Treasury and Resources
Ministerial Decision Report
Contingency Funding Request – Investment in initiatives that support vulnerable children (Family Support Workers)
- Purpose of Report
To approve budget transfers from Central Contingency of up to £896,150 over the years 2017, 2018 and 2019. The funding will be used to support two initiatives that support vulnerable children as follows:
1) up to £153,600 in 2017 and up to £160,000 in each of the years 2018 and 2019 from Central Contingency to the Education Department revenue head of expenditure to support delivery of the Family Support Workers initiative; and
2) up to £70,000 in 2017, up to £140,000 in 2018 and up to £212,500 in 2019 from Central Contingency to the Community and Constitutional Affairs Department revenue head of expenditure to support delivery of the Baby Steps universal antenatal programme.
This funding will enable the recruitment of six dedicated family support workers to support individual children and their families.
- Background
The MTFP2, as adopted by the States Assembly, included the allocation of £1.65million per year from Central Contingencies for initiatives that support vulnerable children. (Full amount £4,950,000 profiled as £1.65 million per year over the three-year period from 2017 to 2019).
As set out in MTFP2, that allocation is to support delivery of initiatives that include outstanding recommendations from key reports (e.g.: Williamson, Care Inquiry and Serious Case Reviews), where it is anticipated that those initiatives may feature in the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry recommendations (IJCI). It is anticipated that the IJCI will now due to be published in April 2017.
Further to the decision of the States Assembly, the Council of Ministers agreed on 9th November 2016 to the release of a proportion of the allocated contingency monies to support the delivery of nine different initiatives.
The Council of Ministers also agreed to delegate to the Chief Minster the decision to request the Treasury and Resources Minister to release the remaining contingency allocation in the future. Prior to making that request, the Chief Minister is required to have consulted with CAVA Ministers about the initiatives to be funded from the remaining allocation.
In accordance with that decision and having consulted with the CAVA Ministers, the Chief Minister is now requesting that the Treasury and Resources Minister release part of the unallocated contingency monies for two additional initiatives, as set out below. It is proposed that a total of up to £896,150 will be drawn down as up to £223,600 in 2017, up to £300,000 in 2018 and up to £372,500 in 2019, but the amount for each year may be varied without exceeding the total amount for the three years.
Project name | Lead Department | 2017 costs | 2018 costs | 2019 costs | Total over MTFP2 period |
Family Support Workers | Education Department | Up to £153,600 | Up to £160,000 | Up to £160,000 | Up to £473,600 |
Baby Steps universal antenatal programme | Community and Constitutional Affairs Department | Up to £70,000 | Up to £140,000 | Up to £212,500 | £422,550 |
| Up to £223,600 | Up to £300,000 | Up to £372,500 | Up to £896,150 |
Overview of two additional initiatives
Family Support Workers Initiative
Family Support Workers are a key component of Jersey’s early help approach. Early help is a model of collaborative working whereby a range of practitioners from different agencies work together to assess and understand the strengths and needs of a child and their family and then provide a co-ordinated multi-agency response to those needs. The aim is to support families before their needs become so great or problems so entrenched that statutory services such as social workers have to become involved.
Those practitioners include professionals working in schools, in early years’ environments and health professionals such as Family Nursing and Home Care, Education Support Services, the Youth Service and the voluntary and Community Sector, e.g. Brighter Futures and the NSPCC.
As it currently stands, Jersey’s Early Help team, which supports assessment of need and builds a team around the child and family, has no capacity to provide consistent home based support (for example, working with the family in their home to build life management skills such as time management to attend health and dental appointments; cooking skills and knowledge of nutrition; budget management).
The contingency funding will allow for the recruitment of six dedicated family support workers to support individual children and their families, helping to build the capacity of those families to meet their own needs.
Baby Steps (universal antenatal programme)
Babies under one are particularly vulnerable to abuse and neglect. One third of serious case reviews in England relate to babies under the age of 1 year (Brandon et al, 2012). In England and Wales babies are seven times more likely to be killed than older children (ONS, 2015). In Jersey the Safeguarding Partnership Board annual report found that in 2015 34% of children placed on the child protection register were under 4 years old. Abuse has life-long impacts and early adversity can cast a long shadow. Recent neurological and psychological research highlights more clearly than ever before how critical pregnancy and the first years are to a baby's development. They provide the essential foundations for all future learning, behaviour and health.
There is, however, evidence that antenatal education that focuses on the transition to parenthood on the relationship between partners and on the development of a positive parent-infant relationship can improve parent and child outcomes. The promotion of secure attachment and reflective functioning can play an important role in prevention of abuse and neglect.
The implementation of a universal antenatal programme is, therefore, a key component of the 1001 Critical Days manifesto. The aim being to ensure that all parents are able to access antenatel classes which address both the physical and emotional aspects of parenthood and the baby’s well-being and health social and emotional development.
Programme development in Jersey
In Jersey, the current antenatal provision tends to focus on the medical aspects of childbirth and can therefore fail to prepare parents for their new role in caring and supporting their baby when they go home after the birth.
The NSPCC is currently operating in Jersey and delivering a Baby Steps programme. The programme which is based on the Department of Health’s Preparation for Birth and Beyond framework and also incorporates other evidence about risk and protective factors in the perinatal period. It aims to:
- improve outcomes for parents and their babies and generate substantial savings later on
- promote informed choices and resilience before conception to create the conditions for families to thrive.
The NSPCC current Baby Steps programme is however targeted at a limited number of families; it is not a universal provision. The contingency funding will be used to develop on the NSPCC target programme in order that, by the beginning of 2019, it will be universally available to all expectant and new parents. This be will achieved through the provision of training and development of staff in relation to programme delivery and the collection of data for evaluation purposes. The staff will be based at Family Nursing and Home Care - in order to maximize the benefit of learning and partnership with MESCH (Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-Visiting) plus liaison with Samares Pathways - but will deliver the universal baby steps programme in different community settings.
Financial implications
In accordance with the Council of Ministers’ decision on 9th November 2016 a total of up to £2,260,650 was allocated for nine different projects over the three-year period (Table 1 below).
Table 1: Projects agreed on 9 November 2016
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | Total over three-year period |
Projects agreed by COM on 9 November | £723,850 | £768,400 | £768,400 | £2,260,650 |
Total MTFP allocation over three year period | £4,950,000 |
Remaining allocation from central contingencies | £2,689,350 |
The Treasury and Resources Minister is requested to release at total up to £896,150 from the remaining £2,689,350 allocation in Central Contingencies upon receipt of signed Ministerial Decisions from the Minister for Education and the Home Affairs Minister (table 2 below).
Table 2: Two additional initiatives.
Project name | Budget transfer from central contingency to revenue head of expenditure to department | Total budget transfer over MTFP2 period | 2017 draw down | 2018 draw down | 2019 draw down |
Family Support Workers | Education Department | Up to £473,600 | Up to £153,600 | Up to £160,000 | Up to £160,000 |
Baby Steps programme | Community and Constitutional Affairs Department | Up to £422,550 | Up to £70,000 | Up to £140,000 | Up to £212,500 |
Total allocation over MTFP2 period | Up to £896,150 | up to £223,600 | up to £300,000 | up to £372,500 |
3. Recommendation
The Minister is recommended to approve budget transfers from Central Contingency of up to £896,150 over the years 2017, 2018 and 2019. The funding will be used to support two initiatives that support vulnerable children as follows:
1) up to £153,600 in 2017 and up to £160,000 in each of the years 2018 and 2019 from Central Contingency to the Education Department revenue head of expenditure to support delivery of the Family Support Workers initiative; and
2) up to £70,000 in 2017, up to £140,000 in 2018 and up to £212,500 in 2019 from Central Contingency to the Community and Constitutional Affairs Department revenue head of expenditure to support delivery of the Baby Steps universal antenatal programme.
The Minister is also recommended to approve an increase in the Education Department’s staffing levels of 6.0 FTE for the years 2017-2019 to enable the recruitment of six dedicated family support workers to support individual children and their families.
4. Reason for Decision
Article 17(2) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 states that the Minister for Treasury and Resources is authorised to approve the transfer from contingency expenditure of amounts not exceeding, in total, the amount available for contingency expenditure in a financial year.
The current Contingency Allocation Policy (published as R.10/2012) sets the requirement for all allocations from Contingency to be considered by the Council of Ministers prior to submission to the Minister for approval.
The MTFP2, as adopted by the States Assembly, included the allocation of £1.65million per year from Central Contingencies for initiatives that support vulnerable children (£4,950,000 in total over the period from 2017 to 2019). Further to that, on 9th November 2016, the Council of Ministers collectively agreed nine projects to be allocated a proportion of those contingencies monies (totalling up to £2,260,650 over the period from 2017 to 2019). The Council of Ministers also collectively agreed to delegate to the Chief Minister the decision to request the Treasury and Resources Minister to fund other initiatives that support vulnerable children from the remaining contingency allocation.
The Chief Minister has signed decision MD-C-2017-0038 requesting the current allocation.
To comply with P67/1999 which charges the Minister for Treasury and Resources to regulate the number of persons that may be employed by the States.
5. Resource Implications
The Education Department revenue head of expenditure to increase by up to up to £473,600 over the period 2017 to 2019 (£153,600 in 2017, up to £160,000 in each of the years 2018 and 2019. The Community and Constitutional Affairs Department revenue head of expenditure to increase by up to £422,550 (up to £70,000 in 2017, up to £140,000 in 2018 and up to £212,500 in 2019).
Central Contingency to decrease by identical amounts.
The £896,150 in total is proposed to be drawn down across the years 2017, 2018 and 2019. The amount for each year may be varied without exceeding the total amount for the three years.
This decision does not change the total amount of expenditure approved by the States for 2017 and 2018 in the Medium Term Financial Plan.
Staffing levels in the Education Department will increase by 6.0 FTE for the years 2017-2019.
Report author : Head of Decision Support | Document date 28th March 2016 |
Quality Assurance / Review : Head of Decision Support | File name and path: L:\Treasury\Sections\Corporate Finance\Ministerial Decisions\DS, WR and SD\2017 - 00xx - Contingency - Family Support and babysteps |
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