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In this edition:-
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Ministry of Justice Organisational Review – moves forward
National Offender Management Service agency framework document
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) agency framework document published on 17 July 2008 sets out the Government’s vision for NOMS and how it will be governed as an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. It outlines the
Service’s obligations, what it is responsible for delivering and how it should operate. The document is designed to be reviewed and updated throughout its life with a full review in 2011.
NOMS has the twin aims of protecting the public and reducing reoffending. It is responsible for commissioning and delivering adult offender management services both in custody and the community in England and Wales.
The Agency is also central to the Ministry of Justice's work to deliver better outcomes for society by further improving the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, and take forward recommendations for streamlining management structures and reducing overhead costs following Lord Carter's latest review of
prisons.
For more details please see www.justice.gov.uk/publications/noms-agencyframework
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Academy Update…………
Since our third bulletin, the Academy has gone
through an exciting period with a number of
developments:
The Academy is developing a recognised profile
among MoJ, NOMS, and across government
departments such as National School of
Government, Government Skills, OGC, Skills for
Justice and is building a reputation amongst
provider organisations.
The Senate is in the process of being formed with
the constitution finalised.
A Commissioning Conference in February 2009 is to be run by the National School of Government in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice and with the involvement of OGC and the National Programme for the Third Sector.
The programme of Seminars from September 2008
to January 2009 has been finalised. Please go to
page 22 for further details.
Government Skills has put in a bid for funding a two stage project relating to commissioning. They are taking forward a larger programme of work to
develop national occupational standards (NOS) that covers a broader range of operational delivery functions. This is still under review with UKCES. |
Following the re-structuring of the MoJ the
Academy webpage is due to transfer to a new
home shortly. Different avenues are being
explored to house the Academy on an interactive
site in order that bulletins, interviews, a learning
forum, etc can be added. There will be an update
on this in the next bulletin.
This bulletin has been guest edited by Lord
Adebowale and an interview with him is on the
website.
Happy Reading
WE ARE ALWAYS KEEN TO HEAR FROM YOU
AND WELCOME YOUR INPUT WITH IMAGES
INTO FUTURE BULLETINS AND EVENTS. TO
CONTACT US OR REQUEST INDIVIDUAL
MEMBERSHIP OF THE ACADEMY (ENABLING
EARLY NOTIFICATION OF EVENTS AND
ACCESS TO BULLETINS) EMAIL US AT:
academy@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk |
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Lord Adebowale
Chief Executive
of
Turning Point |
Guest Editor
When I wake up in the morning I’m legally obliged to turn people’s lives around and that is what drives me. I’m the Chief Executive of Turning Point: we provide services for people with complex needs, including those affected by drug and alcohol misuse, mental health problems and those with learning disability. In this editorial I want to talk about commissioning generally and our responses to the current debates about it: in the rest of
the bulletin I want to introduce some of our innovative work, especially in the field of criminal justice. I also want to give you my views on how partnerships should help speed up innovation and intelligent commissioning.
Commissioning
We need to talk about commissioning, and keep it at the top of the political agenda, because without intelligent commissioning people are not going to get public services that they are able to easily access and use. Commissioning it is about much more than simple procurement. Procurement should be about getting the right provider for the service you want. Commissioning is about having an understanding of the real needs of a community and designing services to meet those needs. It needs to involve local people so that they get the services that they actually want to use.
Criminal justice commissioning and the third sector
What about commissioning in your sector? Specifically for this journal, it is perhaps worth saying that Turning Point works in partnership with probation staff and the police in delivering substance misuse services and outreach within the criminal justice system. Social enterprises and voluntary organisations have a great deal to offer the justice sector. Take
resettlement. A common problem with prisoners on release, particularly on early release, is that immediately on leaving, they often find themselves in relapse because they were not given appropriate direction for immediate continuation of their drugs rehabilitation programme. Without this intensive guidance, they often find themselves meeting up with a
drug dealer in order to get their fix. Turning Point provides services to ‘meet prisoners at the prison gate’ so that we are there to help them continue the rehabilitation process and to guide them to services in the community setting. With the best will in the world, former prisoners are less likely to trust people from statutory agencies compared to third sector staff. We can steer people into becoming active members of their local communities and so we have a crucial role to play. This is a good example of the sort of world-class commissioning that can work in the criminal justice sector, using a partnership approach with the third sector.
Accessibility
Third sector organisations like Turning Point are working with ministers and commissioners to make services accessible because people are constantly let down by a system not geared up for their needs. Again and again, experience shows that people often have a number of co-existing issues to deal with. The Office of National Statistics report that eight in ten male remand prisoners, who are drug dependent, have two additional mental
disorders. A person with a drug problem may also, for example, have challenges involving family relationships and debt. We want professionals to look at a person’s whole range of problems and respond with innovative and preventative commissioning: yes, crisis interventions have a vital role to play, but to truly make a difference we want to see much more preventative work happening, using services that are easy for people to access. This is good for clients, and saves resources for institutions like the NHS.
Partners
There are also good examples of how we are working in partnership with organisations in the criminal justice system, such as police, prisons and probation. Partnering with statutory providers and other third sector organisations is essential when reaching out to those who are most excluded and most at risk. In other areas too, Turning Point is working with a range of partners from the public and private sector to deliver a stepped model of care in the provision of talking therapies for people with depression and anxiety. This is to reduce waiting times and prevent problems getting worse. This is an example of how an effective mix of agencies are working partnership with each other, getting the most out of the different skills available. Later in the bulletin, do read the account written by my colleague,
resettlement worker Paula Routledge, for a birds eye view of life on the prison resettlement frontline, delivering innovative services that really help turn lives around. Also read about a scheme to help those former offenders and others to re-engage with society via some military-style workouts in Hyde Park! And find out what happened when the Violent Crime Unit and the Police Powers and Protection Unit visited one of our services.
Conclusion: So when I go to bed at night, have I done all I am legally obliged to do? Well, there are some very exciting innovations happening and commissioning is certainly on top of people’s agendas with much discussion about it. If I have convinced you that intelligent commissioning can transform design, use and ultimately the effectiveness of services to those in need, then I guess I've got one reason to sleep soundly in my bed. |
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Article 1: Innovative Services:
Military Fitness
By Harry Walker, Turning Point’s
spokesperson on Substance Misuse
Turning Point has teamed up with British Military
Fitness to deliver a pioneering new way of working in London to help rough sleepers, who are usually exoffenders, with some form of substance misuse support needs.
Led by Turning Point Hungerford Drug Project’s
Nosheen Raja, service users from King George’s
hostel in London meet in Hyde Park to undergo fitness training with ex-army fitness instructors. They are drilled through everything from jogging on the spot to the “bean” game where they’re required to hit-the-deck before energetically springing back up - repeatedly.
The philosophy of the pilot is to keep people busy, giving them a taste of other experiences that don't involve drugs in order to widen their horizons while getting natural highs. Some of the clients are involved in the Home Office’s Drug Interventions Programme and Nosheen tells me that for all that have taken part
they have reduced criminal activity, for instance being involved with shop-lifting. As their drug use decreases, they have more motivation in themselves to move on
productively with their lives.
Nosheen described to me how, before the initiative, the service users may have only talked to each other about getting their next hit, but now, she says, they are socialising and comparing notes about shared fitness regimes! |
The British Military Fitness sessions are also with
educational, nutrition and relaxation sessions
organised by Hungerford Drug Project at the hostel where it is based, to create a holistic programme for hostel residents seeking to reduce their drug use and criminality. The sessions are viewed as a highlight of the exercise sessions on the timetable and the ‘magic ingredient’ seems to be the team work element, structure and overall sense of achievement.
Results have exceeded all expectations. Outcomes have included improved fitness levels, improved eating and sleeping patterns, significant reduction in drug use and crucial improvements in self esteem and positive
outlook on the future. One of the residents, Mark, has even competing in 10K runs around London. He said he “started running for a joke, but it’s now bought serious focus and meaning to recovery. I’ve been in and out of prison for most of my life, but now I’m finally getting my life back together and am hopefully about to
get a flat.” |
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Article 2: Innovative Services:
Resettlement Worker
By Paula Routledge, North Tyneside
Resettlement Service in Wallsend
Do you ever wonder what happens to prisoners when they are released? Where do they go and how do they engage with the community? For most prisoners with a substance misuse problem, the fear is, and often the reality is, that the first person they will meet will be a drug dealer: our solution is to make sure that the transition from prison to a new lifestyle is seamless and airtight. Within this project we are able to take it one step further: we offer support from remand to
sentence and through to release, so that much
important preparation work has been done even
before a sentence ends.
What I do
We know about clients from the moment of sentencing so that we can start working with them as soon as possible. We can offer the client a range of interventions such as programmes on employment, education, training, plus things like counseling – all based upon what they need to help them through their journey.
Part of the care planning involves one-to-one relapse prevention work, agreed appointments with the client for dealing with high risk situations and coping strategies for those still using substances and for those who are not .
This intervention allows the client to talk through
situations that “trigger” their use and how they are feeling at the present time. It also coincides with their
The ‘party’ period
If a client has been in custody you will find they want to ‘party’ when they are released. It is a high risk period where clients are highly vulnerable. If the client continues to fail to attend services, we carry out what we call assertive outreach. A visit to the client’s known
address to have a chat with them to see if we can reengage: a new appointment is given by hand.
North East partners
It is important to stress that this is not just Turning Point doing this: we are in partnership with North Tyneside Probation. Through the probation officers we are also able to identify those in custody who may not be in the drug intervention programme. The probation officers are pro-actively referring those clients to
Resettlement and we are working closely together to provide release support for our mutual clients. Sharing information and providing a multi-disciplinary approach
to their issues.
It is also important to say that resettlement is not a new concept: it has been around for eight years or more. The systems in place are only an improvement on what was already in place.
Job satisfaction
I’m sure that there are lots of ways we can improve the service but it is fulfilling to know that the interventions I make can really turn an ex-prisoner’s life around. |
Prison In-reach
The initial contact with the client gives you and the client a foundation on which to build on, for when they are released. So a lot of preparation work is done to make sure that clients are spoken to whilst in prison and that they are prepared for release and resettlement. Because of the lack of resources it is impossible to visit all clients in custody but we do speak to and support as many as possible. After all, it is more likely that a client will engage with you if they
have met you prior to release. You can establish a rapport and understanding, and meeting up is an opportunity to give information on what services we can provide.
The Friday afternoon effect
One problem can arise if someone is on early release on a Friday afternoon because the normal, weekday support, is not always in place over the weekend. We do try to pre-empt this situation and we will ring establishments in advance to check we are not going to receive any ‘early releases’ without warning. The
resettlement officer ensures that all this happens, with follow-up appointments made for the next working day to continue the care. No clients are ever released on Saturday mornings.
Following this relapse prevention work, and on
release, survival techniques like harm minimisation and overdose management are always taught to the client, for instance advice on accessing needle exchanges, including where local participating pharmacies are based. This information can be the difference between life and death for a client. |
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Article 3: Law Makers, Magistrates,
Probation and Police Visit Turning
Point
Over the course of two days, Turning Point services, The Grove and Hammersmith & Fulham Druglink received visitors from almost every corner of the criminal justice system to see what it is the
organisation can provide to help substance misusing offenders and ex-offenders.
Before visiting The Grove, top Home Office civil
servants from the likes of the Violent Crime Unit and the Police Powers and Protection Unit started their visit with a tour of the cells at Colindale Police Station. Here, Turning Point staff is on call to talk arrestees through substance misuse issues they may have and provide a pathway to The Grove, which provides a day programme for Barnet residents with substance misuse problems.
Working with the police to understand about substance misuse and its causes and effects means that officers are now fully on board with Turning Point’s work and the partnership initiative has been so successful that the police actually gave Turning Point an office within the police station, to guide people to the services
available.
Likewise, The Grove houses both Turning Point
rehabilitation services and a police and probation
service. By working together these services can
address the needs of prolific and priority offenders to reduce both the harm caused to both society and themselves as individuals. |
This dual way of working also creates easier access to treatment and a joined-up approach to individual treatment plans. Indeed, the initiative has been flourishing and crime committed by these individuals has decreased by 62% as their drug misuse has also reduced.
In a separate open day, Hammersmith and Fulham Druglink received visitors from around the criminal justice system including local magistrates and a head of probation. The representatives learnt of the importance of appropriate sentences and probation in providing enforced access to rehabilitation services, as
substance misusers will not usually seek help of their own accord. The result all of this is that more people are now getting the right support.
They also discussed the success in reducing reoffending in the West London Drugs Court, which refers offenders via the Drug Intervention Programme to Druglink. This re-offending figure has been reduced by 23%. The initiative works well because it allows offenders to talk over their substance misuse issues in less intimidating circumstances, with a sympathetic judge who hears their case from beginning to end.
The visitors were so receptive that the head of
probation vouched to provide better access for Turning Point workers to people in prison who have a drug problem, while a magistrate pledged to help offenders find employment through appropriate sentencing. |
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Working with the Third Sector to
Shape and Deliver Public Services
By Carol Buckland, Third Sector Team,
Partnerships Strategy Unit, Criminal Justice
Group, MOJ
"The ideological battle over using private and third sector providers is over. What matters to the public is not who provides but how well a service is provided. Government has a key role in ensuring the competitiveness of this sector of our economy."
(John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, on the DeAnne Julius Public Services Industry Review1, July 2008)
The DeAnne Julius review looked at what has made the public service industry successful and what can be done to ensure that its full potential can be realised for the benefit of the public. The review calls for the Government to:
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Reinforce and demonstrate a long-term
commitment to open up public services markets and maintain effective competition.
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Work to reduce bidding costs by agreeing clear and consistent objectives, simplifying bid documentation, reducing uncertainty around timing and engaging in earlier and more open communication about desired outcomes and risk allocations.
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Ensure commissioning objectives are clear,
consistent and balanced so that value for money is maximised.
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Provide a level playing field for public, private and third sector bidders by considering such measures as tax treatment and pension obligations and costs. |
This article examines the role of the third sector in shaping and delivering services, what is planned to improve engagement and the sector’s ability to compete to deliver services.
Why is engagement with the Third Sector
important to our work with offenders?
We want a thriving third sector working at all levels to bring about real change. The third sector has unique and positive attributes that distinguish it from the public and private sectors. Together we can achieve more than we can alone. We need the third sector and other local partners to help create the right policies, to help offenders access mainstream services and transform services to help reduce re-offending.
DeAnne Julius found that contracting out public
services had brought down costs by 20 – 30% while not damaging the quality of public services and in some cases improving it.
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West Yorkshire Probation Board in 2007/08, put out to tender six work programmes for Addressing Substance Related Offending (ASRO) and Stop Binge Drinking (SBD). The opportunities were widely publicised with the National Provider Network (NPN),
Supply2gov, CLINKS, the local press and elsewhere resulting in 25 responses, and good quality of final bids. Tender processes and documentation were specifically designed to be clear, simple and focused
on outcomes. Bids were evaluated in order to achieve best value for the Board. All six tenders were worn by the third sector & good partnership working is now underway. | |
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The Ministry of Justice’s Departmental Strategic
Objectives encourage joint working. In addition, the new cross Government Public Service Agreements - on safer communities, social exclusion and drugs/alcohol - give us powerful shared targets that will help us embed joint planning and commissioning to reduce re-offending into local partnerships including
such as CDRPs/CSPs, Safeguarding Boards, Local
Criminal Justice Boards, and Local Strategic
Partnerships etc. This should play to one of the
strengths of the third sector: providing wraparound services that cut across departmental/agency boundaries and the reducing re-offending pathways.
How closely does our approach with the third
sector mirror the DeAnne Julius recommendations?
We have already identified and started work on many of the themes that flow through the recommendations but we can and must do more.
A recent report commissioned by the Office of the Third Sector and IDeA found that there was significant variation across Government in involvement by size of third sector organisations, with 69% of large organisations delivering public services compared with 30% of small ones. 42% were members of local strategic partnerships and 38% had contributed to service consultations yet most expressed concerns that their contributions were marginalised. Less than 20% thought that commissioners really understood the contribution the third sector could make to the commissioning process2. Of the £4.7bn NOMS total budget, about £28.7m was identified by IDEA as spent through the third sector, |
plus £230m in public prisons ‘other contracted
services’ that is not currently broken down by sector.
Our recent consultation on a new third sector action plan included a specific focus on transforming public services. Responses are helping inform forthcoming Working with the Third Sector to Reduce Reoffending 2008-2011, which we hope to launch in October 2008. The plan is aligned to the overarching Ministry of Justice Third Sector Strategy3 and the wider partnership programme across Government to
reduce re-offending.
Responses show that the third sector is frustrated at the lack of progress in opening up prison and probation services to a wider supplier base, and that clarity is needed on the potential scale and scope of future opportunities. Also highlighted was the value of the third sector working jointly with commissioners and providers to identify needs, what works, plan services, influence local planning and gain access to
potential funding streams.
Working with the Third Sector to Reduce Reoffending 2008-2011 commits us to addressing the specific barriers faced by the third sector by
identifying the best providers through a fair
commissioning policy, the creation of a more level
playing field, and raising awareness of the Compact on Relations between Government and the Voluntary and Community Sector4, the four Gershon principles that are aligned with the Compact5, and the eight commissioning principles set out in the Government’s Partnership in Public Services, an action plan for third sector involvement6: |
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- Develop an understanding of the needs of users and communities by ensuring that, alongside other
consultees, they engage with third sector organisations as advocates to access their specialist knowledge.
- Consult potential provider organisations, including those from the third sector and local experts,
well in advance of commissioning new services, working with them to set priority outcomes for that service.
- Put outcomes for users at the heart of the strategic planning process.
- Map the fullest practicable range of providers with a view to understanding the contribution they
could make to deliver those outcomes.
- Consider investing in the capacity of the provider base, particularly those working with hard-to reach groups.
- Ensure contracting processes are transparent and fair, facilitating the involvement of the broadest range of suppliers, including considering subcontracting and consortia-building where appropriate.
- Seek to ensure longer-term contracts and risk sharing wherever appropriate as ways of achieving efficiency and effectiveness; and,
- Seek feedback from service users, communities and providers in order to review the effectiveness of the commissioning process in meeting local needs.
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Specific commitments in the plan include, where
appropriate, multi-year funding and contracting so that three-year funding becomes the norm; simplifying contracts and using common documentation; ensuring that the price of contracts and grants reflects the full costs of delivery; promoting the legitimate use of social
benefit clauses in service specifications; and reducing the reporting and administration burden for providers.
The plan also supports the role of community
organisations in planning, delivering and reviewing
services. All this work is underpinned by a Cabinet Office funded National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning, through which Ministry of Justice and |
NOMS staff are receiving advice, shared learning
and training. Over the summer and early autumn a
new third sector taskforce, chaired by David Hanson the Minister for prisons and probation, will meet to consider how the probation best value regime will ensure significant opportunities for the third sector.
New strategic funding from the Ministry of Justice to Clinks, Action for Prisoners Families, the
Development Trusts Association, and a Reducing
Re-offending Arts Alliance will strengthen the role of frontline third sector organisations. Investment
supports representation and voice, communication
and partnership working, capacity building and
volunteering, with a particular focus on meeting the needs of black and minority ethnic, faith-based, women’s, and small community based
organisations. As well as this targeted infrastructure funding, investment in the Future Skills Wales local demonstrator on cross-sector working to design and deliver offender services will provide learning on the involvement of smaller providers, women’s and BME organisations. Recognising that grant funding can be particularly effective in supporting smaller providers and specialist services, NOMS will develop guidelines on the appropriate use of grant funding where this better meets outcomes.
To help overcome specific barriers faced by faithbased organisations and to support effective
funding and commissioning, the Ministry of Justice
will support and promote the work by Department of Communities and Local Government to create a
charter on funding faith-based organisations.
DeAnne Julius found that contracting out public
services had brought down costs by 20 – 30% while not damaging the quality of public services and in some cases improving it. She also found that different firms and organisations have different strengths (and weaknesses) in delivering different types of services, which points to the benefits of a ‘mixed economy’ model of provision where public, private and third sectors compete as well as collaborate to provide the best services. We await John Hutton’s next steps with interest.
For further information please contact:
Carol Buckland, Third Sector Team, Partnerships
Strategy Unit, Criminal Justice Group, Ministry of
Justice, 4th Floor Fry - SE Quarter,
2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF
Tel: 020 7035 0212 Mobile: 07917 277923
Email: Carol.Buckland3@justice.gsi.gov.uk
Key
1 = (http://www.berr.gov2.uk/files/file46965.pdf)
2 = Evaluation of the National Programme for Third Sector
Commissioning, Baseline Report: Summary of Key findings,
Shared Intelligence, Dec 2007
3 = http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/third sector-strategy.pdf
4= http://www.thecompact.org.uk/imformation/100023/publications/
5 = Stability in funding; timing of payments and balance of risk; full
cost recovery; reducing the burden of bureaucracy.
6=http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/thirdsector/publicservices/~/media/as
sts/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third sector/psd actionplan%20pdf.ashx |
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Innovation and the Public Sector –
the emerging landscape
Following the success of ‘Commissioning News’, the Centre for Public Innovation has recently launched a specialised e-publication - “Commissioning Innovation”. Below is an article from the first edition.
The concept of innovation normally conjures up
images of new technology, gadgets, and creative ways of delivering services. Conversely, we tend not to think of the public sector as having any role with regard to innovation – after all, much of the work of the public sector involves working with vulnerable and marginalised clients where it would surely be too risky to attempt to deliver services in a very different way.
However, innovation and the public sector are phrases that are increasingly being used in the same breath: there is a clear sense that the public sector should legitimately be trying out new ways of working, and should be exploring the potential offered by innovation. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in a recent speech at a
conference held by the National Endowment for
Science, Technology and the Arts made it clear his vision that, “We want to be the innovation nation, not just now, but into the future.” It’s a vision in which the public sector is integral.
This new focus on public sector innovation comes principally from three key drivers:
- All government departments must find year on year savings;
- Public expectation for choice and quality of services are rising;
- The social challenges of the 21st century will not
be met by “off the shelf” solutions. |
There is a clear sense from the heart of Government that doing things the same way is simply not good enough, and is not an adequate response for preparing the public sector for the challenges of the 21st century. Sir Gus O’Donnell, Head of the Civil Service, summed this up:
“We are going to have to innovate, we are going to have to find very, very different ways of approaching the challenges we have got.”
This commitment to innovation is not purely rhetorical. The serious commitment to the issue is perhaps most clearly illustrated with the creation of the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills, sending out a clear message that innovation has a role at the heart
of government and at cabinet level. Within the DIUS, innovation has had its own domain, and its own nominated lead (David Evans).
In March this year the DIUS published its White Paper on innovation that sets out the role of the public sector and the expectations of the Government. The White Paper states that, “Major forces such as attitudes to risk, budgeting, audit, performance measurement and
recruitment must be aligned to support innovation.”
The extent of the shift that the DIUS anticipates
necessary is all-encompassing, and embraces:
- Incremental innovation (improving existing
services),
- Organisational innovation (creating new, joinedup services),
- Self-directed services (giving users control),
- System innovation (shifting the entire
infrastructure of provision) |
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While much work will be done centrally (for instance with the creation of a Whitehall Innovation Hub), the Paper is equally clear that innovation must be devolved, and that front-line delivery organisations will be a “rich source” of innovation. This makes it clear that the White Paper intends innovation to be everyone’s business, not just the business of experts for mandarins.
The White Paper makes it clear that innovation is not a niche concern of one Government department, which will fail to impact on the broader work of the public sector.
The Office for Government Commerce in 2004
published “Capturing Innovation” which seeks to
“challenge government procurers to ‘think innovation’” and to set out “how procurement professionals across the public sector can procure innovative solutions that will both deliver quality of public service and support innovation in business.” The message is clear: the public sector must search out opportunities to commission and procure innovative solutions and encourage suppliers to try new ways of delivering services, and that current regulations and procedures
do not preclude this (as is often assumed).
The National Audit Office has also entered into the debate, setting out how innovation can be introduced by the use of proper risk management systems. In its 2000 report, “Supporting Innovation”, the NAO notes that innovation can be promoted across the public sector if government departments better advertise their
risk management policies, thereby incentivising staff to operate in an innovative manner. The report notes that risk should not solely be construed as failure to deliver, cost overruns, and protection against malpractice, but |
should also be expanded to include the risk of missing an opportunity to improve performance. Innovation is clear solution to avoid this latter risk.
The Cabinet Office has also taken an interest in the subject and is currently exploring work with DIUS to ensure that the innovation message is spread across Whitehall, through each government department and out through the entire country.
This degree of focus on innovation is still in its early stages, and it is impossible to see where the road will lead. Whatever the future may bring, doing the same old thing is clearly not an option. And the message is clear across the political divide. Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron, has also recently nailed his colours to the innovation mast, saying, “I passionately believe that if we are to take on and beat
the great challenges of our time, we need the culture of public policy-making to have innovation at its heart.”
You might want to explore the following:
Gordon Brown on innovation:
http://www.nesta.org.uk/innovation-edge-primeminister/?playvideo=1
David Cameron on innovation:
http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.story.page&obj_id=143437
The Innovation White Paper: Innovation Nation:
http://www.dius.gov.uk/docs/home/
ScienceInnovation.pdf
The OGC and innovation: Capturing Innovation:
http://www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/capturing_inn
ovation.pdf
The NAO and innovation: Supporting Innovation:
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/9
900864.pdf
For forthcoming issues of ‘Commissioning nnovation’,
please go to: www.publicinnovation.org.uk |
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East of England Test Bed Project
Latest News on Scheme to Reduce Re-Offending Rates
The East of England Test Bed Project Team, a
partnership involving the National Offender
Management Service, prison and probation services, the Learning & Skills Council, Jobcentre Plus and all their providers, is now in the second phase of its work to trial different ways to improve the skills and employability of offenders to help them move into jobs.
As reported in the May edition of the Academy bulletin the Test Bed is working with employers to gain their support with helping offenders into jobs. The work undertaken by the East of England Employer Leadership Group, a regional version of the NOMS Corporate Alliance, is continuing apace. The Group is chaired by Stephen Bourne, CEO of Cambridge University Press and their work will prove invaluable in
ensuring that the skills and qualifications gained by offenders meet the needs of future employers. A survey has been carried out by Chambers of Commerce in Cambridgeshire into employers’ perspectives on employing offenders - the team eagerly awaits the results of this research.
The first of the planned series of ‘Seeing is believing’ events will take place in the Essex probation area on 9 September, followed by an event at HMP Chelmsford on 8 October. Events will also be held at HMP Highpoint, Wayland, and Hollesley Bay. The idea of the event is that employers see, first hand, the range of training and qualifications that offenders take part in.
Employers are then asked how they can help, for
example, by giving interview practice or help with CV |
writing or providing work placements. If you would like to attend one of these events please do contact us.
The Test Bed team are delighted that links have been made with the Recruitment and Employment
Confederation (the professional body for recruitment agencies) and with Blue Arrow, both of whom are keen to support the work of the Test Bed. Blue Arrow will choose prisons to work with depending on the training delivered and, in the community, they will link to Unpaid Work. In both cases offenders will be offered guaranteed interviews, and there may also be a link made into London for offenders who return there.
Another important part of the Test Bed team’s work is around mapping provision available in each probation area, contributing to the LSC’s Offender Skills Curriculum Area Review, and some mapping of
Jobcentre Plus provision. One of the outputs will be a product which can be used by those referring
offenders showing what provision is available. It is
hoped that the product will be in a standard format
across the region and will be based on a model which is already in use in Cambridgeshire. The tool will be accessible through the internet and will be kept updated so the information remains relevant. The mapping will also inform joint planning between LSC, NOMS and Jobcentre Plus for future commissioning.
So what other areas has the Test Bed been
concentrating on? An enormous amount of work has
been done to ensure that provision to offenders works in a joined up way to help them get the skills they need to move into work and to ensure they receive advice and guidance of the highest quality at the most appropriate point. To this end two workshops have |
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been held with prisons and their providers to help in their pursuit of achieving the cross-prison Matrix standard (a quality standard for the delivery of advice and guidance.)
One of the major areas that the two Test Bed regions (East of England and the West Midlands) have been developing is the concept of the ‘campus model’, which includes more flexible access to skills and employment support, with the effective use of ICT. The virtual campus is an IT-based integrated learning and information environment that offers resettlement and learning opportunities to offenders.
The two regions have been developing what is
known as the ‘virtual campus.’ Pilots of the virtual campus have started at Blundeston and Swinfen Hall prisons, with a further pilot starting in Wayland during August. Readers may be puzzled over the term ‘virtual campus’. The virtual campus is an IT-based integrated learning and information environment that offers resettlement and learning opportunities to
offenders. Offender learners will be able to access information supplied by a variety of providers, including learndirect, Open University, and Meganexus. Interactive content includes a CV builder, a mentoring toolkit and, it is hoped in due course, that there will also be access to the
Jobcentre Plus vacancies site.
The work of the Test Bed focuses on offenders in custody and in the community. The Test Bed is working with the region’s probation areas to look at best practice in respect of skills development and employment opportunities for offenders completing ‘unpaid work.’ |
It is important that use is made of mainstream
provision from Jobcentre Plus, such as work trials and guaranteed interviews that will ultimately lead to employment. A joint event is to be held in October between the East of England probation areas and Jobcentre Plus in order to promote closer working between the organisations.
Readers of the May bulletin will no doubt remember the mention of the ‘employability compact’ (a written agreement between the offender and either the prison or probation service.) A trial of the compact is ongoing in Peterborough (Cambridgeshire probation area) and
others will be starting in Suffolk and Essex shortly.
The custody compact will be piloted in Hollesley Bay, Edmunds Hill and Wayland Prisons from July. The compact aims to ensure that offenders make the most of provision available in custody or in the community to develop the skills, attitudes and behaviours which will get them a job.
All in all there are many strands of work being brought together during phase two of the Test Bed project. Project Manager, Di Edwards, says “With such a large number of organisations involved the picture can become very complex, but we remain focused on delivering what we set out in our bid to be a Test Bed region”.
Further information on the work of the Test Bed can be obtained by speaking to Diana Edwards on 01733 425 235 or Joy Cradick on 01733 425 222.
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Courses on Commissioning
Following on from the list of courses in the last bulletin, please see additional courses on commissioning that may be of interest to you:
Workshop in Third Sector Commissioning
Nottingham Business School has jointly developed this workshop with IDeA to support commissioners from across the public sector (Central Government
Departments, Local Government, the NHS, Police and Fire and Rescue services). The workshop has been designed to improve commissioning practice through involvement of the 3rd Sector as both stakeholders and providers in line with the Government and Cabinet Office’s objectives. The workshop lasting two days is delivered regionally at a cost of £600 per delegate.
Contact: Martin Jones, International Centre for Public Services Management, Nottingham
Business School
Tel: 0115 8488696
Email: martin.jones@ntu.ac.uk
Web: www.ntu.ac.uk
Nottingham Business School’s International
Centre for Public Services Management also provide a range of post graduate and management training to meet the needs of the public services. Such programmes include CIPFA and Certificate, Diploma and Masters courses in Public Services Management as well as a range of bespoke short course interventions.
If you would like further information on these please contact Martin Jones on martin.jones@ntu.ac.uk |
MSc in Health & Social Care Leadership
Programme – Module is ‘Commissioning &
Entrepeneur’ in Health & Social Care at Sheffield
Hallam University. The course can be tailor made to
fit specific needs. Fees are £3,145
Contact: Kay Phillips, CPD Leader, Faculty of
Health & Well Being, Sheffield Hallam University
Tel: 0114 2255620
Email: k.phillips@shu.ac.uk
Web: www.shu.ac.uk
MA / PG Integrated Commissioning of Care
at the University of Central Lancashire. This course started in April 2008 and specialises in Health. The course can be tailor made to fit specific needs. Fees are £3,240.
Contact: Lisa Donnelly, Faculty of Health,
University of Central Lancashire
Tel: 017772 893807 / 05 or 07768 488444
Email: inspireinfo@uclan.ac.uk
Web: www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/health/inspire/M
AintegratedCommissioning.html
MSc in Health & Social Care Leadership
Programme at Brighton & Sussex Medical School.
This course starts in October 2008 and focuses on Health Services Commissioning based on the World Class Commissioning skills and competencies, yet with an academic depth needed for an MSc.
Contact: Dr Jim Price, Institute of
Postgraduate Medicine, Brighton & Sussex
Medical School
Tel: 01273 644566
Mobile: 07808 582372
Email: jim.price@bton.ac.uk |
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Summary of our Evening Seminar held on 14 May
World Class Commissioning –
A new approach to improving
health outcomes
By Gary Belfield, Director of Commissioning
at the Dept of Health
The NHS Next Stage Review has signaled the
journey towards an improved NHS which is fair,
personalised, effective and safe, and which is
focused relentlessly on improving the quality of care. Commissioning is seen to be one of the most important vehicles for delivering this agenda. Improving the way we commission health and care services will deliver better health, better care, and better value for all, and will dramatically reduce health inequalities.
To deliver the improvements signaled in the NHS
Next Stage Review, there is an urgent need to build capacity for commissioning in the NHS. To that end, the Department of Health and the NHS have jointly launched the world class commissioning programme which aims to dramatically transform the way we commission health and care services in this country.
In December 2007, the Department of Health,
together with the NHS launched the vision for world class commissioning – a document which sets out what it means to be world class – ‘adding life to years and years to life’ and identifies a set of organisational competencies needed to become world class commissioners. |
This was followed in early June 2008 with the
launch of the second and key element of the
programme - a nationally consistent
commissioning assurance system.
Commissioning assurance will be managed by
SHAs and will measure performance in three
key areas; health outcomes, competencies, and
governance. These will be reviewed through a
combination of metrics and evidence gathering,
strategic and financial templates, 360 feedback
from local partners, and self-assessment. PCTs
will be expected to have completed the first
cycle of the assurance by March 2009.
Commissioning assurance will be absolutely key
to driving performance and development as well
as of course recognising and rewarding
commissioners as they progress towards world
class. However, world class commissioning is
not an end in itself. To prove themselves
successful, commissioners will need to
demonstrate better outcomes for the people and
communities they serve.
In addition to assurance, commissioners will
need a range of support and development tools
and resources available to them to become
world class. Although pockets of excellent
commissioning already exist within the NHS, we
need to ensure that commissioners
systematically develop a world class approach in
everything they do. Commissioning
organisations will need a high level of technical
and managerial skill in areas such as leadership,
engagement, knowledge management |
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and strategic planning. They will also need
outstanding negotiating, contracting, financial and performance management skills.
SHAs will take overall responsibility for support
and development, and will work in partnership with PCTs to help them progress towards world class. Although the majority of support and development available to PCTs will be managed at a local level, there may be some areas that would benefit from a nationally consistent approach. One such area is a national PCT support programme on board development, which is currently being developed by the DH for national consistency across the NHS.
By delivering a more strategic, long-term and
outcome focused approach to commissioning,
world class commissioning will radically transform
the commissioning landscape in this country and
deliver an NHS which is equipped to address the
main challenges of the 21st century; challenges
which include, changing lifestyles, evolving
demographics, and new patterns of service
design.
As key commissioning organisations, it is PCTs,
supported by SHAs that will lead the work on
delivering world class commissioning in a way that ensures the needs and priorities of the local
population are met. However, this cannot be done by working in isolation and commissioners will increasingly need to engage with local
communities and work in close partnership with
patients, the public, local authorities, clinicians and providers. |
With the NHS back in financial balance, it is now in a stronger position than ever to directly impact the health and well-being of the population by commissioning services in new and innovative ways. World class commissioning will drive unprecedented improvements in patient outcomes and ensure the NHS remains one of the most progressive and high performing health systems in the world. |
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Summary of our Evening Seminar held on 16 June
Sharing Commissioning Experiences: Legal Aid Challenges
By Carolyn Regan, Chief Executive of Legal
Services Commission
Designing a system of competitive tendering for services that maintains and improves quality, supports the longterm sustainability of the provider base and delivers savings to the taxpayer is always going to be a procurement challenge.
Add into the cocktail 5,000 fiercely independent solicitor providers and over 400 not-for-profit organisations who provide a plethora of specialist services from legal advice on family breakdown, domestic violence and debt to representing their clients at the police station, magistrates’ or Crown Court following an arrest, and you’ve got a tough design job on your hands.
It’s a challenge the Legal Services Commission began to grapple with following the Carter review of legal aid in 2006. We currently spend around £2billion on about 2 million clients a year. Faced with spiraling costs for legally aided criminal defence work – it has doubled over 12 years to £1.2billion last year – and changing social needs for more legally aided work on civil debt, housing
and family problems, the review called for a new
approach that would rebalance the system. Fairness to the client, fairness to the provider and fairness to the taxpayer is the tricky mix we are now working hard to achieve. |
In criminal legal aid, we operate in a highly
fragmented market. In 2006/07, 2,900 legal providers billed us. Around 485 of these receive payments over £0.5m for work at police stations and magistrates’ courts. At the other end of the spectrum nearly the same numbers of firms undertake work valued at less than £20,000 a year.
We are looking at making cumulative fund savings of £230m and administrative savings of £45m administrative savings during the period 2008/09 to 2010/11.
We are currently consulting with providers on best value tendering – our preferred option for the future of procurement of criminal legal aid services. Under it we hope to enable providers to enter a contracting relationship with the LSC that provides them with the opportunity to bid for and set prices for services in their local area and agree an expected volume of cases for a fixed period.
Providers would bid for work at a price they can
profitably deliver and the LSC would receive the most efficient price set by the market.
We are currently working to design a best value
tendering system that will meet this plethora of
challenges. These are six of the important
considerations we’ve found so far:
Client needs
Our surveys of clients give invaluable insight into the sorts of legal problems people have now those problems interrelate, where clients seek advice and how effective that is. It has shown us those problems like debt, housing and family breakdown are usually linked and that existing services often aren’t grouped |
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to match these multiple needs. We are also completing a valuable survey into what criminal clients want in terms of legal representation. Our tendering systems need to be responsive to these needs.
Priorities and direction
We have published strategies for civil legal aid, setting out the direction over the next five years. These include moving to more integrated services, matching client problems, and working with other funders for example, pooled budgets with local authorities.
In crime, the focus will inevitably remain on the justice process – criminal legal aid remains a right and there is less scope for planning. However we have concentrated on improving standards and working with other agencies
in the system. But being able to prioritise how providers meet obligations is important even in crime – such as moving some face to face police station work onto the telephone.
Procurement methodology and criteria
We need to operate within EU procurement legulations law, following open competition and transparency rules that encourage competitive neutrality. We award framework contracts to large numbers of providers which creates issues of complexity and logistics. It goes without saying that lawyers are litigious, and we have to
be careful that all elements of process can withstand legal challenge.
Quality
How should we measure quality? Whatever we decide needs clarity and the methodology for choosing between bids needs to be robust enough to deal with subtle preferences. For example, bid criteria could include |
elements of sustainability, such as training new solicitors or advisors, the breadth of service or its focus on particular client groups or micro-locations within a bid area. We also want an independent quality assurance for barristers.
Contract management and data
Data and its analysis is the key to evaluating the
effectiveness of procurement strategy, maintaining quality and moving funds from ineffective performers to effective ones. LSC manages over 5400 mainstream contracts – as well as a number of specialist ones. We have developed auditing tools such as peer review for
solicitors to help with this process.
Preparing the market
We have a statutory duty to obtain the best possible value for money. Traditionally legal aid has been paid for on hourly rates. Over the last two years, we have moved towards fixed fees for cases and stages of cases at police stations, magistrates’ courts and Crown Courts and across a range of civil cases. 70% of legal help is now paid through fixed fees.
Making a change of this sort is always going to be difficult and we understand the concerns of ordinary providers, many of whom have a lifetime of experience of the traditional way of doing things behind them. We have talked to over 1,000 of them during consultation events and heard their hopes and fears. But we believe
that with careful planning and by listening carefully to their concerns, we can introduce an element of price competition in a way that is fair to all, and maintains and improves the quality we want for clients. |
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Seminars from September
2008 to January 2009
These events, which start at 5:30pm with drinks
and canapés and the seminar at 6pm, are free and open to anyone to attend, provide important
context for our work as commissioners and
providers, open up networks of contacts and
promote the role of the Academy amongst
participants from other sectors.
Places at these seminars are limited; please
contact the Academy at email:
academy@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, if you would
like to secure a place.
16 September 2008 – at the Jolly Hotel St
Ermins, (Cameo Suite) 2 Caxton Street, St
James Park, London, SW1H 0QW
‘Developing commissioning skills: learning
from across the public sector’
By Daniel Burke, Director, Government & Public
Sector, PricewaterHouse Coopers
21 October 2008 – at the Holiday Inn
Leamington Spa / Warwick, (Warwick Suite)
Olympus Avenue Tachbrook Park, Warwick
CV34 6RJ
‘Leadership across Public Services’
Chris Bull, CEO, Herefordshire Council /
Herefordshire Primary Care Trust |
19 November 2008 – at The Rubens Hotel,
(Rembrance Suite) 39 Buckingham Palace
Road, London SW1V 0PS
‘Managing Competition’
By Bob Ricketts, Director, Commissioning &
System Directorate, Dept of Health
9 December 2008 – Hesperia – London
Victoria, (Britain & Clore Suite), 2 Bridge Place, Victoria SW1V 1QA
‘Third Sector Commissioning: the reality’
By Gordon Murray, Programme Manager for the
National Programme for Third Sector
Commissioning, IDEA
13 January 2009 – at the Jolly Hotel St Ermins, (Marlborough Suite) 2 Caxton Street, St James Park, London, SW1H 0QW
‘Three Myths & the Magnificent Seven’
By Nigel Walker, Senior Commissioning Advisor at
the Commissioning & Systems Directorate of the
Department of Health
If you would like to attend, please email:
academy@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk |
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Commissioning Conference
25 & 26 February 2009
More details in the next bulletin. Watch this space. |
Academy Seminars from March 2009
18 March 2009 – Venue TBA
‘DWP Commissioning Strategy’
By Alan Cave, Delivery Director, Delivery
Directorate, Dept for Work & Pensions
22 April 2009 – Venue TBA
By Richard Selwyn, Government & Public Sector,
PIPC Consultancy - Topic TBA
Further details will be in the next bulletin. If you
would like to attend, please email:
academy@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
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Is there something you wish to know about?
In future bulletins we would like to cover a question and answer session and would really like to you to
take part in this.
Please suggest topics for knowledge or submit any questions which will be published in the next bulletin.
The intention is to get readers to answer these questions in order to share best practice and generate further interest and discussion.
Please contact the Administrator at the Academy via email: academy@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk |
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