Community Budgets Political Leadership Group First Meeting 5 th April 2011

1. Community Budgets Political Leadership Group First Meeting 5th April 2011

2. Shared ambition • Creating strong foundations for the Community Budgets Group to deliver the national roll-out of Community Budgets for Families with Multiple Problems • 2. Tackling the barriers/issues that are getting in the way of developing ambitious Community Budgets • 3. Developing a radical vision and model(s) for Community Budgets 2

3. Delivering the national roll-out • Delivering on the first 16 will make the case for Community Budgets by creating a strong narrative on what has been achieved and the benefits of their Community Budgets • Need to identify the learning from how the 16 have developed Community Budgets to share with other areas • Means we must tackle the key barriers to local transformation that have been identified – other areas can follow this and benefit from the barriers that have already been busted – and can continue to lead the way in tackling new barriers • The first 16 areas are well placed to develop the radical vision and model(s) for Community Budgets 2

4. Current list of issues • A number of issues have emerged from the first phase negotiations: • Cultural Issues • Developing a narrative that demonstrates the win-win for all partners • Working with GP consortia/PCCs • Joining up supporting troubled families with the prevention agenda (e.g. Graham Allen’s work on early intervention) • New structures and governance • Systems Issues • Data sharing • Community-led Community Budgets • Community rights to challenge services • Accountability • Simplifying assessment & other procedures • Financial Issues • Innovative financial models (includes Social impact bonds and Payment by results) • Cost benefit analysis and evaluation (evaluation workstream is underway) • Apportioning savings between partners • Devolving money/services to communities • Mapping spending on Families with Multiple Problems • Moving to virtual and actual pooling 5

5. Developing a narrative that demonstrates the win-win for all partners • Areas have highlighted reluctance on the part of some local partners to engage in the Community Budget process • A quick win – develop a narrative that sets out benefits to each partner of tackling Families with Multiple Needs through a Community Budget. 4

6. Working with GP Consortia/PCCs • Areas’ asks have covered flexibility on NHS clustering arrangements, how to engage GP Consortia and commissioners and preserving joint local authority and PCT commissioning arrangements • DH has written to health bodies setting out the importance of participating in Community Budgets • The forthcoming workshop, led by DH, may further help • There is a lot of structural reform taking place, with the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners adding to this • The crux of this issue is how to engage the new bodies in the development of a Community Budget when they have not yet been established whilst maintaining existing relationships 4

7. Joining up FMP with prevention • So far the focus of attention has been on those families which are already in crisis and in need of intensive support • Increasingly, it will be important to also address the needs of those not quite at this point but are on the cusp of needing intensive interventions • Community Budgets should look to build in the prevention agenda so as to stop families getting to the point where they need more expensive support • 27 areas have said that they are willing to work with Graham Allen as an Early Intervention Place 4

8. New structures and governance Do Community Budgets need any particular structures and governance arrangement to deliver an ambitious agenda (links to accountability)? Is there anything reach requires a common solution? Or Should areas design their own solutions? 4

9. Data sharing • A number of areas have raised concerns with Whitehall Departments • There remains a lack of clarity over what specific barriers remain and whether these relate to legislation, business practice or lack of awareness of freedoms that have already been granted • 11th April workshop being set up by DCLG & LGG to explore the issues • Could produce a single product - local-partnership focussed information product bring all the key guidance into one place, best practice, solutions to problems that areas have found and Q&A. 4

10. Simplifying assessment procedures • As part of its work on safeguarding, the Munro review has secured some flexibilities for five areas on assessment procedures • Procedures remain complex and may not allow the most effective use of resources • The Munro team is shortly meeting areas, including Community Budget areas, to further explore what further simplification of the system could be taken forward. • Could there be joint work with DfE to design a streamlined system to either feed into the Munro review or the Government’s response to the final report? 4

11. Financial issues • Includes innovative finance models, cost benefit analysis, apportioning savings, devolving money to communities, moving to virtual and actual pooling • Cabinet Office is working with areas on Social Impact Bonds • We need to be clearer about what is being sought on payment by results but areas have pressed to develop a model in respect of benefit and crime budgets • An evaluation of Community Budgets is underway • What needs to be taken forward? Can it be managed as one workstream? 4

12. Radical vision and model(s) • What might a radical vision and model(s) for Community Budgets look like? • A single payment stream from Whitehall to deliver a set of outcomes, underpinned by local commissioning of what is needed to deliver? • Personal budgets? • Community-led Community Budgets and community rights to challenge services? Linked to local integrated services? • Payment by results across all funding? • Incremental development of Community Budgets and expansion beyond Families with Multiple Problems? 4

13. Support • Tackling the issues will take significant effort: • How can the Group support leads? • What role can the 16 first phase areas play? • How can LGG help? • What can departments/DCLG do? 4