Return to Agenda

ITEM EX11


EXECUTIVE - 23 JULY 2002

THE ANNUAL REVIEW OF SOCIAL SERVICES PERFORMANCE

Report by Interim Director of Social Services

 

Introduction

  1. This report presents the results of the Annual Review conducted by the Social Service Inspectorate (SSI) on the department’s performance for 2001/02 and the ‘Star Rating’ that the department has received. It also gives information on the performance monitoring framework that the Department of Health are continuing to develop. The department is required to present to the Council through a public committee the findings and the conclusions of the Annual Review, as well as the data that is being submitted as part of the performance monitoring framework. This report fulfils these requirements.

    2. Background

  2. The performance monitoring framework was introduced in 2000 as a key part of the Social Services modernisation programme that was started by the White Paper ‘Modernising Social Services’ and the development of the 50 performance indicators for social services. This is the first year for the Star Rating system. It is seen as a logical extension of the performance monitoring processes that have been put in place over the past 2 years, and it parallels the Star Rating process that is place for NHS Trusts. The Annual Review is carried out by the SSI and is a key part of the new arrangements put in place by the Government for inspecting and reviewing the performance of social service departments.

    ANNEX: PERFORMANCE SUMMARY 2001-2002 - SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

    ANNEX: PERFORMANCE SUMMARY 2001-2002 -     SERVICES FOR ADULTS

    3. The Annual Review Meeting

  3. The full text of the letter setting out the findings and conclusions of the Annual Review Meeting is given at Annex 1. The Review Meeting, which held in January 2002, used evidence from a number of sources. These include:

    • The published performance indicators for 2000/01

    • Monitoring information from 2 position statements completed in June and October 2001

    • SSI monitoring of reviews and plans for service development

    • The SSI inspection of Mental Health Services that was published in June 2001.

  1. The main conclusions of the Annual Review are summarised below.

    • The development of a pooled budget of £40 million with the NHS is a major achievement and is expected to lead to improved efficiency, choice and quality of service provision.

    • The response to the SSI inspection of mental health services has been positive. The services were found to be responsive and accessible, and services users thought that they had improved. Service users were involved in the planning and development of services.

    • Good progress is being made on increased use of Direct Payments.

    • There are innovative schemes in place for the recruitment and retention of staff.

    • There are proactive mechanisms in place to involve children in service planning and delivery.

    • A high proportion of carers have their own needs assessed.

  1. The SSI, through the Annual Review processes, is particularly concerned to ensure that Councils’ Best Value Review programmes properly reflect and take into account improvements or key issues concerning the Council’s performance in the short and medium term future. The letter gives these in full; the main points are summarised below.

    • Financial and activity management arrangements have not been adequate and require significant investment in and development of IT, procedures, data analysis skills and the development of sufficient data sets that cover levels of demand, activity, the level of spending and staffing issues. The Department’s planning framework, Planning into Action, contributes significantly to meeting these requirements. The IT requirements are covered in the department’s Local Information Plan (LIP), but the money that is required for its implementation will come from un-identified funding.

    • The department’s overspend is a serious concern, and although the budget for 2003/03 has increased, there will be continuing constraints as a result of absorbing the overspend, essential investments and unavoidable service and cost pressures.

    • There will be a period of significant change because of the Director leaving, the development of new political arrangements and possible changes in the NHS. This will require robust transitional arrangements and good management to ensure that the department’s objectives are met.

    • Best Value reviews must be carried out while maintaining a focus on national priorities. Other development activities include Local Public Service Agreements, the action plan arising from the IDeA Peer Review and the planned inspection of Children’s Services.

    • The department should build on the success of its pooled budgets for commissioning residential and nursing home care for older people to tackle any problems arising from delayed discharges from hospital; it was recognised that the problem in Oxfordshire is not as great as other parts of the South East.

    • Further developments in partnership working will be important in improving efficiency. This includes work with education, housing providers and the NHS.

    • Joint arrangements should be reviewed to ensure that both strategic and operational collaboration is as effective as possible.

  1. An action plan to deal with the issues raised by the Annual Review is given at Annex 2. This plan summarises the key actions that are intended to respond to the problems: these actions are covered in full detail in the service and team plans that have produced as part of the department’s Best Value Performance Plan.

    2. Star Ratings

  2. The Department has been awarded 1 star. The Department of Health assesses that we are serving some children and some adults well but the prospects for both services are uncertain.

  3. The system is intended to prove public information about the current performance in Social Services, and the prospects for improvement local, regional and national levels. The system is seen as providing information to people who have a right to know how well their councils are performing and meeting the central responsibilities that Social Services have, whether they are receiving such services themselves, have a family member who is receiving services or are a council tax payer. The system is intended also to meet central government’s own need to know how well each council is meeting the aims and objectives for improvement that it has set for Social Services.

  4. Star ratings are the product of a wide performance assessment process that now brings the SSI and Councils into continuous contact throughout the year. Assessment improves evidence from inspections and reviews, monitoring performance indicators, to form an overall picture of performance over time on both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of performance. The assessment culminates in the annual review meeting with each council. The Social Services star rating is intended to be compatible with performance information for both the NHS and other local government services, and it will contribute directly into the comprehensive performance assessment for local government.

  5. 55% of social services departments received one star. However, detailed analysis of Oxfordshire’s position within the one star standing indicates that very significant improvements will have to be achieved before the department will attract two stars. Conversely, relatively modest falls in performance could leave the Department with no stars. The current financial position will make achieving improvement a very considerable challenge.

  6. The star rating is seen as providing an objective starting point for planning, carrying out and reviewing improvements to services. The best performing councils, those with three stars, will have an increased level of freedom in the way in which they use centrally provided grant funds and they will also experience a lighter touch programme of inspection and monitoring with reduced requirements for providing planning information. Councils with zero stars will receive significant increased levels of intervention, inspection and monitoring which will be more rigorous and frequent. They will have to provide much more detailed plans for how they intend to use grant funds. But in the immediate future this will impact on how councils will be able to access the personal social services performance fund.

  7. Close attention is being given to how the Council can improve its performance and therefore its star rating. The action plans that are in place for the FINE project and the service plans are set out in the Social Services Best Value Performance Plan for 2002/3. Publication of this has been delayed because of the risk to ensure that it properly reflected the Department’s budgetary position and the plans to ensure that the Department met it’s financial objectives. However, the plans have been signed off by the assistant directors and will be available through the County Council website at the end of June.

    8. Performance Monitoring framework and the Position Statement

  8. One of the main tools that the Department of Health and the SSI uses for monitoring social service departments performance is a return known as the ‘Position Statement’. This system was introduced in 2000 and returns have been required in June and October. From this year on the system has been changed with a more comprehensive position statement being produced that we complete in June and update in October. It has been designed so that it becomes a single year round working document passing between social services managers and their SSI inspectors. It has been intended to provide:

    • A concise statement of improvement priorities plan for the year ahead.

    • Progress towards these plans in the Autumn and the identification of issues and obstacles.

    • Reducing relative information needed to monitor grants and other aspects of policy implementation.

  1. This initiative is part of the Department of Health’s objective to reduce significantly the number of separate plans that have been required to support monitoring in recent years. It is intended that the position statement will replace many of the plans in 2003/4.

  2. Departments are required to report the content of position statements to a Council Committee in Open Session, within 2 months of its return to the SSI. The completed position statement is a very bulky document and it has been made available to members in the Members’ Resources Centre.

    3. Financial Implications

  3. The financial issues facing the department will have an impact on how the present star rating, and broader issues of the department’s performance can be maintained or improved. It is important that the department is able to meet its financial objectives for its prospects to be seen as better than ‘uncertain’. Equally important, however, is the impact of the financial situation on how the department is able to serve people. In this respect, careful attention will have to be given to how the department can meet both national and local priorities in the context of the department’s financial position.

    4. Conclusions

  4. Social Services Departments are reviewed and monitored very closely by the Government. The Annual Review Meeting and the Star Rating system are very significant processes for the department and the Council as a whole. The development of performance management within the department, through the Planning into Action initiative, and the work arising from the FINE project will enable the department to respond to and work more effectively within the monitoring and assessment framework that has been established. The restructuring of the department’s senior management is intended to enable the department’s resources to be used more efficiently and effectively, particularly in relation to planning, performance management, monitoring and review, and in meeting the requirements of the monitoring and review processes.

STEPHEN WILDS
Interim Director of Social Services

Background papers: Nil

Contact officer: Nicholas Welch; Assistant Director (01865) 815714

July 2002

Return to TOP