Improving outcomes in public services
Sustaining homelessness reduction post Covid-19
£13.7m revenue
Summary
This proposal to prevents and relieves homelessness by supporting people into accommodation, helping them to retain their tenancies even when under threat of eviction, and increasing the supply of accommodation in the private rented sector. It combines three interventions:
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Housing First enables people to get off the streets and into secure tenancies. There is already a successful pilot in the region, which we would like to scale up and sustain to 2025
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Recovery tenancies wrap support around people who have built up significant rent and other arrears and can be used by both social landlords and the private rented sector as an alternative to eviction, preventing homelessness
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Local Housing Allowance Plus (LHA+) increases the supply of affordable private rented sector properties
Outcomes
- Enables local authorities to support more single people and homeless families (just under 1,000 households in total) to take up and sustain tenancies
- Continuation of support to 300 individuals currently in Housing First between 2021-23 ensuring tenancies are sustained in the long term
- 240 additional individuals would enter Housing First between 2021-23 with legacy support into 2023-25
- Reduced social and financial burdens for families, landlords and local authorities – 200 households supported for up to 12 months so that evictions are prevented through recovery tenancies
Investment in Public Service Data and Evidence Innovation
£2m capital £9.6m revenue
Summary
Through a collaborative partnership across public services and civil society we will create a programme of activity which will apply advanced data analytics to inform evidence-based decisions on how, where and when we deliver our public services.
This will achieve better outcomes for residents, more targeted and timely delivery of public services and a greater openness and sharing of data, increasing efficiencies and reducing risk.The programme will also build data skills capacity across the public sector.
Outcomes
- Establish new regional shared service, creating 202 jobs and boosting GVA by £33.4m
- Provide bootcamp training in data analytics and evaluation to 1,238 people, increasing GVA by £9m, with 60% from underserved groups
- Provide support to 245 public sector organisations on data science, including establishing a best practice network, increasing business productivity to contribute to a £27.3m GVA uplift
- Deliver 85 Research & Development projects in data analytics leading to a £53.8m increase in GVA
West Midlands Safe Centre
£36.5m capital £20.5m revenue
Summary
The Safe Centre will be a new facility, purpose built for safe and secure care for children. It will be used for court-ordered care and custody, with the aim of short-term respite to grow stability and self-esteem. The Centre will be supported by a whole-system care solution, to ensure that vulnerable children – who currently experience dire outcomes - are not left behind.
Outcomes
- Each additional secure care episode avoided would avoid costs of £7,000 - £124,000 per child depending on the level of intervention they would have required.
- Long-term employment for over 100 skilled staff and supporting the development of the region’s care workforce and training infrastructure.
Building resilience into public services
£20.5m revenue
Summary
This proposal seeks to boost the ability of people to manage the impact of loss and trauma on their work and life, by improving the flexibility, capacity and capability of the services and assets they use. This will reduce demand on statutory services and crisis intervention. It will maximise cross-agency and place-based working to prevent, reduce and respond to the factors which can lead to people living with multiple and complex needs being unable to contribute to or benefit from the levelling up of the West Midlands region.
Outcomes
- The West Midlands would become the world’s first WHO-recognised trauma informed region, improving quality of life for people living with trauma and providing an example for other regions to follow
- To sustain and grow those parts of the social economy in the West Midlands that are working with some of the most vulnerable people in the region
- To have a positive generational impact on child poverty
Levelling up health in the West Midlands
£20.5m revenue
Summary
- We will develop a Radical Health Prevention Fund (RHPF) that provides grants and loans for innovation and scale-up in place-based initiatives to tackle the root causes of ill health. We will also create a specific Physical Activity Fund to reduce physical inactivity amongst those impacted most by coronavirus
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We will become England’s first social prescribing walking and cycling pilot region building resilience in those communities most impacted by Covid-19
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We will develop digital Diagnostic Screening Hubs in high footfall venues that will enable citizens to access speedy diagnostic interventions and treatment in places other than healthcare settings
Outcomes
- Reduce gaps in healthy life expectancy between the West Midlands and the England average –which currently stands at approximately 3.6 years.
- In economic terms, this could increase employment by 5.6% and generate an additional £5.2bn in GVA by closing productivity gaps.
- A 1% reduction in obese or overweight adults and 7% increase in the number of active people (and a £1m boost to the economy).
- Reduction in the NHS waiting time for Cancer Screening in the region by 10%