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Level 2 - Working In Partnership Who should be involved and who is responsible? This section answers these questions. Click on the questions to jump to those answers.
Who should be included in local learning disability partnership working? Chapter 9 of Valuing People: a new strategy for learning disability for the 21st century outlines the Government objective: to promote holistic services for people with learning disabilities through effective partnership working between all relevant local agencies in the commissioning and delivery of services. Under Valuing People each local authority has
set up a Learning Disability Partnership Board. Partnership Boards should operate within the overall framework of the Local Strategic Partnership and the local authority has lead responsibility for establishing the Board and ensuring it works effectively as the key strategic focus for local implementation of Valuing People. For more information see: Valuing People: a new
strategy for learning disability for the 21st century, chapter nine (2001) Department of Health
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Membership of the Learning Disability Partnership Board should include:
- People with a learning disability and family carers;
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and senior representatives from:
- Social Services
- Primary Care Trusts
- Relevant NHS Trusts
- Education
- Connexions
- Learning & Skills Council
- Housing
- Community Development
- Leisure
- Economic Development
- Employment service;
- Independent providers
- Voluntary organisations
- Community groups
- Other local employers
People with a learning disability and family carers must be able to take part as full members of the Board.
| Examples Some Boards are co-chaired by someone with a learning disability paired with someone else (perhaps a councillor or senior officer). Some Boards are co-chaired by a family carer. These arrangements give a powerful message. Co-chairs can also be strong advocates for running Board business and meetings in inclusive ways. In Essex the Board agenda is set by a small group that includes the chair,
people with learning disabilities and family carers. Some large rural areas have found it difficult to persuade and help many people with learning disabilities and family carers to attend meetings in a central location. Devon have set up locality groups for family carers so that they can meet and discuss issues locally and then send representatives to the Board. In Bedfordshire the Board is trying out different ways of reaching out to people with learning
disabilities and family carers who haven't come to meetings. Lots of people (family carers as well as people with learning disabilities) need good support to get involved properly. Some Boards are investing money and energy to make sure that independent support is available (e.g. via advocacy and carer support organisations). Good supporters can help make sure that meetings are designed well. For example, some people like 'traffic light' cards; some
people like different colours to be used consistently for different topics. See part 2 of our 'Valuing People: How are we doing?' papers on the Partnership page. Essex paid for independent evaluation of the way their Board works. They have changed the ways meetings are organised and tried out different things. Lambeth Council is very keen on 'e-government'. They are planning an interactive website that will be run by local people with learning
disabilities. Northumberland's Partnership Board has set up a website that peoplesay has lots of useful information. |
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The membership of the Board should therefore reflect the different parts of a person's life e.g. housing, job, health, education, etc. The role of the members of the Board is to make the links between the needs of people with a learning disability and the supports and services involved - this is one reason that the membership of the Board is so broad. Partnership Boards may wish to consider how to engage with the full range of services and
organisations whilst also keeping the size of the Board manageable. A series of connections should be built up with, for example, senior executives from transport services.
Example
Local Action Groups (LAGs) in Essex include people with learning disabilities, family carers and local voluntary organisations. They have a strong voice on the county-wide Partnership Board. Some of them are proving very good at promoting local change, lobbying councillors and linking up with District Councils. For example, one LAG got its District Council to change its policy on bus passes so that people with learning disabilities could get to work on
time! |
Local Authority Chief Executives (who have overall responsibility for the Partnership Boards) may be well placed to help make the connections with other local agencies. In practice this may be the Head of Policy or other member of staff who works close to the Chief Executive.
Example
Improving housing options in Southwark meant getting people together from the Chief Executive's department (regeneration initiatives), the Planning department, Supporting People, Social Services, housing associations - plus councillors. Councillors often say that they never meet people with learning disabilities as constituents. Poole's Democracy Unit, which deals with local elections, was very pleased to find out that there were people who could help
them reach out to people with learning disabilities and make sure they could vote. |
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How do we engage outside the learning disability 'system'?  The broad range of members and other connections involves a diversity of interests. Some thought has to be given as to the most effective forms of engagement. Many of the issues to be considered are outlined in the Department of Health guidance for learning
disability services Handy Hints on Working with Key Stakeholders (2002) http://www.doh.gov.uk/learningdisabilities/09-section8.pdf This section (section 8) of the guidance considers issues around developing partnerships with each of the key stakeholders. People working with people with learning disabilities (at all levels in the decision making hierarchy from strategic to individual/personal planning) must adopt a mindset that treats people as citizens and
local residents at least as much (if not more) than as "service recipients". As part of this process it is important that Partnership Boards are able to give sufficient attention to these matters and are not overwhelmed by operational issues that are limited to health and social care.
Example
Some Boards have decided that matters to do with health and social services budgets should be dealt with by a separate group that has clear links to the Partnership Board. Other people can get very bored listening to such discussions. Usually what they want to know is that decisions about health and social services (like other services) will be taken in line with the Board's recommendations - or to know why there is a difference. |
Ways must be devised to present learning disability issues to local mainstream services by explaining the "case" in terms of:
- opportunities (for mainstream partners to address some real disadvantage and therefore show some real gains)
- needs (of the individual service users themselves), and of
- process compatibility (the Partnership Board as a fully functioning sub set of the Local Strategic Partnership).
Example
Partnership Board members who have a 'foot in each camp' can help the Board learn about how to engage with different services and organisations. For example, someone from a housing association will know a lot about how the housing 'world' works. A teacher can explain what is important to head teachers, and when you need to talk to them rather than to the Local Education Authority. Sometimes it helps to go to other people's meetings first and meet on their
'turf'. |
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The key areas to address are:
- Assisting local learning disability Partnership Boards to develop arguments that other mainstream services should address the relevant needs and aspirations of people with learning disabilities.
- Demonstrating to Local Authority Chief Executives and their Heads of Policy how meeting the needs of people with learning disabilities can help with broader targets.
- Continuing to support training and other programmes that enable staff working with people with learning disabilities to think outside of the "health and social care box" and develop a stronger citizenship agenda. It is also important to address other challenges including getting beyond the 'usual suspects' and reaching out in different ways to people who don't join groups. This should include:
- reaching out to people who don't use words and people who may be excluded from groups, as well as people from minority ethnic communities;
- investing in support for family carers as well as for people with learning disabilities to get involved;
- balancing the interests of people with learning disabilities and family carers.
See part 2 of Valuing People - How are we doing: Part 2 - How to get things done without lots of boring meetings What are the roles and powers of the Partnership Board (in relation to the Local Authority, Primary Care Trust, etc.)? Partnership Boards are not statutory bodies - for example they cannot appoint staff, hold budgets or be
responsible on their own for actions being carried out. Nevertheless they are expected (indeed required) to function as influential local bodies. But see the section below that refers to the delegated powers that some individual members may bring to the Board. It may be helpful to think about the Boards as key advisory bodies: decisions - mostly taken elsewhere - should be informed by their advice. The Boards may then hold to account the relevant agencies for
acting upon the advice given to them. In some ways "Board" is a misleading term - particularly as many places are developing large scale, inclusive ways of working. Partner authorities should channel through them all significant decision making and consultation relating to learning disability issues and to general issues that affect people with a learning disability. This requires formal agreements between the constituent bodies of the Board in two areas:
- that all matters explicitly relevant to people with learning disabilities will be considered by the Board and
- that the Board will be consulted upon all matters of more general relevance to learning disabilities (e.g. the approach to be taken toward the local authority's Scrutiny of Health).
But this formal agreement should be backed up by a more informal understanding by the key participants in the different agencies as to what this should mean in working practice. If they are to be effective, Boards must be much more than a traditional joint planning group and new ways of working are required. They must be empowered to focus upon the issues that matter and not be side-tracked to less important ones. They must be seen by others as a powerful
voice. It is clear that further work is required to make sure that the Boards get their work done (especially the Valuing People programme) as well as properly including people with a learning disability. Too often one takes place at the expense of the other. Local Authority Chief Executives should take responsibility for ensuring that action is taken locally to bring together the various component members in meaningful ways. Large scale workshops and smaller
groups may both have their place, but if these are simply going to reflect old style ways of doing things then the whole point of Partnership Boards is being lost.
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Consideration should be given to a number of important factors covering both the structures used and the underpinning culture of the way the Board operates. Can a scheme of delegation help? Whatever structure is adopted, the relationship between the Partnership Board and the statutory agencies will remain crucial. It is therefore vital that there is a clear scheme of delegation setting out what matters are
delegated and to whom in the partnership arrangements. By making use of the powers delegated to individuals (such as the Director of Social Services or cabinet member and the relevant PCT senior manager), the Boards can themselves take action without having to get a decision confirmed elsewhere. What are the links with overseeing a Health Act flexibility? Whilst the Partnership Board will oversee and monitor the use of the flexibilities on an advisory basis, the partners to a flexibility will remain responsible for the fulfilment of their statutory functions. Careful consideration needs to be given to the relationship between the Learning Disability Partnership Board and the Health Act flexibilities arrangements. In particular it is important to ensure that the Partnership Board is not a "talking
shop" and has real influence. Some ways in which this might be addressed are as follows:-
- ensuring that the members of any committee overseeing the flexibilities are also part of the Partnership Board
- including arrangements for the Partnership Board to meet immediately prior to the body overseeing flexibilities
- requiring the overseeing committee to give reasons for departing from any written recommendations of the Partnership Board.
What are the respective roles of the Partnership Board and its members? There is an important two way process involving what we can call in shorthand "the learning disability system" and the various mainstream processes referred to above. Valuing People calls for those mainstream processes to be more sensitive to the needs and aspirations of people with learning disabilities. At the same time the learning disability system
has to get better at understanding and accessing the various mainstream decision making processes for the benefit of people with learning disabilities. Increasingly the learning disability 'system' should be recognised as comprising those specialist services that are properly essential for people's needs alongside an expanding engagement in accessing other systems whose services are used by everyone and are of relevance to the needs and aspirations of people
with learning disabilities. The Partnership Board should straddle the mainstream and the learning disability system. Partnership Boards can never be responsible for the overall determination of mainstream services. The Board must make the connections between the learning disability system and other parts of local public policy systems, some with a learning disability focus of some sort and others with little or no learning disability connection or awareness.
These connections may take the form of: policies, practices and customs at the level of services and what is available; funding, plans and timetables in terms of how things work; and learning about people, communications and information for the key aspect of putting change into effect. An important part of this connection role is understanding the local "game" and developing effective tactics.
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The functioning of the Partnership Board will depend upon:
- Extent of formal delegated powers;
- How the powers (delegated or otherwise) are acted upon
- Extent of sub groups;
- Executive sub group
- Shared learning forum
- Networking
- Respect for the different stakeholders
- Formal links to LSP, Council Executive, PCT Board, etc.
Roles of the Board should crucially include:
- Vision
- Programme of action
- Balance sheet of progress
- Monitoring outcomes
- Scrutinising decisions
- Engaging effectively - across and up-and-down the systems
- The "mechanics" of partnership that ensure inclusivity, efficiency and effectiveness
- How the Partnership Board works with other local planning forums and groups.
Roles on the Board may vary:
- Representative
- Non executive
- Personal
- Collective responsibility
There is no single correct model - the key thing is to agree and be clear locally. People may need support to take up their roles effectively. In Sandwell members said they wanted some training if they were going to make decisions about how to spend a pooled budget of ?23 million!
ExampleSurrey has clear descriptions of what is expected of members of the Board. Hillingdon's Board aims to get each member to take a lead on a particular topic. Southwark held an 'awayday' on being clear about decisions, accountability and responsibility. This means that everyone can be clear what can be decided where, and by whom. The Board "sets the agenda, even if it doesn't deliver all the
answers". Recommendations from the Board to the Council and the PCT mean that those bodies can make better informed decisions. Particular work has been done with voluntary organisations to explore the tensions that they can experience between their campaigning roles and their wish to participate in decision-making.
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What is the responsibility of the LA Chief Executive as part of LSP processes? Valuing People and Circular HSC 2001/16:LAC (2001)23 make the Chief Executives of local authorities responsible for establishing
Learning Disability Partnership Boards. Further details of the establishment, membership and role of the Partnership Boards are contained in the Circular. Boards will have a particularly important role in both influencing and interpreting other local planning mechanisms, such as community planning. How relevant are Local Strategic Partnerships? Learning Disability Partnership Boards will sit within the Local Strategic Partnership
mentioned above - it is therefore vital that their emerging roles are understood and indeed influenced by those with responsibilities for meeting the needs of people with learning disabilities. LSPs are cross-sectoral, umbrella partnerships bringing together the public, private, voluntary and community sectors to provide a single overarching local co-ordination framework within which it is envisaged that other more specific partnerships can work. The brief is
clearly broad and will vary by area, but specific reference is made to deprivation, social exclusion, a poor quality environment and health inequalities, as well as the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal.
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LSPs are accredited according to their ability to demonstrate that they are "effective, representative and capable of playing a key strategic role in the locality". They have four core responsibilities:
- Prepare and implement the community strategy
- Develop local neighbourhood renewal strategy to tackle deprivation
- Co-ordinate plans, partnerships and initiatives and to serve as a forum
- Work with local councils to develop Public Service Agreements (where councils set themselves targets for improvement in order to gain additional funding).
In practice the most likely benefit of this arrangement will be enabling those responsible for implementing the new learning disability arrangements to be put in touch with the appropriate people from other systems that require to be accessed.
| Example Lots of people with learning disabilities complain about bullying and harassment. One Partnership Board was planning to set up a sub-group on bullying. Then they realised that the Local Strategic Partnership had lots of people working on community safety, because these issues are of concern to many people. It made sense to link up! Some Partnership Boards have agreed specific Public Service
Agreement targets with their Local Strategic Partnerships - for example, Milton Keynes and Peterborough have employment targets relevant to people with learning disabilities. |
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Level 3 Level 3 gives you more resources and help |
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