Agenda Item Report to: Lanarkshire Community Justice Authority Date of Meeting: 6 September 2013 Report by: C h ief Officer I Subject: Chief Officer Update 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- + Update Members on local and national developments relevant to the CJA 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The CJA is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- (I) that the report be noted 3. Discharged Prisoners - Welfare Changes 3.1. The Scottish Welfare Fund replaced the discretionary Social Fund from April 2013. In relation to Criminal Justice specifically there are three main ways in which offenders or ex offenders may come into contact with the fund. 0 Applying for a Community Care Grant to set up home in the community after a period in custody. Applying for a Community Care Grant for support for a temporary release. Applying for a Crisis Grant if they fall in to crisis following release. 3.2. The attached note provides more detail information about this change and Members will wish to note that the CJA has asked Partners to keep us informed about any implications resulting from the change especially in terms of affecting ex prisoners ability to resettle in the community and lead a law-abiding life. 4. Unit Costs of Delivering Criminal Justice Social Work Services 4.1. The Scottish Government intends to commission analysis of the unit costs of providing Criminal Justice Social Work Services across Scotland. The aim of the research is to improve knowledge about the costs of providing services, and how that varies across Scotland, as well as providing a basis for improved future estimates. The work is in two parts as follows; 4.2. Phase one of the work will estimate unit costs of delivering services using a “simple top down mythology”. This approach takes estimates of aggregated expenditure on delivering a particular service and divides that by the number of units of output (for example, it costs Elk to deliver 100 court reports therefore it costs €10 to deliver each report). 4.3. Phase two of the work will involve a “bottom-up approach”. Starting from a detailed understanding of the activities involved in delivering a unit of output and piecing together an estimate of what these activities costs (for example, if takes two hours of input from a particular member of staff, that element of the cost could be estimated based on that staff members hourly salary cost). This phase of the work will estimate the cost of delivering one particular service - The Community Payback Order. 4.4. The outcome of the analysis will be two reports that will be published by August 2014. These reports will be a maximum 50 pages long and will include an executive summary that meets the aims and objectives of the research. The attached document provides more detailed information about this exercise. 5. Employee Implications 5.1. The outcome of any redesign will have implications for literally 100 employees of both councils and their Partners. 6. Financial Implications 6.1. None known. 7. Other Implications 7.1. None known. 8. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 8.1. No significant consultation was undertaken as part of this report. 8.2. The report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy therefore no equality impact assessment was carried out Tony McNulty, Chief Officer Lanarkshire Comm unity J ustice Authority List of Background Papers Discharged Prisoners - Welfare Changes Unit Costs of Delivering Criminal Justice Social Work Services Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Tony McNulty, Chief Officer Ext: 4234 (Tel: 01698 454234) E-mail: [email protected] BRIEFING NOTE FOR PRISONS AND YOUNG OFFENDER INSTITUTIONS N.B. Prisoners with release dates after 1 April should apply to the Scottish Welfare Fund rather than the Social Fund. This note provides some information about the new Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) that is being introduced from 1 April 2013, when the current discretionary Social Fund will stop. The SWF is a national scheme run by local authorities, based on guidance from Scottish Ministers. You can find an outline of the scheme on the Scottish Government's website: www.scotland.qov.uk/Topics/People/welfarereform/sociaIfund/OUTLI NEOFSCOTTIS HWELFARE FU ND Why would offenders apply to the Scottish Welfare Fund? There are three main ways in which offenders or ex-offenders may come in to contact with the fund: 0 Applying for a Community Care Grant to set up home in the community after a period in custody. Applying for a Community Care Grant for support for a temporary release. 0 Applying for a Crisis Grant if they fall in to crisis following release. How, and where, can offenders apply for assistance from the Scottish Welfare Fund? If applying for a Community Care Grant, offenders should apply to the Local Authority in which they intend to stay. This link gives the contact details for each Local Authority: http://sh45inta~opics/People/welfarereform/scottishwelfarefund/howtoap~l~tot hescottishwelfarefund 0 Application processes for Local Authorities vary. The Scottish Government will distribute generic application forms to prisons. These can be used to apply to any Scottish Local Authority - see Local Authority Contact Details below. Prisons may wish to build relationships with Local Authorities to which they commonly release. 0 There is no equivalent to the Scottish Welfare Fund in operation in England. Local Authorities are taking a variety of approaches to providing community 1 care and crisis support. In Wales, the successor to the Social Fund is called the Discretionary Assistance Fund. When can offenders apply for a Community Care Grant? 0 Offenders can apply for a Community Care Grant up to eight weeks before their release date, and decisions may be made in principle, for example if an applicant is waiting to sign a tenancy. Prisoners with release dates after 1 April should apply to the Scottish Welfare Fund rather than the Social Fund. Is there a qualifying period for a Community Care Grant? 0 Yes - the qualifying period for an offender to be considered for a Community Care Grant, is a minimum of three months served in civil custody. Checking information Local Authorities will be using secure email addresses to contact prisons to check information on applications from prisoners, for example release dates and time spent in custody. Discharge Grants, paid on release, will be disregarded when considering eligibility for an award. Background information on the Scottish Welfare Fund SWF guidance takes the previous Social Fund rules as the starting point, but has important differences and takes Scottish priorities into account. The SWF aims to take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen links to other local services. The intention is that a local provision will allow for a more joined up approach than was possible with national call centre provision. The full guidance is available at: www.Scotland .aov.uklToDics/Peor>le/weIfarereform/socialfund/ScottishWelfareFundq uid a nce The objectives of the new scheme are to: 0 provide a safety net in a disaster or emergency, when there is an immediate threat to health or safety. 0 enable independent living or continued independent living, preventing the need for institutional care. There are two types of grants in the SWF- Crisis Grants, and Community Care Grants. A Crisis Grant aims to help people, typically on benefits, who are in crisis because of a disaster or an emergency. A Community Care Grant aims to help people on benefits who may have to go into care unless they get some support to stay at home. Or, if they are leaving any form 2 of care, including a prison or young offenders institution, and need help to set-up their own home. The SWF is a discretionary, cash-limited scheme that prioritises applications based on need. It provides grants that do not have to be repaid. It does not provide loans. Local authorities have the discretion to provide support in different ways. Not all grants will be cash payments. They may provide vouchers, a fuel card, or furniture if they think that the best way to meet the need. Scottish Government February 2013 3 Table 1 Details of the contact points for each local authority are given in the following table. NAME WEB ADDRESS CONTACT APPLICATION TEL NO: ACCEPTED I VIA: Aberdeen City www.aberdeencitv.aov.uk 0800 I Face to face 030471 3 Phone Post Online Aberdeenshire www.aberdeenshire.aov.uklbenefits 08456 Face to face 080149 Phone Post Online Angus www.anaus.aov.uk/scottishwelfarefund 08452 Phone 777778 Post I Online Argyll & Bute www.aravll-bute.aov.uk/welfare-fund 01546 I Phone 605512 I Post I Online Clackmannanshire www.clacksweb.ora.uk 01259 I Face to face 450000 Phone Online 01851 Face to face iEilean Siar 822642 Phone Online (coming I later) Dumfries & www.dumaal.aov.uk/scottishwelfarefund 0303333 I Phone Galloway 3007 Post Online www.dundeecitv.aov.uk/welfarereform 01382 Phone 431 Ia8 East Ayrshire www.east-avrshire.aov.uk 01 563 Post 576900 Phone I Online httD://www.eastdunbarton.aov.uk/welfarereform 0300 Face to face Dunbartonshire 1234150 Phone Post Online Edinburgh www.edinburah.aov.uk/scottishwelfarefund 0131 Face to face 5295299 Phone Post I Online East Lothian www.eastlothian.nov.uk/welfarereform 01620 I Face to face 827827 Phone I Post I Online kwww.eastrenfrewshire.aov.uklscottishwelfarefund 0141 I Phone Falkirk www.falkirk.aov.uk 503603 Phone Online 4 Fife www.fife.g0V.uk 0300 Face to face 5550265 Online Glasgow www.alasaow.aov.uk - click “apply for it” 0141 Phone 2761 177 Post Online Highland Phone Post Online lnverclyde www.inverclyde.gov.u k 01475 Phone 7.