4.1.1 Funding Panel

SUMMARY

This chapter was updated in January 2011 to inlcude reference to the Outreach Request Form.

This chapter looks at the funding panel remit and procedures for using it. It was updated in August 2010 to reflect a streamlining of the process for considering funding.

NB Payments of more than £1,000 under section 17 must be referred to the funding panel.

This chapter should be read in conjunction with the Placement Policy

Revised Role of Panel
Funding Request Forms

1. Revised Role of Panel

From 1st April 2010 the CSC Funding Panel was revised with a view to reducing the amount of management time required in the process and to ensure that the panel is only considering the most relevant cases for funding issues only.

The following cases will be required to be presented to funding panel :

New children admitted to care
New placement requests
Placement changes where the new placement is of a higher cost
Placements where additional costs are being identified since placement
Any Section 17 case where spending has exceeded a limit of £1,000.
Joint funded placements
Transport

The cases are to be presented to the panel by either the Group Manager or the supervising Deputy Manager.

Please note for all Residential placements agreement is required from the Assistant Director (AD), prior to the placement search. For IFA placements authorisation will be by the Head of Service (HOS) Care and Resources. In the absence of the AD for any resource decisions agreement should be sought from the HOS Care & Resources.

Authorisations by AD or any HOS will be confirmed by email to CCT and the social worker/manager.

For other services and categories of care the following arrangements for authorisation will apply :

LCT/16+ Services - Head of Service, Care & Resources
Supervised Contact and Family Support Work - Head of Service for the social work team. Referrals for Family Support Work should have clear and precise targets and outcomes and must be formally reviewed every three months.

You should note that 7 days notice from the date of funding agreement to the start of the service are required in order for the Family Support Team to organise staffing and/or venues.
Placement Changes (same or cheaper costs) - Head of Service for the social work team.
Assessments (all types) required as part of court proceedings - Head of Service, Safeguarding & Care Planning
SGO/RO/Kinship Allowances - Head of Service, Care and Resources and will be at the agreed formula rates.

Please note that Reg 38 payments will be made for a total of 6 weeks only so it is essential that the social worker contacts Fostering to book kinship carers for Fostering Panel immediately.
S.18 Payments - Head of Service for the social work team
(S.17) Payments - Head of Service for the social work team and up to a limit of £1,000 per case.
Support Services for (LAC) - Head of Service, Care & Resources
LAC Educational Support - Head of Service, LAC Education
Support Costs (other than for LAC) and any one-off back payments - Assistant Director

There will no longer be a requirement for either Transition Panels or Legal Panels but it will be the responsibility of the social work team to ensure that appropriate and timely liaison is made with Adult Services where it is believed that the young person will require a Continuing Care Assessment and Adult services/funding post 18yrs.

As now, CCT will write to providers and joint funders (where applicable) 3-6 months before a young person reaches their 18th birthday advising them that Children's Social Care will cease funding on the young person's 18th birthday, so the onus will be on the social worker to ensure that arrangements are in place to either move the young person on or for Adult funding to start.

Authorisation Process

For all funding requests that are not being presented to panel, the Head of Service will require a completed funding request form (See Section 2, Funding Request Forms). This form has now been combined with the Commissioning Referral form in order to reduce paperwork. However given its dual function it is essential this is fully completed to inform the HOS and any commissioning activity. The completed form should be sent directly to the HOS who is to authorise.

For all funding authorisations Heads of Service must notify CCT and the Referral/Funding Request Form signed and forwarded to the Panel Co-ordinator.

Signed authorisations are required as part of the audit trail and in order to comply with financial regulations.

Panel Membership

The following staff will constitute the standard panel membership :

Assistant Director - Chair
Head of Service, Safeguarding and Care Planning
Head of Service , Care and Resources
Head of Service, LAC Education
CCT Representative - Group Manager or Placements Co-ordinator
Panel Coordinator - minutes

On a case by case basis representatives from SEN, LCT or other departments may be asked to attend in order to provide specialist information or advice.

In the absence of the AD to Chair the panel will be chaired by HOS, Care and Resources.

Funding Decisions Outside of Panel

A copy of the Placement Request Form is required to be completed. This should contain back ground information on the case, the requested services, details of the targets and outcomes to be achieved, an exit strategy and the costs. The form should be submitted by email to the Officer from whom funding approval is being requested. Once authorised, the funding request will be emailed to the Panel Co-ordinator for circulation to the requesting officer, for scheduling of commissioning and for financial commitments to be recorded for budgetary monitoring.

Funding Decisions Within Panel

For cases being presented to panel a funding Request/Referral form must be sent to the Panel Co-ordinator by 5pm on the Friday before the panel meeting. Funding Request forms and the appointment schedule are circulated to panel members at midday the day before the panel. Funding decisions will be recorded, signed off by the Panel Chair and circulated to all parties by the Friday following the panel.

Funding Restrictions

The authorising officers are restricted by financial regulations on the amount for which they can approve. These are : £250k - Assistant Director ; £50k - Head of Service.

Funding approvals will be time limited to ensure that these levels are not exceeded.

Quarterly reports are submitted to Portfolio for all case expenditure that falls between £50-£100k and for those that exceed £100k.

Funding Extensions

Where funding approval is required to be extended, whether the original was made at funding panel or by HOS, a panel decision sheet will be prepared by the Panel Co-ordinator and added to a list for a fortnightly meeting between Group Manager CCT and the AD. When the extension has been signed off this will be circulated to the interested parties.

Termination of Funding at 18 years

Termination of funding for placements will automatically cease at 18 years. The Children's Commissioning team will write to all providers of placements three months before the young person reaches their 18th birthday to notify them that funding will cease on the day after the young person's 18th birthday.

Should the social worker require funding to extend beyond the normal end date a funding request must be submitted to the Assistant Director.

2. Funding Request Forms

Click here to view the Placement Request Form

Click here to view the Assessment Request Form

Click here to view the Outreach Request Form

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