built up incrementally over 132
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37 several months. Furthermore, all Social Workers attend Practice Development Sessions which are regularly scheduled throughout the year. This time gives Social Workers the space to learn and reflect on practice. 4.3.18 The Justice Learning & Development Liaison Group completed a training needs analysis and identified the following areas of priority: • MAPPA Risk Management Planning training • Restorative Justice • Harmful Sexual Behaviour 16–21-year-olds • Structure Supervision (offence focused work modules) 133
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38 Section 5: Looking Ahead 5.1 Funding and budgetary pressures remain challenging as a result of additional demand and increased costs of delivering services. 5.2 In March/April, staff from all service areas participated in a series of consultation and engagement events to consider redesign options that would enable services to continue to meet statutory demands alongside local and national policy ambitions. Children’s Services has engaged with the Improvement Service to benchmark services and expenditure with other local authorities within the LGBF family group and use this information to consider alternative delivery models. 5.3 Community engagement and consultation continues to have an effective and direct impact on shaping service priorities for the future. Consultation feedback gathered for the development of the Strategic Commissioning Plan 2022-2025 included: • The necessity of ensuring services and supports are fit-for-the-future to sustain core/statutory functions • The need for greater emphasis on early intervention, prevention and addressing inequalities • The imperative for developing and better joining-up activities and supports to improve mental health and wellbeing, and address addictions • The importance of increasing personal choice for individuals in their own care – and maximising independence in people’s own homes and communities as far as possible 5.4 This work will continue to develop a consistent approach through all key stages of transitions, including: • Accelerating the use of technology-enabled care • Improving access to mental health support in primary care through the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy • A commitment to Discharge Without Delay • Embedding Home First across the council area • Increasing the use and consistency of Self-directed Support (SDS) • Developing provision of intermediate care beds in the community (Blantyre LIFE) • Promoting carer support plans • More collaborative working to shape local housing provision. 5.5 All services including adult and older, children and justice are collaborating with Care Opinion, a non-profit, independent feedback website that helps service users share honest and anonymous stories about their experiences with our services. The process provides an evaluation tool specifically designed to consult and engage with service users promoting a culture of transparency, whilst feedback will give services a deeper understanding of the views and perspective of service users; support self-evaluation; assist in the design of services; and sharing of good practice. 134
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39 The public launch of Care Opinion is planned for Autumn 2023 with staff training and engagement having taken place early 2023. 5.6 The Resource has continued to reinforce capacity across all social work services to ensure it meets statutory requirements, increased demand and changes in complexity of service users. Recruitment and retention to the social care workforce for both qualified and paraprofessional roles continue to remain a challenge and is impacted further with an existing ageing workforce. The review of recruitment practices continues to extend with a flexible approach outlined within the partnership’s Workforce Strategy to promote and encourage social care as a career choice. 5.7 The Lanarkshire Care Academy aims to better promote Social Care as a vocation in South Lanarkshire; reinforce and expand routes into a career in Social Care; and provide a much more explicit framework to enable the Council to ‘grow their own’ workforce to address workforce requirements. A Care Academy is already in place for North Lanarkshire, and that arrangement will be extended and developed on a Lanarkshire-wide basis building upon existing effective co-operation between both South Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire HSCPs; joint working between the Councils and NHS Lanarkshire; and Lanarkshire-wide services “hosted” by each HSCP. Partners will work together to share learning and enable a more structured approach to address recruitment challenges and enhance capacity to meet increasing demands for services. 5.8 The Council already has a range of initiatives which fit into and enhance the Lanarkshire Care Academy, including the well-established Modern Apprenticeship Programme; the Council’s Youth Employability Service and Foundation Apprenticeship programme; The GradU8 Programme; and professional apprentices. The Care Academy will support the commitment to Keep the Promise for care experienced children, young people and their families, promoting opportunities for routes into a career in Social Care and providing bespoke employability support to all care experienced young people who need it, whilst expanding the care experienced pilot Into Work program. 5.9 A newly Commissioning and Quality Assurance Team, established in April 2022, has focussed initially on the review of existing funding arrangements where the contract has expired. This work will continue to ensure services that require a renewed contract are commissioned in line with the SCP objectives and best value for the partnership. 5.10 The transformation of The Care at Home Service has seen full implementation of a new electronic scheduling system, Total Mobile. The system is bringing improvements to scheduling, the allocation of work and communication with staff and service users. An innovative development is also underway in partnership with Care at Home providers to develop an interactive mapping solution that will refine the way services are commissioned in neighbourhood areas, minimising travel time and increasing capacity to meet increasing demand. 5.11 Works commenced to implement a replacement Social Work Case Management IT System in 2022-2023. Following a successful tender and evaluation process, 135
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40 Liquidlogic were awarded the contract in September 2022. A Programme Board has been established to progress implementation with an anticipated go-live in June 2024. 5.12 The implementation will bring about changes to our current practices and is expected to enhance efficiency, streamline processes, and improve overall performance. Staff will be supported to adjust to new practices with the training programme taking place at the beginning of 2024. 136
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41 Appendix 1 Performance Data and Trends Year Number of Adult Support and Protection Inquiries 2018 - 2019 1970 2019 - 2020 2862 2020 - 2021 2948 2021 - 2022 2849 2022 - 2023 3449 Source: ASP Annual Scottish Government Return Year Number of Adult Support and Protection Investigations 2018 - 2019 813 2019 - 2020 1300 137
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42 Year Number of Adult Support and Protection Investigations 2020 - 2021 1144 2021 - 2022 1273 2022 – 2023 1533 Source: ASP Annual Scottish Government Return Year Percentage of Statutory Supervising Officer Visits held within timescales for Welfare Guardianship orders – Local Authority (%) Percentage of Statutory Supervising Officer Visits held within timescales for Welfare Guardianship orders – Private (%) 2018 - 2019 98 93 2019 - 2020 93 86 2020 - 2021 94 94 2021 - 2022 94 95 2022 - 2023 93 93 Source: Social Work Resource Plan, IMPROVe 138
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43 Year Number of Child Protection Investigations Completed 2018 - 2019 690 2019 - 2020 685 2020 - 2021 823 2021 - 2022 716 2022 – 2023 666 Source: Social Work Resource Plan, IMPROVe Year Percentage of reports submitted to Scottish Children’s Reporter within timescales (%) 2018 - 2019 79 2019 - 2020 71 2020 - 2021 88 2021 - 2022 82 139
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44 Year Percentage of reports submitted to Scottish Children’s Reporter within timescales (%) 2022 – 2023 77 Source: Social Work Resource Plan, IMPROVe Year Percentage of children seen within 15 days following Compulsory Supervision Order commencing (%) 2018 - 2019 93 2019 - 2020 90 2020 - 2021 70 2021 - 2022 94 2022 – 2023 89 Source: Social Work Resource Plan, IMPROVe 140
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45 Year Percentage of people on CPO unpaid work requirements seen within 5 working days (%) 2018 - 2019 80 2019 - 2020 77 2020 - 2021 59 2021 - 2022 68 2022 – 2023 69 Source: Social Work Resource Plan, IMPROVe Year Percentage of people starting their unpaid work within 7 days of CPO (%) 2018 - 2019 77 2019 - 2020 77 2020 - 2021 48 2021 - 2022 65 2022 – 2023 67 Source: Social Work Resource Plan, IMPROVe 141
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46 Appendix 2: Care Inspectorate Gradings for Registered Services Service Latest Inspection How well do we support people's wellbeing? How well is our care and support planned? How good is our setting? How good is our staff team? How good is our leadership? Child and Family Services 1 South Lanarkshire Council - Adoption Service 27/03/2023 4 5 NA 5 5 2 Supported Carers Service 22/01/2019 5 5 NA 5 5 3 South Lanarkshire Council - Fostering Service 27/03/2023 5 5 NA 5 4 Children’s Houses 4 Langlea Avenue 19/04/2022 5 5 5 5 5 5 Bardykes Road 29/07/2022 5 5 5 5 5 6 Rosslyn Avenue 13/05/2022 5 5 5 5 5 7 Hunters Crescent 29/04/2022 4 4 4 4 4 8 Station Road 19/05/2022 3 3 3 3 3 9 Hillhouse 30/06/2022 5 5 5 5 5 Care Homes – Older People 10 Meldrum Gardens 01/11/2019 4 4 5 3 5 11 McKillop Gardens 01/07/2022 5 5 5 5 5 12 McClymont House 31/05/2022 5 5 6 5 5 13 David Walker Gardens 11/11/2022 5 5 5 5 4 14 Dewar House 25/01/2023 5 5 4 5 5 Day Services – Adult and Older People 142
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47 15 Lifestyle Lanark, Harry Smith Complex 12/08/2015 6 6 6 6 6 16 South Lanarkshire Lifestyles - Stonehouse 26/05/2017 5 5 5 4 5 17 South Lanarkshire Lifestyles - Fairhill 22/01/2019 5 5 5 5 5 18 Whitehill Day Centre 24/07/2018 5 5 5 5 5 19 Newberry Rooney 22/11/2016 5 5 5 5 4 20 South Lanarkshire Lifestyles - Carluke 19/05/2017 5 5 6 5 5 21 Meldrum House 05/06/2017 5 5 5 5 5 22 Saltire Neighbourhood Centre 22/05/2018 5 5 5 5 5 23 Harry Heaney Centre 10/05/2019 5 5 5 5 5 24 McClymont Resource Centre 05/08/2019 5 5 5 5 5 25 Lesmahagow Neighbourhood Centre 07/02/2017 5 5 6 5 5 26 Canderavon Neighbourhood Centre 16/02/2016 4 4 5 5 5 27 Jimmy Swinburne Resource Centre 15/05/2018 5 5 5 4 5 28 St. Andrew's Day Centre 24/07/2019 5 4 5 5 5 29 South Lanarkshire Lifestyles East Kilbride 13/12/2016 5 5 5 5 5 30 South Lanarkshire Lifestyles Eastfield 15/11/2017 5 5 5 5 4 31 Nisbet Centre 18/06/2019 5 5 5 5 5 32 Parkhall House 03/08/2018 5 5 5 5 4 33 Jenny MacLachlan Centre 19/01/2017 6 6 5 5 5 Care at Home Services 34 East Kilbride Home Care Service 24/01/2020 4 4 NA 5 5 35 Hamilton Home Care Service 17/06/2021 3 3 NA 3 3 143
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48 36 Rutherglen Home Care Service 24/11/2020 4 3 NA 4 4 37 Clydesdale Homecare 26/10/2018 5 5 NA 4 5 Home First Services 38 Home First (East Kilbride and Rutherglen) Registered - 2/9/22 39 Home First (Clydesdale and Hamilton) Registered - 2/9/22 Housing Support Services 40 Care and Support Service (North and South) 20/05/2019 4 4 NA 5 4 Intermediate Care Services 41 Blantyre Life Registered - 15/12/22 Grades guide: 1 Unsatisfactory 2 Weak 3 Adequate 4 Good 5 Very Good 6 Excellent NA – Not Assessed 144
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If you need this information in another language or format, please contact us to discuss how we can best meet your needs. Phone: 0303 123 1015 Email: equalities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 145
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Social Work Resources Committee Date of Meeting: 6 March 2024 Report by: Director, Health and Social Care Subject: Family Support Strategy – Family Support Hubs 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- provide the committee with an update on the family support strategy within Social Work Resources to deliver earlier, more preventative, strengths-based help and support to families, preventing escalation to care and protection proceedings update the committee on national and local drivers informing the Strategy, including the Promise Plan 2021-2024 and the Whole Family Wellbeing Strategy, which aim to develop and enhance earlier help and family support services update the committee on the first year of service delivery from Social Work’s Family Support Hubs and outline the priorities for future service developments 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- [recs] (1) that the progress made in the delivery of the Promise Plan 2021-2024 and the development of a Whole Family Wellbeing Strategy be noted; and (2) that the year one annual report, attached at Appendix 1, and the progress made in shifting resources to community based support that aim to enhance earlier help and family support services be noted. 3. Background 3.1. An Executive Committee Report titled ‘Family Support Strategy and Whole Family Wellbeing Funding’ was presented and endorsed in March 2023. The report highlighted the background to the development of a Family Support Strategy and updated the Executive Committee on the national and local drivers informing the Strategy including the #KeepthePromise Plan 2021-2024 known as ‘The Plan’ and funding aligned to develop and enhance earlier help and family support services. The Promise identified the need to significantly upscale family support services and identified whole family support as a priority in The Plan 2021-2024. There is a clear ambition that children and families should be able to access preventative, needs- based support when they need it, for as long as they need it. By supporting families at their time of need rather than at crisis point will enable them to flourish and reduce the chances of family breakdown and of children entering the care system. 3.2. In response to this, the Scottish Government committed to investing £500m Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) over the lifetime of the Parliament to support the whole system transformational change required to reduce the need for crisis intervention, and to shift investment towards prevention and early intervention. The funding awarded to South Lanarkshire is £1.827m per annum. 11 147
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3.3. South Lanarkshire’s implementation of the Whole Family Wellbeing Strategy is progressing well to build capacity to improve preventive services and early support to families. The model is part of our delivery commitment for Keeping the Promise - holistic family support and ensuring connectivity to other relevant policy areas; Community Access to Mental Health, Child Poverty, Alcohol and Drug Whole Family Support and Shaping Places for wellbeing. See Appendix one that highlights the progress and successes of year one. 3.4. A key feature of our approach so far has been the reconfiguration of our social work family support workforce to create four locality family support hubs. The community facing hubs have assisted in creating a ‘no wrong door approach’ to family support and facilitated a means to strengthen GIRFEC pathways between social work and universal, community and third sector partners to as far as possible divert families from statutory intervention. When required family support is provided from hub staff to prevent escalation to our local office teams and divert from care and protection proceedings. 4. Family Support Hubs 4.1 Social Work in South Lanarkshire formally launched locality-based Family Support Hubs in September 2022 following a year of testing the model on a smaller scale. The service priorities and improvement measures are aligned to the Children’s Services Planning Partnership’s implementation of the Whole Family Wellbeing Strategy. 4.2. The Whole Family Wellbeing Strategy is a partnership approach between health, education, social work and the third sector. Most families will receive the help and support they require from universal services and third sector but for some children and young people there will be a need for social work to respond in accordance with the local authority’s statutory duty under section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. 4.3. Family Support Hubs have been established in South Lanarkshire to provide the early social work response to pregnant women, babies, children and young people up to 18 years to prevent an escalation to statutory teams by providing intensive whole family support. 4.4. The Family Support Hubs are community facing and accessible provisions based in Hamilton, East Kilbride, Lanark and Cambuslang localities. The Hub teams consist of social workers and family support staff. Each hub also has peer workers and Children 1st workers collocated to offer families a wide range of different types of support with a shared remit of providing whole family support that prevents crisis, reduces inequalities and improves child development, family functioning and wellbeing. 5. Impact 5.1. In the first year of operation, the Family Support Hubs have responded to 61% of the total referrals to Children and Family Social Work. This significantly decreases the volume of initial assessments being undertaken by Local Office teams and has created more capacity within this part of the system to respond to child protection referrals and care experienced children. Allocations to our local office teams in 2023 were reduced by almost 6800 compared to allocations in 2021. 148
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5.2. All vulnerable pregnancy referrals are held by the Family Support Hubs unless older siblings are open allocations to Local Offices. The aim is that by positioning the pregnancy related work within the Family Support Hubs there will be less babies cared for away from family either at birth or in early infancy as more timely assessment and holistic whole family intensive support can be offered that will reduce risk and strengthen protective factors for the families. 5.3. In an effort to reduce the use of child protection procedures, the Hamilton Family Support Hub has introduced a parent plan approach for vulnerable pregnancies. This approach still ensures there is early identification and response to risk and safeguarding concerns through a robust assessment and review process using a GIRFEC approach. This has been successful with only four out of fifteen parents’ plans escalating to chid protection procedures in the last year. This approach will be upscaled across the other four Hubs in year two. 5.4. Twenty five pre-birth child protection assessments have been undertaken by the Family Support Hubs in the first year, three have progressed to alternative care arrangements. This is compared to ten pre-birth child protection assessments undertaken by the Local Office teams where seven have progressed to alternative care arrangements. The care arrangement data for babies is being tracked until babies turn one year old to help us understand the longer-term outcomes of the child protection pre-birth work being undertaken within the Family Support Hubs and Local Offices. However it should be noted that the Hubs assess all new pre-birth assessments for families not previously known to Social Work whilst the localities assess existing clients where children and families ae known due to previous vulnerabilities. 5.5. Family Group Decision Making has been aligned to the vulnerable pregnancy work within the Family Support Hubs. This was following a period of testing to determine where this approach would have most impact. Family Group Decision Making is offered to families that are at risk of their situation escalating to child protection or looked after procedures, at the earliest stage possible. This approach is expected to empower families to make their own plan to safeguard their child. 5.6. During consultation families said that staff with relevant lived experience should be embedded within the Family Support Hubs. An application was submitted to the Corra Foundation’s Child and Family Fund and £487,340 was awarded to recruit 3.5 full time equivalent peer workers for a minimum of 5 years with the overall aim of reducing the impact of parental drug or alcohol use. The initial ambition was that the peer workers would support fifty parents within the first year but have already exceeded this number within six months due to it being received positively both by parents and social work colleagues. 5.7. A reflective Practice Co-ordinator is aligned to the hubs to support trauma informed practice amongst staff. In year two, a Trauma Recovery Councillor will be aligned. This provision will contribute to the realisation of delivery of preventative whole family support. Families will have access to this specialist intervention before the situation has escalated. The Counsellor will work directly with families, as an early intervention approach in line with local and national priority. 149
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5.8. A Parenting Support Groupwork Pathway has been expanded to include support for parents with children aged 0-18 years. These programs include evidence-based and accredited programs and for those parents not requiring additional or intensive groupwork programs, the pathway has been expanded to include Family Support Hub specific groupwork programs to provide general parenting and wellbeing support, a positive social experience and an opportunity for parents to engage with their local Family Support Hub. 5.9. Engagement and feedback from families has been a clear indicator of impact. Families have shared their positive experiences of support delivered from the Family Support Hubs. This feedback is detailed in Appendix 1, annual report. Notably, families reported that supports were available at the right time for them, that the approach was caring and supportive and assisted them in overcoming obstacles and trauma to improve their situation. 6. Employee Implications 6.1. There are no employee Implications of associated with this report. 7. Financial Implications 7.1. There are no financial implications associated with this report and the £1.827m funding for the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund is utilised to pay for the additional posts associated with the Family Support Hubs. These were previously reported in the Executive Committee report dated 1 March 2023 titled Family Support Strategy and Whole Family Wellbeing Funding. 7.2. The Scottish Government have confirmed to local authorities that this funding is secure until March 2026. In the event that funding is not confirmed from March 2026 onwards, the Council along with partners will, following the ongoing review of the Whole Family Wellbeing developments, look to either establish a new model of delivery within existing resources or redesign services in line with core budget allocations. It is anticipated that this will not pose a significant financial risk as with the turnover of staff budget pressures could be consumed as part of a redesign with vacant posts. This will be done at the earliest stage available in line with future budgetary allocations. 8. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 8.1. There are no implications for climate change, sustainability, or the environment in terms of the information contained in this report. 9. Other Implications 9.1. There are no risk implications associated with this report. 10. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 10.1. There is no requirement for an equality impact assessment and consultation arrangements. Professor Soumen Sengupta Director, Health and Social Care 1 February 2024 150
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Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes focused on people and their needs working with and respecting others our children and young people thrive people live healthiest lives possible we will work to put people first and reduce inequality Previous References Executive Committee report dated 1 March 2023: Family Support Strategy and Whole Family Wellbeing Funding List of Background Papers • South Lanarkshire Family Group Decision Making Service – 1st year reporting 2022- 2023 • Reflective Practice Initial Evaluation Report Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Sharon Grant Service Manager Children and Families Tel: 01698 454887 Email: sharon.grant@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 151
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1 Family Support Hub Annual Report (Sept 22 – Sept 23) Background: Social work in South Lanarkshire formally launched locality-based Family Support Hubs on 27th September 2022 following a year of testing the model on a smaller scale. The service priorities and improvement measures are aligned to the Children’s Services Planning Partnership’s implementation of the whole family wellbeing strategy. The aim of the whole family wellbeing strategy is that holistic whole family support will be more readily available to families at the time of need rather than crisis. The ambition is that this will create a transformational system change within children’s services that will reduce the need for child protection or looked after procedures and allow a shift in investment towards prevention and early intervention. The whole family wellbeing strategy is a partnership approach between health, education, social work and the third sector. Most families will receive the help and support they require from universal services and third sector but for some children and young people there will be a need for social work to respond in accordance with the local authority’s duty under section 22 of the (Children (Scotland) Act 1995), to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The Family Support Hubs have been established in South Lanarkshire to provide the social work response to babies, children and young people in need because local office teams are unable to provide this service due to other competing statutory demands. Instead, the Family Support Hubs respond to the referrals to social work for families in need and try to prevent an escalation to statutory teams by providing intensive whole family support. The Family Support Hubs are community facing and accessible provisions based in Hamilton, East Kilbride, Lanark and Cambuslang localities. Each locality area has 3 social workers, 7 family support workers, 2 parenting support workers, 1 peer worker and 1 Children 1st staff who offer families a wide range of different types of support with a shared remit of providing whole family support that prevents crisis, reduces inequalities and improves child development, family functioning and wellbeing. (East Kilbride Family Support Hub) 11 153
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2 Service Priorities in Year 1: 1. Reduce the number of families requiring a service from Local Office Child and Family teams. Referral data: Figure 1.1 Figure 1.1 details the referral rates to Social Work for babies, children and young people over the past 3 years and demonstrates that the Family Support Hubs have successfully reduced the number of new referrals to Local Office Teams. Since the whole family strategy was introduced, there has been an increase in the number of referrals to social work, which is likely due to social work assessment and intervention now being more readily available to families. In the past year, the Family Support Hubs have responded to 61% of the total referrals. This significantly decreases the volume of initial assessments being undertaken by Local Office Teams and will create more capacity within this part of the system to respond to child protection referrals. Re-referrals: There have been 1281 re-referrals to the Family Support Hubs in the past year. The main reason for re-engagement with the service was under the category of childcare concern at 45%. The second largest re-engagement reason was due to domestic abuse at 6% of the total. However, this is viewed positively as the model promotes the principle that families can re-engage at points of need and for as long as is needed to ensure that they can get the right help, at the right time to avoid a situation escalating and there is an expectation that there will continue to be families that re-engage at different points of need. Furthermore, given that over 60% off all referrals were consistently diverted from Local Offices at each quarterly review this indicates that re-engagement was not due to escalation in concern that resulted in an increase in child protection referrals to our local office teams in the next period. 6690 4514 2869 2242 4776 182 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 2020/21 2021/2022 2022/23 New Referrals to Social Work Local Office Hub YPSS 154
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3 Figure 1.2 Figure 1.2 provides referral data for each locality. Please note that the Hamilton teams cover two locality areas and have higher staffing ratios. In all localities the number of new referrals dealt with by the Family Support Hubs was at least 60% but in East Kilbride and Cambuslang the largest impact was seen with them both responding to 64.5% of new referrals. Allocation data: Figure 1.3 Figure 1.3 illustrates the number of children and young people allocated to the various social work teams for assessment and/or intervention and support. Allocation numbers are higher than referral figures as these include allocations to second workers and cases that have been transferred between the teams when there has been an escalation or a reduction in concern. The current system does not monitor the exact number of cases that have moved between the teams, but manual data collection has commenced to inform future service planning. 1082 599 591 597 1718 1086 890 1082 0 500 1000 1500 2000 Hamilton East Kilbride Lanark Camglen Referrals by Locality Local office Hub 1661 814 866 830 4171 1848 1210 994 1142 5194 226 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 Hamilton East Kilbride Lanark Camglen Total Allocations (Sept 22 -Sept 23) Local office Hub YPSS 155
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4 The data in Figure 1.3 demonstrates that the Family Support Hubs have allocated a higher number of cases in the last year than other teams, which has led to a significant reduction in the number of allocations to locality statutory teams compared to previous years. See below Figure 1.4. Figure 1.4 Figure 1.5 Figure 1.5 reflects the source of referrals to the Family Support Hubs. It is very encouraging that 523 families have referred themselves and are the second largest referrer to the Family Support Hubs following the Police. The total number of Police referrals made to children’s services was 3928. 71% of these were responded to by the Family Support Hubs, 26% by Local Offices and 3% by the Young Person’s Support Service. 68% of referrals made by the Police to the Family Support Hubs were under the category of childcare concern. 23% of referrals were due to domestic abuse. 10,887 6,357 4171 - 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 2020/21 2021/2022 2022/23 Allocatons to Local office 475 420 2788 244 523 65 166 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 Health Education Police Social Work Family Anonymous Other Referral Source 156
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5 This data indicates that most vulnerable families identified by the Police are being responded to by the Family Support Hubs, which evidences some initial success in diverting police concern reports away from crisis intervention to family support. Figure 1.6 The Family Support Hubs work with families to try to prevent the need for compulsory measures. The data above details the reports submitted to the Children’s Reporter to inform decision making for children and young people open to the Family Support Hubs. These have been both Initial Assessment Reports and Social Background Reports. An area of development being tested in one Family Support Hub currently is new SCRA report requests being diverted to the Family Support Hubs. The aim is that this will ensure that early help and family support has been offered to a family before compulsory measures are put in place. The Family Support Hub team leaders attend all Joint Assessment Team meetings (JATs) convened by education. The aim of this representation is to ensure that social work services are offered to families before a referral is made to SCRA for non-attendance or disengagement from school. 2. Improve the pathway for vulnerable unborn babies. A multi-agency audit of vulnerable pregnancy cases and process mapping of the current system was completed in year 1. A partnership steering group has been established to oversee the implementation and review of the pregnancy related improvement work. In January 2023 it was decided that all pregnancy referrals will be held by the Family Support Hubs unless older siblings are open allocations to Local Offices. The aim is that by positioning the pregnancy related work within the Family Support Hubs there will be less babies accommodated either at birth or in early infancy as more timely assessment and holistic whole family intensive support can be offered that will reduce risk and strengthen protective factors for the families. The Mellow Bumps groupwork programme is offered by hubs to pregnant mothers, which aims to promote the wellbeing of the mother during pregnancy. There are also a number of post 14 7 9 3 33 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Hamilton East Kilbride Lanark Camglen Total SCRA reports completed by Hub 157
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6 birth group work options available to both mothers and fathers that promote family wellbeing and parents understanding of child development. Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) is offered to all pregnancy cases that are allocated for assessment and intervention. Additional support from newly appointed peer support workers is also now available. This support can be offered to pregnant mothers and their partners when there are drug and/or alcohol issues present. All Family Support Hub resources can be utilised by the Local Office teams during pre-birth work to ensure there is a consistent offer of whole family support to all vulnerable pregnancies. Figure 2.1 Figure 2.1 demonstrates the proportion of pre birth work undertaken by the Family Support Hubs in the first year of operation. From the 25 pre-birth child protection assessments undertaken by the Family Support Hubs in the first year, 3 have progressed to alternative care arrangements. From the 10 pre-birth child protection assessments undertaken by the Local Office teams 7 have progressed to alternative care arrangements. The care arrangement data for babies is being tracked until babies turn 1 to help us understand the longer-term outcomes of the child protection pre-birth work being undertaken within the Family Support Hubs and Local Offices. Parents Plan In an effort to reduce the use of child protection procedures the Hamilton Family Support Hub have introduced a parent plan approach for vulnerable pregnancies. This approach still ensures there is early identification and response to risk and safeguarding concerns through a robust assessment and review process using a GIRFEC approach. 4 3 1 2 10 7 3 9 6 25 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Hamilton East Kilbride Lanark Camglen Total CP Pre Birth Assessments Local office Hub 158
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7 This approach has been successful in reducing the need for child protection procedures in the Hamilton Locality. The team undertook 15 parent plans in the past year that would normally have met the threshold for child protection procedures. Only 4 escalated to child protection procedures and the remaining 11 continued to be supported using the parents plan approach pre and post birth. In year 2 the parents plan approach will be implemented in all Family Support Hubs and will be regularly reviewed by the oversight group to ensure it is achieving the desired outcomes for children and their families. 3. Introduce Family Group Decision Making (FGDM). Family Group Decision Making has been aligned to the vulnerable pregnancy work within the Family Support Hubs. This was following a period of testing to determine where this approach would have most impact. Family Group Decision Making is offered to families that are at risk of their situation escalating to child protection or looked after procedures, at the earliest stage possible. This approach is expected to empower families to make their own plan to safeguard their child. Children 1st provide this commissioned service utilising whole family wellbeing funding. The 1st year reporting on South Lanarkshire Family Group Decision Making Service for 2022- 2023 is available and referenced in the background papers of the report. 4. Develop a parenting group work pathway across the localities. The parenting groupwork pathway has been developed as a direct response to need identified in the parent survey. The pathway will provide consistency and accessibility in all four localities and will be delivered by a range of partners. Eight Parenting Support Workers were recruited using WFWF to deliver parenting support groupwork programs in collaboration with partner agencies, including Education, Health, third sector partners and Social Work. Their role will provide holistic support to parents through the completion of parenting support needs assessments and ensuring parents have access to appropriate support, including engagement in groupwork programs and provision of ongoing support to parents during and following their involvement in groupwork programs. Regular Parenting Support Pathway Planning meetings have been implemented with key partners to ensure a coordinated approach to supporting parents via groupwork programs, and robust evaluation of impact. Parents will be invited to contribute to this process to ensure ‘lived experience’ is included in the ongoing evaluation of the Parenting Support Pathway. The Parenting Support Pathway is supported by the NES Psychology of Parenting Project through regular PoPP Coordinator meetings and accessing staff training in accredited evidence-based programs including Incredible Years Pre-School, Incredible Years School Age and Group Teen Triple P. The revised Parenting Support Pathway has been expanded to include support for parents with children aged 0-18 years. These programs include evidence based and accredited programs and for those parents not requiring additional or intensive groupwork programs, the pathway has been expanded to include Family Support Hub specific groupwork programs to 159
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8 provide general parenting and wellbeing support, a positive social experience and an opportunity for parents to engage with their local Family Support Hub. 5. Embed peer support within the model. During consultation families said that staff with relevant lived experience should be embedded within the Family Support Hubs. An application was submitted to the Corra Foundation’s Child and Family Fund and £487,340 was awarded to recruit 3.5 full time equivalent peer workers for a minimum of 5 years with the overall aim of reducing the impact of parental drug or alcohol use. In 2023 3.5 peer support staff were recruited and are based across the 4 Family Support Hubs. Their remit within the team is to try to reduce the impact of parental substance use by providing support to parents to address any barriers to their recovery. The initial ambition was that the peer workers would support 50 parents within the first year but have already exceeded this number within 6 months due to it being received positively both by parents and social work colleagues. The first year is currently being evaluated and the report will be available before the end of the financial year in April 2024. 6. Family support buildings to be accessible within each locality. Adapting four sites has brought significant challenges in the first year of operation but in each of the localities a Family Support Hub is now open and accessible to families and partner agencies. Each site is well used by families, social work staff and partner agencies and feedback is that they provide a welcoming, psychologically informed environment that is accessible to the local community. 7. Support the workforce during a period of transformational change. The creation of the Family Support Hubs has necessitated large scale systemic change in how children’s Social Work services are organised and delivered in South Lanarkshire. The vision promoted by the whole family wellbeing strategy and adopted by the Hubs is one of transformational early action system change to create better outcomes for children and their families. During the first-year communication with our workforce has been a key priority. The transformation process and rationale for change ideas has been communicated to the workforce and reassurance given that they will be supported to build confidence in new tasks and delivery methods. Regular updates have been shared with staff teams, senior managers and partners to ensure change has been transparent and inclusive. It has been important to ensure regular opportunities for staff to share the challenges they’ve faced at the frontline and their ideas for improvement. Staff have been included in planning and have made valuable contributions to the development of the service. Staff report being invested in the vision of providing responsive and holistic family support that prevents escalation in risk and concern and report that they can see the positive impact being made for families already. 160
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9 A challenge for staff has been managing transitions smoothly for families when support provision is moving between the Family Support Hubs and the Local Office. This has particularly been when there has been an escalation in risk and concern or looked after procedures are required. Therefore, a significant amount of work has taken place in year 1 to ensure that the interface between the teams is positive and transitions are managed in the best interests of children and their families. The team leaders in the localities meet regularly to discuss case transfers and an interface meeting also takes place regularly to consider ideas for further improvement. Reflective and Trauma Informed Practice To continue to support the workforce and ensure trauma informed practice is embedded funding has been used from the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund to recruit a Reflective Practice Co-ordinator. The Reflective Practice Initial Evaluation report below outlines the progress of this provision for staff, which commenced in June 2023. Recruitment of a Trauma recovery Counsellor is currently being progressed using community mental health funding to work directly with children and families who have experienced trauma. This provision will contribute to the realisation of delivery of preventative whole family support. Families will have access to this specialist intervention before the situation has escalated. The counsellor will work directly with families, as an early intervention approach in line with local and National priority. An evaluation report is available – Reflective Practice Initial Evaluation Report and is referenced in the background papers of the report. Feedback from families in Year 1: “You were there at the right time when I needed someone to talk to and you have helped me get the right support for him” “I would not have managed over the past few months without having the emotional support. It has got me through a very difficult period, and even if I didn't call one week, just knowing someone was there for me if I needed it was great” My hub worker helped me and my daughter get through a traumatic experience of domestic abuse by spending time with us, being available when we needed her and having a caring and supportive approach. I have found the approach to be more supportive than my previous experience of social work and I’m planning to also take up the option of attending the parenting groups offered. 161
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10 Plan for Year 2: ➢ An evaluation framework to be developed that ensures that evidence of impact is consistently gathered and there is a sound evidence-base for improvement actions for all aspects of the Family Support Hub provision. ➢ Quality assurance to be embedded within the model to ensure service standards are consistently high. ➢ Improvement actions identified for the vulnerable pregnancy pathway to be implemented and reviewed. ➢ Increase Hub capacity to respond to SCRA referrals with the aim of diverting more families from Children’s Hearings and reducing the application of statutory orders. ➢ A trauma counsellor to be recruited and begin to offer therapeutic interventions to children and families. ➢ Further develop partnerships with other agencies that promote access to earlier help and support for families in their local communities. Contact details: Danielle Sarr, Field Work Manager Danielle.sarr@southlanarkshire.gov.uk Sharon Grant, Service Manager sharon.grant@southlanarkshire.gov.uk “The support helped me to improve mine and my children’s situation, not only their environment but wellbeing too. My perception of Social Work has changed as a result.” “I have noticed a massive improvement in my daughter’s attendance in school and her emotional and mental health. Before she was very withdrawn and hardly spoke to myself. Since working with the hub worker she has become more open to express how she feels and seems happier. I also received a lot of help regarding my issues within my home.” “The support from the hub has helped me overcome all obstacles in my way and helped get my confidence back as their kind words has reminded me of the person who I truly am throughout my healing process.” 162
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Social Work Resources Committee Date of Meeting: 6 March 2024 Report by: Director, Health and Social Care Subject: Notification of Contracts Awarded: April to September 2023 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] provide notification in line with Standing Orders on Contracts to Committee of contracts awarded by Social Work Resources during the period 1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023 [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- [recs] (1) that the details of the contracts awarded be noted. [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. It is a requirement of Clauses 21.8 and 22.5 of the Standing Orders on Contracts that details of the acceptance of all tenders above £50,000 be reported retrospectively to the relevant Committee for noting, other than those under Clause 21.3 where the award is not the lowest in a price only tender, or costs exceed the approved financial provision. In these instances, a report is submitted to the appropriate Committee and subsequent authority to award is granted by that Committee. 4. Contract Awards 4.1. Contracts awarded for the period 1 April to 30 September 2022, on the basis of lowest offer and/or most economically advantageous offer submitted, are detailed in Appendix 1. 5. Employee Implications 5.1. Contract management, including performance appraisal, will be undertaken by both Social Work Resources and the Procurement Service. 6. Financial Implications 6.1. Appropriate budgetary provision is available for each of the contracts awarded. 7. Other Implications 7.1. There are no direct risks or implications for sustainability in terms of the information contained in this report. 12 163
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8. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 8.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy nor recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 8.2. There is also no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. Professor Soumen Sengupta Director, Health and Social Care 1 November 2023 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, Effective, Efficient and Transparent Previous References None List of Background Papers Standing Orders on Contracts Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Emma Smith, Corporate Procurement and Transactions Manager Ext: 5329 (Tel: 01698 455329) E-mail: emma.smith@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 164
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Appendix 1 Contracts Awarded by Social Work Resources over £50,000 in value Contractor CRN Value of Contract Awarded Date of Award Brief Description Contract Period Includem SLC/PS/SW/22/018 £100,000.00 20/04/2023 Structured Review Service 01/04/2022 - 30/06/2023 (Extension 30/06/2024) Neighbourhood Networks in Scotland Ltd SLC/PS/SW/22/024 £171,246.00 26/06/2023 Neighbourhood Based Support for Vulnerable Individuals 01/05/2023 - 30/04/2024 (Extension 30/04/2025) Careium SLC/SW/23/039 £67,467.00 30/06/2023 Telecare Equipment 30/06/2023- 29/06/2023 Randstad Solutions Ltd SLC/SW/23/036 £132,043.60 07/07/2023 Appointment of Social Care Agency Worker to support Large Scale Investigation 11/07/2023 - 10/01/2024 (Extension 09/07/2024) Randstad Solutions Ltd SLC/SW/23/043 £68,978.00 28/09/2023 Social Care Agency Worker - Adult & Older People (East Kilbride) 01/10/2023 - 31/03/2024 (Extension 30/09/2024) 165
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Contract extensions awarded over £50,000 in value Contractor CRN Value of Contract Awarded Date of Extension Brief Description Contract Extension period Includem SLC/PS/SW/22/018 £100,000.00 28/06/2023 Structured Review Service 01/07/23 - 30/06/24 166