Agenda item

The Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, the Director of Adult Social Care and Health Integration and the Director of Public Health submitted a report for the Executive’s consideration. The purpose of the report was to provide an update on the Changing Futures funding opportunity and to seek approval for a formal submission on a South Tees partnership basis with Middlesbrough Council as the lead organisation.

 

Following Middlesbrough’s award of approx. £4.5m funding for Project ADDER, the Government had announced £46m from the Shared Outcomes Fund for a new programme: Changing Futures - aimed at changing systems to support adults experiencing multiple disadvantage. It was being led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG).

 

The programme planned to work in partnership with up to 15 local areas to test innovative approaches and improve outcomes for people experiencing multiple disadvantage, including a combination of homelessness, substance misuse, mental health issues, domestic abuse and contact with the criminal justice system.

 

The Expression of Interest (EoI) had been submitted on behalf Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland Councils, along with a variety of partner organisations across a South Tees partnership.

 

The South Tees (ST) EoI had been successful and ST had been able to claim a development grant of £15k to appoint a bid co-ordinator. The appointed lead was working with all organisations within the ST partnership and co-ordinating the development of a costed delivery plan to ensure the formal bid was submitted on time.

 

If successful, MHCLG guidance stated that it expected two year grants to total approx. £1.5m - £4.5m per area. However, MHCLG had just extended the length of the programme through until 31/3/24, thanks to a partnership with the National Lottery Fulfilling Lives fund. That planned to ensure additional funding for successful areas, which would be based on the proposed, costed delivery plan submitted. Delivery was expected to commence in June/July 2021.

 

If successful, ST would seek to apply the Middlesbrough Council corporate 8% management fee to the funding as the grant recipient. It was also within scope to recruit strategic lead capacity with the funding to oversee the programme.

 

OPTIONS

Retaining the status quo and not accepting the funding would deny Middlesbrough/South Tees the opportunity for significant investment and improvement in services for some of its most complex and vulnerable residents. Addressing those complex vulnerabilities and tackling the underlying social determinants of poor health in the group, including issues such as criminal justice, employment and positive relationships, provided the potential to transform local lives. The negative impact that those issues had on the wider community, and the area as a whole, could be significantly mitigated by investment at that scale.

 

ORDERED

 

a)    That a formal submission on a South Tees partnership basis, with Middlesbrough Council as the lead organisation, be approved;

b)    Subject to the bid’s success, that approval be granted to receive the grant funding on behalf of the South Tees partnership and distribute it amongst the partner organisations;

c)    If successful, that delegated authority be given to the Director of Public Health (DPH), as the named lead for the South Tees partnership, in consultation with the relevant Executive Member, to allocate future funding for Changing Futures, up to £150k per intervention/decision and to approve costed delivery plans relating to the programme via the Governance and Steering Board.

d)    That delegated authority be given the Director of Public Health (DPH), as the named lead for the South Tees partnership, to sign the bid on behalf of Middlesbrough Council as lead authority for the partnership.

 

REASON

 

Successfully attaining a Changing Futures area status presented an opportunity to attract significant external funding to Middlesbrough and the wider South Tees area, which would benefit a wide range of the area’s population, including extremely vulnerable groups. The delegated authority to the DPH requested was being made within the context of creating a South Tees Partnership Governance and Steering Board, should the bid be successful. That group would include key representatives from commissioning/procurement, finance, HR and social care, as well as appropriate partner organisations representation. Decisions regarding delivery plans, interventions, recruitment and procurement processes would be agreed within that group.

 

The benefits of being Changing Futures programme area included:

a)    The funding could have a significant positive impact on the lives of local people impacted by multiple vulnerabilities.

b)    The timing was extremely welcome given the challenges outlined in the ‘Report Background’ section of the submitted report and the following, current and critical issues relating to the last two years:

·         highest levels of drug related deaths on record;

·         highest levels of alcohol related deaths on record;

·         unprecedented number of domestic homicide reviews;

·         significant increases in those in temporary accommodation and with acute housing issues; and

·         impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

c)    It would benefit the integrated service model, which brought together domestic abuse, homelessness and substance misuse services from 1 April 2021, aiming to better address the complex vulnerabilities faced by some residents. Changing Futures status would help South Tees partnership to complement the approach with additional capacity and maximise the benefits of the new model with significant external investment in key areas of specialist support.

d)    The issues associated with multiple vulnerabilities impacted on a wide range of health outcomes and service provision, including demand on children’s services, primary and secondary care and adult social care. Improved outcomes would translate to further benefits across key areas of health and social care.

e)    Stakeholder consultation was not formally required in order to approve the receipt of the funding, however, co-production of the interventions with the South Tees partners, VCS, local service user community and ‘experts by experience’ planned to form a key part of the programme.

f)     Both Changing Futures and Project ADDER supported the recent Middlesbrough Council Health Scrutiny Panel’s examination of opioid dependency, which recommended that the topic was to become a long-term, standing agenda item due to its level of impact and complexity. Multiple partner organisations had been invited to the panel over the last year in order to promote a whole-system approach to tackling the ‘wicked problem’.

g)    In addition to the funding, being a Changing Futures programme area would ensure that South Tees benefitted from:

·         having direct links with the MHCLG and other key, government departments with local findings/outcomes influencing national decisions;

·         being part of a network with other Changing Futures areas to gather and share best practice; and

·         being provided with additional, specialist support from other organisations involved in the Changing Futures national programme, including Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM).