Agenda item - CHANGE AND CHALLENGE UPDATE

Agenda item

CHANGE AND CHALLENGE UPDATE

To receive a report from Kate Kelly, Change & Challenge Manager.

Minutes:

Kate Kelly and Ricky Williams (Change and Challenge Managers) updated Members on the Change and Challenge Troubled Families Programme.  

 

The following was highlighted:

  • The programme was launched in 2015. The focus has been the transformation of local services to secure sustainable high quality services for families and to ensure this continues after the programme ends in 2020. The Troubled Families Grant currently funds a number of posts (34 posts). We are now in Phase 2 of the project.
  • Funding comes from 3 streams – Attachment Fees, Payment by Results and Service Transformation Grant.
  • Attachment Fees - There is a target for us to attach 2230 families by the end of 2017/18 –for them to receive an intervention. We have met this target. A graph indicated the ward of residence for those receiving an intervention which showed that the largest numbers were for wards on the eastern side of the borough.  A graph also indicated the percentage of people who met the different numbers of criteria under the programme e.g for worklessness, crime, health etc.
  • Payment by results – Success is measured by a) showing if a family has managed to achieve significant and sustained progress or b) an adult in the family has moved off benefits and into continuous employment. So far claims have been made for approximately 20% of the target number of families (2970) to identify and turn round by 2020. Of those we have claimed for, approximately 85% were for ‘continuous employment’ with 15% for significant and sustained progress’ Enfield has achieved good results from getting people back to work
  • Service Transformation Grant  - self assessment carried out and a Service Transformation Action Plan developed.  It is a borough wide ‘all family’ approach where interventions are put in place
  • Some boroughs may move to a ‘payments by results’ but with a new ‘earned autonomy’ option, however Enfield has chosen not to do this.
  • The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which aims to strengthen and unify data protection for all individuals will become enforceable by 25 May 2018, officers are confident that our systems are in line with this.

 

The following issues were raised

  • Confirmed that under Phase 1 approximately 700 families were identified, criteria of Education, Employment and Crime.   Phase 2 of the programme asked us to identify more complex families and also to link whole families under the key principles.  Enfield met requirements under Phase 1 and are now working on Phase 2
  • Officers were asked if this initiative to get people out of a trap and back into work had been a cost benefit to Enfield and asked if this information could be reported back to OSC.
  • It was confirmed that when a person goes back to work, the team does not stop working with the family. New skills may be needed for people to gain confidence.
  • Serco had provided a number of placements in the local area.
  • It was questioned whether the phrase ‘troubled families’ was appropriate, and when one group of families move forwards were there then others to come in to take their place?  It would be helpful to know something about the people involved.  In the future it was suggested that some news stories would be brought back about them.
  • To qualify for the ‘payment by results, return to work ‘ it is necessary for the person to be off benefits completely.  It was noted that a new data system will go live in June 2018 which will support the new Early Help Prevention Triage system and would generate data for new families.
  • A member of the YEP referred to families moving into employment and away from benefits , it was confirmed that the team works closely with them so that they identify any training needs and once employed they provide in work support.  They are honest when looking at their finances and assessing income.

 

The report was NOTED and Kate Kelly and Ricky Williams were thanked for their report.

 

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