1 Introduction

1.1 The purpose is to report on developmental progress following the earlier report on the draft strategy - Completing the Circle - to this Policy Review Committee of 17th September 2004. Copy of the draft strategy in Appendix 1 for information.

1.2 This report will also take the opportunity to list and describe some particular examples of good practice in the county. This list should not be seen as definitive, but is provided as examples of the type of project and practice we wish to develop further. It should be noted that all of the examples used in this report are being presented on 1^st April to colleagues from across Europe who are coming to Hampshire County Council as part of the RETIS network of European Local Government organisations working on social inclusion. This visit is being hosted by Cllr. David Kirk.

1.3 Corporate aims. This report and the work described address Corporate Aims 1, 4 & 5 in focusing on improving services by empowering people and working in partnership with them for the benefit of both individuals and the community.

1.4 Impact Assessment. In compiling this report and the work described, due regard has been taken of the Corporate Equalities Plan and Race Scheme

2 Progress to date

2.1 At the meeting of this Committee on 17th September 2004, Members had a first opportunity to comment on the draft strategy. The strategy, in its final form, should return to this Committee later this year.

2.2 Following the first report, a steering group has been established consisting of individual users and carers from across the care and age spectra.

2.3 The group is co-chaired by Philip Mason (service user) and Richard Parry (County Manager - Strategic - Learning Disability). Facilities for support and interpretation are provided to those members who need it. In addition follow-up meetings are held with some individuals to ensure they are able to participate to their maximum.

2.4 The Steering group met for the first time in January this year and is currently planned to continue work until May.

2.5 The purpose of the group is to consider in detail the draft strategy and make proposals for its implementation and monitoring.

2.6 It is essential for the long term success of the draft strategy that this group of users feels able to `own' the meeting and its outcomes. Therefore although The Social Services Department has views as to how implementation and monitoring can be achieved, for example following the model developed for The Children's Action Team, it would be inadvisable at this stage to commit the group to definitive proposals.

3 Current examples of good practice

3.1 This list is by no means definitive, however does contain some examples of the type of good practice, that we seek to develop and that we will be presenting to our European colleagues..

3.2 These projects are not the responsibility of any one person, they reflect the responsibility of every member of staff to consult and involve service users and carers on a daily basis.

3.3 A range of printed materials, for example The Guide to Care at Home and The Guide to Residential Care, to provide frontline information and access to service. Approximately 52,000 of these guides are distributed every year and the customer feedback form in these Guides, each year informs the template for the next. Overall the Guides are highly valued by those who use them, particularly the sections in each that assist readers to ask the right questions in the right places. For these and other publications see on Hantsweb: http://www.hants.gov.uk/socservs/publ.html#careathome on http://services.hants.gov.uk/index.html and specialist websites such as www.youngcarers.hants.org.uk , http://www.hants.gov.uk/fostering/, http://www3.hants.gov.uk/65plus.htm and http://www.wessex-yot.gov.uk/ as examples.

3.4 Person Centred Planning - Person centred approaches are ways of making sure services do a better job of listening to what people who use them really want and making sure those things happen. Person centred planning supports people with learning disabilities to think about, and plan, what they want now and in the future. Family, friends, professionals and services need to work together with the person to make this happen. Over 2000 people have now been trained in the concepts and practice, from both the statutory sectors and the voluntary sector as well as private individuals. See http://www.pcp-in-hampshire.net/

3.5 The Bishopstoke Day Services Service Development Group - a group of staff, service users and carers who together are planning the modernisation of the learning disability day services in the Eastleigh area. Includes a consultation exercise carried out by service users which has used Graphic Facilitation - the use of pictures to describe a story - to ensure service users with a severe learning disability can be as actively involved as staff and carers. Further details [email protected]

3.6 The Consumer Audit Project - service users and carers are trained as service auditors and contract with the Department to provide service audits. Currently auditing The Grove Day Services (Learning Disability) model and The Voucher Scheme (Carers) in the south east. The Consumer Audit Project is able to access and report on service user views on what they receive in a way that the Department cannot. The Project undertakes up to 8 audits a year for the authority. Further details http://www.southamptoncil.co.uk/audit_project.htm

3.7 SUN - Service User Network. A local network of mental health service users in the Gosport and Fareham areas supported by MIND and a local contract with the department. Involved in service development at local, county and national levels. SUN is shortly to make a major presentation on its work to the annual national MIND Conference. Further details [email protected]

3.8 Direct Payments - direct involvement of individual service users in providing and managing their own packages of care and support. The authority is probably the national leader in developing this scheme which we started with four service users 20 years ago. Currently over 900 service users and carers from all care groups are using the scheme which is constantly expanding. Further details: http://www.hants.gov.uk/socservs/directpayments/

3.9 HARG - Hampshire Advocacy Reference Group. A coalition of advocacy services, often user led, across the county working to develop standards and services for individuals who require advocacy in their local community. This unique coalition is working directly with the authority to extend and expand the range of advocacy services to further empower service users in the county. Further details [email protected]

3.10 CAT -Care Action Team - an active group of young people representing the interests of looked after children. Members, who may or may not still be in care, are paid a bursary and expected to undertake arrange of activities to promote and facilitate involvement and consultation. In addition the Team has developed the `CAT Mark' which is awarded to units and agencies as a sign of good practice in service user involvement.

4 Summary

It is currently planned that an implementation and monitoring proposal will be developed by the consultation and involvement strategy steering group by May 2005. The strategy itself will then be made available for widespread consultation prior to implementation in the early autumn.

5 Recommendation

That this report be received.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents

The Following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

Published works

Documents which disclose exempt of confidential information as defined in the Act.

NoneAppendix 1

Completing The Circle

A Strategy for Consulting with and Involving Service Users and Carers

Introduction - Our responsibility

The law requires that we must consult and involve users and carers. However it is also an issue of good practice, effective management, and best value, that we should work together with users and carers to achieve our common and shared aims.

In addition, Hampshire County Council is determined to ensure that for everyone in Hampshire we maximise life opportunities, particularly for the young and vulnerable, through the provision of and support for high quality accessible services.

Also Hampshire County Council will work together with local people to build strong and safe communities for everyone by improving our dialogue with local communities so that everyone's views are heard, and ensuring that the community plays a central role in shaping services.

In response to the legal requirement and to reflect good practice this strategy provides a framework for consultation and involvement that operates at both the individual and the collective level. All staff have a responsibility to respond to this strategy as appropriate within their role.

The aim of the Strategy on Consultation and Involvement with Service Users

· To build on current good practice

· To develop effective ways of consulting with and involving users and carers in the planning and development of our services

· To ensure that the above activity takes place at an individual and a collective level

· To work with users and carers to continually improve the methods used for consultation and involvement

· To embed consultation with and involvement of users and carers into practice, supported by the Performance Development Review process

Who are users and carers ?

· A user is anyone who has contact with the department one or more times. A user is also someone who is likely to want, or need, to use our services in the future. A user is a citizen of Hampshire with all the rights and benefits of any citizen.

· A carer is anyone who provides a substantial amount of care on a regular basis, without the benefit of a contract of employment or other formal arrangement, to a user. A carer is a citizen of Hampshire with all the rights and benefits of any citizen.

· User and carer `representatives'. Many groups seek to represent the views of users and carers - while we value this work immensely, we also need to make sure that we are hearing the direct voice of users and carers.

The Consultation and Involvement Framework

The Consultation and Involvement Framework sets out the rationale for consultation and involvement. It provides a model of increasing consultation and involvement that will empower service users within the process.

Why consult with users and carers ?

In order to assess the impact of policy development and service provision on service users and carers. Consultation is a two-way process that aims to:

· Enable those who want and need services to contribute to the process of delivering and developing services and policies

· Demonstrate a commitment to be open and accountable

· Lead to more realistic and strong policy and procedures that better responds to individual and community needs

Why involve users and carers ?

In order to ensure services are responsive to individual need and reflect the individual's situation, involvement aims to:

· Enable service planning and policy development to be influenced by a wide range of experience and expertise

· Provide opportunities to review policies and procedures

· Help plan, prioritise and deliver better services

· Create better partnership working and mutual understanding

How do we consult and involve people ?

Consultation and involvement between The Social Services Department and users and carers happens at 3 levels:

1. Individual or Personal - between each service user and carer and the individual representative of the department.

2. Local group - service planning, implementation and monitoring and local resource allocation.

3. Strategic - Policy and overall resource management and accountability.

 

There are many examples of good practice where staff are consulting with and involving uses and carers at all three levels and this practice needs to be strengthened and reinforce across all our activity.

The model for consulting and involving users and carers

The level and nature of consultation and involvement by The Department is a progressive movement along a spectrum of activities. It starts with recognising the individual as a user and carer and progresses to delegating control (for example Direct Payments or Voucher Schemes) depending on the individual's circumstance

The Individual

Recognising Informing Listening Responding

Local Groups

Information Consulting Working in Delegating

Sharing Partnership Control

Strategic

Information Consulting Working in Delegating Sharing Partnership Control

The more steps and progress The Department makes along the ladders, the greater degree of individual choice, opportunity, and empowerment is created for users and carers.

Each section informs the next

1. Individual - assessment and individual care planning for users and carers. Care management and person centred planning. CPA, individual day and residential plans, risk assessment etc.

2. Local group - ongoing dialogue, based on information from individuals, with groups, representatives and users and carers as appropriate.

3. Strategic - formal consultation based on a combination of local political and government direction, information from individuals and groups.

 

To clarify for users and carers what they can expect from the Department, in respect of consultation and involvement, a set of standards that will be developed into a leaflet (available in various formats) is shown below.

To support staff in understanding the practice that they should be undertaking to consult and involve at the individual, local group and strategic levels a checklist is shown below.

How we inform and report back to users and carers

In order to demonstrate real commitment to consultation and involvement, the Department will keep people informed at each stage of the process, either by discussion, written documents or electronic publication on `Hantsweb'© of the progress and results of consultation and involvement. Clear evidence of consultation and involvement will be required in reports and documents prepared by Officers.

Standards for user and carer consultation and involvement

A checklist of good practice for social services staff and ensure consultation with and involvement of users and carers

Definitions

· Consultation is defined in The English Dictionary are `seeking advice'.

· Involvement is defined as `having a relationship'

· Partnership is defined as `doing something together'.

· Users are anyone in Hampshire who uses, has used or intends to use the services of the department.

· Carers are anyone who provides a substantial amount of care on a regular basis to someone who needs that care.

Service Users. The law is now such that users and carers in relation to The Department's activities should be known collectively as `service users'.