Health and Social Services: Budget Transfer from Treasury and Resources re development of a Third Sector Forum

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A decision made on 2 August 2011:

Decision Reference: MD-HSS-2011-0031
Decision Summary Title :	Budget transfer from the Treasury and Resources Department to the Health and Social Services Department for the development of a Third Sector Forum.		Date of Decision Summary:	22 July 2011
Decision Summary Author:	Assistant Director Ministerial Support		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title :	Budget transfer from the Treasury and Resources Department to the Health and Social Services Department for the development of a Third Sector Forum.		Date of Written Report:	22 July 2011
Written Report Author:	Assistant Director Ministerial Support		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Budget transfer from the Treasury and Resources Department to the Health and Social Services Department for the development of a Third Sector Forum.
Decision(s): The Minister approved a non-recurring budget transfer in 2011 of £20,000 to the Health and Social Service Department (HSSD) from the Treasury and Resources (T&R) and gave ‘in principle’ approval for funding of an additional £100,000 to also be transferred to HSSD 2012 / 13. These funds are to be used to support the development of a Third Sector Forum.
Reason(s) for decision: At present Jersey does not have a dedicated Third Sector infrastructure agency providing development support or a representative voice to the Sector. The need for this function has been clearly identified by the Third Sector. The funding (£20,000 in 2011 plus additional £100,000 in 2012/13) will be transferred to HSSD who will provide grant funding of an equivalent amount to The Friends of the Bridge to enable them to employ a dedicated Third Sector Development Officer.
Resource Implications: The HSSD revenue head of expenditure will increase by £20,000 in 2011.
Action required: HSSD to inform T&R once this decision has been approved.
Signature:		Position: Minister for Health and Social Services
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Health and Social Services: Budget Transfer from Treasury and Resources re development of a Third Sector Forum

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Health and Social Services

Ministerial Decision Report

budget transfer from the Treasury and resources department to the Health and Social Services Department for the development of a third sector forum

Purpose of Report

To set out of the reasons why it is recommended that the Minister for Health and Social Services (HSSD) approve a non-recurring budget transfer in 2011 of £20,000 to the Health and Social Service Department (HSSD) from the Treasury and Resources (T&R) plus ‘in principle’ approval for an additional £100,000 to also be transferred to HSSD 2012 / 13.

The funding will be used by HSSD to provide grant funding of an equivalent amount to The Friends of the Bridge to enable them to employ a dedicated Development Officer to set up a Third Sector Development Forum.

Background

The need for a Third Sector Forum is widely recognized by existing Third Sector agencies, States Departments and the Association of Jersey Charities (AJC). The role of the Forum would be to support the Developmentisation of the Third Sector, enhancing governance and standards in order that:

the Island benefits from a vibrant, active Third Sector which is well place to promote and develop civil society
the Third Sector can play an active role in policy development whilst at the same time remaining an independent ‘critical friend’
co-ordination between statutory and Third sector agencies is improved, thus reducing duplication of effort and resource and supporting the development of seamless services
Third Sector service providers are better placed to tender for and deliver services, including States funded services.

The States Strategic Plan clearly identifies the need to work with the Third Sector in order to deliver efficient, effective public services (Priority 3). This has also been identified in relation to other States initiatives including, but not limited to:

Social Policy Forum: set up in 2009 by the State’s Social Policy Steering Group the Forum’s Chair - Philip Le Claire - recognizes that a more structured approach is required to engage Third sector participation. At present the Social Policy Forum, which consists of four members, is not representative of the diversity of the sector.

Children and Young People’s Strategic Framework: the consultation process clearly highlights the need to support the development of Third sector agencies and provide a central access point for States Departments.

The voluntary sector infrastructure in the UK is well developed with agencies such as

the National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), Volunteering England (VE) and the National Association of Councils of Voluntary Services (NACVS) receiving significant amounts of government funding on a national level, regional and local level to support the sector and volunteering development. These agencies are seen as central to the Big Society.

Jersey does not currently have any infrastructure agency providing a shared voice to the Third Sector or supporting it to achieve high standards of practice. The nearest equivalent is the AJC whose primary focus is delivery of a small grants programme.

Rationale

The added benefit provided by the Third Sector is well documented and researched. Charities and not-for-profit agencies have the ability to provide knowledge and community reach beyond that provided by the apparatus of the State. The Sector engages Islanders as users, donors and volunteers, empowering individuals and supporting people’s conversion from service user to active citizen.

The Sector’s flexibility allows it to intervene early minimising the financial, social and environmental impact of the unsolved problem.

Progress to date

Steps have already been taken to enable the development of a Third Sector Forum including:

The Third Sector, under the auspices of Family Nursing and Homecare, undertook a feasibility study in 2007 which clearly identified the need to establish an umbrella organisation with a paid staff member. Further to this the AJC amended its charitable constitution enabling it to take on a development role however due to a lack of capacity and some concerns about duality of function this initiative has not been progressed.

A group of local charities know as the Development Group has been working in partnership to develop a draft job description for a development officer and draft terms of reference for the proposed Development Forum. This Group will form a fledging Third Sector Forum Committee that will work to set up the proposed Third Sector Forum.

The existing Development Group are seeking funding to enable them to employ a Development Officer to take forward the development of a Third Sector Forum.

That Officer would:

report to a Third Sector Forum Committee (this Committee would be formed a representatives from across the Third Sector)
be employed by the Friends of the Bridge [1] in the first instance (would simply act to provide an employment structure with the Officer reporting to the Third Sector Forum Committee)
be employed on a fixed term 2 year contract
work from The Bridge (The Bridge will provide office space for the 2 year period)
initiate development of the Third Sector Forum including developing a future funding model and development programme.

4. Recommendation

The HSSD Minister approves the proposed transfer of funds to HSSD from the Treasury. Whilst the Third Sector Development Forum is not a HSSD initiative it is recognized that HSSD is probably best placed of all States Departments to have an overview of this initiative.

[1] Friends of the Bridge is a registered charity whose members include all organisations operating out of the Bridge. In order to ensure continuity of line management support, a representative of the Friends of the Bridge will act as the line manager to the postholder and also be appointed to the Third Sector Forum Committee.