Money Advice Scotland Annual Conference & Exhibition 2016 Crieff Hydro, 2nd & 3rd June 2016

Local Authority Funding:- Impact on Advice Services Money Advice Scotland Annual Conference 2016 Andrew McGuire, Sandra Sankey, Karen Carrick, Monika Baczyk Improvement Service

What the presentation will cover The Improvement Service Overview of Local Govt Funding and Challenges Local Govt funding of Money Advice Options and challenges in responding to shortfall in resources Workshop case study

The Improvement Service Established in 2005 Local Government organisation Supporting improvement on a wide range of issues of common interest to councils & CPPs Not for profit Working with Scottish councils and their partners to improve outcomes for citizens Delivering a range of products regarding data analysis, digital public services, learning & development, performance management, research and knowledge management Providing advisory services, consultancy and facilitation Supporting Elected Member development

Current Local Government Funding c.£18bn total LG spend in Scotland SG funding for LG c.£11bn -11 % real term change in SG funding for LG since 2010/11 Reduced flexibility (e.g. 8 yrs of Council Tax freeze, class sizes, etc) Cost pressures – (e.g. demographic change, living wage, pension costs, etc) Settlement beyond 2016/17 not yet known, but further significant cuts anticipated

Government Finance and Demand 2009/10 – 2017/18 (% real terms) Updated to account for Autumn Statement Hard lines = original forecast. Dotted lines – updated analysis Real income continuing to fall against context of rising demand Major gap arising

Savings options have included: Voluntary redundancy / early retirement Increased fees & charges Reducing provision / eligibility for certain services Sale of assets Use of reserves Borrowing Outsourcing / ALEOs / 3rd sector / private sector Transformation initiatives 12% reduction in staff since 2008 Risk of reduced staff / loss of experience LGBF continuing improvement Fees - e.g. rent, some social care services, parking, use of amenities – leisure facilities / pitch hire

The Dangers………. We simply cut rather than re-think the system Small cuts to fragile budgets can create big losses Focus on s-t balancing the books We prioritise services and not outcomes We compete rather than share capacity

Audit Scotland LG Overview 2016 “The scale of the challenge in 2016/17 and beyond has significantly increased because of the local government funding settlement. The settlement has substantial implications for services….” “Most of the savings councils have made over the last four years have relied on incremental reductions to a wide range of services and relatively small increases in income from fees and charges. Many savings have come from staff voluntary redundancies. There is a limit to how many staff can be lost before there is a major impact on the quality or quantity of services. Councils need to consider options for more fundamental changes to the way they deliver services.”

Local Government Funding of Money Advice Improvement Service partnership with Money Advice Service Overseen by Advisory Board - range of partners from across money advice sector Initial research:- Scottish Local authorities invest around £21 million p.a. in money advice services Councils are the single largest partner involved in funding / delivering money advice in Scotland But very limited info on actual impact of money advice ‘Messy landscape’ - likely gaps, duplication, confusion, etc Wide range of areas for improvement identified Framework for Public Funding of Advice workstream Money Advice Performance Management Framework workstream

Framework for Public Funding of Advice Partners Include: Money Advice Service, Improvement Service, Scottish Government, Scottish Legal Aid Board, etc The Framework aims to:- • Assist funders to ensure they are working in line with good practice for funding of advice services; • Minimise duplication and overlap by encouraging referrals and a joined-up strategic approach between funders and providers; • Drive improvements in the quality and impact of advice services; and • Focus on the best outcomes for clients, whilst providing good overall value for the public purse.

Money Advice Performance Management Framework (MAPMF) MAPMF is a key element of the Framework for Public Funding of Advice Effective perf mgt is essential to public service reform agenda Work on MAPMF has involved widespread consultation to build consensus on the most relevant indicators and definitions (aim to reduce reporting burden on frontline staff) Will help highlight the contribution of money advice services / make the case for continued investment, incl value added and difference made to clients Improved consistency helps facilitate sharing of good practice, benchmarking, opportunities for partnership working Can help identify and actively manage potential improvement areas Scope for framework roll-out beyond councils

MAPMF – Some Initial Results (Year 2 data from Councils due to be returned shortly for analysis) Findings from year 1 data analysis include:- Ethnic minority groups are accessing money advice services as well as the general population (Scottish level data) 50% of all clients seen by money advice services have an annual household income of less than £15,000 The average financial gain for clients using money advice services is £1,900 Every £1 invested by councils in money advice results in around £5 in people’s pockets

Current Year Budgets

Public Sector Reform Challenges Need to address the scale of spend on negative outcomes & reduce long term demand for public services Managing down demand is central to balancing books Improving outcomes by:- Targeting ‘hard to reach’ / tackling poverty & inequalities Implementing the shift to prevention and early intervention Client-centred and evidence-based approaches More effective partnerships / integration / service delivery models Access to good quality advice services arguably more important than ever Focus on prevention, improving financial capability, health & wellbeing

Conclusion Very limited options for increased funding - need to make better use of existing resources across the sector In light of financial challenges, need to make the case effectively for:- Ongoing investment in advice services to deal with current ‘reactive demand’ Increasing preventative interventions that reduce future need (e.g. in schools) Advice services and financial capability can be an important means of improving outcomes and driving down l-t demand for public services

Final Key Messages Rising to the challenge will require more radical solutions than the incremental changes of recent years Routes to improving outcomes in a sustainable way are likely to include:- Considering new ways of providing services, including best mix of delivery channels Increasing focus on preventative interventions aimed at improving financial capability Embedding key principles of the ‘Framework for Public Funding of Advice Services’ across Scotland Ongoing development, use and roll-out of MAPMF to assess the performance of services and identify improvement opportunities Making best use evaluation evidence re what does / does not work (MAS Evaluation Toolkit) Better joining-up / collaboration / sharing of resources and expertise More effective partnership working / co-ordination to ensure best possible use of resources needs to happen both strategically and at a local level Better targeting of services on those who will benefit most (including current unmet need) Streamlining the ‘customer journey’ and ensuring timely access to high quality advice

Contact Info andrew.mcguire@improvementservice.org.uk sandra.sankey@improvementservice.org.uk karen.carrick@improvementservice.org.uk monika.baczyk@improvementservice.org.uk

your challenge It is February ‘16, Warrenshire Council have agreed to reduce funding for in-house services and grants to the voluntary sector by 10% on an across the board basis from 1 April ‘16. From 1 April ’17, a further cut of 20% is expected. Your task is to consider, from the perspective you have been allocated, how best to manage with the reduced levels of funding, both current and future, and to consider how services might be sustained or, if possible, enhanced. This should be done in a very general way. Your plan and the way it is presented can be very creative and the only constraints are that; there is no additional funding from the local Authority any planned activities must be legal When you have agreed on your approach, you should consider how it might best be presented or pitched to the panel of 3 decision makers - our very own ‘dragons’. Their decision will be final. Your pitch should last a maximum of 2 minutes and can be in any form you wish.

Introducing your dragons True or False? False