What can we learn from the Community Budget pilots?

Paul GallagherInclusion

Andy BowieAvanta

Introductions Paul Gallagher

Associate Director, Inclusion

Andy BowieDirector of Business Development, Avanta

Overview of Session• Background to Community Budgets– What are Community Budgets?– Importance of Community Budgets?

• Community delivery and young people– Community Budgets in practice– The Avanta experience– Challenges to Community Budgeting

• Future-gazing – where next?– Discussion and Conclusions– Policy and delivery implications for the future

Government Perspective ‘We can no longer afford the luxury of fruitless, uncoordinated

investment. The damaged lives and communities. So don't dither or fret. Um and ah. Don't pass the buck. This is it....Think of this as a race to deliver by 2015. If you motor along then we'll play catch up. But if we get there first - you'll find yourselves behind the agenda. And I'm sorry about people who tell me they've already got a programme that deals with this. Well, if it was all dealt with we wouldn't be here. One or two projects along the right lines isn't nearly enough to solve this problem. So be in no doubt - we are in a hurry, we mean to deliver. You don't need to talk about it or show empathy. I want you to get on with it’.

Eric Pickles Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

October 2011

Background to Community Budgets

What are Community Budgets? Less ring fencing and direction over budgets Localisation and redefining service delivery Pooling and aligning of budgets of local partners Targeting Families With Multiple Problems

(FWMP), ‘rocket boosted’ since August 2011 Builds on LAA’s, Total Place, co-design pilots,

Family Intervention Projects etc

Community Budgets in Numbers

£8bn estimated spend on FWMP – ‘welfare millionaires’

120,000 FWMP in England16 Pilot areas covering 28 Local

Authorities – 25% of English population 10,000 families supported by end of

this parliament

Numbers in ContextCost per family between £150,000 -

£330,0003.88m households where no-one is in

workHouseholds where no-one has work

= 297,000Children living in households where

no-one has worked = 330,000

Background to Community Budgets

Importance of Community Budgets?- Key initiative for the coalition to manage reduced

budgets and deliver more effective public services- Step change in the way that services are

commissioned and funded – route for delivering on localism and devolution

- Testing ground for Payment By Results (PBR)- Repositions policy to consider models of non-

traditional family- New approaches – prevention, early intervention,

outcomes

Community deliveryOver view of the 16 Pilots:– Variance in approaches and progress– Key workers/lead agency– ‘Shared pot’ – pooled or aligned budgets?– ‘Whole systems’ not ‘individual services’– FWMP loosely defined – drug & alcohol,

reducing recidivism, early years intervention etc

Community delivery and young people

Examples of good practice for supporting young people (within context of ‘family’)– Keeping young people in school, college or alternative

learning (including measures for improving attendance and attainment)

– Addressing ASB and agreeing new behaviour codes (including reducing offending and re-offending)

– Addressing alcohol/drug issues– Supporting teenage pregnancies and young parents

Myths & Misnomers

The Avanta Academy

Priorities for Avanta

Culture: Contestability Early Intervention

Bonds and PBR Not more Money!

Data Sharing Free Schools

Hurdles for Community Budgeting

Scale of transformation - Longevity of approach?

Change in working/professional cultures Consistency – local/national Bureaucracy and complexity of ‘government’ New actors and approaches Data sharing Simple analysis; simply solutions Is the challenge only about FWMP?

Discussion and Questions

Conclusions

Future-gazing – where next?

Policy and delivery implications for the future– Need for consistency over what is trying

to be addressed – size of challenge– Need to be more ambitious and to move

at a faster pace– From intervention to saving to re-

thinking service provision

Future-gazing – where next?

Policy and delivery implications for the future– Best practice and models that work– Removal of barriers– Evaluation – understanding what works,

but more importantly why– Data sharing

Contact DetailsPaul GallagherAssociateInclusion

Paul.gallagher@cesi.org.uk

M: 07976 081003

Andy BowieDirector of DevelopmentAvanta

Andy.Bowie@avanta.uk.com

M: 07968 021 428