Content

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.