Agenda item

The Commission considered a report of the Chief Executive concerning the Community Budget for dealing with Troubled Families. A copy of the report, marked ‘C’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the ensuing discussion, the Chief Executive reported the following:

• In regard to paragraph 28 of the report, it was noted that the number of families who would be supported by the Leicestershire Troubled Families Programme would now be 1,600.  £10.5m had been pooled by Leicestershire Together partners to achieve this level of service which was considered to be a good result for Leicestershire;
  
  
• In regard to Appendix 8 to the report, it was reported that the Government would now be supporting the Programme with up to £2.6 million. This was made up of an attachment fee and “payment by results” funding.  It had been assumed that 50% of the payment by results funding would be achieved, providing £2.2m in all. The funding would enable the County Council to work with 400 families in 2012. Leicestershire’s ‘troubled’ families had been located by integrating the systems of the various services and agencies and through more effective sharing of cross-agency data;
  
  

• The County Council would have three key roles in delivering the Programme:
  
  

Ø       Acting as the accountable body, it would be responsible for claiming funding from the Government and managing the community budget for local partners;

Ø       It would directly manage referrals and performance, provide an audit trail for the work of the Programme and ensure Family Support Workers worked to the same standards and training;

Ø       It would be responsible for employing some Family Support Workers, although others would be employed by other services/agencies involved in the Programme.

• Some District councils were expected to take responsibility for co-ordinating the work of the Family Support Workers in their area and handle the locality governance of the Programme;
  
  
• The Programme would have to demonstrate within two years that it had achieved improved outcomes and the necessary savings for troubled families in Leicestershire if it were to secure continued funding. It was anticipated that, in the long-term, the Programme would be funded from “mainstream resources” and would therefore become sustainable;

• It was hoped that this integrated approach would be replicated in other service areas to achieve further savings as part of the public sector reform programme.

RESOLVED:

(a)               That the proposals now outlined for a Community Budget to cater for the needs of “Troubled Families in Leicestershire” be welcomed;

(b)               That a report on the progress made and the impact of the Programme be submitted to the Commission in twelve months’ time.