Agenda item

Purpose of the report:  Policy Development and Review

This is a report on the progress made by the Surrey Family Support Programme. The report covers the progress made in Phase 1 of the Programme; How the Programme has developed a multi-agency partnership approach to working with families and communities; How the programme has been developed to meet the Government’s Extended Troubled Families Programme, and; How the Programme is to be taken forward as part of the Surrey Early Help Strategy.

Witnesses:

Yvonne Rees, Strategic Director for Customers and Communities

Sean Rafferty, Head of Family Services

Kim Rippett, Head of Housing Advice Services, Guildford Borough Council

Helen Dowlatshahi, Famly Support Team Manager, Guildford Borough Council

Clare Currran, Cabinet Member for Children and Families Wellbeing

Mary Lewis, Cabinet Associate for Children, Schools and Families Wellbeing

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Head of Family Services advised the Board that the Family Support Programme (FSP) in Surrey was now four years old, the approach was originally piloted in south west Surrey and then superseded by the national Troubled Families Programme. The FSP in Surrey meets the aims of the national programme. At its core the programme worked with families that had multiple needs across a number of agencies. The delivery of help was very local, delivered by District and Borough Councils alongside other local public partners. The Surrey programme was one of the highest performing programmes in the country.

2.    The Head of Housing Advice at Guildford Borough Council explained to the Board that the programme was not initially thought as being a natural fit with the structure of Surrey’s District and Borough Councils but it was aligned with their roles in the community. The different borough and districts councils have placed the project in varied places in their organisations. In Guildford Borough Council the Programme is delivered from within the Housing Advice Service. Over the period they had been involved in the delivery of the FSP the councils had gone from having reservations at the very beginning to being advocates of the programme. They had built new relationships with Guildford schools and that this was the fundamental basis of the work: multi-agency partnership work.

3.    The Board noted that the Government estimated the cost of a ‘troubled family’ to statutory services as being around £75,000. To this end, the Board questioned what savings had been made in Surrey. The Cabinet Member for Children and Families Wellbeing advised that the Head of Family Services was working with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) on the evaluation of the programme and the actual saving realised by agencies. The Head of Family Services stated that the first phase of the programme made savings for central government through reduced welfare payments and that for local Surrey agencies whilst there will have been financial efficiencies the savings were smaller; spread across numerous public sector bodies and not always readily costed.

4.    Board Members stated that the programme needed to have long-term aims and highlighted the reduction of payments from central government in the coming years. Officers were asked what the shortfall meant for Surrey. The Head of Family Services responded that the £1.3m per annum the County Council was due to receive, subject to performance, was adequate to provide continued funding to the existing six intensive support teams. Representatives from Guildford Borough Council did remark though, that they had seen an impact on the prevention of homelessness in their area but they reiterated that all the District and Borough Councils had made a financial commitment to the programme.

5.    The issue of people with mental health and, in particular, women with perinatal difficulties was raised and the Board inquired how many people the Family Support Programme worked with that had these conditions. The Head of Family Support advised that 60% of the families reported individuals with mental health problems and would provide data on perinatal cases. The service monitored the long-term outcomes of the families they work with and the benefits to the communities they lived in with the ultimate aim being to empower families to improve their lives themselves so that they do not need future interventions from the Council or its partners.

6.    The Board acknowledged the work done by the FSP but expressed concern over its future especially with reduced government funding. The Head of Family Services reassured the Board that Government funding was committed to deliver the programme until 2020 and that the team would continue to work with Districts and Boroughs for as long as necessary, however, the ambition was for the programme to become business as usual. Additionally, the Cabinet Member felt that the positivity of the model would underpin the improvement plan in place for the Children, Schools and Families Directorate and the ongoing transformation of how local government provides services for its residents.

Recommendations:

1.    The Board notes:

·         the success of this multi-agency and preventative approach in achieving the first phase of the Family Support Programme; and

·         the significant contribution the Family Support Programme can play as part of the emerging Preventative and Early Help Strategy and other preventative initiatives across the Council and with Surrey partners.

2.    The Board requests further information, following the DCLG’s national evaluation of the Troubled Families Programme, regarding the various savings made by the agencies involved in the Surrey Family Support Programme

3.    The Board expresses concern regarding the proposed per capita Government funding of the programme and asks that the Cabinet take up this point to ensure the continuance of the programme beyond 2020.