68 WELFARE ADVICE SERVICES IN BRADFORD DISTRICT 
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The Strategic Director Health and Wellbeing will submit a report (Document “AM”) which outlines the new approach to the delivery of welfare advice services across the district. It includes the details of commissioning processes employed; new service expectations; who the providers are; the transformation of access routes and the intention to raise service quality.
Recommended –
(1) To accept this report and its contents; allowing time for the new services to embed and commence their change programmes.
(2) To encourage services to work closely with their ward members and to ensure service access data is up to date for a wide range of stakeholders and referrers.
Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee
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(Sarah Possingham /Julie Robinson-Joyce – 01274 431319/434143) |
Additional documents:
Decision:
Resolved –
(1) The report and its contents be accepted; allowing time for the new services to embed and commence their change programmes.
(2) To encourage services to work closely with their ward members and to ensure service access data is up to date for a wide range of stakeholders and referrers.
(3) That the Area Coordinator to organise meetings that include; the Ward Members, advice provider, advice commissioners, partner organisations and Ward Officers to share information and local knowledge.
ACTION: Strategic Director Health and Wellbeing
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(Sarah Possingham /Julie Robinson-Joyce – 01274 431319/434143) |
Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Minutes:
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The Strategic Director Health and Wellbeing submitted a report (Document “AM”) which outlined the new approach to the delivery of welfare advice services across the district. It included the details of commissioning processes employed; new service expectations; who the providers were; the transformation of access routes and the intention to raise service quality.
The Senior Public Health Manager explained that Council funded welfare advice services went through a commissioning process after the Council approved a reduction in funding for advice services of £1m in the 2015/16 budget.
Representatives from the new providers were present at the meeting to provide information and respond to Members’ questions.
The Senior Public Health Manager stressed that the new advice services were aimed at being more responsive and accessible, and that there would be a transition process of absorbing existing services and providing new ones.
During the discussion the Chair stated that Ward Councillors knew their local areas and it was important that the new providers tapped into this wealth of knowledge and expertise, in order to improve accessibility.
A Member stated that in her Ward a member of the public had been turned away from one of the advice sessions. In response it was stated that no one should be turned away but offered appropriate help or directed to a suitable alternative advice session.
A number of Members questioned the lack of advice services work in their respective wards and that residents were unaware of what services were being provided. In response it was explained that the new services had only gone live on 16 January 2017, and there had been some delays in communicating all the necessary information.
The Senior Public Health Manager suggested that a meeting with Ward Councillors could be arranged to ascertain Member’s view on welfare advice services and the needs within their Wards.
A Member suggested that location of advice services was crucial in encouraging take up, and that providers should also ensure that appropriate language support was made available.
A Member also suggested that a crisis number which people could ring could solve a number of problems when it came to accessibility .
The Chair suggested that in the context of the issues raised, that a meeting be organised between the Ward Members and the interested parties to share information and local knowledge, and it was therefore: |
Resolved –
(1) The report and its contents be accepted; allowing time for the new services to embed and commence their change programmes.
(2) To encourage services to work closely with their ward members and to ensure service access data is up to date for a wide range of stakeholders and referrers.
(3) That the Area Coordinator to organise meetings that include; the Ward Members, advice provider, advice commissioners, partner organisations and Ward Officers to share information and local knowledge.
ACTION: Strategic Director Health and Wellbeing
Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee
