CC(3) VS50

Written Evidence for the Communities and Culture Committee Inquiry into the Funding of Voluntary Sector Organisations in Wales

According to the research jointly commissioned by the WLGA, WCVA and the Welsh Assembly Government, between 2001-02 and 2005-06, Local Authorities funding for the third sector throughout Wales more than doubled, increasing by 135%. During this same period, Powys funding for B&R Crossroads, the principal provider of short break respite for carers in the county, increased by only 9%. The total funding by Powys County Council for B&R Crossroads in 2006-07 was less than 1% more than that provided in 200102, as reflected in the table below.

Further to the Committee’s call for written evidence, comments on the following issues are submitted for consideration:

1. Carers’ Grant Scheme:

• For 2005-6, the final year for this scheme before its transfer into the Revenue Support Grant, Powys County Council received an allocation of £270,006, representing an increase of 14.8% over the allocation of £235,136 for 2004-5.
• In 2004-5, Brecknock & Radnor (B&R) Crossroads received £51,284 to enable carers to continue to provide care, enjoy social inclusion and maintain their physical, emotional and mental health. Following the 14.8% increased allocation by the Welsh Assembly Government to Powys, B&R Crossroads received an increase of 2.2% to £52,412 for 2005-6.
• Despite receiving verbal assurances that replacement funding by the Council would build on the 14.8% increase for 2005-6, this has not been the case. In fact, there has been no further increase and B&R Crossroads is now in its third year of funding at the same level of £52,412 and the second year with no inflationary uplift; this has lead to a deterioration in the level of service provision to carers. This situation is replicated throughout the most of the voluntary sector in Powys.

The removal of ring-fencing of the Carers’ Grant appears to have allowed Powys County Council to reallocate an element of funding intended for services for carers to other uses. With the possible exception of Powys Carers’ Service, which received an increase of 7.6%

2.Support for People with Disabilities (SPD) Grant Scheme:

• Almost since its inception in 1998, B&R Crossroads has benefited from an annual allocation of £7,000 of the SPD Grant, with a corresponding amount of match-funding from Powys County Council.
• Due to an error in the SSA formula used by the Assembly for 2005-6, Powys County Council a much higher amount was distributed to Powys, I believe it was about 15% more. When the error was discovered, the excess was not 'clawed back’, but the following year saw a reversion to the SSA formula used up to 2004. For this year, B&R Crossroads received its first and only increased allocation, by 2.2% to £7,154, plus the corresponding match-funding from Powys County Council.
• For 2006-7, Powys County Council notified B&R Crossroads that, due to a 17.12% reduction in its allocation from the Assembly for 2006-8, the allocation to B&R Crossroads would be reduced to £5,930; match-funding was reduced to £7,000.

Although the 2005-6 amount allocated by the Assembly to Powys was incorrect, the subsequent adjustment for 2006-8 still represented an increase over the 2004-5 allocation, however, Powys County Council represented it as an overall reduction and took an opportunity to reduce funding to the voluntary sector.

3. Mental Health Carers’ Grant Scheme:

• On 15 February 2006, a Cabinet Statement was released concerning "Free Home Care for Disabled People”, which informed on the effective doubling of carers grant and expressing particular concern for "those who care for people with mental health and especially dementia sufferers”. On 16 February 2006, the Welsh Assembly Government issued a letter to the public and voluntary sector representatives announcing the "Initiatives for Older People, Carers and the Disabled.” This eventually translated into the Mental Health Carers’ Grant Scheme of £3m p.a. for 3 years, commencing 2006-7. B&R Crossroads contacted Powys Social Services to register an unmet demand for short break respite for carers of people with mental illness and to request consideration for funding from the Grant. Powys Social Services were unaware of the statement or the announcement and B&R Crossroads provided a copy of each to Powys Social Services and the WAG Guidance were provided to the Social Services Commissioning & Contracts group.
• Periodically, the Commissioning & Contracts group were contacted and an update requested regarding spending plans for the Grant; the response usually made reference to the County Council awaiting advice from the Assembly on the meaning of "emergency”.
• In about September 2006, it was learned from the Director of Powys Carers’ Service that £60,000 p.a. had been allocated to the organisation for the 3 years duration of the Grant, for the provision of services to young carers. He stated he had been contacted by the Social Services Commissioning group and informed, "If you can get some sort of plan to me tomorrow, I can give you £60,000 a year for the next 3 years”, or words to that effect. It was learned the balance of the funding had been shared between the three Shire Managers in Powys. In an earlier conversation with the Director of Powys Carers’ Service, when it was queried why so much money was being spent on young carers and yet none it was providing them with short break respite for the person for whom they were caring, he replied that most of the young carers were not the main carer, but were siblings of a child with a disability where the carer was the parent, or one of the parents had an alcohol or substance misuse issue.
• (NB: The Princess Royal Trust for Carers definition states, "a young carer is a child or young person under the age of 18 carrying out significant caring tasks and assuming a level of responsibility for another person, which would normally be taken by an adult.” There is a feeling that provision for young carers is disproportionate to the needs of adult carers and the emotional aspect of appearing to criticise the amount of spending on young carers generates a reluctance to be critical of spending on them. It is important to ensure all spending is proportionate to need, particularly when there is a such a shortfall in funding available to the voluntary sector.) From the B&R Crossroads perspective, there is a major question mark over whether this funding is being used in Powys to achieve the outcomes envisaged by the Assembly, in particular, "to provide a break from their caring responsibilities”.
• On 1^st August 2007, it was learned at a meeting of the Multi Agency Reference Group for Carers that Powys Social Services had underspent £46,624 of the £71,487 allocated to the Shire Managers, at a time when B&R Crossroads was desperate for funding for people suffering from dementia and children with a mental illness.

As at 21^st November 2007, the 2007-8 allocation has not been announced. Efforts to secure an allocation of the underspent amount, which the Assembly has very generously agreed to allow Powys County Council to retain, have yielded no positive response and the lack of openness and transparency in Powys County Council’s funding arrangements with voluntary sector organisations continues to be punctuated with apparent indifference and disdain.

4. Short Breaks for Children with Disabilities:

• On 2^nd August 2007 a £1.54 million drive to help support disabled children and their families was launched by the Welsh Assembly Government. Contact was made with the Powys Social Services Commissioning group and details provided of children and their parent carers currently awaiting a short break respite service from B&R Crossroads, many of them having been referred by Powys Social Services. We were directed to the Shire Manager with the county lead for children’s services; contact was made and details of the unmet demand were again expressed.

As at 21^st November 2007, despite several contacts with Powys Social Services, no information has been forthcoming and B&R Crossroads continues to have a waiting list of children with disabilities, whose parents are not curently receiving short break respite.

Although there have been expressions from Powys Social Services, implying a more open and transparent approach to funding of voluntary sector organisations, the decision-making process appears very pedestrian for a county with such a small population. The level of openness and transparency in the allocation of WAG funds by Powys County Council leaves a lot to be desired, as does the level of monitoring by WAG, to ensure funds provided are utilised as intended.

The level of funding received by B&R Crossroads from the public sector has deteriorated as follows:

PCC - Powys County Council
WAG - Welsh Assembly Government
LA - Local Authority