Housing Support regional event Dundee 16th July 2013 Welfare - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Housing Support regional event Dundee 16th July 2013

Welfare Reform and housing support Yvette Burgess Unit Director, HSEU

Overview • Supported housing – current and future picture • Accessing benefits advice • Linking with national response to welfare reform • Discussion on impact of welfare reform: • Role of housing support workers • Supported housing – being classed as SEA? • Bedroom tax • DHP • SWF

Supported housing • Supported Exempt Accommodation (SEA) • What is it? • Why is it important? • What did our recent survey tell us?

Looking ahead  Devolved budget for additional housing related costs associated with supported housing before general roll out of UC  How will the DWP decide how much budget to devolve to Scotland?  HB data  An additional survey involving providers?

The need for advice and assistance

Assistance and advice  Practical support (eg referring to food banks)  Information and advice on fuel poverty problems  Information to help navigate social welfare problems (Type 1 advice)  Help to manage money and benefits (Type 1)  Advice on social welfare problems (Type 2)  Casework and representation – social welfare (welfare rights/debt/housing) (Type 2 or 3)  Infrastructure support – specialist second tier advice and training

Accessing advice  Making Advice Work grant  Total of £7.45M being made available:  Stream 1: impact of WR and financial problems £3.95M  Stream 2: aimed at avoiding homelessness and impact of WR on tenants of social landlords £2.5M  Stream 3: aimed at impact of WR on people with physical disabilites / mental health problems or those facing domestic abuse £1M  Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) to make announcements over the summer

Current focus of HSEU  Training on aspects of welfare reform  Briefings on aspects of welfare reform (on the HSEU website)  Discussions with Scottish Government and DWP on supported housing  Contributing to the work of the Scottish Government’s Expert Working Group

Discussion  Are your services judged to be SEA?  ….and, if not, is this an issue for you?  What have your experiences of Discretionary Housing Payments and Scottish Welfare Fund been so far?  What impact is welfare reform having on your services and the people you work with?

Contact details Yvette Burgess Unit Director, HSEU yvette.burgess@ccpscotland.org Heather McCluskey Information Officer, HSEU Heather.mccluskey@ccpscotland.org www.ccpscotland.org/hseu

Cheryl Campbell Senior Registration Officer Registration and Regulation

Mandatory Registration Part of the Register Mandatory Registration Social Workers September 2005 All Residential Child Care Workers September 2009 Adult Day Care and Care Home Managers November 2009 SCSWIS Authorised Officers March 2010 Managers in Day Care of Children Services November 2010 Practitioners in Day Care of Children September 2011 Services Supervisors in Care Home Services March 2012 Managers in School Care Accommodation November 2012 Practitioners in Adult Care Home Services 29 March 2013 Supervisors in School Care Accommodation 30 April 2013

Future Dates for Mandatory Registration Part of the Register Date of Mandatory Registration House Staff in School Care Accommodation 30 November 2013 Support Workers in Day Care of Children Services 30 June 2014 Housing Support & Care at Home Managers 31 January 2014 Support Workers in Adult Care Home Services 30 September 2015 Supervisors in Housing Support & Care at Home Expected 2017 Workers in Housing Support & Care at Home Expected 2020

New Workers • Where mandatory registration is in place workers starting in a new role have 6 months to achieve registration. • When the register opens for supervisors next year all new workers will be required to register within 6 months of commencing their role. This will be the same for all other workers in 2017.

Eligibility • Workers must be working in a service regulated by the Care Inspectorate to be eligible for registration. • Workers already registered with another regulatory body eg the Nursing and Midwifery Council are not eligible for registration with the SSSC. • Volunteers are not eligible to be registered with the SSSC.

Register Parts • How do I know which part of the Register I should be applying for? Workers should discuss this with their employers based on: • Definitions of register parts on the SSSC website • The role the worker undertaking not their job title

Registration Subject to Conditions • The SSSC can register a worker subject to the condition that they gain a qualification within a set period of time. • Employers under the Codes of Practice are required to support workers to gain their qualifications and monitor their progress. • Training plans should be in place to ensure that workers achieve their qualification within the required timescale. • Additional time may be granted if a worker has had particular difficulties in achieving their qualification this will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

Who is responsible for Registration? • Employers are responsible for ensuring they are employing registered workers – it can take up to 60 days to process an application for registration • Workers are responsible for maintaining their registration, including achieving qualifications The SSSC can remove someone from the Register without referral to a Registration Sub-Committee for the following reasons: • Non-Payment of Annual Fee • Failure to Renew • Failure to Meet a Condition

MySSSC Applicants Registrants Employers Universities • Apply online • Pay Fees • View employee • Student results details • Renew • Notification of Registration • Report changes to commencement employee details • Change of Details • View student • Endorse details • PRTL applications • Report changes to • Apply for • Maintain student details Registration countersignatories • Endorse applications

Ambassadors for Careers in Care • Promote the sector as offering a career of choice • Scottish workers volunteer to join UK network • Employers support staff for 4 hours over 6 month period

What do Ambassadors do? Describe what working in social services is like at local careers fairs in schools, colleges etc. Discuss what the job really involves with people considering whether a career in care is for them. More details on the SSSC website, careers pages. Please visit: www.sssc.uk.com or contact wendy.johnston@sssc.uk.com

Scottish Government resources - Voluntary Sector Development Fund (VSDF) 2013-14 £950,000 available this year VSDF contributes to the costs of meeting required registration qualification criteria set by the SSSC Workers in housing support services and care at home services eligible in 2013-14

VSDF 2013-14 Housing Support Services/Care at Home Supervisors and support workers have priority. Managers eligible but lower priority this year. Maximum grant of £28,000 per organisation. More details on the News page of the SSSC website, please visit: www.sssc.uk.com Applications sent to Scottish Government by 23 August 2013.

Laura Wylie Senior Conduct Case Officer Fitness to Practise

The Role of the Fitness to Practise Department: • To investigate allegations of misconduct against registered workers in order to determine their continued suitability for registration with the SSSC. • To determine if someone applying for registration is of good character, conduct and competence.

Fitness to Practise (FtP): Used to be known as the Conduct Department • FtP deals with referrals about applicants, registrants and social • service employees who are not registered with the SSSC but where the worker has or would have been dismissed on the grounds of misconduct by the employer. We receive referrals/information from numerous sources • including: members of the public; service users; employers; registered workers and applicants; the police; PVG; Care Inspectorate. Types of cases. • Our decisions may differ from a decision/action taken by an • employer.

An Employer’s Responsibilities: • In addition to their responsibilities under the Code of Practice, employers have responsibilities under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 in relation to any social service worker, whether the worker is registered with the SSSC or not (non- registered workers). • As part of the drive to raise standards of practice and increase the protection of the public, employers of social service workers have a duty to let the SSSC know if they dismiss a social service worker on the grounds of misconduct, or if a social service worker has resigned or left their job and the circumstances are such that the worker would otherwise have been dismissed for misconduct, or dismissal for misconduct would have been considered. This responsibility is set out under the legislation for the regulation of social service workers in Scotland.