Local Government

A4e has a wealth of experience in delivering public services across a range of sectors. We are well aware of the current pressures facing Local Authorities – particularly the spectre of severe financial constraint, combined with the need to drive up the delivery and efficiency of service provision.

We are interested in working with LAs to look at developing innovative front-line service delivery models which will deliver high on quality, efficiency, and partnership working.

We believe that local providers (public, private or third sector) are best placed to deliver to local communities and we do not seek to replace these; our aim is to look at solutions that draw on the strengths of these providers and deliver a coherent and simple service for the customer.

Person Centred Services – We are passionate about person centred services and have been at the forefront of the development of Personalised Services in Health and Social Care. We believe that this ethos can be applied across a range of public services.

What we’re doing now

VOX Centres

A4e’s Vox centres work in partnership with schools to provide “first steps” training to young people aged 14 – 19 who require alternative education. Our centres offer hands-on training in a range of sectors for young people to gain generic and sector-specific qualifications. Using Grimsby Vox as a case study, we have achieved the following outcomes:

• 64% of learners referred are at risk of exclusion from their school, with the remaining 36% having already been excluded;
• 88% of those referred remain on programme for the duration of the full academic year
• 87% achieve full qualifications within the year;
• 65% of those learners who are under the age of 16 are re-integrated back into mainstream education;
• 95% of learners at 16 progress into positive destinations, including college, employment or post 16 training providers.

Personalisation

A4e first became involved in personalisation in 2005, winning a contract to deliver a Direct Payments Support Service in Middlesbrough. Since then, we have grown to become market leaders, working in partnership with 12 Local Authorities to deliver Independent Living Services support to over 7,500 Service Users nationwide, this includes: Direct Payment and Individual Budget advice and support; service user advocacy; short-breaks for carers; payroll support; and independent living fund support.

Advice 4 Stoke

Between 2006 and 2009 we delivered a contract on behalf of Stoke City Council to provide an advice service to LA tenants. During this time we identified over £15m of debt and rescheduled nearly £11m of that debt. The service also identified £4.1m of unclaimed benefits and prevented 165 evictions (creating an estimated saving to the Council of £420K). Overall the Council benefited from a £760K direct saving, along with increased wellbeing of council tenants.

Making an impact

Through our Direct Payments services, we have handed back over £3m to LAs as a result of more targeted and effective service provision.