LS7
Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee
Call for Evidence: Local Service Boards: The Response of Torfaen LSB /Public Service Framework for the Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee
19 September 2008
Introduction
Please find enclosed the response of Torfaen Public Service Executive Group, the body leading the preparation of both the Local Service Board and Local Delivery Agreement requirements. We would like to thank the Committee for the opportunity to comment and hope our contribution to the enquiry stimulates and adds to a positive direction for collaborative working.
Context of response
Whilst we will attempt to contribute to the questions /issues you highlight we would wish to place our response within the context, and experiences of the Public Service Framework approach adopted by Torfaen.
Torfaen has been energised by the opportunity to reflect and focus on collaborative working, whilst this is not dependent on there being an LSB, the requirement captured organisations time and attention.
This period of reflection has been important as it showed a disconnection with the public at a political and organisational level, with a feeling of political apathy and poor value/sense of organisational worth as being a general state of feeling.
Our task has been is to create a service structure that RECONNECTS with the public, having clear vision, collective purpose, motivated workforce and outcomes the public see and value.
How could we Reconnect?
The organisations that constitute Public Services within Torfaen took up the challenge of the opportunity provided by LSB. We began by considering our current activity, its impact, and then how collaborative working could improve the quality of life conditions of the people of Torfaen in its widest sense. This exercise was a dynamic process and quickly identified a new desire to create a Public Service approach that would be clearly understood by both the public, public servants and provide a meaningful vehicle for engaging citizens.
The approach has allowed for public services to critically consider what they wanted to achieve. This process of reflection has led to a common commitment to ensure the public services of Torfaen are OUTCOME FOCUSED and that all organisational activity and collaboration impact upon the quality of life conditions of the community of Torfaen.(the focus on a demonstrative outcome cannot be over emphasised)
This has led to the development of a common public service modus operandi. The major benefit of the approach is its flexibility, - a focus on outcome and the involvement of all stakeholders. The allows for there to be no restriction on boundary, only on a role to play, hence its appeal to organisations working across LA boundaries. This approach has synergy with findings and recommendations of the Beecham report and subsequent WAG response.
To take the approach forward a Public Service Support structure has been put in place to ensure collaborative action on the following areas:
Advice on structure and role of LSB
Production of Local Delivery Agreement
Co ordination of needs assessment and strategy/plan production
Create a central repository of data, research and citizen engagement
Establish a range of shared outcomes working to principles of outcome based accountability
Streamline partnership support and administration arrangements
Develop an outcome based approach to, workforce development, performance and commissioning.
We believe that partnership is a not concerned with creating another separate entity. It is the organisations that belong to a partnership that do the activity. Therefore a public service framework should concentrate on ways of helping organisations work together to improve outcomes for people and not get lost in creating a new entity
The framework identified above is work in progress and is in varying stages of implementation.
Our experiences to date at political, public and organisational levels have been extremely positive our actions and intent having had a resonance with front facing workers, support officers, elected members, strategic leaders and importantly members of the community, The general reaction has been why haven’t we done this before! this has led to a tongue in cheek response to our concept and it has become known as "the Radical Application of Common Sense”
As you can see this is a different approach to a project/issue led pilot model, attempting to look at a whole system approach. This is not to say that common issues for collaborative working have not been identified or commenced.
We hope the experience of this approach, the lessons learned - and still being learnt - will add to evaluating the effectiveness of collaborative working.
If after your deliberation you feel it of use, the public services of Torfaen would happily participate by further giving oral evidence.
Response to Enquiry Questions
Local Leadership Teams
The decision to have a developmental approach led by Chief Executive Officers of the Local Authority, LHB, Health Trust and Police supported by a sponsored LSB team has proved beneficial. This has allowed for the parameters of the performance framework approach to be intellectually challenged and developed, helping create a clear vision for sustainable public service activity whilst also considering how to practically turn vision into operational reality for organisations on a consistent basis.
In addition, the concept of all public services adopting common systems of working focussing on outcomes for service users and working with all stakeholders has been introduced to all leaders /elected member bodies within the Torfaen locality. The dedication of a resource of personnel to take forward the model has also allowed for the consideration of good practice within the Wales, UK and international arenas.
"Action Learning Process”
Torfaen has benefited from the LSB pilots activity and learning experiences provided from the co-ordinating bodies - this has been appreciated and of much value. In addition our participation in the action learning Warwick University "Rooting the LAA” has also allowed us to benefit from the experiences of other models.
Action learning within Torfaen has been centred around the benefit of the use of Open Strategy, application of Outcome based planning and bringing together of research and citizen engagement: networks of public service personnel/key stakeholders are now in place in all of these spheres to take forward the framework being implemented. It would be our intent within identified structures to share any learning experiences with our other public service colleagues.
Agreement of Local Delivery Agreements
As an area, we have the benefit of examining the LDA’s of the pilots. This has helped shape our thinking. As already mentioned we have also examined the LAA experiences of our English colleagues. Our thinking to date is a little different. Our focus is to deliver an outcome led LDA, that shows the thread from One Wales/Community Strategy/Partnerships/Organisational plans/Regional activity but also includes improvement agreements /incentives programmes for all organisations .We will - as part of our ongoing development - be liaising with WAO and the WIN Network to look at how we can best structure our arrangements.
Relationship between LSB’s /Partnerships/Regional Structures
As part of preparation for LSB implementation we looked at fit for purpose partnerships within the context of our public service framework. What we saw was positive relationships, purposeful activity but lack of focus/evidence on outcome, duplication of assessment and planning co-ordination and a lack of consistency in relation to common functions.
To this end a Public Service Support structure is being implemented to simplify/rationalise and ensure consistency of collaborative activity with the aim of again having all activity based on outcome. This will further refine planning/commissioning and performance structures. Importantly the adoption of the outcome based accountability framework embeds the public in the planning, design and review of outcomes and hence services. The model clarifies structure and promotes cross partnership collaboration bringing together organisational activity to common outcome that identifies lead agency, shares resourcing and common performance.
As part of development programme the outcome based approach has already identified common stakeholders in a number of thematic issues. For example, an approach is currently being considered in such areas as a pan Gwent approach to the Frail Elderly, hence re enforcing the flexibility of the model.
Scrutiny and Accountability
Again we have benefited from the experience of the Pilots and will apply the knowledge gleaned. We are still formulating our structures and are looking at a number of models, including some international structures based on an outcome approach that includes scrutiny of robust decision making/performance on outcome/value for money/community engagement. It is likely that we will define our structures and processes around scrutinising on improving outcomes and how organisations are contributing to the outcomes.
Partners covering several Unitary Authorities
The issue has primarily been covered in earlier comments - a public service system that is based on shared outcome and includes:
all organisations that have a stake hold regardless of geographic boundary,
using common methods of operation,
Offers partners covering more than one LA area a viable mechanism to ensure effective collaboration.
The Role of Local Authorities in relation to LSBs
The Local Authority as a co-ordinating hub has been the thrust of the thinking behind the Torfaen approach. This has been a pragmatic approach in light of the organisational issues being considered by other public services. It is also because the local authority is often the public organisation that has a role to play in improving outcomes across the board due to the wide range of responsibilities it has - stretching from health outcomes to community safety, education, housing and regeneration outcomes. However, when organisational decisions have been made it is likely the Authority will remain the co-ordinating hub building on organisational and scrutiny arrangements.
To this end development programme for public service leaders at officer and member level is being developed to look at leadership, role and responsibility, relationship to public to promote a cohesive and transparent structure.
Role of Assembly Officials in respect of LSB’s
The development of the role has become more apparent as we have evolved: the link to One Wales, Spatial Planning, And Local Delivery Agreements and, systems of communication and regulation require much attention. The advisory role is vital in ensuring the experience and needs of the Public Service framework both influence national policy but also promote greater flexibility both between and with WAG structures. A move towards a common framework based on an outcome approach both at a national and local level will promote cohesive national and local activity that lead to quality of life improvements.
WAG Official representation is helpful in explaining what is expected by the Welsh Assembly when it makes policy and strategy. The way in which different departments within WAG operate sometimes makes it difficult for public services to work together to improve outcomes. The role of the official could be enhanced to allow the official to act as a negotiator in finding local solutions to this confusion that make sure that the focus is on the outcome and not the bureaucratic process.
Role of Spatial Plan/Regional Planning to LSB’s
Sustainable community development and spatial plan activity are key components of the role of LSB’s and public service leadership. We are confident again that the model adopted will allow for integration and cohesive interaction between LSB and national and regional spatial planning objectives.
LSB’s and Local area Agreements
The development team have given real consideration to the e/experiences of the LAA process and many positives are to be identified by such an approach; however we feel the opportunity contained within the Local Delivery Agreement process will allow greater flexibility. Whilst a considerable focus of the LDA must be about performance, if the LDA is based around performance emanating from an outcome based process it offers far more value.
The LDA has to provide the thread for all organisational collaboration and the chance to be innovative as a collection of public service bodies should be explored to the full. This may well require further discussion at a national and cross organisational level to define areas of remit; we would hope to be part of such a discussion.
The restriction of monitoring performance to certain performance indicators is not helpful. It restricts thinking about the action that could be taken to improve outcomes to those activities that are associated to a limited list of performance indicators. A proportion of the performance indicators are concerned with inputs and outputs and not necessarily with outcomes.
We believe that the key to a successful LDA or LAA is the ability to measure how much change in outcomes there have been as a result of activity. To do this, there has to be a robust choice of outcome indicators that make sense to the local conditions.
We hope you have found the above comments constructive and of use, please if requiring clarification or further information contact:
Steve Williams
Local Service Board Development Manager
stevejwilliams@torfaen.gov.uk
