Advice Partnership Meeting / Advice Services Transition Project Team Meeting

Agenda

Wednesday 25th February 2015, 10am -12 noon Brighton and Hove Citizens Advice Bureau, 1 Tisbury Road BN3

Present: Vicky Watson (Chair, CAB), Elaine Sammarco (BHT), Liz O’Kane (B&HCC Welfare Rights Team), Vicky Cadby (Information Prescriptions), Emily Ballantyne (Moneyworks), Martin Poole (St Luke’s Advice Service), Katherine Russell, Sally McMahon, Jess Summer (Age UK), Shirley Gray (MIND)

Advice Partnership Business

1. Apologies, minutes & matters arising

Apologies: Julia Harrison (YMCA), Tim Proctor (THT), Ben Glazebrook (YPC), Rachel Travels (Amaze), Jackie Grigg (MACS)

Matters Arising:

BHT Interreg: PS advised that BHT were exploring the possibility of an application to the channel programme with Hastings Borough Council. Any partners with queries related to this should contact [email protected]

B&HCC Strategic Grants: NC not in attendance and due to leave B&HCC. PS confirmed he would invite B&HCC to send another representative from B&HCC policy and communities to future meetings.

2. Standing Item: ‘Brighton and Hove Connected’ Feedback (Vicky Watson) The last meeting took place on 16th January 2015. Minutes will be available on the Brighton and Hove Connected website.

VW reported that a key area for discussion was the challenges facing public sector budgets, including a reduction of 25% funding for the police. VW noted there were no elected members at the meeting.

3. Standing Item: Advice Services Network Feedback (Tess Craven, Advice Brighton and Hove)

The last meeting took place on 21st January 2015. Minutes will be available on the Advice Brighton and Hove website.

TC reported that the guest speaker at the meeting had been Michelle Buck from Friends Families and Travellers. MB had been invited as a follow up action to last years focus group on the advice needs of the travelling community. There was some discussion as to whether agencies could adopt a ‘thumbs up’ sticker to indicate they were responsive to the needs of people with learning difficulties.

MB also requested agencies work alongside FFT to support travellers (rather than just signposting the to FFT)

The BHT funded ASTF digital advice and inclusion officers promoted the webcam advice service during the members item.

TC outlined that, following discussion at a previous ASN meeting, she had established a campaign group aimed at tackling Funeral Poverty. A number of issues had been identified including:

 DWP funeral payments rarely cover the full cost of a funeral and are paid after the event. Most funeral directors want money up front.  Pricing of funerals are often not clear and taboo’s around the subject mean people are unlikely to shop around

The campaign group is seeking to encourage local funeral directors to sign up to a fair funeral pledge. Organisations involved thus far at St Lukes Advice Service, Age UK, Martlets Hospice and East Sussex Credit Union. Interested agencies should contact [email protected] 4. Information Prescription’s / My Life Portal update (Vicky Cadby)

VC provided an update on this area of work which will bring together the Information Prescriptions site with the Access Point social care portal. The portal will be re branded as ‘My Life’ and the information held will be Care Act compliant.

The site is being built by SCIP and a soft launch is planned for April. Community Works and Healthwatch have been involved in reviewing content.

PS indicated he would be interested in reviewing content from an Advice perspective.

KR questioned the accessibility of the site and it’s ability to work with screen readers or link to BSL provision. She highlighted work the Fed are piloting with Red Dot in this area.

Sally McMahon provided an update of the work she was leading around the coordination of digital inclusion.

SM explained that BT had provided a small amount of money to resource the work as a condition of their city WIFI programme. It is hoped that the money will be matched from other sources and that there will be sufficient to employ a DI coordinator and apprentice for two years.

Work already completed by Citizens Online has provided data on the households most at risk of DI and their location in the city. It is intended that work will prioritise particular groups (e.g. older people living alone, people on low incomes with low skills), map and coordinate current activity and lever in additional funding for further work.

Key to the approach will ensuring that the work done is sustainable.

Advice Services Transition Project team Meeting Business (11.30 – 12)

1. ASTF chairs and chiefs conference feedback (Vicky Watson) VW reported back on a London conference organised by the Big Lottery and the Advice Services Alliance aimed at encouraging the sharing of learning during the wind down phase for the Advice Services Transition Fund.

VW explained that the appeared to be significant anxiety about the end of the fund (particularly as, in many areas, it had been used to plug gaps).

Rob Wilson (Minister for the Civil Society) spoke of Government’s general commitment to the advice sector.

Dawn Austwick (CEO, Big Lottery) stressed that adaptation was as important as growth for the sector in the current climate and summarised BIG’s voluntary sector strategy as an aspiration to ‘vibrate and regenerate’. Also spoke of support for the voluntary sector to access and make use of Social Finance.

There was no talk of future funding aside from a brief mention of Reaching Communities (as the most relevant programme to advice) and a general indication of the Lotteries intention to focus on longer term strategic programmes.

2. ASTF Evaluation – draft brief for consultants (Paul Sweeting)

JS emphasised the need to prepare partners for opportunities relating to the Care Act. PS confirmed a bullet point would be added to point 1.

There was general agreement that the brief could be split in two: one to assess the webcam advice service and one more generally to support partners for post ASTF working.

3. Developing Quality & Project Evaluation – draft brief for consultants (Paul Sweeting)

The draft brief was agreed. PS to liaise with prospective consultants with expertise in the area and convene a panel of appropriate ASTF members to consider proposals. 4. Webcam Advice workshop for people with learning difficulties (Tess Craven)

TC presented the report on the workshop.

5. Annual Review of Social Policy (Tess Craven)

TC presented the Annual Review of Social Policy.

She confirmed two areas of forthcoming work:  Zero hours contracts  Benefits issues relating to EU migrants