Decision details

Purpose of the report:

The purpose of the report is to seek Cabinet’s approval that Oldham Council will lead the management of the WorkWell Partnership Vanguard programme and accept the grant with a value of £542,771 to deliver the outcomes in the Oldham locality. The report is seeking approval for the Get Oldham Working service to project manage and deliver parts of the model, which requires job creation, recruitment, and a staff honorarium.

Reasons for the Recommendations:

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and NHS Greater Manchester put Greater Manchester (GM) forward as 1 of 15 national WorkWell Partnership Vanguard sites.  This proposal had been accepted, and each Local Authority was now required to work with GMCA; NHS GM and Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), who have been appointed as consultants, to develop a local plan for the delivery of this offer which must ‘go live’ from 1 October 2024 and is funded until 31 March 2026.

Options/Alternatives Considered:

a.    Option One: to approve acceptance of the grant and delivery within the boundaries of the proposed model with three key partners (Oldham Community Leisure, Action Together and Get Oldham Working) leading on the delivery. Oldham Council will provide the overarching governance with outcomes reported to the appropriate boards and portfolio briefings (Employment and Health leads).

b.    Option Two: to request another locality organisation to lead.  The alternative lead agency (as proposed by GMCA) is NHS Oldham to lead on financial management and delivery. The Cabinet could request that they formally take the lead, but this is not deemed a viable option due to a lack of capacity of other locality lead at this moment in time. There is a need to mobilise by the start of October 2024.

c.    Option three: Withdraw from the project. This is not a preferred option. The proposal has worked with key stakeholders to develop the model at a fast pace and this has created a number of risks but it is believed that these can be managed. The primary risks are the timescales to recruit to the programme and the short-term nature of the project. If the Cabinet decides to withdraw f would reduce investment into Oldham reducing the chance to improve outcomes for our residents. It would also have a reputational issue as each area has had to work at pace and this demonstrates that devolution can be affective and quick in decision making.

Preferred Option: Option one is the preferred option. The Get Oldham Working service and partners are confident that they can deliver this programme within the limited timeframe but recognise that there are risks that will need to be managed.

Decision:

Cabinet resolved:

1.    To accept Oldham’s delivery model and Oldham Council to lead on management of the resources for delivery, up to a monetary value of £542,774, providing appropriate governance and oversight.

2.    To accept the decision for the Get Oldham Working service to create and recruit a new post to deliver parts of the model.

3.    To accept the decision for the Get Oldham Working service to move an existing staff member from delivering another contract and onto this project and backfill this post via recruitment.

4.    To accept the decision for the Council’s, Get Oldham Working service to offer an honorarium up to grade 8 from existing staff resources to project manage the operations within this model.

5.    To accept accountability for Oldham Councils, get Oldham Working programme to deliver the GOW therapy element.