GSCPF Votes To Become
Social Care Ideas Factory

Members of Glasgow Social Care Providers Forum voted overwhelmingly
by 46 votes to 2, to change the organisation’s name and its role, at a special
general meeting on Wednesday March 16.

GSCPF will become the Social Care Ideas Factory with an official launch in
April 2011, when it will concentrate on helping drive social change and social
care transformation.

Director Charlie Barker said: “I am absolutely delighted that our members
have embraced this radical change, and given their overwhelming support to
our change of name and our new role.

“We are committed to becoming the leading lights in social change to ensure
that people who require supports get what they need and want to live
their ‘best lives’.

“But we can’t do it alone because successful change will depend on
participation of a wide range of people

“We plan to expand our membership from solely Glasgow’s social care
provider organisations to everyone who has a stake in how care will be
delivered in the future.

Membership of the Social Care Ideas Factory will be open to:

1. Individuals who require supports, carers, allies, supporters
2. Health, Housing, Education & Social Care Providers
3. Peer networks, advocacy, umbrella organisations and citizen
   movements
4. Individuals-professionals, sole traders, workforce
5. Corporate companies, Public sector, Government, Local Authorities,
   Unions
6. Suppliers, Industries & Trades people.

Charlie Barker added: “The practice model of the Social Care Ideas Factory
will be to encourage and involve members to work together to ‘craft innovative
responses’ to the spectrum of reshaping, transformation of social care as we
know it.

“The Ideas Factory will also support members with the theory, policy, system,
process and practice of Personalisation and Self Directed Support.

“Our current funders Glasgow City Council Social Work (Service
Modernisation and Children & Families teams), the Council’s Education
Services and the Scottish Government have fully endorsed this change of
model and approach”.

GSCPF’s Lifestyle Show
Bowls Over Budget Holders

Over fifty exhibitors including traditional care providers, a lifestyle coach, a yoga coach, a dance troupe for the disabled and a major commercial bowling alley company were among fifty exhibitors at Glasgow’s first-ever Lifestyle Show for people with learning and other disabilities who now fund their care through their own budgets.

Charlie Barker, Director of Glasgow Social Care Providers Forum who organised the Art of Living Lifestyle Show in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Wednesday February 23 said: “It was great to welcome such a wide range of exhibitors including commercial organisations, and professions from outwith the sector who are waking up to the fact that SDS budget holders represent a growing market they can’t afford to ignore”.

Dave McGowan Assistant Manager of AMF Bowling at the Quay in Glasgow whose stall included a mobile bowling lane, said: “We’ve had a lot of interest from budget holders and other service users many of whom tried their hand at bowling.

“We’re delighted at the opportunity to raise awareness that our 23 lane centre at the Quay is completely disabled friendly with special rates to make it even more accessible”.

Sue Hurel who runs Dru Yoga classes in and around Glasgow was another exhibitor at the show. Sue, who ran several sessions during the day, said: “I’ve met loads of people including some on SDS who were looking for activities that would interest them.

“Dru Yoga is particularly good for people with all sorts of disabilities because it is very gentle and focuses on what people can do rather than what they can’t, and how exercises can be tailored to meet their abilities to give them the maximum benefit.

“The Show has been well worth while, and very enjoyable.”

Life Coach Sue McGillivray said: “We have been busy all day talking to everyone from service providers, service users, budget holders, their supporters and carers and social workers.

“It has been a very enjoyable day, and very enlightening.

“Some of the budget holders are interested in life coaching as something they might put in their portfolio, and a provider organisation has asked me to run a stress management course for some of the women in their care”.

Ruth Massie a support worker with Share Scotland brought Sara Deitch to take part in the displays by Indepen-Dance, the dance company for people with disabilities.

Ruth said: “I think this is great event because it shows a lot of the positive things that are happening when all we tend to hear about are the cuts.”

Michael Freedman who is supported in his own accommodation in Thornliebank by the Richmond Fellowship was a visitor at the show.

He said: “I have been very impressed.

“The bowling which I tried, and Indepen-Dance which I watched were real eye openers, and I found the life coach really interesting.”

Charlie Barker added: “The feedback from everyone involved was: ‘we need more of this sort of event’, and that’s a demand we will be trying to satisfy, particularly when we become the Social Care Ideas Factory in April.”

[View with PicLens]

Council spells out what
Personal Budgets can
And cannot be spent on

Glasgow City Council Social Work Department has published a raft of
documents on its website providing detailed guidance on Personalisation and
Self Directed Support for providers and service users.

The documents are available on the Council’s Social Care Services
Personalisation paperwork webpage at:

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Care_Support/Personalisation/sdspaperwork

Among the guidance is a summary of what personal budget holders can
and cannot spend their money on.

For Providers the advice includes the following:

The Individual Budget remains Local Authority Funding even when
it is sitting in an individual’s bank account or with a service provider.
If the funding is paid directly to the individual, they must comply
with the Self Directed Support – Individual Budget Interim Financial
Procedures for Service Users. It is important for organisations to
familiarise themselves with the above procedures in order to be able
to support service users to comply with them.

Where an individual’s IB is held and managed by a provider, the
provider will require to account for the funding to the local authority.
The process for this is still in development.

The following principles should be borne in mind throughout. The
budget should be linked clearly to the outcomes agreed as a priority
for the individual requiring support.
An outcome is the objective or end result that the individual is aiming
to achieve. The outcomes, the means by which the individual is
attempting to achieve them and the cost of the support needed to
achieve them, are recorded in the individuals outcome based support
plan.

The SEQ highlights the areas that are eligible for social care funding
and the IB should be used to meet outcomes in these areas. There
can be several outcomes met by engaging in any one activity.

It is also important to note that the IB should not be used for
expenditure that other sources of income (such as welfare benefits)
normally pay for.

For service users the guidance on how the money can be spent
includes the following:

Your Individual Budget must be spent on meeting the outcomes
agreed in your support plan, and you are responsible for using these
funds wisely.

Your support plan will identify:-

• How your money will be spent.
• What the arrangements are for monitoring the money.
• How the money will be managed taking into account any risks
  which might exist.

If you are unsure about any aspect of this you should speak to your
care manager or support organisation.

What you can’t spend the money on

Your Individual Budget is Local Authority funding paid directly to you
to meet the social care outcomes agreed in your support plan.
There are therefore some areas which you cannot use your Individual
Budget for:

• Anything which is against the law, including employment law
• Gambling
• Financial investments
• Healthcare needs that should be met from the NHS
• Paying for things that other sources of income should cover
  - alcohol, tobacco, grocery shopping, clothes, personal entertainment
  (for example the purchase of your own concert ticket or sporting
  event ticket), paying for you to go on holiday (unless this is to provide
  respite for a carer), rent, mortgage payments, utility bills, home
  improvement, repairs and maintenance costs.
• You cannot normally employ your husband, wife or partner, or
  close relatives or their partner or husband or wife

If you are unsure about any aspect of this you should check with your
Care Manager or Support Organisation.

The full list of guidance documents available at:
http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Care_Support/Personalisation/sdspaperwork

• Guidance:

• Guidance for Providers
• Financial Guidance for service users
• FAQs

• Templates

• Self Evaluation Questionnaire Template (provider version)
• Financial Assessment Form
• My Support Plan Template

• And additional supporting documentation:

• What needs to be in a Support Plan
• Talking points leaflet

Further items will be added as they become available and the FAQs will
be updated for accessibility shortly.

Any queries regarding the page or contents please feel free to get in
touch with Lynn Paterson:

Lynn Paterson
, Service Modernisation
Social Work Services
Glasgow City Council 
Social Work Services,
Wheatley House, 25 Cochrane Street, Glasgow G1 1HL
Email Lynn Paterson

Charities hit by job losses
As the cuts start to bite

The Herald newspaper has revealed that two leading charities have
announced substantial job losses and say a third is due to follow suit.

The paper reports that the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
informed employees on Friday that it is to make 23 of its 132 staff redundant.

Last week staff at Apex Scotland, a charity which works with ex-offenders,
wrote to its employees (around 60 people) to warn them that between one-
third and a half of their jobs were to go, as a direct result of Coalition cuts to
Government employment programmes.

The paper also says that the Scottish Refugee Council is due to confirm that
44 of its 59 workers have been told they are at risk of redundancy as it seeks
to shed 28% of its staff as a result of cuts to contracts it has with the UK
Border Agency.

Citizens Advice Scotland is thought to be planning to announce a redundancy
programme next week, after its sister organisation in England announced
substantial job cuts.

About 45,000 voluntary organisations across Scotland employ more than
130,000 professionally paid staff.

SCVO is the national body for Scotland’s charities. Martin Sime, SCVO chief
executive, said: “In these tough times making difficult decisions is something
our members and the third sector as a whole are facing on a daily and weekly
basis,” he said.

“The irony is that this comes at a time when all political parties are united in
agreement that the third sector should play a greater and more central role in
re-shaping Scotland’s future. Unfortunately, the sector’s capacity to deliver on
this opportunity is being dangerously eroded by the disproportionate cuts we
face in comparison to other sectors.”

Read the full report at:

http://www.heraldscotland.com:80/news/home-news/exclusive-charities-hit-by-job-losses-as-cuts-bite-1.1082686

Scottish Ministers have announced that the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007, commonly referred to as the PVG Scheme, will commence on Monday 28 February 2011.

This is important legislation that will change the way that Disclosures are processed in Scotland. It will have a major impact on how organisations process Disclosures for volunteers. Checking staff and volunteers is an important part of safe recruitment and the PVG Scheme will make it possible for employers to do a quick and simple check to verify that a person is not known to be unsuitable to work – paid or unpaid – with vulnerable groups.

The Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme (PVG Scheme) will:

• help to ensure that those who have regular contact with children and protected adults through paid and unpaid work do not have a known history of harmful behaviour

• be quick and easy to use, reducing the need for PVG Scheme members to complete a detailed application form every time a disclosure check is required

• strike a balance between proportionate protection and robust regulation and make it easier for employers to determine who they should check to protect their client group

The PVG Scheme will affect a wide and diverse range of organisations and groups across the statutory, voluntary and private sectors that provide services, activities and amenities for children and protected adults.

More information on the PVG Scheme can be accessed via: http://www.pvgschemescotland.org

FAQs can be accessed via:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Young-People/children-families/pvglegislation/FAQs

Guidance and training materials can be accessed via:

http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk/pvg_index.html

Telecare Event Voted
A Great Success

GSCPF’s groundbreaking Telecare event, Balancing Care, People and
Technology in 2011, at the Raddison Blu was a huge success, attracting 120
delegates and almost 20 exhibitors.

The keynote speaker was Dr Kevin Doughty, Deputy Director of the Centre for
Usable Home Technology at the University of York.

Dr Doughty talked the delegates through a vast range of assistive technology
devices, including top-of the-range powersuit-style exoskeletons which can
enable people to walk up stairs without a chairlift – and have price tags to
match their versatility – as well as an animated baby seal companion robot
which melts hearts wherever it goes.

At the other end of the price scale he detailed free aps for smart phones
including one which sounds an alarm if the person carrying it suffers an
epileptic fit…and uses GPS technology to pinpoint their position.

On the telemedicine front Dr Doughty highlighted a mirror which can diagnose
common ailments when you stand in front of it.

John Owens, Head of Service (Adult Services) Glasgow City Council who leads
in Telecare for the city spoke of progress in introducing assistive technology
on a number of fronts.

Among other developments he said the council intends to set up a Telecare
Partnership Board in March, and would be looking for input from GSCPF
members.

The event concluded with a Problem Solving Panel Chaired by Lynn Blair,
and featuring Dr Doughty, Anne Conlin, Development and Training Manager
Carers Scotland, Janette Hughes Project Manager Wellness and Health
Innovation and David Williams Assistant Director of Glasgow’s Social Care
Services.

GSCPF Director Charlie Barker said: “We were delighted with interest in this
event.

“The delegates got the best of both worlds – excellent speakers and
workshops on all aspects of assistive technology, and the chance to actually
try out some of the high tech devices we were discussing.

“The feedback from both the delegates and the exhibitors was extremely positive.
The companies who took stands were really pleased with the level of interest,
and the quality of the inquiries they received”.

Delegate Bernie Molloy, Services Manager, Respite Services with The Mungo
Foundation said: “There was almost too much to take in at one time.

“I particularly liked Deaf Connections’ Sign On Screen which lets deaf people
use an on-line video interpreting service to communicate in sign language
with hearing people who are using an ordinary phone.

“I was also impressed with a device called Just Checking which allows you to
monitor the movement of vulnerable people in their own homes to determine the
sort of support they need”.

One of the exhibitors Billy Graham of Chubb Community Care said: “It’s been
a fantastic event for us both in terms of raising our profile with such a relevant
group of people, and also in terms of orders.”

To view all the presentations, including Dr Doughty’s, please go to:
http://www.selfdirectedsupportideasfactory.co.uk/content/553/from-the-balancing-care-people-and-technology-in-2011-conference

Report Warns Care Workers
Must Adapt to Deliver SDS

GSCPF Director Charlie Barker has welcomed the latest research into
Personalisation and Self Directed Support and its key message that the new
system will only work properly if care workers and organisations are able to
adapt to changing working practices.

Charlie said: “The report highlights the sort of issue we have been raising
with our members, including the need to recognise the scale and scope of
the change and to adapt their systems and working practices to deliver these
changes.

“There are real challenges for our member organisations and particularly for
their staff, as the report points out.

“Helping our members and their staff cope with these pressures is the main
reason we will become the Social Care Ideas Factory in April when we will
concentrate on helping drive change in social care delivery.

Third Force News reported on the research which was commissioned by
the Voluntary Sector Social Services Workforce Unit and conducted by the
Scottish Centre for Employment Research at the University of Strathclyde.

Dr Ian Cunningham, of Strathclyde Business School, told the paper:

“Our research found that front-line staff and managers were generally
enthusiastic about the principles of personalisation, and welcomed
opportunities to develop their skills.

“However, there was considerable anxiety about job security, and the impact
that deteriorating terms and conditions can have on worker morale.”

The research suggests that, by giving individuals more control over their own
budgets and the type of service they would like to receive, personalisation
has the potential to radically change the whole character of the social services
workforce.

Judith Midgley, director of the Voluntary Sector Workforce Unit, said: “ Rolling
out personalised services will rely on the commitment, skills and enthusiasm
of the existing workforce.

“The challenge for policy makers and organisations is to ensure that the
opportunities it offers for greater job satisfaction outweigh concerns about
working conditions”.

Read the full Third Force News article at:
http://www.scvo.org.uk/tfn/news/care-providers-must-adapt-for-system-to-
work-says-report/

Read the full report at:
http://www.ccpscotland.org/assets/files/vssswu/Articles%20and%20Reports/
Personalisation%20Report%20Final%2015th%20November.pdf

A Telecare Exhibition bristling with down-to-earth devices to help people live independent lives in their own homes opens in Glasgow on January 20.

Among the devices on show will be the Hob Angel which sounds an alarm if a pot is left on a live hob, and a touch screen driven computer system for the
elderly and those with learning disabilities.

Glasgow Social Care Providers Forum is organising the event in the city’s Radisson Blu Hotel, with around 20 exhibitors and150 delegates expected to
attend.

Cathy Gladwin came up with the idea of the Hob Angel while working as a loss adjuster in Glasgow and writing endless reports on the devastation caused by chip pan fires.

Four years ago she joined forces with Gary Shaw to set up Jordan Shaw Ltd in Alloa Clackmannanshire and the company plans to start production of the Hob Angel later this year.

Cathy said: “We quickly realised that there is a huge market for this product for people with dementia sufferers, learning disabilities, and anyone who has memory problems or is likely to be distracted.

“The Hob Angel sounds an alarm if a pot or pan is left unattended for a
specified time, and if there is no response it will shut off the hob.

“It has already been specified for new build student accommodation because students are particularly prone to being distracted by computers or video games, and for a holiday cottage development for dementia sufferers”.

Eve Hatton is the Director of Tillicoultry-based Ominqare which is pioneering iQare, a simple touch screen computer system, in Scotland.

Eve said: “The huge advantage for people with learning disabilities is that they don’t have to be able to read and write to use their computer for all sorts of things.

“Our video messaging system can be set up so that all they do is press a picture of let’s say their Mum, look at the screen, tell her they are fine, or want her to call, and the system will send that video message for them. All their other support systems can be accessed just as easily.

“We are also working with Independent Living Scotland to explore the potential of iQare’s interactive calendar system which can provide service users with information on important events or visits or alerts on taking medication”.

Glasgow Social Care Providers Director Charlie Barker said: “The move to Self Directed Support has resulted in huge interest in the Telecare sector because it has the potential to enhance independent living for a wide range of client groups.

“The exhibition will give service providers, and service users the chance to try first hand a wide range of telecare products from remotely monitored entry systems to wrist watches that let the wearer call for help while pinpointing their current location”.

GSCPF is set to become the Social Care Ideas Factory in April when the organisation will concentrate on driving social change.

From more information and booking details for the Telecare Exhibition, please see our event listing.

Slivers of Time – A New Way of Working

GSCPF Director Charlie Barker has welcomed a revolutionary new ultra
flexible working practice called Slivers of Time – providing it can be
implemented without affecting the benefit entitlements of those involved.

Charlie Barker said: “The Slivers of Time initiative has great potential in the
area of SDS where people with their own budgets might need support for only
a few hours at a time.

“It could also provide a bridge back into employment for a whole range of
people such as carers and single parents who might not be able to commit to
the normal minimum for part time working.

“But we have to see how it works in practice and be sure that it doesn’t have
adverse effect on benefit entitlements.”

The new working model is of particular interest as GSCPF gears up to
become the Social Care Ideas Factory which will focus on helping its member
deliver social change like the move to personalisation and Self Directed
Support.

Slivers of time, a social enterprise founded by the former BBC producer
Wingham Rowan, is designed to tap into the pool of people who cannot work
the usual hours expected even of the average part-time employee by enabling
them to sell their labour in blocks of as little as 2 hours a week.

It is aimed at parents with young children, disabled people who may not be
available for work for most of the week, people who care for a dependent
adult or the long-term unemployed who want to ease slowly back into work.

Rowan said: “There are millions of people who need to work in a fragmented
way, some of whom are real assets but they can be excluded from the labour
market.”

The government is keen to incorporate the slivers of time system into the new
universal credit, the centrepiece of the welfare reforms unveiled last week by
Iain Duncan Smith.

Lord Freud and Maria Miller, the welfare ministers want to pilot the system for
disabled and lone parents at jobcentres across Britain from next April with a
view to rolling it into the running of the universal credit from 2013.

The government’s decision to throw its weight behind the pioneering system
comes as Tesco announced it is to throw open a slivers of time scheme to
its 340,000-strong workforce, allowing any Tesco employee to sign up for
overtime for modest or longer periods of time at their workplace or at any
Tesco store in their area.