Third Sector Interface network model and Voluntary Action Scotland: evaluation

Appendix 3: The Strategic Context

The changing environment within which TSIs operate

Public Service Reform

The Christie Commission on the future delivery of public services was tasked with looking for solutions to the challenges facing public services in Scotland and produced its report in June 2011. This established four pillars for public sector reform: prevention, performance, people and partnership. From a Third Sector strategic perspective the focus on prevention and partnership working along with a shift in focus from public sector to public service placed the Third Sector at the core of this reform agenda.

Community Planning

As part of the Scottish Government's response to the Christie Commission's recommendations it agreed to undertake a review of Community Planning. The Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities ( COSLA) published the shared Statement of Ambition ^[13] in 2012.

This put Community Planning at the heart of an outcome-based approach to public services in Scotland and made clear that effective community planning arrangements would sit at the core of public service reform:

"Effective community planning arrangements will be at the core of public service reform. They will drive the pace of service integration, increase the focus on prevention and secure continuous improvement in public service delivery, in order to achieve better outcomes for communities. Community Planning and Single Outcome Agreements will provide the foundation for effective partnership working within which wider reform initiatives, such as the integration of health and adult social care and the establishment of single police and fire services, will happen."

The statement of ambition underpins the Scottish Government's commitment to involving the Third Sector in public service reform (requiring Community Planning Partnerships to ensure "effective involvement not just of the public sector but also of the higher and further education, private, and Third Sectors") and reconfirmed the need to put communities at the heart of community planning: "strengthening community engagement and participation in delivering better outcomes".

Reshaping Care for Older People

Reshaping Care for Older People ( RCOP) was a Scottish Government initiative aimed at improving services for older people by shifting care towards anticipatory care and prevention.

In 2010 the Scottish Government and COSLA jointly launched Reshaping Care for Older People: A Programme for Change 2011 - 2021 ^[14] . This set out the vision - that 'older people are valued as an asset, their voices are heard and they are supported to enjoy full and positive lives in their own home or in a homely setting'.

Achieving the RCOP vision required significant changes to the way that traditional services are delivered and the creation of new services that support people in a different way. To catalyse this change process the Scottish Government created a 'Change Fund' of £300 million over four years (2011-2015). Although RCOP was a national agenda with national outcomes, the RCOP Change Fund resources were allocated to each local authority area, in recognition that changes to services and the achievement of RCOP outcomes would be delivered at the local level.

The Scottish Government required each Local Authority area to set up a local strategic partnership to manage the change process and to allocate the Change Fund investment. The core membership of the strategic partnerships was specified by the Scottish Government to include the Third Sector, local NHS Board, Local Authority and Independent Sector.

The RCOP Programme was intended as a partnership programme and the inclusion of the Third Sector in the Strategic Partnerships formalised the TSIs role as the representative of the Third Sector.

Arrangements for a new three year Integrated Care Fund administered by partnerships have now taken the place of the Change Fund.

Health and Social Care Integration

Legislation to implement health and social care integration, passed by the Scottish Parliament in February 2014, came into force on 1 April 2016. The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 sets out the legislative framework for integrating health and social care, which will support improvement of the quality and consistency of health and social care services in Scotland.

The legislation brings together NHS and local council care services under a new legal entity - health and social care integration partnerships, all fulfilled by an integrated joint board ( IJB) arrangement, except one area which is implementing a one lead agency model.

Thirty-one local partnerships, managing almost £8 billion of health and social care resources, have been established across Scotland.

The health and social care integration partnerships are responsible for the health and care needs of patients, to ensure that those who use services get the right care and support whatever their needs, at any point in their care journey.

Integration means a greater emphasis on enabling people to stay in their homes, or another homely setting, where possible, sharing their lives with their family and friends, doing the things that give life meaning and value.

Health and social care integration presents opportunities for strategic repositioning of the Third Sector in the emerging landscape, and an opportunity for TSIs to further consolidate their position as strategic partners, particularly as the Act places a legislative requirement on partnerships to involve the Third Sector in planning and delivering services.

Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act

The Community Empowerment Act is major driver for increased involvement of community based organisations in making a direct impact on the growth of Scotland's economy, the wellbeing of its citizens and the improvement of its public services.

The Community Empowerment Act will help to empower community bodies through the ownership of land and buildings, but also seeks to improve outcomes for communities by improving the process of community planning, ensuring that local service providers work together even more closely with communities to meet the needs of the people who use them.