CIRCULAR NO: SWSG 35/97

DD 38/97

SWSG Guidance package Index Ref: F16

22 December 1997

Chief Executives, Unitary Councils

Chief Social Work Officers/Directors of Social Work, Unitary Councils

Health Board General Managers

Directors of Housing, Unitary Councils

Chief Executive, Scottish Homes

Managing Directors, Scottish Homes Regions

Holders of SWSG/SWSI Circulars and Guidance Package

Dear Colleague

COMMUNITY CARE PLANNING: TIMESCALES

Summary

1. This Circular is issued under Section 5(1) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and introduces a new timescale for the publication of community care plans and a revised planning cycle. It also re-affirms that community care plans will cover a 3 year period and will be reviewed annually. These matters are contained in the Direction on Planning, attached. The first plans under the arrangements will be prepared by 30 June 1998 and cover the period 1998-2001. They will be subject to reviews, also to be published by 30 June annually.

Previous Guidance

2. The Direction above supersedes the Direction on Plans for Community Care Services of December 1990 attached to Circular SW1/1991. This circular adds to the existing guidance on community care planning but amends only at the margin that on the substance of community care plans (Circular SW 14/1994). The main guidance on community care planning is listed, for ease of reference, in Annex A.

Context

3. Unitary authorities were invited in Circular SW21/1995 to draw up community care plans, jointly with health boards, for the period 1997-2000. Most have either done so or are close to finalising their plan, though many are reviews of the plans they inherited from outgoing Regional Councils, disaggregated where appropriate. Their intention next year is to develop full plans for 1998-2001: others would in any event be expected to review and roll forward their substantive plan for 1997-2000.

4. Earlier this year we consulted on changing the date for publishing community care plans from 1 April to 30 June. That change was widely endorsed. A number of consultees took the opportunity to remind us of our commitment to harmonise, as far as possible, the timescales for publication of plans associated with community care, ie community care plans themselves, local authorities’ housing plans and Scottish Homes’ new Regional Plans. The Scottish Office and Scottish Homes are committed to that end, and this circular takes forward that element as far as possible at the present time.

New Arrangements

5. We have consistently sought to develop and improve community care planning so as to make the outcome more meaningful for both the agencies concerned and for providers and consumers of services. The new arrangements introduced in this circular and Direction do that in 2 further ways:

- changing the formal planning ‘window’ for community care plans from 1997-2000 to 1998-2001 is consistent with the scope of both the housing and Scottish Homes’ Regional plans, making for greater consistency across the 3 sets.

- changing the date for publication of plans from 1 April to 30 June allows agencies to use the latest budgetary data to inform particularly the first year but also subsequent years of the plan. The revised date is also that for submission of housing plans and reasonably close to that (1 April) for publication of Scottish Homes’ Regional Plans.

The Direction also reiterates that plans should cover a 3 year period, should be reviewed annually and that the review should be published by 30 June. For the most part this is contained in the existing guidance.

6. Scottish Homes’ 3-year Regional Plans will be published in April 1998 in advance of community care plans. They will cover the full range of Scottish Homes’ Regional activities (ie community regeneration and other housing programme activities as well as community care) and take account of the planning processes of all key partner organisations. As a result of a continuous process of joint planning with community care partners, the community care dimension of Scottish Homes’ Regional Plans should dovetail, in principle at least, with the housing component of community care plans. Scottish Homes recognises, however, that the community care content in Regional Plans may be less specific than that sought for inclusion in subsequent community care plans. Scottish Homes’ Regions will take steps to ensure that, in the period following completion of Regional Plans, joint planning is continued with community care partners to achieve more specific coverage of Scottish Homes’ commitment to the community care programme in the relevant Councils’ community care plans.

7. These steps mark the beginning of, we hope, greater consensus on planning for particularly community care and housing. Other than the change of date of publication of community care plans, planning within the NHS and its relationship to its partners in community care is unaffected by this circular. We recognise, however, that the changes above, significant as they are, do not address completely harmonisation of the planning process. Further steps are in hand or are being considered to improve integration:

- The potential for more formal integration and consistency in future years between Scottish Homes Regional plans and community care plans is being addressed.

- 21 of the 32 unitary authorities will submit housing plans by 30 June 1998. These should be consistent with community care plans. The Scottish Office Development Department supports the principle of harmonisation wherever possible and will have regard to this in its current review of the planning cycle and timetable for housing plans, and the associated annual housing policy statements and capital programmes. There will be no change to the submission of housing plans in 1998 as a consequence of that review.

- The consistency of the technical content of the planning guidance, eg definitions, will be looked at.

8. The outcome of these changes should be closer integration of planning between the agencies concerned and, more particularly, on the content of plans for community care, housing and Scottish Homes. Social Work Services Group, Housing Group and Scottish Homes expect to continue the process of harmonisation of planning and will advise and consult with the community care partners on such changes as they emerge. SWSG will also consider with local authority interests the timescales of community care, children’s and offenders’ services plans.

People with Brain Injuries

9. We also wish to take the opportunity of this guidance to advise local authorities and health boards of Ministers’ belief that community care plans should refer more explicitly to the needs of people with brain injuries. This means devoting a separate care group section within plans to that end. Many plans already do so at present: this guidance endorses that good practice and invites others to follow it.

Contact Point

10. Further advice on any points of detail in this Circular can be obtained from:

- on community care plans, Mrs Jenny McNeill, Ext 5424 at the above address

- on housing plans, Mr Douglas Hamilton, Housing 1:3, 1-F6, Victoria Quay, Ext 5570

- on Scottish Homes’ Plans, Mr Brad Gilbert, Thistle House, 91 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh, Tel: 0131 479 5311.

Yours sincerely

GAVIN ANDERSON JOHN ALDRIDGE RICHARD GRANT

Social Work Services Group NHS Management Housing Group

Executive

ANNEX A

The main guidance on community care planning is contained in a number of Scottish Office circulars:

- SWSG1/91 "Community Care Planning" (also issued to Health Boards at SHHD/DGH(1991)1: this sets out the basis for community care planning, the requirements in the legislation on consultation, etc and the original expectations for the content of plans.

- SWSG4/93 "Directions on Consultation": this requires local authorities to state in their plans the process for consultation and requires them to consult organisations representing providers in the independent sector.

- SWSG13/94 "Directions on Purchasing": this directs local authorities to include in their community care plans a statement of their purchasing intentions.

- SW14/94 "Community Care Planning": this amends much of SWSG1/91 (also SHHD/DGM(1991)1) by revising the expected content of plans to make them more of a management tool, focused on intended action in support of strategic objectives. This is the key document on the content of community care plans.

- SWSG7/94 "Community Care - The Housing Dimension": this identifies, amongst other things, the role of housing at the strategic and operational levels and sets out the expectation that housing should be an equal partner in community care planning.

- Env9/94: Housing Plans, Annual Policy Statements and Annual Policy Proposals

- SWSG letter of 2 February 1995: this invites local authorities in their community care plans for 1998 to disaggregate information on current and prospective services to the areas of unitary authorities.

- SWSG/97: Community Care Planning - Timescales: this introduces a new timescale for the publication of plans and a revised planning cycle.

- A wide range of guidance on community care and joint planning has been issued to the NHS in Scotland. Of particular relevance in this context are that on resource transfer (NHS MEL(1992)55) and the annual Priorities and Planning Guidance issued by the SHS Management Executive which includes as a key strategic objective the promotion of care in the community through, amongst other things, the development of strategies on a joint basis for each care group, including plans for the reprovisioning of long-stay hospital care.