Does the right hand know what the left is doing?

Well here it is. I have finally taken up my post and the story begins. As stated previously, this is my first foray into the world of the local authority. I expected to find difficulties, but with just a week completed. I have been amazed by some of the things that I have come across. It would be too easy just to start listing all of these failings, but I am a two-fingered typist, and I really don’t want to waste that much time going into them all!

One scenario I will share with you though. I met with a Social Worker to discuss a client. This was a young man with a learning disability. He had lived with his mother, but they were about to become homeless as their current tenancy ended. There was no resource available and the council were faced with accommodating this man in a hotel at a cost of £110. Obviously this is a major issue for Commissioning if we are so short of resources that we are left with only this option

In the course of conversation though it transpired that there was a potential resource available, but the client could not yet be housed in it. The problem was that damage caused to the property by a previous occupant had not been fixed.. I suggested that perhaps we could pay a premium to the landlord for this to be fixed as an emergency. I was told that this could not possibly be authorised from current budgets. The fact that this would be by far the least expensive option in the long run didn’t seem to make any difference!

Jump forward 24 hours to another meeting, this time with a Social Work Manager who had identified an issue that she felt he should discuss with Commissioning. She had negotiated a contract with a Housing Association to build properties as supported accommodation for clients with learning disabilities. The local authority had entered into a contract that gave us first refusal of any vacant properties. In return we had agreed to pay for the rent of these properties even when they were vacant. She had bills totalling almost £40000 for empty properties and hoped that I would be able to negotiate contracts to get her out of this commitment.
Now I’m sure that you are seeing a bit of an anomaly with this situation just like I did.. The council is paying large amounts of cash for empty properties while at the same time paying large amounts to accommodate clients in hotels. It would be really helpful if the right hand could tell the left hand what it is doing!