Provider Forums – June 2013
Performance
and
Quality Reviews
Performance and Quality Reviews
• Original guidance issued at November Provider
Forums
• Pilots have recently been completed
• Guidance will be updated with the learning from the
pilots
• Timetable for this financial year has been established providers will be notified.
Performance and Quality Reviews - Key
Elements
• Provider impact statement
• Validation of one QAF objective – Fair Access,
Diversity and Inclusion
• Duty of care – safeguarding, health and safety and
complaints (questionnaire)
• Review and validation of performance data
• Client engagement
• Stakeholder feedback
• Report focussing more on impact and outcomes
C1.4 Fair Access, Diversity and Inclusion
There is a demonstrable commitment to fair access, fair exit, diversity
and inclusion. The service acts within the law and ensures clients are
well informed about their rights and responsibilities.
It now consists of the following three standards. It has been updated to
take account of recent changes in legislation:
1.Fair access, fair exit, diversity and inclusion are embedded within the
culture of the service and there is demonstrable promotion and
implementation of the policies.
2. The assessment and allocations processes have been reviewed in the
last three years and ensure fair access to the service.
3. There is a commitment to ensuring fair exit from the service.
Equality Act 2010
• General duty (Public Sector Equality Duty)
(passed on via contracts to providers)
• Specific duties for statutory agencies
To publish information which shows
compliance with PSED
To publish at least one equality objective (at
least every four years)
Equality Act 2010
The core duty under section 149:
“(1) A public authority must, in the exercise of its functions have
due regard to the need toa) eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and
any other conduct that is prohibited by or under this Act;
b) advance equality of opportunity between persons who share
a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not
share it;
c) foster good relations between persons who share a
protected characteristic and those who do not share it.”
Standard 1
• CRE Code of Practice on Racial Equality in Housing no longer relevant.
• Ensure policies (e.g. recruitment) cover all of the 9 protected
characteristics
• Equalities Scheme/Plan no longer required by the legislation - key
issue is “due regard” as outlined in the Equality Act and contract
(Action Plan can still be useful)
• Ensure that local population trends are reflected and represented in
terms of access or where not can be justified. Actions or targets in
place where can not be justified.
• Review effectiveness of policies - need to demonstrate that a process
has been gone through to consider effectiveness
• EIA not required by the EA 2010 but “”due regard” must be
demonstrated. Many organisation develop EIAs as a way of doing
this.
Standard 1
• Providers should be able to demonstrate that
due regard has been given when producing or
reviewing any policy, procedure, function,
service or strategy
• Giving due regard means considering the needs
of employees and service users with protected
characteristics in terms of minimising or
avoiding any negative impact on them
Standard 2
• Equalities Action Plan – not required by legislation, but
still need to understand who is accessing services and
identify any action required in order to know if the
general duty is being met. Therefore, Equalities Action
Plan can still be a useful tool
• Independent Audit – does not have to be external to
the organisation. Could be senior manager, manager
from a different service, quality assurance staff where
a separate function, process involving clients
Standard 3: There is a commitment to ensuring fair exit from
the service
• Key issue for short term services
• Sheltered accommodation – contacted SITRA to ask their advice about
whether to apply this standard or not.
• Objective is to maintain independence/accommodation and not move on;
however as some people do leave the service then need to ensure that
people are treated fairly
• Propose light touch to address following related issues:
 People with more challenging needs living in sheltered accommodation so
fair exit has become more of an issue.
 Joint working with other agencies to maintain independence – how is this
maximised? Where an individual’s needs can’t be met, is there a fair and
consistent approach to assisting an individual to move to a more
appropriate setting?
 End of life
Standard 3 – Sheltered
Accommodation
• Interpretation of Standard 3 will be
finalised after feedback received at
Provider Forums
Standard 3: Mental Health Services
• Mental health services – links to accommodation
review being undertaken by social care
• Almost all contracts are long term, however the aims
of the service vary. Need to understand the type of
tenancy and the aims of individual service to be clear
about application of this standard
Short
Sheltered
The service has clear procedures for staff to follow
when terminating a service, including ending
tenancies or licences.
Yes
Yes (as
applied to
sheltered)
In short-term accommodation based services, move
on and resettlement needs are addressed from the
start of service delivery.
Yes
No
In short-term accommodation-based services, there
is a move-on application process which has been
reviewed in the last three years and includes:
how to apply
the eligibility criteria for move-on accommodation,
the means of prioritising applications.
Yes
No
Level C
Level C
The move-on application process is written in plain
English and other formats appropriate to the needs
of the client group.
Yes
?No
Staff comply with the law and good practice when
terminating the service.
Yes
Yes
In short-term accommodation based services, the
service seeks to achieve planned moves wherever
possible.
Yes
No
Clients confirm that they are given information about Yes
possible grounds for termination of the service,
including eviction and withdrawal of floating support
Tenancy
agreement
Level B
The service works creatively to inform fair exit
and move on outcomes for individual clients
into the community
yes
Joint working
to assist
people with
high care
needs
In a short term accommodation based services
there is a move on strategy
Yes
No
The service can demonstrate that changes
have been made as a result of policy and
procedure review
Yes
?No
Level A
Policy and procedure review show the impact of
client and stakeholder involvement
Yes
?No
Fair exit is assured by independent audit
Yes
?No
The service works with service commissioners in
developing strategic solutions to improve fair exit
and move on outcomes for clients into the
community
Yes
Yes