Agenda item

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

            Councillor Crockett declared an interest in the subject matter recorded under the following article by virtue of his position as Board Member of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. Councillor Crocket remained present for the deputation, but left the meeting during the Committee’s consideration of the report.

With reference to the minute of meeting of Council of 16 December, 2009 (article 13 refers), the Committee had before it a joint report by the Director of Housing and Environment and the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which presented an alternative set of savings relating to the statutory Debt Assistance Scheme (DAS) for debt counselling and money advice; and presented two options which would involve a merger of welfare rights with debt counselling and money advice services in order to achieve economies of scale.

By way of background the report advised that all funding for the provision of debt counselling and money advice within the city was shared between the Council and the Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB) and that Council funding for debt counselling and money advice services was further split between the Trading Standards’ Service debt counselling and money advice team and the CAB.  The report explained that the CAB received two different streams of funding from the Council, namely:- (1) approximately £70,000 from the Trading Standards’ Service for enhanced money advice; and (2) approximately £263,000 from the Common Good Fund, around 30% or £78,000 of which was for the provision of money advice.   In addition to this, the CAB received a further £120,000 from the Fairer Scotland Fund to deliver a community outreach advice service.   It was estimated that the money advice element of this stream of funding would account for approximately 60% or £72,000 for 2009/10, however, there was no commitment currently to continue funding in 2010/11 as this would be dependent on the future of the Fairer Scotland Fund.   In total, it was estimated that a total of £148,000 per annum of funding was provided to the CAB for money advice, with an additional £72,000 of Fairer Scotland funding for 2010/11, giving an overall total of £220,000.   The report noted that no member of the CAB staff (either employed or volunteer) was an approved money adviser, and so had to refer clients who required Debt Arrangement Schemes to the Council’s debt team, which contained three approved money advisers.  

The report further advised that the Council provided basic and enhanced money advice through a debt team based within the Trading Standards’ Service at a total cost of £135,362.   The report explained the outputs of both the CAB and the Council with regard to both enquiries and new cases for the years 2007/08 and 2008/09.   The report noted that the CAB output was considerably higher than the Council’s, but that the overhead costs of the CAB also appeared to be greater. The report highlighted that the Council logged a person with several queries as one visit, but a log was made on each occasion when a person made an enquiry at the CAB.  The report further advised that Council advisers would undertake all of the work associated with each case themselves from start to finish, and, as there were three DAS approved members of staff, they could also handle more complex cases which the CAB could not.

The report proposed that the Council retain the £70,000 that it currently provided to the CAB for DAS work, which was in fact being referred back to the Council from the CAB. The report outlined that this saving would be greater than the saving proposed at the previously mentioned meeting of Council (reference ENV18) to disestablish one debt counsellor/money adviser post, and would provide a better basis upon which to move forward with the merger of the current debt counselling and money advice team with Social Care and Wellbeing’s Welfare Benefits Advice Team which itself would provide further savings.  

The report then provided two options on the future of the Debt Counselling and Money Advice Team and the Welfare Benefits Advice Team, namely:- (1) to merge the two teams, and therefore make savings while at the same time creating a flexible and responsive team which would enhance the existing provision of both debt and welfare rights advice;  or (2) to disband the Welfare Rights Team (as a separate team), with the remaining staff being absorbed into the general care management service by supporting services at agreed areas of priority.   The report concluded that should option (2) be pursued, there was a risk that the expertise of the current team set up would be lost, or at best diluted across the Care Management Service, and assistance may have to be reassigned to other services, which would leave a gap in advice provision at a time of high demand.

In terms of Standing Order 10(2), the Committee heard Zara Strange, Manager of the Aberdeen Citizens’ Advice Bureau, who requested the Committee not to withdraw £70,000 of funding, as suggested within the report. Ms Strange advised that the CAB provided a vast range of services, including more than just debt and money advice. Ms Strange took exception to the intimation within the report that money from the Common Good Fund was utilised for money advice, and explained that the Common Good funds were utilised only for management staff, the costs associated with the building, and the employment of an Employment Advice Officer. She reiterated that it was only the £70,000 that the CAB received from the Trading Standards Service that supported the Money Advice Team.  Ms Strange made reference to page 221 of the report, and explained that although CAB staff did not have the DAS certificate, they were trained to national standards in money advice. She continued that the CAB accepted the Council now required the specific DAS certificate, and advised that two officers should be fully DAS accredited by the end of March, 2010.

Members asked Ms Strange a number of questions and thanked her for the presentation.   Members then asked relevant officers a number of questions, and in particular had clarified that the £70,000 funding that was provided by the Trading Standards’ Service to the CAB was specifically for the purpose of debt advice, and not lower level money advice. The Committee intimated its concern that a Service Level Agreement was still not in place between the CAB and the Council. They noted that the CAB and officers of the Council seemed keen to progress this, and suggested this be done as a matter of urgency.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee

(a)       agrees to retain £70,000 of Scottish Government funding for the Debt Advice Scheme (DAS) (which the CAB receives in addition to the Council’s current level of funding), pending the Aberdeen Citizens’ Advice Bureau employing a registered DAS Money Advice Officer;  and either:-

(b)       approves the proposal to merge the current Welfare Rights and Debt Counselling and Money Advice teams within the Council, in terms of Option 1 as outlined within the report, to make a saving of £82,000 or

(c)        approves the proposal to merge the current Welfare Rights and Debt Counselling and Money Advice Teams within  the Council, in terms of Option 2 as outlined within the report, to make a saving of £166,000.

In relation to recommendation (a), the Committee queried as to whether this would result in the Council reinstating the £70,000 funding at a point when the CAB had DAS trained staff. Officers confirmed that this would not be the case, and that this issue would be addressed through the Service Level Agreement, and would have to be reported back to Committee for approval at a later date.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener, moved:-

that the Committee (1) approves recommendations (a) and (b) as detailed above, and therefore supports Option 1 as contained within the report; (2) instructs officers to report back on the progress being made with regard to reaching a Service Level Agreement with the CAB; and (3) instructs officers to submit a report to a future meeting detailing all of the funding provided to the CAB by the Council, to allow an overview to be taken.

Councillor Graham, seconded by Councillor Laing, moved as an amendment:-

         that this report be referred simpliciter to full Council.

On a division, there voted:-  for the motion (11) – the Convener;  the Vice Convener;  and Councillors Cassie, Corall, Cormack, Cormie, Dunbar, Farquharson, Leslie, McCaig and John West;  for the amendment (2) – Councillors Graham and Laing;  absent from the division (2) – Councillors Crockett and Yuill.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the successful motion.