Manchester Alliance for Community Care

Young Carers Support (Forthcoming Tender)
Manchester City Council has responsibility to support carers of all ages, including young carers. Young Carers are children and young people under 18 who provide care, to another family member who is disabled, or has some chronic illness, mental health problem or other condition connected with a need for care, support or supervision. They carry out, often on a regular basis, significant or substantial caring tasks and assume a level of responsibility, which would usually be associated with an adult.
Tender documents for providers to be included on a Young Carers Services Framework, are about to be advertised on an e-procurement website The Chest (see link below). A letter that introduces and explains the e-procurement website in more detail is also attached at the end of the document.
Before the tender goes out the City Council is inviting comments/views about the specification. Any feedback to be returned by 13th November 2009 to v.quinn@manchester.gov.uk.

BBC Children in Need Funding
BBC Children in Need have two further deadlines for applications in 2009: July 15 and September 15. They welcome applications from groups within the voluntary and community sector that work to positively change the lives of children and young people in the United Kingdom. Children must be aged 18 years and under, living in the UK and meet one of the definitions of disadvantage:

illness, distress, neglect, abuse
any kind of disability
behaviour or psychological difficulties
living in poverty or situations of deprivation

BBC Children in Need's regional staff can advise on types of projects and organisations we can fund. They highly recommend that you discuss your application with a member of the North Regional team before applying. To discuss your application, please call Philip Jeffery on 0161 244 3442 or e-mail Philip.Jeffery@bbc.co.uk and they will respond to your query within 48 hours.

Improving Safeguarding for Adults
A consultation on the review of No Secrets guidance for safeguarding adults has been launched. How can the voluntary and community sector contribute to the development of better tools to safeguard adults from abuse and improve our own processes and procedures? Reconciling safeguarding with the personalisation agenda was discussed at the Manchester Older People's Network meeting in October and voluntary sector organisations agreed to meet to discuss the review in more detail in late November.

Parenting Fund - Round Three now open
Round 3 of the Parenting Fund is now open. Here are the headlines:

The total grant fund is just over £16 million over a two-year period (£8 million per year)
It can only be used in the 23 English local government areas listed below
Grants can cover more than one area
It is open to “not for profit” organisations but excludes statutory services
The grants will be for 24 months and the first payments will be made in April 2009.
The amount applied for must be at least £50,000 for the two-year period but there is no upper limit.
Organisations can apply to work in more than one area
Funded projects are expected to deliver learning and outcomes that can be picked up nationally.
Threre remains a focus on promoting social inclusion and improving access to services and support for less well-served communities.
The localities are: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside, Blackburn with Darwen, Liverpool, City of Manchester, Leeds, North East Lincolnshire, Derby, Leicester, Nottingham, Stoke on Trent, Birmingham, Peterborough, Norfolk, Croydon, Greenwich, Hackney, Southwark, Slough, Southampton, Cornwall, Bristol.
Completed applications must be submitted by noon on Friday December 12th 2008.
Assessment, decisions and award making will take place between December 2008 and January 2009.

UPDATE - See Dates for Your Diary for details of a meeting to discuss joint working on bids to the Parenting Fund

NHS Constitution
The Government has published a proposed constitution for the National Health Service. This is intended as a statement of the values of the NHS and people's rights to free services. The consultation runs until 17th October 2008. If you have views to you wish to feed in, you can send them directly to the Department of Health via the consultation details on their website or contact MACC and we will include your comments in our response.

Tender opportunity: Mental Health Criminal Justice Liaison Service
The Manchester Mental Health Joint Commissioning Team (JCT) is currently tendering for a city-wide mental health criminal justice liaison service in Manchester for people who:

have a mental disorder or illness,
have a history of offending or offending behaviours,
are using substances in a problematic way and / or
have a personality disorder and multiple complex risk behaviours.

Interested organisations can obtain a full tender pack by contacting the Joint Commissioning Team by email at: jointcommissioningteam@manchester.nhs.uk or by phone on 0161 237 2826. All completed tender submissions must be received by 12 noon on Friday 12th September 2008.

have a mental disorder or illness,
have a history of offending or offending behaviours,
are using substances in a problematic way and / or
have a personality disorder and multiple complex risk behaviours.

Technology Innovation Awards
TalkTalk Innovation in the Community Awards invite charities and community groups to apply. 30 winners will receive cash grants of £2,000 for technology related projects as well as technology equipment. Applications are invited from 1 July to 30 September 2008. Winners will be notified by 25 October 2008. The awards ceremony at the House of Lords and one-to-one workshops with Martha Lane Fox (for five categrory winners only), will take place in November 2008. Categories are:

Work &Training
Play & Sport
Learning & Knowledge
Creativity & Culture
Body & Soul

Entries close on 30 September 2008

Third Sector Survey
The Office of the Third Sector is carrying out a Third Sector Flexibility Survey addressed to third sector organisations that are currently delivering public services or have been involved in their delivery in the last 12 months. The survey is a follow up to the Cabinet Office publication “Excellence and Fairness: Achieving world class public services”. Through it the Office for the Third Sector aims to improve its understanding of what supports and drives innovation in Third Sector public service delivery. If your organisation is currently involved or has been involved in public service delivery in the last 12 months, please take the time to complete the survey and return it by 8 September 2008. Click here to complete the survey. Please return this survey even if it is incomplete. All answers are valuable.

'Bye 'Bye Ruth
MACC's Children and Families worker Ruth Craven is to leave us in mid-August. She's going to work for a organisation that provides support to the Vietnamese community in Cambodia. I know I speak on behalf of all of us at MACC that she will be greatly missed both as a colleague and a friend. During the last three years she has done a great deal to increase the participation and influence of the voluntary and community sector in the children and families agenda and has earned the respect of colleagues in both the voluntary and statutory sectors. We wish Ruth all the very best for the future and the exciting challenges which lie ahead.
Mike Wild, Director of MACC

Manchester Infrastructure Support Survey
Manchester City Council has launched a consultation survey on the support services currently available for voluntary and community sector organisations. These are currently being provided by Novas Scarman Trust The information provided will identify how the current service is being used and gaps in provision - which will shape the tender for the new contrct for this work. MACC strongly encourages all local voluntary sector organisations to take part in this survey: there is a clear need to develop the range of support available to the sector and this is the big opportunity to communicate that message to the people who commission the service. Follow the link below to take part. The deadline is 30th September 2008.
A hard copy of the questionnaire can be downloaded from the City Council website or is available from: The Third Sector Team, Corporate Performance Group, Manchester City Council, PO Box 532, Manchester M60 2LA tel: 0161 234 3141.

Urgent Care in Central Manchester
Manchester Primary Care Trust, working with Central Manchester Practice Based Commissioning Group and Manchester City Council, is developing a full specification for urgent care services in Central Manchester. They are asking providers including the voluntary and community sector to contribute to the "design stage" - this will ultimately shape the service specification. If you're interested in contributing to this, you should contact the Greater Manchester Commissioning Business Service (link below) by 20th August 2008.

Job vacancies at MACC
There are currently two job vacancies at MACC: for our lead worker on children and families and a new support role which will work across our voluntary and community sector networks. Further details of both posts and application packs can be found on our jobs page:

Towards a strategy to support volunteering in health and social care
"Consultation Workshops” at the Gujarat Centre (GHS Enterprise Ltd), Preston on the 8th September 2008. The Department of Health recognises that volunteering plays a huge potential role in the context of more flexible, responsive and patient-focused health and social care services. This consultation exercise is designed to discuss and debate the five key elements of the “Towards a strategy to support volunteering in health and social care document”

Support for individual volunteers
Effective management within organisations
Commissioning environment and infrastructure
Promoting partnership
Leadership

This is one of nine regional workshops being held across England by the Department of Health in conjunction with CSIP NW. The consultation will end on 30th September 2008. To access the consultation on line click on the link below. If you are able to attend please complete the attached booking form and returning to philip.jones@csip.org.uk Alternatively, you can fax the form to 0161 351 4936.

Children's health, our future: A review of progress against the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services 2004

This report from the National Clinical Director for Children to the Secretary of State for Health provides an overview of progress to date towards the standards in the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services. It highlights problems such as the UK's relatively high infant mortality within the EU and rising child obesity, as well as health inequalities in UK society. It welcomes increased spending on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

The report can be downloaded from the Department of Health website.

Access to healthcare for refugees and asylum seekers
The Home Office and the Department of Health are currently undertaking a review of access to NHS services by 'overseas visitors'. The review will be completed next month and will be followed by a 3 month consultation period.

The Home Office is proposing that ('Enforcing the Rules: a strategy to ensure and enforce compliance with our immigration laws', March 2007):

health professionals should carry out immigration checks on clients before providing them with health care
refused asylum seekers and undocumented migrants should be charged for Primary Care (e.g. GP services and prescriptions)
Primary Care Trusts should enter into partnerships with the Border & Immigration Agency and share information with them about 'immigration crime'

The Refugee & Migrant Forum Manchester (http://www.mrsn.org.uk) is working with a coalition of organisations led by Medact (www.medact.org) to campaign against the above proposals. Please see websites for more detailed information.

An Early Day Motion has been submitted for debate by Neil Gerrard MP - please support this campaign by writing to your local MP and asking them to support this Early Day Motion. In the event that we can attract 100 plus signatures (about a sixth of the membership of the House) by the time of the review publication in December it will be a sign to the Government and the media that there is serious concern among MPs about the impact of these proposals.

EDM 220 - ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE 13.11.2007 - Gerrard, Neil
That this House notes the commitment by the Home Office and the Department of Health to a joint review of overseas visitor access to the National Health Service, now due for publication in December 2007; recalls the findings of the Joint Committee on Human Rights' Tenth Report of Session 2006-07 that the current arrangements for overseas visitor access deny healthcare to vulnerable individuals, including asylum seekers and their children, resulting in various breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights; applauds the Trade Union Congress's NHS Together campaign to defend the achievements of the free NHS; and supports the charity coalition campaign co-ordinated by the charity Medact against any measures that would compel general practitioners, and other primary care staff, to be forced to charge refused asylum seekers or other vulnerable foreign nationals for NHS care.

You can find out who your MP is by going to www.theyworkforyou.com

A template letter has been put together but this will be more effective if you write it in your own words.

Healthcare for refugees and asylum seekers campaign letter (Word Document)

VCS Strategic Lead Role (Children, Young People and Families) (Oct 07)
I would like to introduce myself as the new VCS representative, acting at strategic level in Manchester. As many of you are aware, we have been trying to secure this post for some tine, to enable us to take important issues forward on behalf of the sector. The role will be part-time up to March 2008, funded by NRF, and managed by MACC. There is a reference group to offer support and guidance for this role: Ruth Craven and Mike Wild (MACC), Shirley Adams (Gaddum Centre), Martin Duffy (Voluntary Youth Manchester) and Graham Mellors (MCC).

We have identified five main issues to address:

Communication, with the local authority and within the sector
Funding – the urgent need for a transition plan for future funding
Priorities – how the sector is contributing to the priorities identified by Children’s Services
Compact – using the guiding principles of this as a basis for developing partnership relationships
How to sustain the VCS strategic lead role and the Development Worker post (MACC)

These were discussed at the Children’s Board Meeting on 3 September 2007, and it was recognised that funding issues are urgent. A process will be set up, led by Graham Mellors, to collect all data relating to organisations and funding streams. A reviewing process will then take place, with VCS involvement. Please also read the full Report to the Board on the 'Reports' page of this website.

I look forward to working with you to take these important issues forward, and to meeting with you at local network meetings. I can be contacted via MACC on 0161 834 9823 or e-mail kathryn.brown@barnardos.org.uk

Kathy Brown

Children and Young People's Plan Review - consultation
The draft Review of the Children and Young People's Plan has now been published on the MCC Website for consultation, and can be viewed <here>. The closing date for the consulation period is 25 May and the deadline for submission to GONW is 14 June.

The Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) is a very important document for all of Manchester’s children and young people, their parents and carers and for all those people who work with and support them. The Plan brings together in one place the top priorities for everyone working in Children’s Services and sets out the actions required to improve outcomes and life chances for Manchester’s children.

Manchester has agreed with Government 8 key priorities for Children’s Services for 2007/08, these are:

Glossary of terms
People say that a lack of common language is one of the key barriers to working effectively. This glossary has been produced to promote and faciliate communication across different agencies and sectors. Click here

Manchester Local Involvement Network
The "Local Involvement Network" or LINk is the new arrangement for involving the local community in the the planning and review of health and social care services. Manchester starting is one of several pilot schemes across the country. These are intended to see how LINks could actually work and have a real visible influence on local services.
To plan this work, an event is being staged during March to gather people's views. Details of the work so far, the Government's intentions and information about the event are available in the new LINk newsletter >click here< to view it (PDF file).

Statement from Mind in Manchester
As you may have heard, Mind in Manchester is in imminent danger of closing all its services. Below is a statement from Justin Larner, the manager of the organisation:

"In recent years we've developed recovery-focused mentoring and social inclusion mental health services that have been so successful that they are currently over subscribed and we have waiting lists over a year long. More than 75% of all the people that we work are sent to us by statutory health and social care bodies. Many of our clients have some of the most complex and longstanding difficulties in a population that is recognised as having high levels of deprivation and poor mental health (including suicide).

Without significant support from the statutory authorities Mind in Manchester's mentoring and social inclusion services will close before the end of May 2007. We need your help to stop this from happening. Please visit our website www.mind-in-manchester.org.uk/funding/index.php for more information and how you can help."

Successful Parenting Fund Projects for 2006 in Manchester

The following organisations have been successful in receiving Parenting Fund money to provide projects in Manchester. You can download details of the projects they will be delivering <here>

Contact a Family

National Childbirth Trust and Sowing Seeds

Barnardos Health through Action

Henshaws Society for Blind People

Salford Foundation

Depaul Trust

Children & Young People's Plan - Executive Summary Now Available! (June 06)
Manchester published its Children and Young People's Plan at the end of March this year. The Plan is the single, strategic, overarching plan for all local services for children and young people, for example health services, police, local authority and voluntary sector organisations. It sets out a vision for children and young people and identifies how outcomes for children and young people can be best improved.

The Plan will need to be flexible to take account of the fast pace of change in the sector - including this year, for example, the outcome of the Joint Area Review. Nevertheless, it is important staff in all children and young people's services have a good awareness of the content of the Plan and so a summary version has been produced. It is now available on the City Council's web pages.

Staff without easy access to the internet can request copies by mailto:jcu@manchester.gov.uk

Mental Capacity Act 2005 research - consultation
he Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides a statutory framework for people who may not be able to make their own decisions, for example because of a learning difficulties, an illness such as dementia or brain injury or mental health problems. It sets out who can take decisions, in which situations, and how they should go about this.
The Act enshrines in statute current best practice and common law principles concerning people who lack mental capacity and those who take decisions on their behalf. In Section 30 to 34, the Act also provides a statutory framework for research involving people who lack capacity to consent to their participation. These provisions balance the importance of properly conducted research into the treatment or care of people who lack capacity with the need to protect their interests and respect their current and previously expressed wishes and feelings.

The Department of Health is consulting on draft research regulations under the Act, which provide detailed policy on a number of issues where broad outlines were given in the primary legislation. We are seeking views on:

whether the proposed arrangements for appointing the appropriate body that approves research are suitable?

whether the proposed arrangements for research involving people who consented but then lost capacity strike the right balance between the need to allow long-term research to continue whilst respecting the past and present wishes of participants?

More information from the Department of Health website >HERE<

New Every Child Matters Guidance Documents Published (Aug 05)
The Children Act 2004 provides the legal underpinning for Every Child Matters: Change for Children – the programme aimed at transforming children’s services. A series of documents have been published which provide guidance under the act, to support local authorities and their partners in implementing new statutory duties:

Interagency Cooperation to Improve the Well-being of Children: Children's Trusts

Guidance on the Children & Young People's Plan

Guidance on the Roles and Responsibilities of the Director of Children's Services and the Lead Member for Children's Services

Local Safeguarding Children's Boards

Working Together to Safeguard Children

You can download these documents > here <. At the same time an overview of these and other guidance supporting the ECM programme has been published.

Guidance on working with voluntary & community groups (June 2005)
The Department for Education and Skills has developed a strategy for working with the voluntary and community sector to deliver change for children and young people. The strategy looks at what the DfES will do to strengthen its national relationship with voluntary organisations that work with children, young people and families. It explains what the Government is doing, through the Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme, to support effective working with voluntary and community organisations at local level. You can access this report > here <

The Children's Workforce Strategy: a strategy to build a world-class workforce for children & young
This sets out the Government's vision forthe children's workforce, identifies and key challenges in meeting this vision and invluces proposals to develop a national single qualifications freameowrk to imprvoe careers pathways and progression opportunities for the workforce. You can download it > here <

The Common Assessment Framework (CAF)
This provides a common approach to needs assessment that can be used by the whole children's workforce. You can download it > here <

Report on the Commissioning of Children's Services (May 2005)
A report has been produced which aims to address the complex topic of commissioning services for children, young people and families, with particular reference to the role of the voluntary and community sector. It looks at core principles and challenges, as well as evidence of good practice and can be downloaded > here <

Hidden Harm - Responding to the needs of children of problem drug users (May 2005)
This report assesses the number of affected children in the UK, examines the evidence for significant harm to their health and well-being and considers what is being done at present. You can access this report on the national drugs strategy website > here <

Good Practice Guide for work with family members affected by someone else's drug use (May 05)
This is recent guidance on good practice and quality standards for services for families affected by drug use. You can access this report > here <

Good Practice Guide for work with family members affected by someone else's drug use (May 05)
This is recent guidance on good practice and quality standards for services for families affected by drug use. You can access this report > here <

New website for children whose parents are misusing drugs (July 05)
The STARS national initiative has launched a web site for young people whose parents misuse drugs. The site also contains information for drug/alcohol practitioners, teachers and social workers on the issues facing children and young people, along with links to further research and evaluation of projects for children of drug misusing parents. You can access the website > here <