Archived decisions

REPORT OF THE

EXECUTIVE MEMBER

ADULT SOCIAL CARE

PART II

    COMMUNITY INNOVATIONS PROJECT - INVEST TO SAVE FUND

1. In April 2006, a Flagship Initiative for older people was established under Hampshire's Local Area Agreement (LAA) to support older people who are beginning to experience difficulties staying independent. This `Community Innovations' Project built on pilot work undertaken previously for the Local Government Association's Innovations Forum. In six localities across Hampshire, nurses and social workers or occupational therapists are working to identify older people at risk, and help them to stay independent within their communities.

2. The aim of the Flagship Initiative is to:

    _ Increase the well-being of older people supported by the Initiative; and

    _ Reduce the use of emergency and other services.

3. In 2006, a bid was submitted to HM Treasury under the Invest-to-Save scheme for extra funds to strengthen the capacity of the community in each of the six localities to respond. The bid was successful, and the County has received a grant of £600,000 from HM Treasury over three years, with £120,000 available in 2007/08 and £240,000 available in 2008/09 and 2009/10.

4. The Executive Member has approved the award of invest to save grants totalling £600,000 over the next three years which will be allocated to the local councils for voluntary service (CVS) in each of the localities who will hold the funds on behalf of the project; they are:

      _ One Community, Eastleigh

      _ Community First, East Hampshire

      _ Basingstoke Voluntary Service

      _ Havant Council of Community Services

      _ Rushmoor Voluntary Services

      _ Community First, New Forest

5. Just over half of each grant will be spent on a half-time community development worker to help build capacity in the community to support older people. These community development workers will be integral members of the community innovations teams and it will be their job to be an active link between the team and the community and voluntary sector. It will also be their job to support, encourage and develop the community and voluntary sector organisations from within the CVS. The other half will be spent on initiatives in the community to develop new ways of meeting emerging needs.

6. The proposed method for distributing the funds for community development involves the following steps:

    _ The core members of the community innovations teams (the nurse, social worker/occupational therapist and community development worker working together) identify needs for support that cannot currently be met by agencies in the community. They are constantly meeting older people, assessing their needs, and drawing up support plans which set out what older people and their families want and need. The community development worker then devises solutions with local voluntary organisations to meet these emerging needs.

    _ The team as a whole then discusses and endorses the proposals that they think will best meet the emerging needs. They discuss these proposals with the project implementation manager who manages staff across all six localities, and get his or her endorsement. The proposals are then put forward for inclusion within a local Community Investment Plan. The invest-to-save funds will be used to `pump-prime' these new schemes, getting them started - but each scheme must then aim to become self-sustaining, continuing after the Project has finished.

    _ Each proposal will be considered by a range of local people who represent the community. This group will link with ( or be a subgroup of) the Local Strategic Partnership and /or the local Health and Well-being Partnership Forums when they are established, in order to avoid duplicating decision making forums. Their main aim will be to ensure that the proposals fit with and do not duplicate other local initiatives set out in local multi-agency older people's well-being action plans.

    _ If proposals are agreed as a sensible fit with the wider agenda in the locality, the funds held by the CVS will be released for implementation.

    _ The Community Innovations Teams Project Board, made up of representatives from the County Council, Primary Care Trust, District Councils and the voluntary sector, will periodically review the pattern of investment in each locality, and the emerging results of the evaluation programme, to ensure that best use is being made of the Invest-to-Save funds.

    7. The project's primary aim is the promotion of the well-being of older people and will allow a significant strengthening of the capacity of communities to support older people.

                FELICITY HINDSON, MBE

                Executive Member for Adult Social Care

4IR281107