Manchester Alliance for Community Care

Department of Health Funding news
The Department of Health has recently released news of two new funding streams which will be of interest to voluntary sector organisations.

>User-led Organisations Development Fund<
This is about supporting shared learning between organisations which are demonstrably led by service users (such as having a majority of service users on its Management Committee).

>Social Enterprise Development Fund<
This is to help new or existing social enterprises or organisations which are moving towards a social enterprise model - the aim of the fund is to help such groups develop and increase capacity to delivery health and social care services. The funds are seen as an investment and come in various forms such as loans, grants and equity capital.

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).

POPP Grants - Round Three now open!
The third (and final) round of grants from Manchester City Council for low-level and preventative services for older people in Manchester is now open. The deadline for applications is 12noon on Friday 16th February. Further information and an application pack is now available on our POPP Grants page >HERE<.

Working Together Differently in Districts - Mcr VCS Conference
Thursday 8th February, 9.30am - 4pm (GMCVO, Ardwick Green North)

Following the three partnership conferences in 2005/6, this annual event will bring together voluntary, community and statutory organisations to reflect on our progress towards district based, joined up services for children, young people and families in Manchester.

The aims of the event are to:

raise awareness of developments in the Change for Children programme
identify what this could mean for voluntary and community sector organisations and how the sector can contribute
clarify expectations and the nature of relationships with other agencies delivering services for children, young people and families in Manchester

The event will focus on:

district commissioning - how a model of multi-agency district-based working might work for the voluntary and community sector
A review of the Children and Young People's Plan
Influencing at a strategic level - why should you be involved?

The event will include key note speakers and a special guest performance from a local youth group.
Download a flyer and booking form for this event. For more information about the the event please contact Ruth at MACC on 0161 834 9823 or email ruth@macc.org.uk

You can download a copy of a conference report from all three of the previous events in 2005/6 here

Integrated Commissioning adn District Collaboration Project - Briefing Note

Services to children across Manchester will be delivered in a more cohesive and efficient way through the forging of effective partnerships under the integrated commissioning and district collaboration project.

Introduced as a result of the Children Act 2004, integrated commissioning and district collaboration will require all agencies to work together and adopt a common approach to deliver co-ordinated services which place the needs of children and young people at the centre.

Commissioning in this context is not just about procurement and purchasing but about specifying requirements to meet the specific needs of children and young people, securing those services and evaluating their effectiveness.

It will look specifically at the five outcomes of staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, contributing positively and achieving economic well-being.

The result will be improvements in early intervention and prevention, more effective multi-disciplinary working, the removal of duplication of services and increase efficiency as well as accountability.

Pilots have already taken place in three of the six Manchester districts using Children’s Fund monies to commission Family and Parenting Support services. In North East Manchester, the Commissioning Panel decided they wanted to commission family and parenting support through services which worked with groups of schools, where there was an identified need. This would mean that services would intervene early, be preventative and work with schools in an integrated way to identify where support is most needed. The experience from these pilots is being used to help develop integrated commissioning across all six districts.

Key milestones over the coming months will be determining the Commissioning Statement for the City, together with ensuring that the district panels are in place by April 2007, and the appointment of project workers to support these panels. Once established, the district panels, with senior representation from partner agencies, will begin to analyse the needs of children and young people in their area in order that they can begin to assess which services require commissioning.

Children and Young People's Multi-agency Team Update (Dec 06)

Downloads Issue 6 of the Programme update for Children and Young People's Multi-agency teams <here>

NHS survey on GP Services

The NHS is currently conducting its biggest-ever survey: five million patients countrywide are to be asked for their experiences and views of booking an appointment with a GP.

The survey questionnaire, which will go out in mid-January 2007, includes questions on flexible booking, telephone access, opening hours and satisfaction levels. An average GP practice with a list of 6,000 patients will have the chance to earn over £8,000 in incentives if they are responsive to patients' views on access.

Posters and leaflets informing NHS patients and staff about the new survey will be placed in GP surgeries from next week. Taking part in the survey is completely voluntary for patients. Patients will be selected from among those who have had an appointment between 16 July and 15 October 2006.

Patients will be able to fill out the survey in their own home and post it back for analysis. Helplines will be available for people who need help completing the survey, including people with visual impairments or who don’t have English as a first language. The survey is also available in 10 other community languages, Urdu, Punjabi, Polish, Bengali, Arabic, French, Gujarati, Turkish, Somali and Portuguese.

Green Paper Uffffffff Care Matters Transforming the Lives of Children and Young People in Care

The government has published its green paper, Care Matters, which is hoped to be an important step in improving outcomes for looked after children and young people.

This green paper sets out radical and wide-ranging reforms to improve the quality, range and choice of care for society's most vulnerable children. Under the reforms, children in care would have the right to choose when they leave care once they reach 16, and measures would be introduced to stop them being repeatedly moved between foster homes; ensure they are placed in the best schools; and provide financial security as they enter adulthood. You can download a copy of the green paper <here>

There is also a young people’s guide to the care matters green paper which can be downloaded <here>

The Centre for Young Policy Studies has also just published a report on the experiences of young people in care ‘Handle with Care - an investigation into the care system’. You can access a copy of this report <here>

Parenting Strategy (Oct 06)
Manchester City Council has worked closely with partners, including the Child & Family Support Forum to agree a Positive and Responsible Parenting Strategy for the city. The strategy recognises that parents are the most important influence on their child's future, and identifys how services can work with parents to give children the best possible start in life. The strategy is very much a work in progress and will be further developed over the coming months - so feedback and comments are welcomed. You can download a copy of the strategy and summary documents here.

Job opportunities at The Generation Project
The Generation Project is an advocacy service which works with older people in East Manchester. The project is about to enter an exciting new phase and a number of vacancies have been announced. Details are available on our voluntary sector jobs page >HERE<.

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: www.manchester.gov.uk/education/plans/cypp/index.htm

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<

Children & Young People's Plan (April 06)
You can download the Children and Young People's Plan for Manchester > here <. 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 organisations. It sets out a vision for children and young people and identifies how outcomes for children and young people can be best improved.

Common Assessment Framework pilot in Wythenshawe (March 06)
The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a key component in the Every Child Matters: Change for Children programme and is a new standardised approach to carrying out an assessment of the needs of a child or young person and deciding how those needs should be met. You can find more information about the CAF > here <

Manchester Children's Fund North East district information bulletin (September 06)

The Children's Fund have produced an e-bulletin which is aimed at keeping voluntary and statutory sector providers, as well as the public, up-to-date with what is happening in the North East and with the current changes in the way Manchester is / will be delivering its services to children, young poeple and their families. You can download the September edition <here> or you can download information on the projects which have been commissioned by the Children's Fund for 2006 -2008 <here>.

Series of Children's Services Conferences in Manchester (Mar 06)

A series of three events took place in Sept 05, Nov 05 and Feb 06 to bring together voluntary sector and statutory sector colleagues to look at the future of support for the children, young people and families of Manchester. You can download reports from these events below:

Event 1: How Do We Work Together? - This event focused on looking at the role of the voluntary and community sector in the new era of integrated Children's Services

Event 2: What Do We Want to Say? - This event focused on writing a voluntary sector contribution to the Children and Young People's Plan

Event 3: How Do We Make it Happen? - This event looked at how voluntary and statutory partners can work together to improve key issues

Expressions of Interest for North East Manchester Children's Fund (Jan 06)
The Children's Fund is starting the first round of commissioning services at a district level in East Manchester. Expressions of interest from service providers who want to be considered to be commissioned to deliver parenting and family support services in the North East Manchester district are being invited until Friday 27th January 2006 at 10.00am. You can download the following documents here:

Expression of Interest Form
Commissioning Process flow chart (nb the closing date shown for expressionsof interest on this document is incorrect - correct date is 27th Jan 06)
Children's Fund briefing for district commissioning and family support and parenting services
District Commissioning Presentation Jan 06
East Manchester Needs Analysis Executive Summary
Integrated Commissioning Project - outline model
District Commissioning diagram 2006-8
Parenting Update December 2005
Level of Needs and Priorities

For further information contact Wendy Dudley, Education Development Manager on 0161 223 1166 or email w.dudley@manchester.gov.uk.

Single Children and Young People's Plan for Manchester (Nov 05)
The long-awaited draft of the new single plan for the future of services for children, young people and families in Manchester is now out for consultation. MACC is supporting a series of three conferences to build a collective response from the local voluntary and community sector but groups may also wish to submit their own responses. To download a copy of the plan and a consultation questionnaire, visit http://www.manchester.gov.uk/education/cypp/ The deadline for responses is 30th November 2005. We will keep you updated as work on the Plan progresses. For more information, please click on "contact us" in the top right hand corner of this page.

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.

New district and localities map for the City of Manchester (July 05)
Based on original ward boundaries, new boundaries for districts in Manchester have been set. All district commissioning of services will be based on these boundaries. You can access this map > here <

Guidance on involving the voluntary and community sector in Children's Trusts (July 05)
The Department for Education and Skills has published advice aimed at supported local authorities, other public sector agencies and voluntary and community organisations in developing effective relations for involving the voluntary and community sector in Children's Trusts arrangements. You can access this report > here <

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 <

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 <

Improving the life chances of disabled people (March 2005)
This is a cross-government report: independent living, support for families - more details > here <

Children & Young People and Crime (March 2005)
Report about how children and young people are under-acknowledged as the victims of crime based on consultation with 10-15 year olds. Read it > here <

Education and Youth Crime (February 2005)
How does participation in education prevent young people getting involved in criminal behaviour? The introduction of the educational maintenance allowance as a means of enticing young people to remain in / return to education has had some impact….more details > here <

NHS Guidance on domestic violence (Nov 2004)
This new guidance, linked to the National Service Framework, places a duty on ante-natal services to monitor whether women are experiencing domestic violence during pregnancy. Click >>

Extended Schools (Oct 2004)
The very useful site Teachernet.gov.uk includes a briefing on the concept of "Extended Schools". It can be found here: Click >>

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