Support for small providers of social care
VAL is currently offering additional support for Micro Providers of social care services. A Micro Provider is classed as either an individual or group with 5 members or less and can be from the VCS or private sector.
Micro providers are being encouraged as part of a Local Authority initiative in order to provide an increased choice of services for people wishing to use their individual budgets as part of Personalisation.
The co-ordinator for progressing the City's small provider work is Javed Hussain who is based at Voluntary Action LeicesterShire.
Contact: Javed Hussain
Tel: 0116 257 4965
e-mail: javed.h@valonline.org.uk
The County co-ordinator has yet to be confirmed.
A joint City / County event was held on 22 July for small organisations that provide social care support and organisations that help develop small businesses. Approximately 40 delegates attended.
Adult Social Care has been tasked with shaping and developing the provider market place to ensure that choice is available to meet people's social care and support needs and aspirations. Whilst large provider organisations are visible within communities, very small providers are often not known to the local authority or to the business community.
The aim of the event on 22 July was to:-
- Provide an overview of the work that the city is doing to improve adult social care services
- Explain how small providers and business development organisations can help develop a strategy for supporting and developing the small provider market place
- Raise awareness of the issues that small providers face
Since the event in July a steering group has been formed and the first meeting took place on Thursday 12 August 2010. The project plans were shared with the attendees and governance arrangements were discussed.
The next meeting will take place on Thursday 23 September 2010.
please contact Javed Hussain for more information.