CC(3) VS32

National Assembly for Wales Communities and Culture Committee

Inquiry into the funding of voluntary sector organisations in Wales

Evidence from Shelter Cymru

1.  Purpose

Shelter Cymru welcomes the opportunity to contribute to this inquiry into the funding of voluntary sector organisations in Wales.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the major issues that Shelter Cymru feels are relevant, with particular reference to the procurement and commissioning of services and other factors that affect the delivery of services to people facing homelessness or other housing problems.

2.  Background

Shelter Cymru is the leading homelessness charity in Wales and delivers a range of services to assist people facing homelessness and living in poor housing conditions.

We help over 13,000 people each year through our national network of housing advice services and practical projects.

We lobby and campaign for new policies and legislation, investment to build more homes and provide a better future for homeless and badly housed people in Wales.

We develop practical and innovative solutions to housing problems through publishing policy papers, reports and briefings, organising conferences and events to promote good practice and we are a major provider of professional training and high quality legal services.

We provide educational resources for schools in Wales that give practical information on housing issues for young people, as well as raising awareness of the causes, extent and effects of homelessness.

In 2006, as part of our 25^th anniversary, we established a Commission of Inquiry into homelessness and poor housing conditions in Wales. The Commission, chaired by the Most Revd Dr Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales, published its report, An unnatural disaster, in June 2007 with a number of key recommendations for action by the Welsh Assembly Government, local authorities and other statutory and voluntary agencies in Wales. An unnatural disaster can be downloaded from the Research section of the Library on our website www.sheltercymru.org.uk

3.  Funding of Shelter Cymru services

Shelter Cymru’s financial year operates from October to September and the total budget for 2007/08 is approximately £3.25million.

The organisation’s funding comes from the following main sources:

Shelter Cymru’s advice services and projects (including Training and Education) are funded as follows:

4.  Issues

4.1.  Core Funding

Since 2003/04 Shelter Cymru has not received any core funding from the Welsh Assembly Government. Instead the organisation receives service and project funding linked to clear outputs. All project grants do however include a contribution towards management and infrastructure costs. This is satisfactory in providing resources for the infrastructure to grow as additional projects are developed, however it does limit the capacity to invest in more strategic infrastructure developments e.g. IT developments that may have a significant effect on services and improve outcomes for clients.

Overall we believe this is an effective funding mechanism as long as project funding allows for full cost recovery on operations with some allowance for more strategic infrastructure development. The danger is that if grant levels are frozen this not only affects the organisation’s capacity to maintain services and competitive salary levels, but also the ability to pay for an appropriate level of management and infrastructure to ensure effective and efficient service delivery e.g. the organisation needs to recruit, retain and develop quality staff to deliver services and to run internal functions such as human resources, finance and IT, and provide a good working environment.

4.2.  Multiple Funding Sources

Some services/projects are funded from a single source, others by a combination of two or more funders. The benefit of combined funding of projects can mean more resources are available to develop the service/project with a greater level of security. Difficulties can, and do arise from differing aims or priorities of funders, multiple reporting requirements and accountability etc. This is particularly the case when different funders do not provide the expected level of contribution (e.g. limited or no annual cost of living increase) but expectations of outputs and outcomes remain unchanged.

Partly as a consequence of these mixed funding arrangements there is also a varied level of advice provision across the country. This is summarised in Appendix A which shows staffing levels for Shelter Cymru advice services in each local authority area.

We believe this network is not adequate to meet the demand for specialist independent housing advice and many clients have difficulty in accessing services and can face considerable delays for appointments for cases where homelessness is not imminent.

4.3.  Independence

Shelter Cymru receives significant funding from WAG for its network of independent specialist housing advice services. These make an important contribution to the prevention of homelessness and are recognised as a key element of the National Homelessness Strategy. They also play an important watchdog role monitoring the effectiveness of statutory homelessness services, challenging poor decisions and contributing towards better public services.

These services also receive funding from the Legal Services Commission and some local authorities, but it is vital that they are independent, and are seen to operate as such, by clients and potential clients. As with a number of other independent advice agencies there is a 'Heineken effect’ in that we are able to reach the parts that other services are not able to - those hard to reach clients who for whatever reason have been failed by the system, whose needs are not recognised or understood and who turn to us for help.

In this respect we would endorse the point made by Citizens Advice Cymru in their evidence (point 2.27) over the potential conflict of interest faced by local authorities commissioning in-house advice services and the capacity of these to adequately represent the interests of clients.

Independence is also crucial to our policy and campaigning role in aiming to influence change at a local authority, Assembly and Westminster level to improve the lives of people in housing need in Wales.

We believe Shelter Cymru makes a valuable contribution to policy development in Wales, and this is recognised by the Assembly, WLGA and local authorities. This work is based on the evidence gained from our day-to-day casework that is used to develop policy positions to provide sustainable, long-term solutions to problems - aiming to resolve issues by changes to legislation, policy and practice so that people at risk of homelessness do not face such problems in the future.

4.4.  Added Value

This policy work is enhanced by our independence in that we are able to seek support from the Welsh Assembly Government for specific policy and research projects in areas of mutual interest, but also attract resources from other sources that enable us to undertake other innovative work.

A number of innovative Shelter Cymru projects have been funded by the Welsh Assembly Government in recent years. Some have been pilot projects (e.g. the Valleys Inclusion project, Personal Housing Plans, the Peer Learning project) aiming to develop a new approach or service that may then be picked up by other funders (e.g. local authorities, The Big Lottery Fund, Children in Need). Others (e.g. the Education project) have been piloted with Assembly funding, the value that the project adds to the National Homelessness Strategy has been recognised, and the project is now in receipt of 'continuous’ funding.

Our own fundraising activities also bring in other new resources to support projects and policy initiatives independently or in partnership with other agencies.

What is essential is a firm base for the organisation to be able to plan and build on as well as being able to adopt an entrepreneurial approach, take risks with innovative projects and not become too dependent on any single source of funding.

4.5.  Commissioning

The biggest issue facing Shelter Cymru and many other voluntary sector providers, as indicated by some of the evidence already received by the Committee, are concerns over commissioning of services in the future.

There is a need for a sustainable and sufficient funding base that provides resources to guarantee a minimum level of service and access to independent housing advice in all areas of Wales. This clearly supports the aspirations of the 'Making the Connections’ agenda and the citizen centred approach.

Concerns over the impact of the new Legal Service Commission strategy and contracting regime have already been raised by Citizens Advice Cymru. Shelter Cymru shares the view that there is a danger of this approach undermining the collaborative funding arrangements that are already in place. We would also emphasise that the LSC approach is more one of service procurement and that this brings the risk of the wider benefits that the voluntary sector is able to offer (e.g. policy development, capacity building in communities) being lost in the pursuit of lower unit costs.

In our view what is needed is a partnership and investment approach that fits with the Beecham Review emphasis on collaboration, rather than competitive tendering, to achieve improvement in public services.

A paper presented to the Voluntary Sector Partnership Council in November 2007 by Fran Targett (Director, Citizens Advice Cymru)  Sarah Stone (Head of Public Affairs, Age Concern Cymru) and John Puzey (Director, Shelter Cymru) puts these points clearly and is attached (Appendix B).

We would particularly like to highlight the recommendations that:

'…commissioning decisions need to be made on the basis of an ethos which includes independence and respect for the individual and their needs.  This means a diversity of service.’

and

'…the Welsh Assembly Government to accept that they have a lead role to play in information and advice provision strategically, including recognising the unique role of the voluntary sector in this.’

To fail to do this could undermine Welsh Assembly Government priorities as influences from outside of Wales may have a negative effect on the intended direction of service development. It is important therefore that the Assembly reaffirms its commitment to the Code of Practice for Funding the Voluntary Sector and ensures this is implemented fully and effectively.

Owen Burt
Deputy Director
November 2007

Appendix A

Shelter Cymru housing advice service staffing levels and funding mix

* full-time equivalent Shelter Cymru Housing Law caseworkers

Appendix B

Voluntary Sector Partnership Council (November 2007)
Presentation on information provision and the role of the voluntary sector

Background:

1. The Welsh Assembly Government vision for public services: 'Making the Connections’ says that

Joint working is vital to deliver public services of top quality:  they must be responsive to the needs of individuals and communities, delivered efficiently and driven by a commitment to equality and social justice.

This commitment to put the citizen in the centre of service design and delivery has implications for information and advice provision.

2. The availability and accessibility of information underpins citizen empowerment, the placing of service users at the centre of provision and is key to unlocking the potential of individuals and communities. However, in practice funding for services is patchy and there does not seem to be a clear shared understanding of the dynamics involved. The one-stop-shop idea can seem a straightforward solution but actually it is not the diversity of information services that is the problem. It is more about what is resourced and connections between services.

3. The issue is complex because people are individuals, and responses to need must not be simplistic.  Diversity of provision is not a problem in itself, and is in fact a product of diversity of need.  As a sector we need to understand and promote complementary work.  This is different to either formal partnership or 'duplication’.  There is a good fit here with the 'Making the Connections’ emphasis on collaboration.

4. We need to focus on outcomes for people, rather than just outputs.  This means assessing the effectiveness of services with people, by asking people.    The process of gaining information and advice can be likened to a journey which starts out with one question or maybe with no clear question at all, but which can play a crucial role in building confidence, empowering individuals and communities and opening the door to new opportunities. Information provision does not stand-alone, it is part of the wider work of the whole voluntary sector and vitally connected to its mission and values.

Current situation

5. The picture for information and advice provision in Wales is of a large and diverse sector with individual specialist organisations providing both information and advice on their specific area of expertise and organisations which specialise in the provision of information and advice across a wide range of subjects and offer a range of provision from pure information through to representation in tribunal and Court. The provision varies from private practice solicitor provision through public sector services to independent voluntary sector provision and includes working links between them to ensure that clients are appropriately referred.

6. The area of information and advice, which is key to the Assembly’s agenda in the field of social welfare law, recognises that a citizen centred approach requires individuals and groups to have access to enforcing their rights and understanding their responsibilities. It recognises the vital importance of independence in advice provision to ensure that the citizen comes first and appropriate challenge is enabled. The voluntary sector brings a unique independence based on its charitable status, and an approach that is centred on the needs of the client.

7. The whole range of organisations in the sector offer information provision and the diversity of the provision are essential to client choice and to community based development..

8. There is still enormous variability of access to advice across Wales and there is enormous unmet need evidenced by the waiting lists and queues and by the reported inability of clients to get through on the phone, despite this there is high level of satisfaction with voluntary sector supply and enormous contribution to both the individual and the community.

9. The advice specific providers include the network of independent advice available from the CAB service, Shelter Cymru, Age Concern in Wales, Cardiff Law Centre, Race Equality Councils and members of Advice^UK. Most local provision is funded through the local authority grants and service level agreements with organisations.

10. The recently published 'Making Legal Rights a Reality in Wales’ papers, setting out the Legal Services Commission’s strategy for advice in Wales over the next five years, does acknowledge some of the key issues raised by advice providers in Wales during the consultation process. The inclusion of a provider representative in the CLS Committee for Wales represents a positive opportunity to ensure provider experience and expertise contributes meaningfully to the development of the CLS in Wales, one way of ensuring that users needs are more properly reflected. The commitment to protecting the independence of providers is welcome too, as is the commitment to consult providers on locally developed draft service specifications for tendered services.

11. Remaining of concern however is lack of acknowledgement of the added value of voluntary organisations in advice provision in the involvement and capacity building of local communities and in actively using casework learning to contribute to policy development at a local and national level. It is particularly important that caution is exercised when considering pooling of funding to ensure that the focus on achieving best value in delivering face-to-face advice to individuals does not result in the loss of these added value areas of work.

12. The current provision is also, rightly, diverse to seek to meet the expectations, support and access needs of individual citizens. The experience in Wales has been of a provision which is patchy and which can be improved but which is designed in collaboration between the sector using the expertise emanating from its direct contact with clients, citizens who are potential clients and the funder. The CLS strategy appears to seek to replace the collaborative approach which has been developing in Wales with a scheme which will mean that funders will pool resources, with the possible consequence of undermining current quality provision and contract for specific rather than broad based access and potentially fragment a fragile current service.

13. Access to independent information and advice is vital to establishing the vision in Making the Connections. The information and advice provision must be accessible and relevant from the citizen perspective which may mean complexity and diversity to meet demand but which must mean co-operation and co-ordination between funders and suppliers.

Outcome/recommendations

That the Voluntary Sector Partnership Council:

• Recognises the core message about diversity, independence, an increased local provision to go alongside local decision-making within a positive framework regarding the voluntary sector’s role.  
• Recognises that commissioning decisions need to be made on the basis of an ethos which includes independence and respect for the individual and their needs.  This means a diversity of service.
• Proposes that the Advice Service Strategy for Wales needs to be revisited with these principles in mind.  
• Urges the Welsh Assembly Government to accept that they have a lead role to play in information and advice provision strategically, including recognising the unique role of the voluntary sector in this.  
• Proposes that this is taken forward with local authorities and the voluntary sector as a practical piece of work.  
• Proposes an investigation into information and advice and the role of the voluntary sector to be taken forward through the VSPC.   The purpose would be to inform the policy of the Assembly including the Wales advice strategy, the development of Making the Connections, response to Beecham and regional commissioning and to investigate:

What is the current level of support for independent information and advice, what does it need to be and what kind does it need to be?