Eastern

Regional Update

Employment
• There are ongoing links with Job Centre Plus.
• Quarterly employment networks continue

Volunteering
• An awareness raising event is planned.

National Update

Direct Payments
• Guide to Action: Published March 2006
• Introduction to direct payments for Service Users and Carers also published.
• RDC activity: Regional direct payments plans completed for all RDCs.
• Currently working on activities within South West; East Midlands; North East, Yorkshire and Humber; London; and Eastern.

Other activity since last report:

• National: MIND Conference presentation and questions session on Redressing the Power Balance, and impromptu stall!
• Eastern: Norfolk – part of presentation to Sir Nigel Crisp and others, and National Direct Payments event planning continues; Direct Payments training events and Direct Payments Policy development with Bedfordshire and Luton teams.
• London: 20th Feb/ 9th March –direct payments preparation and training at Kingston Centre for Independent Living
• South West: 17th Feb - Making Partnerships work event in Cornwall.
• East Midlands: Direct Payments and Independent Living Fund events, arrangements being finalised
• North East, Y&H: 13th February 2006 - met with appropriate leads to develop work programme.

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East Midlands

Regional Update

Employment

• The East Midlands Employment network continues and some elements have now been merged with Learning Difficulties.
• Workshops have been delivered on mental health and employment following up the regional public health directors report.


Day Services

• Five workshops are now to be planned and delivered based on commissioners’ assessment of preferred CSIP action.


Other activity


• Promotion of a pilot of the social inclusion tool kit has been agreed with two authority recovery (CMHT) Teams. Media. A planning group met on 18 July 2006. Consultation with Service users and Carers has taken place and a wider launch event 14 September has been planned, involving Open up, Shift, Rethink, and East Midlands leads. We are supporting Service user involvement in Open up campaign. For more information go to www.openuptoolkit.net or ring Torsten Shaw on 0115 9505996.


Volunteering


• This is being linked into education pilots discussed below.

National Update

Education
• The NIACE/NIMHE/LSC network runs quarterly.
• CPA and education pilots are running across five sites in the East Midlands with a view to national roll out.

Last updated July 2007

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London

Regional Update

Employment
• A Memorandum of Understanding between LDC and Jobcentre Plus has been drawn up.
• The London Development Centre (LDC) Employment Network continues.
• EQUAL partnership work with other EU regions Continue with Richmond Fellowship Employment and Training on a job retention project in North London.

Education
• The NIACE network continues

Housing
• The housing network continues

Day Services
• Support across the region to review and modernise day services.
• Circulation of best practice/national guidance continues.

Voluntary Work
• Capital Volunteering project continues, for further information visit www.capitalvolunteering.org.uk
• A meeting regarding volunteering, Mental Health and Olympics is took place in early December 06.

National Update

Employment
• Really Useful Book of Learning and Earning published and distributed (with NIACE).

Last updated July 2007

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North East, Yorkshire and Humber

Regional Update

Employment
• Joint Mental Health and Employment project to develop a cross-agency strategic framework for action in the NE. The project is jointly funded by CSIP, ONE North East and the regional Public Health Group.
• Mental Health First Aid training is being offered across RDCs.
• Working with some private sector employers who have high sickness rates to help them work with people with mental health problems.

Education
• Actively involved in the NIACE/LSC/NIMHE partnership
• A joint action plan with the Learning Skills Council & NIACE is being developed.
• A network to bring adult education providers, Mental Health services and service users/learners together to review partnership objectives is being started.

Housing
• A regional seminar to share good practice and enable communication is being coordinated.

National Update

Direct Payments
• Funding from all but one of the Social Services Departments in the North East, Yorkshire & Humber to assist in increasing the take-up of Direct Payments among people with mental health problems has been secured.
• The work consists of a series of area workshops running two learning networks producing a Service User DVD and setting up a web-site run by and for Service Users who are using or want to use Direct Payments, and the provision of expert advice.

Last updated July 2007

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North West

Regional Update

Direct Payments
• Working with a number of areas to promote take up of Direct Payments, and also linking to In Control and Individual Budgets work.

Employment

• A new part time mental health, learning disabilities and employment lead has started. Initial priorities have been agreed as:
  • Regional roll out of Mindful Employer
  • Continued development of regional network on worklessness
• Additional resource is being sought through a partnership with Jobcentre Plus and NW Development Agency

Education
• The work of the jointly NIACE/NIMHE/LSC funded part time post has included:
  • Contribution to a national partnership event
  • Development work on a NW Healthy colleges project
  • Meeting of regional network
  • Development of anticipatory quality framework checklist

Voluntary Work
• Work on the voluntary sector programme has been mainstreamed into the NW commissioning programme.

Other developments
• The NIMHE Making a Real Difference regional work will be managed as part of the Social Inclusion Programme.
• The Development Centre is working with Greater Manchester SHA to commission user led recovery training for STR workers across the patch, which will stimulate development of a social enterprise for service user led recovery training.

National Update

Day Services
• Links made with Delivering Race Equality programme regarding potential for collaborative working with FISs
• Briefing regarding working with parents for mental health day services launch (with day services) completed.
• Review of hospital contact and support arrangements nearing completion, final report in draft, available from Feb 07 onwards
• Funding for safeguarding leads network secured, links with C & F programme clarified, first development meeting arranged.
• Liaison with DfES re children centre guidance, comments submitted.

Action 16

• For further information on this area of work please follow this link http://www.northwest.csip.org.uk/

Last updated December 2006

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South East

Regional Update

Employment
• Development of the South East Employment Network. The first meeting was held in December 2006. It now has 60 plus members, including mental health trusts, voluntary organisations, employers and providers.
• A conference launching the commissioning guidance for vocational services was held. Presentations available on SEDC website www.southeast.csip.org.uk
• SCMH have published a Leading by Example book (free to download from www.southeast.csip.org.uk ) based on their work with South East RDC. Four trusts will be developed as 'exemplar employers'. For further information click here.

Education

• A Partnership bid for ‘Action for Communities’ has been successful and a multi agency advisory group established to guide implementation across the S. East.
• An ‘Employability Skills’ working group has been established and a workshop is planned for the Autumn to work up proposals for a bid for funding for 2007/8.
• The SE LSC/RDC/NIACE Network continues and gains in membership. An employability Event is being developed to discuss Further Education and moving into paid employment.
• Discussions held with SEDA (Exodus) to look at possibility of ‘mentoring’ scheme within Prison setting. Further work planned.
• A leaflet on disclosure is in production.
• LSC are to run a pilot in partnership with Portsmouth colleges and the PCT Community Mental Health Teams to fast track people with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) into colleges with support.

Day Service Modernisation

• Continuing to support a number of areas as they modernise their services.

Voluntary Work

• Now South East RDC are members of the Sout Eastern/London Voluntary Care Services Network. Looking at volunteering models and exploring possibility of establishing work in this arena within S East.

Other activity since last report

• A South East Recovery Network is being formed to drive the recovery agenda forward in the South East. For further information click here and for terms of reference click here.
• Another recovery training the trainers took place in October 2006. For further information about this event click here.
• Recovery training continues to be delivered across the area.
• Contract issued to deliver a S East Social Inclusion Broadcast to capture current good practice and innovative schemes.

National Update

Employment
• Work in commissioning stages to scope and capture practice in Recruitment and Retention.

Last updated July 2007

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South West

Day Services
• Action Learning Sets with Commissioners – focused on de-commissioning and re-commissioning traditional services and the utilisation of Direct Payments.
• Working with Swindon PCT (see above review ) to develop the voluntary sector into major providers of meaningful occupation activity.
• Day Services guidance has been disseminated through RDC networks, conferences and meetings.

Education

• Conference to focus on access and choice in mainstream colleges for people with mental health problems is planned for October 2007.

Volunteering
• To promote access to volunteering for people with mental health problems through existing work on Day Services, Employment and Education.
• Working in conjunction with the Project Lead for the south west voluntary sector to promote a series of learning opportunities in relation to well being and inclusion and enable the voluntary sector to become a viable third sector service provider.

Housing
• Raising awareness of the rent arrears briefing of housing objectives across the RDC and aligning where possible to Local Area Agreements.

Employment
• The Mindful Employer Project now has over 50 employers signed up nationally and 2 international employers the project is also being promoted in health and social care organisations to be exemplars of positive practice.
• Vocational Rehabilitation guidance has been disseminated through RDC networks, conferences and meetings.

Direct Payments
• Direct Payments Coordinators are now seeking to establish a more formal network meeting in the South West.
• The last promotional event to take place in the South West happened on 12th July 07. An evaluation will be conducted to find out what has changed as a result of the event.

Last updated July 2007

West Midlands

Regional Update

Employment

• Primary Care
  Jobcentreplus have agreed to fund further Mindset meetings in other Districts across the Region with the purpose of raising awareness of the IB agenda with local GP’s. GP's have been asking for Jobcentre Plus representatives to visit surgeries.
• Job Retention Network
  The network of organisations involved in this network continues to expand and each organization has the chance to discuss and contribute ides for complex cases, using Jobcentreplus Work Psychologists to facilitate.
• Access to Psychological Therapies Project
  Initial referrals were low due to age criteria, since this has been relaxed referrals have increased.
• Action on Stigma
  The regional Action on Stigma event was well attended by local small and medium sized employers as well as larger employers such as TESCO and Claire's Accessories. Excellent input was provided by the Shift Speakers Bureau.
• Jobcentre Plus
  There are six Jobcentre Plus districts across the West Midlans. Pre-employment days are being held in Coventry. Employer Host Days and Business in the Community events are being held in Coventry and Warwickshre with a view to replicate this across other disctricts.
• Mental Health Awareness Courses are being planned for Trade Union Representatives.

Education
• The West Midlands are hoping to participate in the National CPA Audit.
• An LSC funded project on mental health and visual impairment is planned.

Volunteering
• West Midlands RDC plan to bring volunteering into CSIP.

Day Services

• Plans are being finalised for five regional workshops with the themes of; Rural issues, Diversity, User Led Services Direct Payments, Change Management.
• Hosting quarterly meetings for those leading on Day Services across the regions.
• Five regional workshops have been organised with the themes of; Rural issues, Diversity, User Led Services Direct Payments, Change Management.
• Hosting quarterly meetings for those leading on Day Services across the different regions.
• Support given across the region with input into team away days, presentations and dissemination of information.

Housing

• Tender is currently being developed with an aim to get extra capacity from a Housing organisation to co-deliver Social Exclusion Unit Action Points.

Direct Payments

• A BME Direct Payments seminar is planned for the Autumn.
• An Older People’s working group to be established with ADSS.

National Update

Action 16 Steering Group
• A meeting was held on June 28th 2006 in which exit strategy and ways of mainstreaming work on Parental Mental Health were planned.

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