Case File Contents Checklist - The Social Audit Network · Deal for Communities area or priority...

Appendix 1

SES (Sustainable ▪ Enterprise ▪ Strategies) 2010 ©

1

Name of document

Applicable

to This client?

(Y or N)

Comment

Initial Client Enquiry Form (SES 01)

Client Registration Form: Signed by Worker and User

(SES 02)

Pre Business Support Action Plan (SES 03)

Proof Of ID

NEEIC Paperwork

Tracker /Case Note Sheet (SES 04)

Client Activity Record (SES 05)

Enterprise Catalyst

Business Plan Checklist (SES 06)

Expenses Sheet (SES 07)

Business Plan

Start Up Information Sheet / Grant Application Form(s)

(SES 08)

Business Monitoring Sheet(s) (SES 09)

Client Change Of Details Form(s) (SES 10)

Case File Contents Checklist Use as an index and checklist of the documents contained in the

Client Case File.

Client Name: ____________________ Hanlon Reference No: ________________

Appendix 1


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Client Enquiry Form (SES 01)

Use this form to record the details – fully and accurately- of every

business support enquiry for SES support. Enquiries may be made by

phone or in person.

Reception staff and/or other staff are required to complete if handling

an initial enquiry.

Name of enquirer

Contact telephone number

Address and postcode

Email Address

Initial Advisor

Nature of the enquiry (please tick)

General information about starting a business

General information about starting a social enterprise

Advice for Existing Business

Advice for Existing Social Enterprise

Specific technical advice on business

Personal Finance/debt/tax credit

Business Idea

Housing Tenure Gentoo Owner Private Rented Other Housing Ass.

Living With Parents Friends Homeless Other

IMD Ranking / Ward

Name of special project/area

initiative (where relevant), e.g. New

Deal for Communities area or priority IMD area.

Person handling the enquiry

Date and time of the enquiry

How did you hear about us? Leaflet/Poster Newspaper Jobcentre Plus Fiscus

Word of mouth Shaw Trust Job Linkage Bank

Just The Job Website Just the Job Phone Line Other

Approximate time taken

(Please circle)

15 min 30 min 45 min 1 Hour

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Client Registration Form (SES 02)

Funding Code SME B/S SE

First Name’s Surname:

Address: Post code:

E-mail:

Male: Female:

Tel. Number:

NI number: If not known use… TN – DOB – Male or female _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Mobile no:

Nationality:

Marital Status: Single / Married / Divorced / Separated / Widowed / Civil Partnership

IMD Rating

1-10 11-20 21-30

31 – 50 51-100 Actual _____________

Age Band (circle) Date of Birth:

16 - 25 26 – 49 50+ ________________

Housing Tenure

Gentoo Other RSL Owner Occupier

Private Rented Parents Home Friend’s House

No permanent address No Fixed Abode Other

Ethnic Origin Asian / Asian British - Bangladeshi

Black / Black British – Caribbean

Mixed white / black Caribbean

Asian / Asian British – Indian Black / Black British – Other

White – British

Asian / Asian British - Pakistani Chinese White – Irish Asian / Asian British - Other Mixed white / Asian White – Other

Black / Black British - African Mixed white / black African

Other

Equal Opportunities Please tick ALL of the following that apply to you:

English 2nd

Language Mental / learning disability

Recently made redundant

Refugee Physical disability NEET 16-18 not in employment, education or training

Asylum Seeker Drug / Alcohol misuse Returner to labour market

50+ years People in or leaving care

Has care responsibilities

EEC National Homeless Basic skills need Literacy / numeracy difficulties

Health problems Lone parent Ethnic minority group Ex Offender Client facing None

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4

redundancy

Employment Status Have you ever worked? Yes No If Yes, please give the date you last worked: _ _ / _ _ / _ _

Are you currently employed? Yes No If Yes, How many hours: ___________

Are you self-employed? Yes No

Are you currently on Pathways?

Yes No

Are you currently on New Deal?

Yes No

a) How long have you been out of work? (please tick one)

0-6 months 7-12 months 13-18 months

19-24 months 25 months – 3 years Over 3 years

b) What is the MAIN benefit you currently receive? (please tick one or more)

Jobseeker’s Allowance Incapacity Benefit Severe Disablement Allowance

Income Support Invalid Care Allowance Widow’s Benefit

None

Other (specify) _______________

Excluding Housing Benefit how much yourself and/or /family receive in benefit last week?

Average £____________________PW

ESA

Do you have dependant children aged 16 years or under living with you?

Yes No

Are you registered as disabled Yes No

Have you ever been self employed? Yes No (Business type) _____________

What is your business idea? ______________________________________________________

Education / Qualifications

Below NVQ 1 NVQ 1 NVQ 2

NVQ 3 NVQ 4 NVQ 5

GCSE Graduate Overseas Qualification Not known

No qualifications Other (specify) : ____________

Transport: Car Ownership? Do you have access to a car or van? Yes No

Do you have a current driving licence? Yes No If yes, what type? Do You consider the availability of public transport to be a problem Yes No Does the cost of public transport impact on you accepting interviews or employment? Yes No

Do you have an up to date CV? Yes No

Appendix 1


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How did you hear about us?

Leaflet/Poster Newspaper Jobcentre Plus Word of mouth Shaw Trust Job Linkage Just the Job Phone Line Just The Job Website Bank Fiscus Other

Declaration I understand this service is voluntary and give my consent for my personal details to be held on a secure database and used by SES to confirm my identity and be released to, employers, funders,

partners, referral organisations where it is necessary in the interests of increasing my self-employment and/or employment prospects. My personal information may be used for the purpose of

management information and external audit requirements by the organization collecting the data or any organization with whom the data has been shared for the purposes of increasing my self

employment and/or employment prospects.

You may be contacted in the future with regard to monitoring, evaluating and offering further assistance. Details provided on this form are confidential and will not be used or shared for any

purpose other than that already stated.

This information may be held and used in the service’s internal computer systems. I understand that I can withdraw this consent at any time by contacting my adviser/caseworker.

Client signature: _______________________________ Date: _______________________

Advisors Signature _______________________________ Date: _______________________

Advisor Name (print) ________________________________________________________________

On Behalf Of: ________________________________________________________________

Job Centre Plus Which Office?

Job Linkage Which Office?

Fiscus Which Advisor?

Other Please state?

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6

Personal Barriers Relevant Action

Literacy / Numeracy / ICT Skills

Confidence / Motivation

Family / Caring Commitments (including Childcare)

Transport

Homelessness / Housing

Cultural Issues

Special Requirements needed to access the service

Criminal Convictions

Other Agency Support Job Linkage Shaw Trust Business

Link InBiz Working

Links Princes Trust

Next Steps

Registered?

Issues with Benefits / Tax Credits / debt / personal finance (Fiscus)

Relevant Action

Do you have any issue with your benefits or need a better off calculation?

Are you worried about debt or are you in arrears with any bills?

Do you have any problems obtaining credit / CCJ’s?

Do you have any problems opening a bank account?

Training, Licensing and Registration Relevant Action

Do you have the relevant training for the services you will offer?

Do you require registration with any relevant body or trade association? (i.e. Gas Safe)

Pre Business Start Support (SES 03) Use this checklist to ensure you have covered all the topics and

questions relevant to diagnosing the needs of the client.

Worker Name: ______________________ Client Name: ______________________

Appendix 1


7

Section 2 – Action Plan

Date of

Action

Record details here By Whom? By When?

Appendix 1


8

Page: _______________

Client‟s name

Client‟s reference no.

Date of

activity

Type of activity highlight, issues / concerns noted, more importantly suggested action e.g.

training course on X, advice on Y. Periodic reviews of progress, suggestions made by advisor

Client Tracker/Case Notes (SES 04)

You should use this sheet to record notes of significance. Record a summary

Of the business, work completed to date, work set for the client for the next

appointment, issues or concerns etc...

These notes should be maintained by the advisor(s) responsible for the case.

They provide a complete record of SES relationship with the client, and enable

us to provide an integrated and holistic service.

Appendix 1


9

Date Activity Contact

Method

Advisor

Name

Time

Start

Time

End

Total

Time

Client Signature

Client Activity Record (SES 05) Client must sign each entry to record meetings and any work completed by

the advisor on the client‟s behalf. This record should mirror the Information in

the tracker case file and advisors own time sheets.

Client Name: _______________________________________________

Business Name: _______________________________________________

Appendix 1


10

Item Relevant

Yes / No

Business / Proprietor Details

Summary of the Business Idea (who, why, where, when and how)

Key people / Management & Staffing

Legal Structure

Findings of market research

Assessment Of Competition (include the Unique Selling Point of the business)

Customer / Market Analysis

Premises, utilities and equipment

Financing (own resources and borrowing; including details of any start-up

capital)

Cash flow forecast with sensitivity illustrations

Profit /loss / Gross Profit Margin with sensitivity illustrations

Survival Budget

Analysis of risks and possible countermeasures

Summary CV and track record/relevant skills and experience

Book-keeping, Taxation and VAT

Health, Safety and legal issues

Business Plan Checklist (SES 06) Use this checklist to ensure you have covered all the topics and

Questions relevant to compiling a business plan.

Client Name: ____________________

Appendix 1


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Payment / Cheque No: __________________________________________

Date Nature of expenses

Mileage Other Travel

Dependent

Care

Feasibility /

Market

research

Signed Received

Authorisation:

Print Name: .......................................................... Signature: .......................................................... Date: ............................

Expenses Sheet (SES 07) you should use this sheet to record any expenses

claimed by and paid to clients.

Client Name: _________________________________________

Business Name _______________________________ Project: _______________________________


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Legal Trading Status:

Business Start Up Information Sheet (SES 08) You should use this form to record details of each new business at start up. This will enable SES to assess achievements, progress and impacts.

First Name(s): Surname:

Address: Post Code:

Client Phone Number:

IMD: Email

Date of Birth: Client Reference No.

Business Name: Business start date:

Business Address Post Code:

IMD:

Partners Name: Client Phone Number:

Partners Address: Post Code:

Date of Birth: IMD:

Provide a Brief Description of the Business:


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What further support is needed now that the business has commenced trading? New business ideas Business Planning Legal structures Employment Debt Advice Benefits/tax credits advice Taxation CV Tendering/procurement Marketing Bookkeeping Recruiting Staff Importing/Exporting Internet Trading Business Management Networking Employment Law Other

Prior to business start: Employment Status: Unemployed: 0-6 Months 6-12 Months 13-18 Months 19-24 Months 25-36 Months Over 3 Years Employed: Full Time Part Time Serving Redundancy

Housing Tenure Gentoo Owner Private Rented Homeless Living with parents Living with Friends Other Housing Association Other

What was the main JSA Incapacity Benefit Income Support

Type of Business SIC Code (use 2007 SIC list):

Projected Turnover:

Under £9999 £10k - £19k £20k - £29k £30k - £49k £50k - £99k £100k Plus

Actual Projected Turnover:

VAT Registered: Yes No

Number Of Employees (inc. proprietors):

At Commencement:

At End Of First Year (Forecast):

Other (please specify):


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benefit received? DLA Severe disability allowance ESA Widows Benefit Invalid Care Allowance Other None

A) Excluding housing costs and prior to business start how much income/benefit did the user’s family receive the week before trading?

B) Excluding housing costs, what is the expected business income per week (including Tax Credits) after the business starts trading?

Did the business require any start up funding? Yes No (If yes, fill in the Funding Applications sheet)

Have you used any additional business support service other than from SES? Business Link Local Authority Accountants Fiscus Banks BIC North East Chamber of Commerce Other

What do you think is the main benefit or impact of your business to you? Sense of pride Increased skills Building a family business Independence Coming off benefits More money for the family Reduce Debt Financial stability Employing family members Flexible hours Achievement Create a job for yourself What do you think is the main benefits or impact of your business upon local people and communities in the North East? Creating local jobs Increased local skills Role models for others Encourage others to start businesses Provide local services Pride in the area Local employment Helping other businesses Helping people to get off benefits Other

Other:

£

£

Other (Please specify):


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Declaration I understand this service is voluntary and give my consent for my personal details to be held on a secure database and used by

SES to confirm my identity and be released to, employers, funders, partners, referral organizations where it is necessary in the interests of increasing my self-employment and/or employment prospects. My personal information may be used for the purpose of management information and external audit requirements by the organization collecting the data or any organization with whom the data has been shared for the purposes of increasing my Self Employment and/or employment prospects.

You may be contacted in the future with regard to monitoring, evaluating and offering further assistance. Details provided on this form are confidential and will not be used or shared for any purpose other than that already stated.

This information may be held and used in the service’s internal computer systems. I understand that I can withdraw this consent at any time by contacting my adviser/caseworker.

Client signature: _______________________________ Date: _______________________

Advisors Signature _______________________________ Date: _______________________

Advisor Name (print) ________________________________________________________________

On Behalf Of: ________________________________________________________________

Details of all Funding applications submitted Application made to: Date Personal

Investment Grant

Loan Amount sought

(£)

Amount Awarded

(£)


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Date of Data capture: Client Name:

Business Name:

Have Contact Details Changed? Yes No (If yes, Complete Change of Details Form)

Is the business still trading? No Complete Part 1 Yes Continue to part 2

Part 1 – Where the Business has ceased trading. What date did you cease trading? Why did the business cease trading? Ill Health Lack of customers Premises Economy Cash flow problems Family circumstances Full time Job offers New Regulations Market failure Competition Bankruptcy, Debt Bookkeeping / Taxation

Would you consider starting another business? Yes No Is any further help needed? (By SES or signposting) New business ideas Business Planning Legal structures Employment Debt Advice Benefits/tax credits advice Taxation Informing Agencies CV

Business Monitoring Sheet (SES 09) Used to record details of the results of 6, 12, 18 and 24 month monitoring. This will enable SES to calculate business survival rates, maintain contact with the business and provide further help where needed. Tick the correct monitoring stage below.

Monitoring Stage: 6 12 18 24



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Part 2 - Where the Business is still trading. How do you feel the business is performing? Excellent Good Average Poor

Excellent Good Average Poor Have you encountered any problems? Ill Health Lack of customers Premises Economy Cash flow problems Family circumstances Full time Job offers New Regulations Market failure Competition Bankruptcy, Debt Bookkeeping / Taxation

What is your average income per week including tax credits? (For instance Drawings/Wages, excluding housing benefits)

Have you used any additional business support service other than from SES? Business Link Accountants Fiscus

Is any further help needed? (By SES or signposting) New business ideas Business Planning Legal structures Employment Taxation/ Bookkeeping Tendering/procurement


How many are employed? (Including self):

What Is the Turnover for the Current / Previous Year?

VAT Registered: Yes No

VAT De Registered: Yes No What are the prospects for growth over the next 12 Months?


£



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Marketing Importing/Exporting Networking

Where do most of your customers come from? Your Neighborhood Local neighbourhoods Across Sunderland Within the sub-region North East Wide Country wide UK Wide Europe Worldwide

Client signature: _________________________ Date: _________________

Advisors Signature _________________________ Date: __________________

Completed: In Person By Phone



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Date of Data capture:

Business Name

Name

LandLine Telephone

Mobile

Email Address

Address

Postcode

IMD

Housing Tenure

Gentoo Owner Private Rented Other Housing Ass.

Living With Parents Friends Homeless Other

Change Of Contact Details (SES 10) Used to record a change in contact details a any stage of the business. Attach to registration form


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APPENDIX 2

Action Points from 2008/09 Social Accounts

SES has practiced Social Accounting and Auditing since 2003 and has used the

process and its findings to inform the organizations strategic direction.

The consultation carried out with all stakeholders groups imposes a learning

environment for which SES can prove and improve its work, the action points taken

from the results of last year‟s consultation (objectives 1-6) are as follows;

Objective 1: To actively promote, develop and support individual entrepreneurship,

enterprise and social enterprise mainly with people from hard pressed communities

Action Points……

Collect information from Registration Clients in a different way and throughout

the year

We shall continue to respond to contracts that fit our mission and core values

In the past we sought funding – NOW we concentrate on building relationships

and work with others to respond to contracts. This is a different way of working

Concentrating on building up long-term relationships with the business start up

clients to ensure support is given for sustainability and growth

Improve the data collection for social enterprises so that it captures funds raised

and the enterprises journey, the data needs to be brought together in a

consistent form

Focus more community engagement programmes such as enterprise coaching

to ensure we maintain our work in the most hard pressed areas

Continue consistent usage of the business offer documents to ensure SES

operates at the same level

Ensure the Enterprise Team are sufficiently challenged

Action Taken……………..

An improved set of business offer documents was introduced October 2009 – with this

SES introduced a more disciplined and managed process of recording information.

This year SES has registered 783 clients onto an enterprise programme compared to

577 last year. This is now a much improved and consistent part of SES‟s operations and

a working party meets bi-annually to develop the documents in line with

organizational development and reporting requirements from various contracts.

This new system has also improved contact with all clients this year, more has been

done to try to understand what progress each business is making. A full and complete

monitoring exercise has been carried out with ALL business start up clients for this

year‟s social accounts. To improve the reporting of these figures SES have

implemented a rolling monitoring system; monitoring is now carried out each month,

allowing a current picture of business survival rates.


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APPENDIX 2

This will produce data to show ebbs and flows throughout the year and give SES

opportunities to improve their impact on the survival rate of businesses.

In addition to improving the traditional business start up data collection we have

designed a database specifically for Social Enterprises and the Voluntary Sector, this

database allows more quantitative data to be captured giving the opportunity to

collect more data and demonstrate the full impact of our work with the Social

Enterprise Sector.

Due to the uncertainties regarding government changes, few contracts and

opportunities have been available, however SES have taken improved steps to

streamline their bidding process and engaged and worked closely with „Bid Perfect‟, a

consultancy firm which assists and facilitates with the management process of

tendering for contracts. Added to this SES have experienced a new way or working

during this audit cycle, being part of a 5 strong consortia since April 2009 SES has

gathered a large amount of knowledge and awareness on how to create and

maintain a strong consortia model. This has positioned SES well for future consortia

contracts.

This year SES have employed 3 Enterprise Talent Scouts, these workers focus on

community engagement and developing the pre pre-start skills of the potential

business start up clients. They are a part of the existing enterprise team who have

continued to work towards meeting their individual targets and introduction of the

new Hanlon CRM system and increased reporting needs have ensured the team have

been sufficiently challenged.

Objective 2: To identify and participate in projects that involves community anchor

organisations and partners to develop better products and services

Action Points…….

We want to explore consortia working more

We need to review our strategic approach outside Sunderland

In future, we should find out more about organisations before forming a

consortium with them

Continue to communicate the “badged” package to staff and other

stakeholders.

Continue the effective work of New View, Gentoo, FISCUS and Wearside First CU

Continue to work in partnership with close partners and within groups in planning,

developing social enterprise and raising funds for organisations in the sector

Continue to look at reciprocal and linked targets for SES, FISCUS, New View,

Wearside First Credit Union Enterprising Futures, New Leaf New Life and Social

Enterprise North East thus operating an integrated and holistic service or

“package” to target audience


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APPENDIX 2

Action Taken………

SES is keen to explore more consortia opportunities but as mentioned previously,

suitable opportunities have not arisen in recent months. The Vision is strong throughout

the organization and SES continues to reinforce the value of its work both internally

and externally, consultation carried out with stakeholders indicates a respect for our

work in hard pressed communities. The recently formed consortia include both Gentoo

and FISCUS, they too share our ambition to invest in both the social and financial

wealth of their customers and clients and we have looked and will continue to look for

ways to continue this partnership/consortia way of working. A senior manager within

SES is a board member for Wearside First, FISCUS and Compass Community Transport,

he has been a critical component in the development of its services. In addition Kevin

Marquis – Director, is a board member for Sunderland Resource Centre, Capitalize

North East, and Social Enterprise North East. Mark Heskett Saddington – Director is also

a board member for Social Enterprise North East , Community Business Scotland,

Sunderland Working Neighbourhood Fund and Sunderland Economic Masterplanning

Group. f

Objective 3: To influence policy at a local and regional level regarding enterprise

support and social enterprise

Action Points……

We should investigate whether or not and by how much are organisations value-

driven and be conscious of their area of operation eg. how much they are

concerned with local development?

To write up and document a greater number of case studies to be used in a

number of different ways including in next year‟s social accounts

Continue to try to influence organisations working in the area through personal

contacts and regular attendance at meetings

We will establish a new working relationship with BENE

Our strategic objective of reflecting and penetrating City Region status is working

owing to our increasing presence within the sub region. We need to continue

with this approach Undertaking a full stakeholder analysis, covering relationships with the wide range of organisations with

which SES work

Use more case studies to illustrate some of the outcomes from this objective

To review the “influencing” strategy of SES

Action taken.......

SES have taken steps to improve case study material, in total 9 structured case studies

have been written this year. These present social enterprises with a great opportunity

to showcase the work they carry out and in doing so hope to act as a change agent


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APPENDIX 2

for investment in this sector. Our presence in the Tyneside region has improved our

profile as an experienced and respected enterprise development agency and we

have taken further steps more recently to advance this by adding a „traditional start

up service‟ in the North Tyneside office.

Objective 4: To maximise the economic impact of our work

Action Points .....

We should consider changing the wording of this objective and stressing that we

demonstrate our economic impact and not only maximise it - as this is covered

by the first two objectives

Continue to support New View in the light of the effective work it continues to do

To encourage FISCUS to expand its work into other areas in the North East of

England

To build on our successful partnership relationship with Gentoo

Action Taken......

As the report continues it shows amendments to organizational objectives, a full

review was completed prior to commencing this years‟ social accounts.

Objective 5: To minimise any adverse effects SES has on the environment

Action Points.....

We should, in future, spend more time with clients considering environmental

impacts

We should link more with Gentoo on environmental issues (Business Links North

East do not address environmental impact)

In conjunction with the plans for „Container City SES are planning to implement its

first environmental policies and procedures that related to or core values of

creating sustainable social enterprises within the North East. Utilise new building

structures for greater environmental impact especially new builds.

To look at the travel costs and expenditure on energy and see how it may be

reduced.

To consider appointing an “Environmental Champion” within SES (similar to

Gentoo)

Action Taken......

SES are soon to embark on building new site offices, this will be named „container city‟

and will be built using recycled containers and materials. The plans for this have been


24

APPENDIX 2

dramatically delayed due to unexpected problems therefore the planned

environmental developments have been put on hold.

SES is however committed to environmental management and introduced their

environmental policy in March. Further work will be progressed to reduce our

environmental impact, such as; appoint an „environmental champion‟ and when the

new building is complete all tenants will be expected to follow our environmental lead

and commitment. At this time SES see no gain from enforcing such procedures until

the infrastructure is in place. To ensure SES is minimising its effect on the environment

the green office checklist has been carried out.

Objective 6: To develop and train the workforce, increasing and sharing knowledge

and skills throughout the agency

Action Points.....

A succession strategy should be considered along with roles of each staff

member and future development

Consider training and development opportunities for team members in relation to

the role they currently carry out or wish to carry out.

Action Taken…….

Each year SES carries out performance appraisals. These give staff the opportunity to

express interest in developing their personal and professional skills. It is a common

theme within SES for each worker to have an area of expertise, this benefits both the

organization and the team, creating a balance of skill and offering the workers

opportunities to have additional interests. SES updated it training and development

policy this year.

Approximately every 18mth to 2 year, the management team may redeploy staff onto

different projects and although the responsibilities of a business advisor remains

unchanged when dealing with clients their responsibilities to the project may differ

and in changing staff and exposing workers to different projects development in a

variety of other skills occurs, skills such as; micro management skills, presentation

techniques and IT development.

2.5 Panel Recommdations from 2008/09 Social Accounts

In addition to considering our results of previous years consultation, SES consider all

panel member suggestions and recommendations, the recommendations from

2008/09 panel is as follows;

Suggestions and Recommendations…….


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APPENDIX 2

i) undertake a full stakeholder analysis, covering relationships with the wide range of organisations with which SES work

ii) consult with staff and with the Board of Directors

iii) make increasing use of case studies to explore social impact

Action taken……

Steps have been taken to review our stakeholder relationships and influencing

strategy, we have presented our stakeholder analysis to highlight their level of power

and interest. This will be developed further as new opportunities become available to

us especially when considering consortia and partnership working.

This year, SES decided not to consult with staff, this decision was taken given the scope

of this year‟s accounts and after discussion it was agreed that it would not be

beneficial to consult with SES staff as they have done in the past. Discussions however

have taken place regarding ways to consult with the team for next year‟s audit cycle.

The same decision was taken regarding the Board of Directors, at the point of the

2008/09 social accounts a change was made to the board and during 2009/10 have

only just begun to embed as an operating board, more consideration will be given

regarding consultation with this stakeholder group for next auditing cycle.

SES have invested time and financial resource into produce case study material, these

will be discussed further in section 5.2.2.


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APPENDIX 3

Social Accounting and Audit 2009/10

SES

Client Consultation

We know you are very busy people but…. SES works hard to ensure that all of our clients receive a service that meets their requirements and expectations and to ensure we achieve this, every year we undertake client consultation. We would therefore be very grateful if you could use this questionnaire to record your thoughts and opinions on the service provided to you. This information is vital to us as it assists with our service improvements plans, so thank you for your time and input. Please return this questionnaire in the envelope provided by 20

th March 2010.

Name of Business Advisor: …………………………………………………………

1. About you:

This is optional; Your response will be entered into a free prize draw to win £100 Asda vouchers, please provide your details below to enable us to contact you should you be the lucky winner, the draw will be made March 31

st when the

winner will be informed.

Name …………………………………………………………………………. Address………………………………………………………………………. …………………………………………………………………………………. Contact Number……………………………………………………………..

2. About the different services we provide…

2.1 Please tick in √ column which services of these services you received from us and then rate them on a scale of 1 – 5 -; 5 being an excellent standard and 1 being the lowest standard.

Services √ 1 2 3 4 5 Assistance with market research Assistance with business or project plan Assistance with identifying funding (grants and loans) Preparing/assisting with applications for finance Provision of general business advice Information on book-keeping and accounts Advice on publicity and promotion Help with legal requirements and registration Information and advice on National Insurance, VAT and Income Tax


27

Information on recruitment and employment Formal training courses Help with identifying ideas for businesses Referral onto an associated service such as FISCUS (Benefits advice) 2.2 Are there other services or help which you would have expected to get from SES? (Please circle

appropriate response)

Yes No If yes, please detail below:

3 About the business support and services…

3.1 Please rate the range of knowledge and quality of service received from the Business Advisor (Circle the

appropriate response)

Range of knowledge

Excellent

Very Good

Good

Poor

Very Poor

Quality of service

Excellent

Very Good

Good

Poor

Very Poor

Comments

3.2 Please tell us about the difference SES has made you

Please tick to indicate your answers to the following statements

Statement

Increased

Decreased

Stayed the same

My understanding of where I can get support has

My understanding of what I need to do has

My aspirations about my future has

My motivation has

My confidence has

My self-esteem has

My ability to make informed choices has

My business skills has

4 Recommendation 4.1 Finally, would you recommend SES to another person starting up or running an enterprise?

Yes No

Thanks for your time and effort, it will greatly assist SES to improve their services


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SES (Sustainable Enterprise Strategies)

APPENDIX 3

Social Enterprise Client Data

Are you already trading as a social enterprise YES NO Are you preparing/emerging social enterprise YES NO Contact Name Company name Company address Company Post Code Contact phone no’s Mobile no’s Contact E mail address Web Site Address Description of Existing / Proposed Social Enterprise _______________________________

1. How would you describe the legal status of your existing / proposed social enterprise? (Please tick all that apply)

Community benefit society/Co-ops Community Interest (CIC) Company limited by shares Constituted organisation Industrial and provident society Other(s) (please describe)

Registered charity/company limited by guarantee Statutory body Unincorporated association Not constituted group

_______________________________________________________

2. Does existing / proposed social enterprise ‘stand alone’ or is it part of another enterprise ? (please tick one only)

Stand alone/independent Wholly owned subsidiary Partnership or Network Branch of a larger organisation Parent organisation Unsure

3. When was your proposed / existing Social Enterprise established?

Date:

4. What is your social enterprise annual turnover?

£0 - £20,000 £20,000-£50,000 £50,000-£99,999 £100,000-£499,999


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£500,000- £999,999 £1 million or more

What was your last years actual Turnover £___________________________

5. Over the next 3 years, how do you anticipate that your turnover will change?

Anticipate Change of the next 3 year

6. Which of the following markets do you serve or propose to serve?

Market Tick Estimated % of total sales Local Sunderland Newcastle North Tyneside South Tyneside Gateshead Durham Northumberland North Rest of UK Exports overseas

7. Have you applied for grant funding (Apr09-Mar10)

8. How many are Pending and what is its value have been Successful have been Unsuccessful

9. Have you submitted any tenders this year (Apr09-Mar10)

10. How many are Pending and what is its value have been Successful have been Unsuccessful

11. What do you think are the major barriers for the expansion /creation of your existing / proposed social

enterprise? (tick up to five)

Culture/religious beliefs Establishing new markets Getting finance for development /creation Getting grant funding

Lack of ongoing support Lack of specialist business advise/support Lack of training Lack of trained/qualified staff Lack of IT training/equipment

Sustained Growth Fast Growth Stay the same Decline

£

£

£

£

£

£


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Lack of contract opportunities Difficulties surrounding procurement procedures Lack of feedback on unsuccessful tendering applications Lack of capital Insecure funding Lack of Tax Credit and Benefits Lack of market information Competition

Lack of volunteers Language Legal constraints Lack of Leadership Lack of revenue/income Regulations/ Tax/VAT

_________________________________________________________

12. How many staff does / will your social enterprise have? Please tick:

Between 1-2 Between 3-5 Between 6 and 10 Between 11 and 20 Between 21 and 50 Between 51 and 100 More than 100

Actual Number of F/t staff ______________ P/t Staff _________________

13. Has the number of staff increased or decreased over the last 12 months? (Please circle) Decrease Increase N/A

14. What kind of future support do you require from SES to develop your Social Enterprise? (You can tick more than one)

Advice on E-Tendering/Commissioning

Social Accounting & Audit and SROI (Social Return on Investment)

Marketing/Promotion

Free or low cost accountancy

Entering into New Markets Legal structures advice Exporting/importing

Governance (management arrangements)

Social Franchising / Replication Business Management / Leadership Identifying and Selling USP (unique selling point)

Human Resource assistance i.e. Employing people/ Job Description

Strategy Planning Meeting other businesses/networking Financial Projections Debt advice


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Service Level Agreements / Contracts Benefits and tax credits advice for Directors and Employees

Other (please specify)

APPENDIX 4

Confidential SES Social Accounting and Audit 2009/10

Feedback from SES’s Partners May 2010

1 Introduction The following people were interviewed using the semi-structured agenda attached. John Musham (JM), Principal Officer (Enterprise), Economic Development, Newcastle City

Council (NCC) Paul McEldon (PM), CEO, Business Innovation Centre (BIC), Sunderland Dawn Docherty (DD), Joint Improvement Partnership Programme Manager, North East

Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (NEIEP) Richard Walton (RW), Programme Manager, Northern Rock Foundation (NRF) Berni Whitaker (BW), Enterprise Manager, Working Neighbourhoods Fund, Sunderland City

Council (SCC) 2 Awareness and Role Newcastle City Council (NCC) – Awareness Level: 8/10 JM has been aware of the work of SES as they are a “long established organisation” in Sunderland covering community based enterprise and social enterprise. NCC already had connections with COMECON and Bob Webb. Two years ago, when SES took over the work of COMECON, they started to have more direct connection with SES. NCC is working with SES via the Newcastle Enterprise Package funded by Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and the Working Neighbourhoods Fund (NRF and WNF). This package is worth £3.65m and has 4 themes and 13 activities and SES has been awarded Lot 10 worth about £100,000 covering enterprise development for the voluntary sector in disadvantaged areas in Newcastle. The package runs until March 2011 and involves working with 8 organisations and covering awareness-raising; holding events and promoting the support and funding that is available; supporting other providers who have Enterprise Advisers; working in schools; referring where appropriate to support for business planning and other aspects; assisting with asset transfer. NCC mainly works with Bob Webb and other SES staff based at the Mission. There is also a fund as part of the package – up to £10,000 grant for voluntary and community organisations and applicants have to submit a business plan to a panel. It is part of SES’s work to support and help with the applications. The package itself encourages work amongst deliverers of different Lots and is being currently being evaluated. Business Innovation Centre (BIC) – Awareness level: 8/10 The BIC and SES have known about each others organisation for a number of years. The BIC is a not-for-profit company with 50 staff offering office accommodation and business support for private


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enterprise. They are not in competition with SES as they do not target disadvantaged areas or the unemployed – instead they have had a mutual referral arrangement. In 2009 the BIC and SES formed a consortium made up of SES, BIC (lead partner), SNCBC, FISCUS and Gentoo and were awarded a contract worth £2m from SCC under the Working Neighbourhood

APPENDIX 4 Scheme which started in April 2009 and will finish in March 2011. The consortium meets monthly and supervises the programme which focuses on enterprise in disadvantaged areas and involves local Talent Scouts and business support with Enterprise Advisers. The consortium has been successful and it is likely that the BIC and SES will continue to work formally together. North East Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (NEIEP) – Awareness Level: 8/10 for this project; 5/10 more generally The North East is made up 12 local authority areas. These local authorities are involved in the delivery of Adult Social Care which they do collaboratively in terms of funding and priorities. This collaboration is managed by JIP Project Managers and they can commission providers to carry out pieces of work. These managers monitor the work and report back to the NEIEP. NEIEP commissioned SES to work with user-led organisations (ULO). ULOs tend to be voluntary organisations that offer advice, information, advocacy, etc. SES was asked to carry out two pieces of work that covered mapping/scoping ULOs; defining criteria for ULOs and how they engage with local authorities; holding workshops on enterprise for ULOs; and co-ordinating a regional conference. Both reports on the work done have been submitted and included recommendations on a regional network for ULOs; procurement status of ULOs; and the integration of ULOs. NEIEP have been pleased about on how the work has been carried out and its quality. Northern Rock Foundation (NRF) – Awareness Level: 8/10 NRF has made grants to SES in the past – these particular grant schemes are no longer being run by NRF. The most recent grant made to SES was for £287,000 which covered the period from 2007 – 2010 and involved the costs of a business support programme in hard-pressed communities. It is estimated that around 600 enterprises have been supported in this three year period and NRF receives regular reports from SES which they monitor. Sunderland City Council (SCC) – Awareness Level: 7/10 SSC have a Working neighbourhood Scheme and Fund (WNF) and they have contracted with the consortium made up of BIC, SES, FISCUS, SNCBC and Gentoo to provide Talent Scouts and Enterprise Advisers in hard-pressed communities in Sunderland. Under the WNF there are 10 projects of which the Neighbourhood Talent Scouts and Business Advisers (NTSBA) is one with a value of £1.1m over 2 years (2009 – 2011). The consortium receives visits from the SCC; holds regular meetings of the Steering Group; and submits quarterly reports on the work done.


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APPENDIX 4 3 Working with SES (Objective 3) Newcastle City Council Positive things in working with SES? Negative things in working with SES?

- SES is “very approachable, always willing to get involved in broader issues”

- Bob Webb is “enthusiastic, reliable and trustworthy”; and aids SES’s profile within NCC

- NCC feels confident in referring organisations to SES (eg. recent enquiry from Durham)

- In 2009 SES’s administration was less well defined and there were “difficulties in getting detailed figures relating to beneficiaries and finance” – BUT this has improved greatly in the last year

- SES, at times, submits proposals which are too complicated and “swamped with information” – BUT this, too, has improved

Benefits from working with SES?

- SES helps NCC achieve their objectives in enterprise support. - SES has proved to be “reasonable” in their proposals and costs; and commits time (often

unpaid) to working with NCC - SES is one of the few social enterprise support organisations in the North East - SES also works with voluntary committees/boards (not just managers) to help them strengthen

their organisations (eg. John Buddle Workspace)

Any changes in your organisation as a result of working with SES?

- SES submitted a proposal for Lot 10 (see above) that highlighted the potential of working with voluntary organisations on enterprise development. NCC now sees this as a growing area of work and the feedback from voluntary organisations has been very good.

How could your relationship with SES be improved?

- “Cannot think of any ways the relationship could be improved”. NCC would like to be able to continue to work with SES post-March 2011 – but this depends on funding

Business Innovation Centre (BIC) Positive things in working with SES? Negative things in working with SES?

- Increased “mutual understanding” which enabled the BIC to see how SES works and its ethos; and SES recognised the BIC’s strengths

- The work together is more “dovetailed” with smoother mutual referrals

- The main thing is that the BIC and SES did not compete and through forming a consortium won the WNF contract

- Within the consortium there was a learning curve to understand all the partners ways of working

- The consortium has had to work closely with SCC which has, at times, been frustrating – but no major problems

- Although Paul has known Kevin and Mark for over 10 years and they sit on the Economic Prosperity Group, he is still confused about their respective roles within SES and copies them both in on all correspondence



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- The BIC and SES now share “common paperwork” and the same software (Minerva). This has made it easier for mutual referrals as they “ask the same questions”. They are currently introducing Hamlyn software

- The formation of the consortium has made it easier to deal with local authorities - The consortium is Sunderland-based and this is popular with Councillors - The consortium has enabled the BIC and SES to think about expanding outside Sunderland - The BIC have the resources to manage “big contracts” and this access to resources can be

beneficial to SES


- The BIC and SES share systems now - The BIC has learned from the way that SES works


- All the consortium partners have made an effort in Year 1 of the WNF contract to understand and learn from each other. In the future (Year 2), the BIC and SES could present a “more united front” outside Sunderland.

- There could be other ways the BIC and SES could collaborate – particularly on sharing “back office” services: financial and marketing. It would be worth having a “mature and honest conversation about this soon”

North East Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (NEIEP Positive things in working with SES? Negative things in working with SES?

- SES is “very reliable, professional and consistent”. They “work to budget” and “to spec” and have influenced NEIEP’s thinking – “ethically, socially and professionally”

- The relationship between NEIEP and SES was “very robust” and SES were flexible and listened

- SES were “very new to the Adult Social Care Agenda and a lot had to be explained initially. However, they responded “marvellously”

- SES took constructive criticism about the large size of their final reports and they adapted it appropriately by putting more in the appendices


- The NEIEP is now more aware of social return on investment (SROI) and social accounting and audit (SAA). Similarly, NEIEP is now more aware of Social Impact Bonds, social enterprise and CICs. They are impressed by SES’s values and principles; recognise that they work successfully with enterprise and are branching out of Sunderland.


- SES has shared their thinking with the NEIEP Project Board and Dawn has personally developed an interest in SROI and SAA. This increased understanding of social enterprise may lead to more work in moving ULOs into becoming social enterprises.


- NEIEP would use SES again especially in impact measurement and in developing business skills for the social care sector

Northern Rock Foundation (NRF) Positive things in working with SES? Negative things in working with SES?

- SES has a good history in working with enterprise development and has shown initiative in this area

- In the past NRF has supported business

- NRF did not really have a problem with SES - NRF is not currently supporting enterprise

development and now only has programmes on homelessness and financial inclusion


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development and SES was expected to think creatively in making proposals

- NRF has been very impressed with the work of SES and the supported programmes had “very positive outcomes and were well reported”

- The one area of disagreement is that SES supports the creation of CICs and NRF struggles to see the advantages of CICs


- NRF feel the support they offered SES was “money well spent” as SES is an “agent for change” and is one of the few organisations operating in the most “needy areas of Sunderland


- No


- If NRF was funding in the area that SES works then the relationship with SES could be enhanced and improved. But NRF has less money to spend and circumstances have changed. However, NRF likes the fact that SES keep social accounts. They also like the fact that SES are “able to validate their work”; are “astute player in their field”; and “always ready to give an independent view”.

Sunderland City Council (SCC) Positive things in working with SES? Negative things in working with SES?

- SES contributes to the WNF consortium objectives; they are innovative and keep social accounts and an SROI; they have an ethos and tend to focus on the “hard-to-reach” members in society

- SES has had a track record of working with hard-pressed communities – a “unique history” - and in the consortium has the support of the BIC which is a “professional, mainstream organisation”

- In the WNF contract the Talent Scouts have exceeded their targets in referring to Enterprise Advisers (although the consortium figures are slightly down on their targets)

- SSC believes that there are no real negatives but there is still “room for improvement”

- SES has a strong corporate ethos which at times can be “at odds” with the programme framework eg. the WNF work includes small grants with specific criteria which is disputed by SES as they feel the criteria should be flexible. SSC stressed this was not a big problem but a “difference in understanding”


- Berni feels she has personally “benefitted a lot” from working with SES as SES staff are “very open, very willing to help and very responsive”. She is now much more “aware of the challenges of social enterprise”.

- SCC has benefitted through the implementation of the contract; and the clients have benefitted from the work done by SES and the consortium


- SSE has raised the profile and awareness of social enterprise and enterprise in hard-pressed communities within the SCC


- SCC would like to see some case studies in the reporting back – but other than that they are very pleased with the relationship between SCC and the consortium


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4 Other SES Objectives Objective1: To actively promote, develop and support individual entrepreneurship, enterprise and employment, mainly with people from hard pressed communities

NCC SES does not do this objective within Newcastle. But SES has a “good reputation in this area and reputedly a good understanding with the BIC”

BIC SES is achieving this objective. They have a “good reputation” in this area; are known to be “active in the communities”; and have a “good ethos and history”. There is still a slight confusion about “SES” - the name and recent rebranding.

NEIEP NEIEP is only aware of success in this objective from reading the SES social report. The NEIEP project is about helping the sustainability of ULOs and how they can tender for local authority and NHS contracts. The SES skills in this area may be useful

NRF In the past SES described well how NRF funding was spent and used. SES “achieves this objective”.

SCC SSC feels that this objective actually reflects what SES does. It achieves this objective to a more than “satisfactory level”

Objective 2: To support social enterprise formation and increase opportunities for growth within the social enterprise sector

NCC BLNE covers the social enterprise support in Newcastle; and SES supports the voluntary and community sector (VCS) until they are “enterprise–ready”. However, in reality SES tends to support the VCS “right through” to social enterprise creation. NCC is looking more closely at the VCS taking over and managing assets as there appears to be a growth in this idea – it would need support in managing this process and supporting the organisations taking over the assets

BIC The BIC is aware that SES is working in this objective with examples of work in the health sector. The BIC feels there is a “blur” between social enterprise and small businesses in the community – but they would refer social enterprises to SES as they have the specialised knowledge

NEIEP The fact that SES was itself a social enterprise has helped them in getting the contract with NEIEP. In addition, the social report has provided NEIEP with a better understanding of SES and helped them in winning the contract.

NRF SES “achieves this objective” but the distinction between social enterprise and enterprise is not always evident.

SCC The SCC WNF programme mainly focuses on individual enterprises (although some social enterprise may develop from individual enterprise support). However, the WNF programme does not cover social enterprise

5 Other topics SES’s major achievements… How SES has influenced…

NCC: SES has definitive “roots in communities”. SES has always “championed the social enterprise sector” BIC: SES has established themselves as experts in social enterprise; have expanded into Newcastle and Tyneside; are seen to be trustworthy; and will go the “extra mile” for their clients NEIEP: Do not know about the SES achievements except what has been read in the SES social report NRF: SES has created a range of community initiatives; supports a large number of fledgling and developing businesses; and is recently

NCC: Not really – except that SES has shown there is a demand amongst VCS organisations becoming social enterprises. This is particularly true regarding asset transfer BIC: SES staff members have to focus on individual targets and this is linked to bonuses. The BIC are considering a similar system NEIEP: SES has influenced the NEIEP understanding of SROI, SAA, social enterprise and CICs NRF: NRF has definitely been influenced by SES and has supported some organisations set up by SES – Wearside First CU, their work in Pallion, the Sunderland Community Enterprise


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going to build a “container city” as a hub for alternative enterprise SCC: SES now works outside Sunderland and has changed its name to accommodate this – they may need to market themselves better. Forming and making the consortium work has been a serious achievement as each member adds something to the consortium

Network. NRF feel that SES has been “very creative” in tackling long term unemployment SCC: SCC is now more aware of social enterprises. Mark is an active member of the Working Neighbourhood Board that looks at strategy and he “always adds to the debate”

How can SES best position itself in the future?

NCC: There is a general tendency amongst the partner organisations to have fewer and bigger contracts. SES should be aware of this. Also NCC is looking more closely at “asset transfer” to social enterprise and this is also an area SES might want to look at. In addition there is going to be “significant opportunities” in social enterprise development (especially in Durham) and “someone needs to take the lead” across the North East as NESEP has recently become ineffectual. SES should also stress the benefits of collaboration over competition – but much of this depends on the new government’s policies. BIC: The consortium should collaborate further to compete with “bigger players” such as INBIZ and ENCIRCLES within Sunderland and elsewhere NEIEP: SES “should build on their understanding of the adult social care sector” and go for other contracts in this area. However, they may need more specialised expertise on their senior management team. They should look at the NEPO portal NRF: NRF hopes that SES will continue to survive and thrive through the recession. SES should consider looking at the NRF programmes (financial inclusion, homelessness and health/social care) and consider branching into these areas. SCC: The consortium formed to deliver the WNF programme seems “very strong, genuine and tends to reach a consensus”. They could perhaps build on this and work across the region – although this may compromise their strength of being at the “heart of the community”. Mark and Kevin appear to work very “hands on” and perhaps need to “step back a bit” and look critically at “future strategy” on a regional basis.

6 Final remarks…. There is an issue about Business Links North East (BLNE) as they have been given the responsibility and contract from ONE to support social enterprise in the North East. It is not clear if they have the knowledge in this area and tend to be only interested in the “high growth” enterprises. Some organisations such as Financial Inclusion Newcastle (FIN) support enterprises by initially looking at legal aspects rather than what the organisation wants to do. Similarly other organisations such as ENTRUST and PNE sometimes include excessive management fees – this is not done by SES. NRF is “saddened that they are no longer going to be funding SES! They await the final SES report. Berni feels personally that SES is a “smashing group of individuals – very friendly, very welcoming and willing to share. They are doing a very good job!”. Reported by Alan Kay 02/06/10


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APPENDIX 5

Confidential

Consultation with Senior Management Team (SMT) Focus Group and Questionnaires – 24/05/10 Notes 1 Introduction The following people were present at a Focus Group held on 24/05/10: Alan Kay (CBSN), Mark Saddington (Strategy), Kevin Marquis (Operational), Bob Webb (Enterprise Manager), Bill Robinson (Enterprise Team). Apologies were received from Linda Rutter (Enterprise Community Zone Manager) and Trish Dodds (Enterprise Team). The other staff were not consulted this year. 2 Mission, Overall Performance and Impact An H Form was used to assess the overall performance and the impact of SES since April 2009. The comments outside parenthesis have been paraphrased.


39

APPENDIX 5

Overall performance: SES uses enterprise in all its forms as a vehicle to address poverty and inequality within our communities Negative Consensus score: 8/10 Positive

Concern about drifting away from SES’s mission of working with the most disadvantaged in hard-pressed communities (2x) At times it is difficult to get SES’s staff to focus on the mission (core purpose) Danger that the percentage of clients from the hard-pressed communities is declining At times there is a tension between achieving the mission (core purpose) and considering other wider development issues SES did not win the recent contracts to support individual enterprise start-ups in Newcastle and Durham There is no alternative funding streams in place post March 2011 and thus there is uncertainty over the future Some of the referrals from other agencies to SES are “spurious” and SES becomes a “dumping ground” for difficult clients It is difficult to satisfy the demand for the work that SES does with current resources

Ways to improve:

SES has to communicate more with its staff about the company’s shared values to ensure buy-in from the staff SES should look at the way they work with individual enterprises as they are visited and this involves time and extra travel SES should consider other ways of delivering enterprise support in Newcastle – perhaps through on-line banking, on-line business planning, etc.

SES has been successful at delivering its programmes and in meeting targets despite the recession (2x) The “buy-in” from staff on our mission (core purpose) is rising There is a increasing interest in “enterprise” development from the VCS (Voluntary and Community Sector) There are some interesting “models” or examples emerging of how SES delivers its work SES has a good reputation with Newcastle City Council on the delivery of programmes SES continues to have a high profile at regional and sub-regional levels in the area of enterprise and social enterprise development SES has been successful in winning contracts with the Social Enterprise Investment Fund (SEIF) which involves working with health organisations SES has been effective at addressing the wider agenda of enterprise support SES still reflects and works within its core values SES has become better and more effective at extending to other areas and other sectors

Other comments made during the discussion:

There was agreement that SES is “moving forward” and effectively using its resources but that it has not really expanded out of Sunderland with its support to individual enterprises

SES has a number of specialisms ie. work with co-ops,; work with social enterprises; work with the VSC; work with people from hard pressed communities. But in team meetings the main discussion is around “social enterprise”. This may be because support for social enterprises is “longer” and on-going

All SES’s work is dependent on funding SES feels that the quality of its work and the standards it sets, compared with others, are high and this is

reflected in the survival rates of the businesses it supports SES has a reputation such that anything that is vaguely to do with social enterprise or work with the VCS

will be referred to them


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APPENDIX 5 3 Objectives 5 means very successful; 1 means very unsuccessful, do not know is DK

Objective 1: To actively promote, develop and support individual entrepreneurship, enterprise and employment, mainly with people from hard pressed communities

1 2 3 4 5 DK

XXX X

Comments: SES is meeting the targets despite the recession (2x) – in fact SES will deliver 10% more this year I (Bob Webb) have no direct input into this objective SES has managed to maintain working with a high percentage of “workless” clients but there is a

fear that this may reduce Achievements… Things not achieved…difficulties

SES has achieved and surpassed its targets with 60-70% of enterprise clients coming from hard-pressed communities

The quality of SES’s work is high compared with other similar organisations

The sustainability of client businesses is above the national average

SES is part of a WNF consortia which, overall, is working well

SES has not been as good at engaging with the BME community and 60% of clients are male. However, compared with UK averages this is not bad

The WNF consortia is made up of the BIC, SES, Gentoo, FISCUS, SNCBC. Although this contract is working well some aspects could be improved

Future Actions:

SES should review the delivery of this objective in terms of the WNF and the wider aspects. This is particularly pertinent in the light of the end of funding streams in March 2011

SES should explore the possibilities of linking more directly to the SCC and ONE with future opportunities in mind

Objective 2: To support social enterprise formation and increase opportunities for growth within the social enterprise sector

1 2 3 4 5 DK

XXX X

Comments: SES continues to help develop new CICs and has helped them take advantage of procurement

opportunities SES is exceeding targets as part of the Newcastle WNF programme but SES could be registering

more new social enterprises if it was in the contract to do so There has been an increase in the number of social enterprises SES has supported throughout the

City Region SES has to focus more on the support to the VCS and its formation of social enterprises


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Objective 3: To work in parternship with other service providers and community-based organisations, adding value to our services and facilitating consortia working

1 2 3 4 5 DK

XXXX

Comments: SES has developed strong relationships with the Sunderland Enterprise Consortium and maintained

involvement in the Sunderland Economic Prosperity Partnership SES works with BECON but the relationship with other providers in Newcastle is more patchy SES has developed and implemented more partnership bids this year – this is a new way of thinking

and acting SES has a good example of consortia working with the contract from the WNF

Achievements… Things not achieved… difficulties

SES has recently formed new alliances eg. the WNF consortia and Newcastle City Council

SES is working on smaller contracts in partnership with others and from this has increased their corporate knowledge of other sectors such as health and social care

SES is and active member of the Sunderland Economic Prosperity Partnership

SES should, in future, carry out a “business check” on potential partners – particularly on areas such as shared values

Future Actions:

SES should look more closely at potential partners before “jumping in” SES has to rationalise its partnership working

4 Values

A worksheet was used to discuss the values and was completed consensually by the SMT. The results are summarised below: Value: believing in a more equitable and inclusive society Score: 9/10

Comments/issues:

SES could do slightly better on working with BME community but currently working with BECON This value is about everything SES does and an effort has been made to get complete staff buy-in

Achievements… Things not achieved… difficulties

SES has effectively expanded and developed this element of their work geographically (Newcastle) and sectorally (health and social care) with a positive increase in growth

SES has to “sort out” its relationship with the VCS There is an issue around capacity as this programme area is

increasing rapidly ONE is weak on understanding social enterprise. The

contract to support social enterprise regionally has gone to BLNE.

The WNF programme includes social enterprise support but there is no extra money to support these enterprises

Future Actions:

SES should investigate the possibility of increasing work in health and social care SES should review the delivery mechanism and evidence base for their work with social enterprise SES should consider working more on environmental and green sectors as Tyneside and Teeside have special

renewable energy status; and SES and Gentoo are holding a “green” event or trade fair


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APPENDIX 5 Value: respecting all people as individuals and recognising their worth Score: 9/10

Comments/issues:

This is a fundamental value for all staff SES should include all these values within the recruitment procedure

Value: believing that co-operation and self-help are creative forces for change Score: 7-8/10

Comments/issues:

SES should re-consider this value as does it relate to SES itself or more wider aspects of how SES works? If it is the former, this should perhaps be reflected more in the organisational structure of SES eg. with staff representation on the Board, etc. if it relates to the way SES operates in total then this should be made clearer and more explicit

Value: being honest, accessible, approachable and accountable Score: 8-9/10

Comments/issues:

This, again is fundamental to everything that SES does and how it does it

5 Summary of issues or action points 1 Review the value on co-operation 2 Review the delivery of the programme supporting individual enterprises and in

particular the WNF contract 3 Similarly SES should review the way it supports social enterprises and look at the

potential to move into other areas such as the VCS, environmental social enterprises and expand the work with health and social care social enterprises

4 SES should develop a simple checklist to apply with potential partners before forming long term and binding relationships

Facilitated by Alan Kay 25/05/10


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APPENDIX 6

Recyke-y-bike

For years Dorothy Crow has been a keen cyclist and with her commitment to recycling

she began to see the prospects for a new social enterprise in Newcastle Upon Tyne. In

2006 she brought together these two aspects to create Recyke-y-bike. Having taken

early retirement as an early years teacher and with her two children grown up and left

home Dorothy saw the opportunity to start something new. Having visited a similar

project in Edinburgh she saw the possibility of creating a project in Newcastle. “There is

no doubt about it that we need to get more cyclists on the road and cut back on our

car use. We have got to make a real effort to use our cars less, our oil is not going to

last forever and we need to prepare for a big change. It seemed obvious to me what

had to be done and this idea seemed perfect!”

If you don‟t miss the sign for Recyke-y-bike and manage to stumble across its gates

you will find it at the bottom of a hill situated under two huge railway arches. A

volunteer testing out a newly restored bike in the open space at the bottom of the hill

will let any visitor know they have arrived. What sits under the bridge is two arches filled

to the rafters with second hand bikes, a workshop station and a small office tucked

away in the corner. It is hear that you will find Dorothy, the founder of Recyke-y-bike

welcoming you with a warm and friendly smile.

What they do

The effort this organisation puts into recycling old bikes is saving hundreds a year from

landfill. In the three years that it has been up and running it has received

approximately 4800 bikes as donations. Those who don‟t know what to do with their

old, unused and unwanted bikes can be safe in the knowledge that they are

donating to a good cause. Some of the second hand bikes are re-sold to the public

on Saturday mornings to a queue of eager buyers while others are given away to a

number of the local charities. The organisation also regularly sends donated bikes to

locations such as Afghanistan and Africa. Through its work the organisation is creating

a greater sense of integration, reducing isolation in certain communities and

promoting greater physical health through cycling. Its efforts are indefinably

contributing to the fight against climate change and hopefully breeding a new way

of thinking into the minds of many. Through reconditioning old bikes Recyke-y-bike also

provides training opportunities to volunteers who can utilise their new skills allowing for

greater job opportunities in the future. They currently employ four part time workers

and have a group of 25 local volunteers.

As word of mouth grew the organisation found that more and more people were

coming along to find out what they were all about. Within a couple of months of

opening Dorothy realised the opportunities available for volunteers who were currently

out of work. They developed a volunteering application and began to get people

onboard. Many of the individuals have not been in work for some time and the project


44

enables the experience of new skills with the opportunity of employment at the end.

“Some people that come to us may have mental ill health issues and are happy to

continue to work voluntary. They may have had employment in the past but find the

stress of commitment too much and find that the position brakes down. It‟s up to the

individual to decide what they want but the opportunities are here.”

In the past Recyke-y-Bike would enable the training in bike mechanics by sending

volunteers onto a course in York. The now have 6 platinum level mechanics who are

able to deliver that same training in-house to volunteers wishing to take on new skills

for employment. “A lot of the people that come to us are passionate about bikes and

they don‟t have work. These young people are falling into our laps; it‟s an obvious

progression to make.” An important aspect at this project is the inclusion of all workers

opinion. Regular discussions on how to move the project forward often throws up new

roles that the volunteers can take on. Those who have been with the project for a

while can take on new responsibilities and a clear job role. “We have such a great

atmosphere here, we have the most fantastic volunteers and they act as great go

between within the whole team. We offer a great amount of friendliness to those

coming in from the outside and everyone feels part of the project.”

Twice a week the project runs „fix your own‟ bike sessions for those who don‟t have the

tools at home. Once a month they also run bike maintenance classes on Saturday

afternoons. “In the old days Granddads used to pass these down to children but

nowadays it doesn‟t seem to happen as much so we can accommodate that”. The

public can book in and learn skills they might not have had before. Dorothy, along

with three other trainers, also delivers cycle training once a month to those wishing to

become more confident with cycling on the roads. The education of the public is

enabling more people to commit to their bikes regularly hopefully we will be seeing a

reduction in the numbers of cars on the road.

Changes to other countries

The organisations efforts don‟t stop with our own country. Within a few months of

opening Recyke-y-bike Dorothy found they had more donations than they could

physically restore. “There were an awful lot of good bikes that we just couldn‟t

manage. We couldn‟t just dismantle them and save the good parts so I began to look

into projects that had links with Africa.” Dorothy got in touch with a project in

Colchester. RE-CYCLE has been shipping second hand bikes, parts and tools to African

countries for over ten years now. By generating simple and affordable transport in

destitute countries they are enabling children to get to school and parents to work

and trade to support their families. The bikes also enable health and AIDS workers

reach remote villages and even provide an ambulance service. Local partnerships

distribute the bikes and with the tools donated they are able to teach people bike

repair and maintenance. The workshops are coaching new skills and helping to build

a sustainable development in third world countries.


45

SES met up with Dorothy while Recyke-y-bike was in its second year. “They assisted in

smoothening out some of our problems with the trustees. They helped us to identify

each trustee with a clear position within their role. I also needed some help in

developing the business plan, I have never written one before Recyke-y-bike and they

were a brilliant help. I have got some transferable skills from teaching that I can bring

with me but I have never done project management. I am learning as a go along

that‟s what‟s so great about it, you can never stop learning new skills and I love that

about this project. I‟m really proud of myself and I get such a buzz from it.”

Future

Recyke-y-bike looks set to be a project that just keeps on growing. Dorothy‟s hopes for

the future are to see more partnerships with projects linking into third world countries. “I

have family in South Africa and I have been thinking about setting up our very own

recycle-y-Bike over there. It‟s very likely, I have been doing this now for three years

and I feel anything‟s possible!” With the organisations growing success it seems

evident that Dorothy will be taking on more trainers to educate a greater number of

the public about cycling. More volunteers will be taken on board breeding new skills

and passing on their knowledge. “Councils in other areas would absolutely love to

have projects like this up and running in their area. It would be brilliant if we could

have drop off spots for people to bring there bikes. It would be brilliant to see us

spreading out across the region. Getting in funding in to employ more people would

be great also. They can leave here with new skills and go set up there own

organisation or business in bike servicing. People need to just have the belief that they

can do it and it‟s really possible.”

What Dorothy and many hundreds of other cyclists across England would love to see

would be the development of metro travel to accommodate cyclists. Recyke-y-bike

have carried out their own marketing research and it‟s not surprising that a high per

cent age of those purchasing bikes will be using them for commuting to work. “There is

no linked up thinking between what the Government are saying about us getting out

of our cars and Nexus. It seems simple, one extra carriage on the back of the trains

purely for bikes and don‟t let them come off in under ground stations. People would

be happy to bike that little bit extra if they could use their bikes. One of our past

trustees actually works for Nexus and he is really on the case it just seems vital.”

“It just keeps growing and growing, it‟s magic.”


46

APPENDIX 6

“No one wants to say, „I‟m disabled give me‟ that is dead a buried, or at least it should

be, but unfortunately if individuals aren‟t provided with the right opportunities they will

be forced to ask.” Anna

What they do

In January 2009 three interesting characters came together at the British Institution of

Human Rights Conference in London. It was the start of a working relationship that

would set about breaking barriers. Up until May 2009 Irene, Anna and Ron were

unemployed and on benefits, what lead them to this point drove them to succeed in

running a company with the core notion of helping others and changing world views.

D‟Arte is a community interest company which provides 12 week programmes

throughout the North East with the aim to nurture confidence in individuals with mental

ill health and physical impairments. They assist in creating improvements to

accessibility, promoting diversity and equal opportunities across the private, public

and voluntary sector. They also deliver day courses in „Disability Employment for

Employers‟ in order to develop a sector that is more accessible to those with physical

disabilities and hidden impairments.

The core ethos of this company is the drive to alleviate the negativity placed on

people living with impairments by a society. It currently employs Irene Lindsay, the

managing director of D‟Arte who personally delivers a number of the programmes.

Anna is a specialist in ICT who can provides valuable computer skills to clients and is

also responsible for creating the D‟Arte programmes. Ron assists with the development

of D‟Arte and is constantly working on new innovate ideas for the organisation. All of

whom were working voluntary until D‟Arte secured a £171,000 funding in May 2009

which enabled the company to set up a much needed office space and begin to

pay its hard workers a wage.

D‟Arte strives to alleviate the restrictions placed on an individual with disabilities by

society in terms of accessibility and opportunity. Working with the individual there initial

programmes provided training in arts and creative writing providing a therapeutic and

confidence building activity. They now deliver a wide range of programmes from ICT

to personal development which includes healthy eating on a budget, personal

budgeting and skills in interacting with others. D‟Arte also delivers programmes on

understanding depression and stress management. Irene personally delivers

programmes in self presentation, dressing for ones body shape, colour coding and

make-up. Programmes in ICT are delivered by Anna, a specialist tutor for clients with

sensory disabilities.


47

Drive

Irene‟s family has a history of mental ill health and she witnessed her sister‟s difficult

struggle with bio-polar disorder. Her father experienced and debilitating stroke and

she found that the lack of help available for her family took its toll. In the past Irene

suffered an abusive marriage which left its mark and she soon suffered with

depression. “I was totally unemployable and not managing with life, there was

something there starting to build up.” It was these life experiences which combined

together evolved an idea in the mind of a strong and caring individual who wanted to

make a change to peoples notion of a disability. Bringing together herself, Anna and

Ron, Irene is managing to change people‟s perception of themselves and of others.

“In the main people with a physical disability may have some form of mental ill health,

weather it be stress or depression. When people try to access a service you‟ll find they

are pigeon holed into one or the other. It evolved in my mind this idea of doing

something for people with physical disabilities and mental health issues.”

Irene noticed the lack of services out there which span across a spectrum and she

began to speak up and point out the need for a combined programme. For two years

she struggled on her own with the basis of D‟Arte running as a limited company with

charitable aids. It was Irene‟s move to Sunderland which provided a change in the air

for D‟Arte and an opportunity to meet people which contributed to the development

of her idea. While in Sunderland Irene worked for a charity for the visually impaired

gaining vital experience in the sector, it was here where she met Anna who was

working as a trainer within the charity.

The experience gained from her work at the charity was valued greatly but Irene knew

she wanted to take it further and reach out to a wider spectrum of people. In 2003 she

made the decision to leave and set off on her own venture and continue to build on

her idea. “I began to strike out for various bits of funding, which I did get hear and

there but I wasn‟t securing any big funds to set it away properly.” For two years Irene

worked from home with no pay developing an idea that she had all the confidence

was a much needed service.

Anna:

It was at this point that an important member of the group got involved with the

project. Anna had just been made redundant from her role as a trainer at the charity

and so Irene took the opportunity to get her on board. A specialist in ICT Anna could

bring her valuable skills to the table, but it was her tenacious character that would

provide D‟Arte with a positive personification of what they were about.


48

Anna was born blind due to being born premature. As a young child she attended a

specialist school, unable to read and write until she was twelve years old she felt

labelled by the very teachers that were employed to help her grow. “At sixteen I

thought, what‟s the point, I‟m not going to amount to much.” Ten years ago Anna

had to grieve the loss of her hearing and come to terms with new physical

impairments‟. As a teenager she experienced an abusive relationship with her boy

friend and the deterioration of her sight and hearing was too much for one person to

take. At the age of nineteen years old Anna attempted to take her own life. “The

experiences I went through as a young girl have made me the person I am today. I

want to pass that on to someone else, because no one should ever be made to feel

worthless.”

Anna introduces herself as being visually impaired, physically impaired, deaf and with

mental ill health, “I can tick all the boxes” she exclaims with a quirky smile. When

applying for a job Anna recalls “I know that employers used to look at my form and

ask, what! I wasn‟t judged on the fact that I was actually qualified for the job

sometimes to the point more so than the employer!”

Anna now comes from a point were she will not allow other peoples ignorance to

stand in her way. In 2007 with the help of Irene and the kind support which goods

friends provide Anna took a charity she once volunteered for to court over work place

bullying. It was through this difficult time that Anna and Irene formed more than just a

working relationship, but a friendship based on trust. “Without Irene I honestly would

not be hear today, she gave me an opportunity” That opportunity was for Anna to

assist in the education of others who simply do not understand the meaning of having

a disability. Under no circumstances will Anna turn around and class herself as a victim

of life, but a victim of an uneducated society when it comes to dealing with

individuals with a disability. “The pride it gives me to say I have a job was a chance to

change things, I just want to pass that on to someone else. I can provide

understanding from life experience, if you haven‟t lived it how can you design it?”

Ron

Ron comes from a media back ground running film production companies in London

and Manchester. In 1991 he moved back home to the North East where he ran a

studio in Pelaw and got involved with a disability charity which he managed for three

years. It was in 1991 that Ron became ill and decided to move to Northumberland, it

was here that he got involved with a community arts project and became an active

member within North Pride. “I then met two curious characters at a London human

rights conference and my life changed.”

The ethics at the centre of D‟Arte are very close to Ron‟s heart and he soon got on

board. He recalls a situation he was put in while teaching at a school in Manchester. “I

was teaching fine art to almost fifty students and I was approached consistently and

ask to give one to one tutoring to every gay and disabled student. I remember being

approached once and being told that no one could teach this particular student. I

soon discovered the student was HIV positive and suffered from epilepsy and the


49

teachers were in fear of him having a fit. I was expected, being disabled and gay, to

provide the schooling for that student. On the one hand I was glad some student‟s

needs were being met, on the other I was so angry, why couldn‟t they learn about

disability, about acceptance?”

It was while attending school as a young child that Ron was classed as having an

impairment. As a student at the time he knows only too well the barriers faced in

education. Students are faced with a disruption while learning that leads many to be

left behind. Having left school at fifteen with 2 O‟levels Ron was unaware of his

abilities. “It took me nine years to finally enrol on an art foundation course and I went

on to achieve a BA, MA and my MSC and finally ended up teaching at the Royal

College in Goldsmiths. The problems faced in education are followed through into

employment. It is not simply discrimination and attitude problems, but that peoples‟

capacities are not being recognised and it‟s the same in business, we are not only

facing a glass ceiling but also glass walls. We used to say in the disabled community

we want rights not charity.”

Irene, Anna and Ron have very different life histories and have faced obstacles at

different times, yet they have all faced the same barriers. In combining their life

experience they hope to develop a community project built on acceptance and cut

out the stigma that people attach to disabilities. “We do a lot of campaigning but we

tend to call it re-education,” says Irene. D‟Arte is currently developing partnership

programmes with Sunderland Dance for dance on prescription and hope to make

many more contacts in the future. “This is a real flag ship for SES, through their

management they have enabled important partnerships like these to come about,”

says Irene. The organisations hopes for the future are to secure a contract with the NHS

which will enable people to attend there session 2-3 times a week. By providing a

greater level of contact to those with depression D‟Arte hopes to enforce a

preventative measure to mental ill health.


50

APPENDIX 6

Elite Family Services

In April 2007 Clair Lavender and Dee Bracken registered Elite Family Specialists as a

social enterprise in the knowledge that they still had a long way to go. On the 21st July

2009 they finally had in their hands the keys to the door of Elite Family Specialist‟s head

office.

Story of business

It was late 2005 when Dee and Clair were sitting over a cup of coffee. Having met

through an independent foster care agency they found themselves in a recurring

discussion. Having fostered over fifty children between them the pair knew only too

well the problems facing young people and families. They discussed at length the

possibility of an independent body intervening with families to help resolve issues

before a break occurred. Having worked for many years with independent fostering

agencies and gaining vital and extensive experience with children and young people

the pair realised that they could set up their own independent company. EFS would

become an independent service that could assist problem families with on going

issues within the home. EFS work within the private sector with individuals who contact

them directly and are in need of someone to come in and assist in resolving some

family issues. They also work with fostering agencies when a child is already placed in

the care system and there is fear of a placement breakdown.

Statutory bodies are increasingly restricted by resources, staffing and finance are key

issues and with an ever increasing case load children and young people are

beginning to slip through the net. Prioritising one family over another is not an option

when children are involved but this is a reality when a needy parent contacts social

services and admits there is an issue within the home. “The idea that someone else

could come in, that an independent body could come in and intervene was new. Up

until this point it was all statutory” says Dee.

“A problem that is deemed serious to an individual who plucks up the courage to

phone social services and admit that they are having problems takes a lot of

courage.” Says Clair. “The problem is that these issues are prioritised due to the

restrictions within statutory bodies, problems are not deemed serious enough for

intervention. Social Services may not get involved until 2-3 years down the line when a

breakdown in the family has already occurred, and that‟s when the police are

involved”

Clair and Dee realised the benefit of providing a service that worked with families

within their own home. They considered those who may have received a parenting

order from the courts and the likely hood was that individuals would have to attend

parenting classes carried out within a community centre. Clair and Dee felt that

having to discuss family issues in front of ones neighbours wasn‟t an ideal solution to


51

tackle issues within the home. When an individual is questioned over their skills as a

parent there is an importance for privacy with such a matter. “We felt very strongly

that it wasn‟t something people wanted publicising, it was a private family matter,

therefore it should be treated as a private family matter.” Dee

Trigger

It seemed obvious to the experienced foster carers that something had to be done.

Due to their contact with many foster children over the years Clair and Dee noticed a

lack of services that concentrated on those important middle years within a child‟s

life. It is those vital years where big changes are occurring and it is these changes

which may create the clashes and problems within a household. The pair felt that

these issues could be dealt with in a more suitable manner and they were willing to

provide assistance to any family who needed it. “Between six and twelve years

children are becoming a lot more independent and you„ll find that an awful lot of

parents can‟t cope with that. That‟s where you‟ll find that the pressure within a family

builds” says Dee. “It‟s a forgotten age, you have Sure Start for the under fives and

there are things out there for the teenagers, but what about those important middle

years.”

In the North East at the time they realised that there was no such scheme that

concentrated on this aspect of a child‟s life. In 2006 Dee and Clair shook hands on a

new venture, by 9 O‟clock the next morning Clair arrived at Dee‟s home with a draft

business plan for Elite Family Specialist. In 2006 they approached SES and met up with

Kevin Marqus at the office on Baxter Road. “We were asking ourselves how viable this

would be, who we could work with and how. Kevin discussed with us the possibility of

us setting up a non profit social enterprise.” The model was perfect for their idea, a

service that could assist young people and families and one which would benefit

whole communities. Over many meetings with SES Clair and Dee put together a

detailed business plan. They knew they had a vast amount of experience behind them

but in order to put themselves behind such a project the pair went back to school.

The experience acquired through foster caring was greatly valued but there were

other things out there to look at. While caring for their foster children and running a

busy home Dee and Clair completed a course in business set up and achieved an

NVQ level 3 in Health and Social Care. They also acquired the TA101 certificate in

Trans- analytical analysis which lead to a greater understanding of how people

interact with one another and the self. In 2008 they also completed there Diploma in

Child Psychology from the Open University. “I don‟t know where we found the energy,

we would get together every night and work until the early hours of the morning”

recalls Clair.

It was in January 2006 that the government launched „Respect‟, a campaign that

encouraged all of us to work to create a modern society built on respect for others.

The Respect Action Plan deepened the governments drive to clamp down on anti-


52

social behaviour. It also explained the need to tackle the underlying causes of such

behaviour and the need for early intervention. Not only did EFS begin to consider the

benefits this had on families and young people, but they also realised the finical

impact they could have on local authorities. It was this aspect which they realised was

one of their strong bargaining tools in relating to local authorities. “If the situation

occurs where a child has to enter the looked after system, if they are lucky enough to

get a foster placement in the first place we were looking at two to three thousand

pounds per week to care for that child,” Recalls Dee.

Through the „Respect‟ office Clare and Dee got in touch with Kings College who were

looking at launching the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners. It took them

almost eight long months to secure an appointment with the newly appointed

regional manager for the north east. “They started picking our brains, we had spent

two years researching this and now it was coming about,” says Dee. Through this initial

contact they attended every monthly meeting and both became a recognised

member of the NAPPs. Dee and Clair worked on developing their own training course

on the NAPPs commissioning toolkit. In 2009 „Elite Family Specialist Accreditation to the

Middle Years‟ was devise and written by the pair to which they own the copy write. It

received a grade 3 from NCEF and NAPPs own creditor QCE3.

Frustrations

The hardest part for EFS was getting local authorities to work alongside them. “We are

not dismissing the work of a supervisory social worker, but someone coming in from a

completely different angle can influence a slight change within a family which can

have a positive affect and that‟s not to take away from anyone in that area. However

we can pass on our knowledge from experience, something that most social workers

cannot provide. We are providing a level of understanding from years of experience

in fostering” Clair. Clair and Dee faced a lack of understanding from those already in

the field. Getting local authorities „to sit up and listen‟ and begin to use independent

services is a barrier that EFS have faced. “Where some statuary bodies are concerned

they have not fully warmed up to us coming into their field. Once the realisation is

there that we can work together it will be a better situation for all involved. History

sharing is a beneficial tool we can put to good use. We want them to use us when

facing problems of an unmanageable case load.” Dee

EFS have been registered as a social enterprise now for two years. They are receiving

requests from Parent Line Plus who wish to work with them, independent fostering

agencies who appreciate their experience, NAPPs, the private and also third sector.

EFS are also currently working with SES to push forward a multi agency approach to

assist in family issues. “We are looking to work with other social enterprises such as

Fuchsia who provide support to substance missusers. We can come in and help those

family members around that individual. We can work together to provide wrap

around support for the whole family.” Clair and Dee hope to take this partnership

scheme to future funders in order to provide a greater level of help to families in need

of assistance.


53

Future

The future looks promising for Elite Family Specialists, with the assistance of SES they

secured funding of £74,000 from the Social Enterprise Investment Fund during April

2009. “We can now employ some administration staff for the new office, and

hopefully go to town on advertising to get our name out there”, says Dee. EFS now

have a number of colleges in the North East looking to introduce their programme into

their college childcare courses. EFS are raising aspirations for the under thirteen‟s and

opening the doors to an alternative family support service which is a beneficial tool for

whole communities. In September 2009 they will be training almost sixty foster carers.

“Our influence is immeasurable, if you think about how many carers we train and how

many young people and families people benefit from that, it‟s literally the age old

saying, how long is a piece of string?” Clair

“It‟s a passion and we have an awful lot more people now that are listening” Dee


54

APPENDIX 6

The Food Chain

“When we started off we were distributing once a week from the back of a car, we

now have over one hundred drops and three vans on the road.” Anthony Armstrong,

development officer at The Food Chain.

Intro

With the frightening statistics we face today of obesity, ill health due to diet and the

fact that our children‟s generation is less likely to live as long as ours, is worrying. The

Food Chain‟s aim is to get on the ground and make a difference within the local

community. To get people to eat better, and in the long term make a difference to life

expectancy.

The Food Chain North East CIC was established in 2006 with a merger between The

Food Chain and Blyth Valley Food Co-op. This community interest company is based

around facilitating a greater access to fresh fruit and vegetables to various

communities in the North East. Where possible The Food Chain buys directly from local

suppliers in order to distribute affordable fresh produce. They currently have 137 co-

ops around the North East in community centres, health centres, schools and village

halls. The Food Chain also supplies directly to a number of private businesses. Working

with a variety of third and public sector bodies The Food Chain is driving forward

community development within deprived areas. By developing new skills and

voluntary opportunities they are working at building stronger community identities.

Anthony – story of what they do

Anthony Armstrong is one of three development officers working with The Food Chain.

His work includes developing local food co-ops, securing good quality suppliers of

produce, maintaining the business systems and also securing future funding. “We have

found that in those communities where the up take of fruit and vegetables is down to

a minimum is greatly due to food access issues. Today we see our local green grosser

closing down and we have isolated communities with limited access to fresh produce.

Where communities do have access to produce they find it too expensive and of poor

quality, this is something we wish to change.” To address these issues The Food Chain

has facilitated food co-ops in local venues, people who wish to access fresh fruit and

vegetables can do so in their own locality. The Food Chain is part of the national

project „Making Local Food Work‟ a initiative managed by the Plunkett Foundation

which is funded via the Big Lottery Fund. Their objective is to reconnect people and

land through local suppliers, increase assess to fresh food and maintain investment

into the local economy. The food chain has also received investment from The

Coalfields Regeneration Trust to support there work in ex-coalfield communities.


55

The organisation is gradually building new income streams to reduce its dependency

on funding. With their pre-packed bag schemes they deliver fresh fruit to private

businesses across the North East. While increasing in office health they also give local

private businesses the opportunity to contribute to community development. The Food

Chain is also working with local schools. Not only with the instillation of food co-ops but

they are also seeing a rise in orders from schools who are opting out of local authority

school meal contracts. “The schools are very pleased with the quality and cost of

produce they are getting. They also get a real feel good factor in that they are

helping to sustain a local community organisation.”

Tores- development in the community

It became clear to the organisation that a lot of the community groups they were

dealing with hold a piece of open land. They often find people who are keen and

willing to grow but don‟t have knowledge to do so. In tackling the decline of growers

in the North East and creating new skills with communities they decided to begin to

educate people in growing. To further their overall aim The Food Chain opened a

position for a community growing officer. The aim was to facilitate training courses,

getting people to grow their own produce and reconnect people with the land and

local food.

In November 2008 Torres Diamond got on board and joined the team, her skills in

horticulture have enabled her to fill the role of community growing officer. “The idea is

to get people growing in the community in any way shape or form, be it schools or

community centres that have a space to develop, we can help. I get such a buzz

from turning people onto growing, and bridging the gap between kids and the older

generation.” The Food Chain is working at generating a greater knowledge in

deprived communities of how and where our food comes from. They currently have

several projects running throughout the North East. “We have found that people

initially need help in developing the land they have. I have assist in designing the plot,

working out what to grow where and pricing it for them. Once they are up and

running it on their own I return one day a week to attend the plot.” They are currently

working with Tyneside Cyrenians at Virginia house in developing land for growth and

to allow for the opportunity for people to learn new skills. From here they provide an

opportunity for individuals to acquire an Open College Network accreditation in

horticulture. “We can teach people how to grow their very own vegetables, those

that might be expensive in the shops can become readily available. We have even

seen produce from these plots go into our premium bag schemes. It is really

reinforcing the idea of locally grown!”

Nigel – Future

The Food Chain has big hopes for the future and this is where development worker

Nigel Race comes in. With an extensive background in developing community

buildings and large scale capital projects he is bringing his vital experience and

knowledge to the table. “We are aiming to strengthen local communities and we are


56

making a difference, but we can do so much more.” „With Future Builders‟ The Food

Chain is currently carrying out feasibility studies to research into the development of

their very own large scale growing facility. “We aim to buy locally where ever we can,

but the best thing we can do is to have our own facility to increase the per cent age

of locally grown produce. We could grow our own produce to put out to the food co-

ops, we can have our own on site training rooms and education facilities. This is

something we are looking at and I have all the confidence in it that this is going to

happen.” The Food Chain views this development as securing a long term future for

the organisation, providing a greater service to local residents and increasing locally

grown produce for local people.

The Food Chain has been growing considerably in the past year but it still faces a

great frustration of getting people to realise that they are not simply just a delivery of

fresh produce. “We are a community development agency that provides people with

voluntary opportunities and training. These new skills may lead onto more formal

training such as college or to allow people to re-enter the labour market. As well as

providing produce that they can utilise in their own community kitchens. We‟re not just

doing a job for job sake, this is vital, this is community development.” The Food Chain is

not simply an out and out a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, they have a much more

holistic and wider reason for being. Linking into local businesses and pouring money

back into the local economy to produce greater job opportunities is very important to

the ethos of the organisation.

We really have got the feeling that we are getting to a point where we are a launch

pad for a lot of other opportunities in the making.” Anthony Armstrong.


57

APPENDIX 6

FUSHIA

Families United Support Help in Addiction has come along way in the two years that it

has been up and running. It provides direct support to families of substance misuses

passing on knowledge advice and respite to individuals. Its aim is to hopefully alleviate

the everyday distress one faces whilst caring for a substance misuser. FUSHIA has set

up its own support groups where careers of addicts can come together in an

environment which they feel supported and relaxed enough to open up about any

distress and anxiety they may be experiencing. Many careers who have reached the

end of their journey may go on to volunteer within the organisation. In passing on

knowledge from experience they can provide a great deal of understanding and

advice to those caring for substance misusers. FUSHIA has also set up a crisis fund

which is used to support families in difficult times. The fund would enable FUSHIA to

provide a desperate mother with nappies or milk for her young family when there is no

money left in the pot due to a partner‟s addiction.

In 2009 this crisis fund enabled one grandmother to take her three young

grandchildren on their first ever family holiday. It provided a much needed brake for

three very distressed children and an opportunity for their Grandmother to enjoy some

quality time with her family. These children had come under her care as her daughter

was suffering from psychosis which had been brought on due to substance misuse.

“There are so many services out there that would love to be able to provided families

with such. I am lucky that FUSHIA can do this, it‟s things like this that can have an

impact on the stress and anxiety that this family must have been going through” says

Karyn Jackson the founder of FUSHIA.

For many years Karyn Jackson sat on the bench as a magistrate. She witnessed a

great deal of criminal cases which had been committed due to drugs and alcohol.

Those in court may walk away with a community order or small fine, but it would be

the families of these individuals who had come to support there loved ones that

caught her eye. The families of substance miss users. As fait would have it Karyn was

soon to find herself in the same position as these families. “I had no knowledge of what

it meant to be an addict, no experience with drug use, then one day it came

knocking on my door and I discovered that my daughter was a heroin addict.”

For five years Karyn went through what she describes as hell as her family attempted

to cope with the stress and upset of careering for an addict. Through her daughters

drug use Karyn soon discovered the lack of support out there for the families and

careers of substance misusers. “There was a great amount of help and support out

there for the addicts, if they wanted it, but nothing for the carers. There was nothing,

no where for me to go, no advice or support. I tried my GP and they just offered me

anti-depressants.” Karyn soon began to sit in on meetings for the council as a care

representative. The government had made a directive that a service had to be

provided for the careers of addicts and assist in reducing the impact it had on family


58

members. Such services were already up and running in most major cities all over the

country but there was no such service in the city of Sunderland. The local council were

extremely eager for Karyn to begin constructing but it was her own problems at home

that stood in her way. “In all honestly I was too wrapped up in my daughters own

addiction to do anything about it.”

In 2009 FUSHIA had been up and running for two years. They have employed a further

full time support worker, three volunteers and have recently employed a development

worker who is assisting in securing FUSHIA‟s own commissioning from the PCT. Reaching

out across Sunderland to a great number of carers Karyn and her team is providing an

immense amount of support and advice. It was in 2007 that Karyn stood down from

her role as a magistrate and began to pour all her efforts into building this service.

What lead the company to this point was a long battle between a mother and an

addict and one which pushed Karyn to her limits.

Trigger

For years Karyn‟s family had struggled with their daughter‟s drug addiction. The

constant worry for her life every time she injected, paying off drug dealers to protect

her form violence. Desperately trying to contact their child all night, and the worry

they felt as they waited up for her to return home safe. Desperate attempts at

rehabilitation and the crushing disappointment they felt when their daughter relapsed.

It was in 2007 that Karyn hit her rock bottom and it was enough to frighten her into

making some changes for herself and others.

“I had had years of worry and waiting up in the night unable to sleep. One particular

night I had been sitting up waiting for my daughter to return home. I was having a

particularly bad time, my daughter was at the height of her addiction and had

moved on to crack cocaine. This particular night she hadn‟t been home for two nights

and the battery on her mobile had gone flat. I had an argument with my thirteen year

old son who must have been feeling completely neglected and also frightened and

scared for his big sisters life. My husband and I got into a disagreement and he

completely lost it with me and in the heat of the moment he told me I was a bad

mother - it was here that I hit my rock bottom. I have never suffered from depression

but that night I had had enough. I opened a second bottle of wine at three o‟clock in

the morning and I found myself sitting with a full box of paracetamol in front of me. I

just had this overwhelming feeling that I had had enough and just didn‟t want to be

here anymore. Streams of water were running down my face and I realised then that I

was crying, I was crying in self pity. I had had enough but I knew I didn‟t even have

the option to not be here any more. I thought of my thirteen year old son and my

elderly widowed mother and that was enough to send me off to bed. I woke up the

next morning and I was horrified, absolutely horrified at how close I had come. It was

at that moment that I decided that my daughter‟s addiction was not going to destroy

my family anymore. That was when I got stronger and when I was able to turn around

and say I was going to help others going through this.”


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Change

For fifteen months Karyn worked from her home as the only support worker to FUSHIA.

She provided support, advice and knowledge to 47 careers of addicts while

consentingly working to secure future funding. The personal approach that FUSHIA

provides ensures that careers have whatever they need in order to get themselves

back to a state of coping. The stress one goes through in caring for an addict often

leads to depression and anxiety and it is these negative affects that Karyn and her

support workers hope to alleviate. In doing so they are building confidence and

strength in those who feel at a loss. The support groups provide a friendly ear where

families can open up about there problems, safe in the knowledge that others will

understand what they are going through. “When mothers come to me I see my

experiences in them and can assist in putting a broken woman back together. To

ease their nerves and see them smile again is amazing to see and it brings me so

much job satisfaction.”

What Karyn didn‟t expect was the strength it would build in herself to deal with her

own daughter. “We are all great at giving advice but find it hard to take it ourselves,

when we are told that we have to emotionally withdraw from the addict, to show

tough love, we need strength to do so. I found that this enabled me with the strength I

needed, it was a spin off that I never imagined.” Through providing knowledge,

support and understanding of addiction to careers FUSHIA are indirectly helping the

addicts themselves. “We hope by supporting the carers that we put them in a positive

position with the substance misuser, that things can get to a point where addicts can

be retained in the family.”

During January 2009 SES assisted in securing FUSHIA £164,000 from the Social Enterprise

Investment Fund. The money secured will fund the salary of Karyn and a further

support worker Anna, who has her level 2 in counseling. The money has also enabled

FUSHIA to employ Steve Hopkirk who in the past has successfully secured

commissioning from the PCT for similar services such as NERAF. The funding will

gradually ease FUSHIA into commissioning which will enable a secured future for a

much needed service. “SES suggested I went in for it and they helped me ever step of

the way. It was such a long process but finally we secured the funding.”

Karyn and her team are personally aware of the need for such services and it looks

promising that statutory bodies are beginning to get involved. “In the beginning it

looked like commissioning was possible it‟s now looking probable, the commissioners

are really showing an interest in what we are doing.” The Government is beginning to

recognise the need for additional services to fill in the gaps that social services cannot

keep up with. With an ever increasing growing population the cracks are beginning to

show and individuals are beginning to slip through the net. This is a harsh reality we live

with today. What we find is that people‟s life experiences can assist in setting up the

right kind of help and support for those in need and FUSHIA is an example of this.

“These problems aren‟t going to go away and I don‟t believe anyone can do it on

there own any more. We need to work in partnership, there is a need for additional

services and our Government has had to admit this. Today there is no such thing as


60

one size fits all.” With future funding and the possibility of commissioning FUSHIA hopes

to be able to provide evening support groups for those who are currently unable to

attend daily sessions. It looks promising that Karyn‟s service will be reaching out across

Sunderland and helping a greater number of people with future growth in it‟s numbers

of volunteers and support workers.

“People have said to me, you had four years of seeing it in court, eight years of it at

home, do you really want to continue, don‟t you just want to forget about drugs? I

have had to turn around to them and say no, this is not about drugs it‟s about

people.”


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APPENDIX 6

Hidden Treasure

Mental health problems covers a wide range of issues which affect an individuals

ability to carry out their everyday life. Mental ill health can affect various people from

all walks of life, as well as impacting on the life of those individuals who have been

diagnosed these problems can greatly affect friends and family members. Today it is

estimated that one in four people will experience some kind of mental health issues.

Many of these people affected find ways of managing, but for others the

considerable disruption they have faced will act as a barrier in continuing with their

recovery.

Story of the business:

Hidden Treasure CIC is specifically looking at social inclusion for those recovered from

mental ill health. They believe that by providing people with the right kind of work

opportunities they can assist in placing people back into the community. Those who

have recovered have often experienced a great disruption in their private life but also

within work or schooling. When one is left facing the next chapter they are often

faced with the daunting question, what next?

Hidden Treasure is currently run by two directors Margaret and Martin Baker. This

Mother and Son duo aim to run a successful business which solely employs those

recovered from mental ill health. By providing a supportive and understanding work

environment Margaret and Martin believe they can assist with individual‟s re-entry into

the community and the workforce.

Drive Motivation:

Martin

At only Seventeen years of age Martin was diagnosed with schizophrenia. After a

period of illness he found his personal life had been disrupted and his schooling

affected. Being labelled with such an illness at a time when most young men are

carving their way in the world left its impression on Martin. At twenty three Martin sits

before you as an articulate and clever young man. He hopes to use his experiences in

life to bring about a change in people‟s attitudes towards mental health issues.

“I was diagnosed with schizophrenia at seventeen; I have no criminal record and

have done no harm to anyone. I was a happy child who had loads of friends, caused

mischief as young boys do and played football. To be told you have been diagnosed

with schizophrenia is scary and it was a traumatic experience. I was sectioned and

taken to hospital. I was a child at that age but I was placed on an adults ward. I found

the nurses to be abrupt and full on, it was a pretty scary. Gradually though, my visits to


62

hospital reduced, and I began to take charge of myself. I began to think about

employment and what to do with my life.”

Margaret’s point of view

When Martin was ill his mother had to make a decision, either go to work and carry on

with her career to provide for her son, or stay home and support Martin. Margaret

chose to stay at home and in doing so she lost her career in IT and a way of providing

for her family. “As a mother and carer I had to take time off work to support my son.

This soon interrupted with my work and I lost my job. I then couldn‟t pay the mortgage

and so we lost the house. Through five years there was nothing but illness and

hospitals. But Martin gradually got better and a few years ago we noticed a change

so we started to look at the future. But what was the future for Martin, if you survive

your mental health illness then what does the future hold for you?”

The stall/shop

Once people begin to look at employment they are faced with a number of barriers.

Questions begin to be asked as to why you have taken so long out of work, why you

perhaps didn‟t finish school or college. Once individuals begin this new journey they

need to feel confident going into interviews and the new environment of work. Martin

and Margaret soon discovered that there was nothing out there to assist in this

transition from recovery to the world of work.

Margaret decided to take things into her own hands and with a little bit of money she

had put away she bought a market stall for her and Martin. “We started to sell our own

hand made soap going to the market once a week to trade. It was a big thing for us

at the beginning; we couldn‟t even get the stall up in three hours! But together we

stuck at it and in six months the confidence we both had shot up.”

“The market was a very good outlet for me to mix with all aspects and segments of the

community. You often find in mental health with the therapy and drop in sessions that

you are with people of the same issues. This does have its place and is beneficial, but

for those who are recovering, like I was, I needed to push myself and meet more

people.” Martin.

The profit made from the market was put towards a group the pair had set up for

mental health service users and carers. The group was where people could come

together and talk about their experiences. They would discuss at length their future

options and the „Right to Work‟ project which Martin and Margaret were closely

looking into. The „Support and Action‟ group now has over 100 members from south

Tyneside.

In 2009 the pair opened their own Hidden Treasure shop from which to carry on their

trade and support groups. From the front it appeared as a trading store in which some

of the support group members began to volunteer. The shop provided some with their

first work experience since their recovery. But most importantly it provided a supportive


63

and understanding work environment in which the employer understood their past

struggles. From the back office Margaret and Martin offered support and advice to

individuals with mental ill health and to their carers.

“From outside it just looked like an ordinary soap shop, not everyone wants to wear

the stamp of mental ill health all the time and it just worked fantastically.” Margaret.

Changing point: Now what they looking at:

Margaret and Martin are now looking to replicate Hidden Treasure on a wider scale

within South Shields following the lead of one of Scotland‟s leading social enterprises.

Forth Sector creates supportive employment for people with mental health problems

through running businesses. The opportunities within these working environments

support people in their recover from the impact of illness and increase people‟s

employability. Its main objective is to reduce exclusion and discrimination to those

who have suffered a mental illness.

“We are looking at Hidden Treasures own workshop. We produce the soap, package

it, market it and from here we can run Hidden Treasures support. The only people that

would be working here for the business would be recovering mental health service

users.” Margaret.

Hidden Treasure will provide people with their first stop for employment after recovery.

It will provide an understanding work environment and grow confidence in people

who may wish to move on to others things. Hidden Treasure is looking towards utilising

the skills that people have and placing them in the corresponding work role rather

than a „one size fits all approach‟.

Frustrations/Obstacles

“I‟m of the view that it‟s the people who need to change. New Government schemes

such like „New Horizons‟ are great, but we need people on the ground level to open

up to employment for those recovering from mental ill health. We are here to bridge

the gap between central Government and the ground level. People need to

understand that what they read in the media surrounding mental ill health is not the

norm. Stigma is not the right approach; we need to really begin to look at what we

can realistically do to get people with mental ill health problems back into

employment.” Martin.

“Employment is inclusion and if people have the choice to start off something small

then it will perpetuate wellness and wellbeing.” Margaret

Mother and Son are working towards creating a greater level of understanding

around mental health issues. Hidden Treasure is enabling people to get back on their

feet, back into the community and onto a new chapter in their life.


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APPENDIX 6

Sit nb Fit

Story of business

Lynn describes herself as; “a girl who has come from a grass roots level, who never

went to university and finds academic work difficult.” In 1991 she stepped out of work

for ten years to raise her three children as a single mother. Since 2004 Sit nb Fit has

been delivering therapeutic chair based exercise, movement and dance to

individuals across the city of Sunderland. It began delivering sessions to the elderly in

care homes to maintain health and wellbeing. They now specialise in fifty plus exercise

movement and dance. “We get people from the seat to their feet using music as a

stimuli. We deliver warm ups and stretching, brain exercise and relaxation either in

groups or with individuals in their own home.”

Sit nb Fit deliver a unique exercise activity to those who feel unable to attend a gym

due to physical ability or self confidence. “Some people we teach our routines to may

be recovering from a stroke, have heart problems, weight issues or even mental ill

health. These individuals don‟t want to be walking into a regular gym, a lack of self

confidence stands in their way. We can say come in and sit with us, and we will make

their routine as high or low impact as needs be.” Lynn and her team deliver an

exciting and engaging chair based exercise to 53 venues across the region. They are

currently increasing self-esteem and allowing for a new social opportunity to

approximately 2500 individuals in the area. The company has diversified in the few

years it has been running. As well as movement and exercise it also delivers cancer

awareness sessions to those it comes into contact with. They are also working closely

with the FALLS coordinator in Sunderland. “We assist those who have had a fall in their

recovery and getting their confidence back. Working on balance, coordination and

bone density help to prevent a debilitating fall.”

The company currently employs ten local staff and has four volunteer. Lynn sees to it

that she personally cherry picks her staff from the local area. “I am so proud of the

team we have here. The girls themselves have come from a deprived area, they have

seen difficult times, home problems, some still ongoing. These girls come in with a

passion to help others and do a brilliant job at it.”

Drive

Today at the age of forty four Lynn has pooled all the knowledge and experience she

has gained over the years into a project built on an all round wellbeing for the

individual. “My background is built around helping people; it‟s what I‟ve done all my

life. I‟m a very pro-active person and I like to get things done. I saw something that

could be built based around exercise, and I went for it.” In 2004 Lynn got in touch with

SES and they soon began to provide her with the assistance she needed to get the


65

idea off the ground. One of the major driving forces behind Lynn and her project is the

various circumstances she has witnessed in care homes over the years. Even with the

level of guidelines in place today we still hear of circumstances where care has failed

an individual. “We can‟t be naive, even with the best standards we have today it still

happens. I have come up against bad carers and bad managers and locked horns a

few times. Here at Sit nb Fit we are not solely just about the physical side but a healthy

mind, healthy heart and healthy body. We are taking a more holistic approach. I

knew this was my niche, my skill is communicating with people and I have used this

skill. We do have physiotherapy departments and OCT‟s which are doing great jobs,

but we are providing something different and it‟s far form clinical. Listening to people‟s

aim and objectives we help them to over come movement difficulties in a fun and

exciting way.”

Tipping point

The work that Lynn and her team are passionate about has been recognised and

endorsed by others. Sit nb Fit was the very first project North of Luton to be awarded

with The Social Enterprise Investment Fund. In 2007 The Department of Health

recognised the valuable work of Sit nb Fit and so awarded the project with £54,000.

“To be recognised by such a scheme is fantastic for us, let alone for the city of

Sunderland itself.”

In 2009 Sit nb Fit appeared on millions of television screens across the nation. Lynn and

the project found its way on Channel4‟s popular series „The Secret Millionaire‟.

Wealthy recruitment tycoon Jonathan Hick made is fortune finding high powered jobs

for high powered people. This down to earth friendly Yorkshire man saw the

dedication and passion that was driving Lynn, but he also recognised the strain to

which Lynn was under. Having attended some of the classes, talking to the

beneficiaries of Sit nb Fit and coming into contact with Lynn‟s tenacious character he

saw fit to make a personal donation of £15,000. This money enabled Lynn to employ a

much needed administrator. As promised Jonathan is still very much in contact with

the company and is a valuable mentor.

Obstacles: Barriers in academic work

Obstacles/Changes to self:

Lynn has seen a great change in herself within the five years of Sit nb Fit. Secure in the

knowledge that she has a valuable product Lynn has found herself delivering talks to

The Department of Health. “When I started off I couldn‟t even use a computer and

now I run my own business. I am the coordinator, development worker the fund raiser. I

come from a grass roots level and now I can deliver talks to people at The

Department of Health and Sunderland Council. I am not intimidated by any of it

because I believe in what we do, I believe in the product we can deliver.”

Change to others:


66

One of the major rewards for Lynn and her team is seeing a positive change in an

individual; to see their clients claim back some of their independence is a great

reward. Lynn recalls one man in particular whose life was put on hold due to a stroke

he had suffered. “George and his wife were due to move to Scotland until he suffered

a stroke, one this happened it seemed out of their reach. It had left him with limited

range of movement and his balance was seriously affected. His confidence was at its

lowest and his wife had to leave work to assist him. His wife also ended up with

problems due to the stress she was under. I went in and tailored a routine for him, I said

to them never say never, lets see what we can do. After 15 weeks he had got to the

shops himself, had made his wife dinner and put there house up for sale! I was

absolutely elated for them.”

Future

Lynn is hoping to create Sit nb Fit‟s very own accreditation based around the product

they currently deliver. To incorporate the chair based exercise and movement, with

the awareness skills and tools needed to deliver Lynn‟s unique product into one

accredited course is a hope for the future. “I am qualified in all these aspects

separately at the moment, but I can‟t train other workers myself. Instead of getting

someone else in to train the girls I would love to do it myself.” For eighteen months

Lynn has been working towards securing commissioning form the PCT, her hope for the

future is to see this finalised. The profile of Sit nb Fit just keeps on growing, and with

organisations from places such as Canada and Australia getting in contact is seems

set to keep on going.


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APPENDIX 6

Sunderland Dance CIC

Story

Deloris was running a commercial dance studio in Sunderland. The teachers saw many

children approaching the studio who wished they could attend the classes but simply

couldn‟t afford to do so. Their aim was to deliver classes to those who would be

unable to afford private tuition “We approached SES in October 2007 and they

advised us that the best route to take would be down the social enterprise road. It was

very quick, by the November we had registered Sunderland Dance as a social

enterprise.” Chris - operations manager.

The studio initially hoped to get young boys of the streets and into the studio for some

classes. The very first funding bid set in motion was that of £1000. “From there we have

really flown, we just saw a gap and it keeps growing and growing. We now work with

all members of the community and can access everybody in the community.”

Sunderland Dance‟s very first project was „Cool Kids Project‟ in which they focused on

getting young children into urban dance classes. “We have the police saying there is

anti-social behaviour on the streets, and youth saying they have nothing to do. We

thought right lets give the kids something to do, and so we provided them with urban

dance classes.” It provides children with another option, running such projects is

getting children off the streets and doing something productive. The „Cool Kids

Project‟ has proved to be so successful that Sunderland Council has pledged to fund

the project for two years.

This initial project is just one of the many projects that Sunderland Dance now delivers.

They are currently working with children from special needs schools.

“We identified a needs gap and so tailored a project to fill it.”

The project came about as Deloris and her dancers were delivering a great amount

of work throughout the schools in Sunderland. The workshops are aiming to get

children engaged with physical activity and dance. “Word soon spread and we got

into contact with the special needs schools. We wanted to bring them out of the

school environment and into the studio. It was a very long process but we eventually

got funding from the council to work with the kids.”

Education

The studio is also assisting schools in delivering the curriculum to their pupils. „Dance

forward‟ is a programme which allows children to actively engage with class topics.

They currently work with three schools in Hendon, working with the teachers they

outline what they are studying and deliver a dance session on the subject. “We had a


68

group of children who were learning about the Victorians. We did some old fashioned

woltz and some contemporary dance based on the plague. We have even delivered

science lessons! The feedback we get is very good. The children are really enjoying

the classes they attend and it really helps them to recall the information around the

subjects.”

Dance on prescription-

Sunderland Dance has been at the four front of commissioning this year. They have

successfully secured commissioning from the PCT to deliver „Dance on Prescription‟.

“We want to deliver dance where we can. We hope to give doctors the option to

offer something other than medication where possible.” Individuals suffering from

depression or anxiety can now be offered an alternative option. Individuals are

prescribed six weeks worth of dance sessions with Sunderland Dance, a move on the

cusp of change. “Doctors want to be able to provide their patients with an alternative

and this is it, this is really pioneering stuff!” Deloris and her dancers are currently

delivering six sessions a week at six separate venues throughout the area.

The team has also secured a bid with Northern Rock which will fund work with women

who are experiencing domestic abuse. Sunderland Dance has reached out, setting

up links wherever possible. One of these comes with their work with the organisation

„Bridge‟.” To work with such women we have to go in via another organisation as this is

a very sensitive subject. With the support of Bridge we hope to build those women‟s

confidence up. As this grows and they begin to trust us we hope some women find the

strength they need to change their situation.” It is connections like these which assist

Sunderland Dance in providing its vital outreach work throughout all aspects of the

community.

Changes to self (Chris)

The team at Sunderland Dance are passionate about what they do. From the very

beginning of this project its potential was evident. For Chris it provided her with an

opportunity to extend her skills gained throughout her working life, but also with a

second chance.” My working background is in early years. I then went into sure start

and after I worked for a charity for almost two years. I was a youth project manager

working with children from 5-13 in a deprived area. While I was there the funding ran

out and I found myself on the dole at nearly fifty. It was very scary, I was on my own

with a mortgage and two children going through university, it was tuff times.”

Deloris soon approached Chris and asked her to come on board. At the start of her

time with Sunderland Dance Chris delivered a class called „baby boogie‟ in the studio.

As they moved into a community interest company Chris found that her experience

from working with the sure start centres was perfect for Sunderland Dance CIC, her

role has now developed into operations manager.

Frustrations/obstacles


69

Sunderland Dance is now happy to say that they are witnessing a change in the

attitude of Government towards social enterprises. “They are now giving money to the

people that are delivering at the front line. Social enterprises are part of the health

and wellbeing leap and money should not just be thrown at the health service. They

are turning to us too and looking at preventative stuff with us in mind.”

Tipping point / future

This Social Enterprise is hitting a lot of buttons on the Sunderland Strategy. The

academy is generating better health, wellbeing and education while combating anti-

social youth activity. They are currently working to secure a building in Sunderland city

centre from which to deliver their programmes. “This building has been sitting derelict

for seven years and it all ties in with the councils movements around regeneration.”

With a successful bid in place Sunderland Dance will run from this city base, allowing

for a greater number of sessions and workshops. The building also hopes to hold

alternative therapies, a community café and perhaps PCT health check facilities.


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APPENDIX 6

West End Women and Girls Centre

“All the work we do here in this centre is means lead. It is lead by the women and girls

who attend this centre and come to us with needs. Projects come from a consensus,

what we will do is find funding to run pilot projects; if they work then we will find

extended funding. That‟s how all the services in this centre are being developed.”

Business

In 1981 a group of social and community arts workers working in the West End noticed

the community centres to be predominantly orientated around boys. With actives

such as pool, football and darts on offer the group realised there was not a great

amount of work carried out by youth workers to engage with the girls. As more and

more young girls choose to hang around on street corners they realised something

had to be done. They started with one initial night which was run at the local

swimming pool. What started with fifteen girls grew week on week. By the end of the

six weeks pilot project over one hundred women and girls were meeting in a small

room in Elswick Park. From here grew an activities night on a Tuesday where girls of all

ages could come along. It was run by local volunteers who wanted to lend any skills

they had to the girls in the area. The Stephenson Building on Elswick road is now home

to West End Women and Girls Centre. It employs ( ) local women who have been in

contact with the centre and its workers since their youth. Operations manager Huffty,

attended the initial group when she was just seventeen. Those who originally started

the group decided to step aside and it was Huffty who took on the role of manager.

Drive/ Motivation

In 1992 the Government dropped its focus on getting young girls into the working

environment and this stirred up a great amount of discussion around gender specific

services. The country was seeing fewer and fewer girls enter into vocational education

and succeed in entering the work force. Youth and Social workers from the North East

attended a conference in London, they returned with greater motivation for delivering

a service specifically to women and girls. Joining with the social workers in Elswick they

focused on keeping girls in the area safe. “More girls started to hang around on street

corners, and it was these streets at that time which were considered a red light district.

With prostitutes on the streets and punters floating by these young girls were beginning

to be approached. Obviously this was not a safe situation.”

What they do: projects-

The centre currently runs a junior club for children aged 5-11 years. An older girls group

for the 13-19 year olds who may wish to come along and talk to the youth workers in

private, away from their younger siblings. They also deliver a women‟s group for the


71

mothers, and a young mother‟s project for the teenage mothers in the area. The

centre also delivers a lot of work throughout the schools in the area.

“We go out and talk to young girls who are approaching the transition from primary to

high school. We currently go out to five primary schools in the area at lunch times. We

work with the girls in the top two years and it‟s an opportunity for them to talk about

their fears or expectations of going to big school. The centre also visits the high school

in the West End twice a week. We ask them how they are getting on, if they have any

issues. We do lot of work around anti-bullying, puberty, sex and drug education. We

also have „Children Decide Group‟ were participants in that group can have a direct

input to the centre.”

West End Women and Girls Centre also do a great amount of work with young girls

affected by anti-social behaviour. It provides individuals with the opportunity to learn

new skills and gain further training outside of formal education. “Some of these girls

have been written off by their school and aren‟t communicating with their social

workers. These are bright girls who want to work with us and we can have them

volunteering at our junior club on Tuesday nights. It‟s a place where they can learn

new skill and link in with other projects such a „V for Volunteer‟. They can gain

certificates and new training and might go on to be youth worker themselves. We

may then eventually employ these girls ourselves and provide them with a career. This

is what we are about, this is a local club for local girls therefore we should employ

local people.”

The centre also carries out community work at the local allotments with the women.

Some of the produce is seen to be brought back into the centre‟s kitchen and used

for the cookery sessions. The work is based around healthy eating and growing a

greater understanding of where our food comes from. The cookery sessions provide a

great opportunity for the Bangladeshi and White women to come together and grow

community contacts. “This about the women mixing together and it gives them an

opportunity to share skills and recipes in the kitchen. Meeting with other women in the

area grows contacts and friendships, and the women begin to look out for one

another. Contacts within the community are a great starting point for new people to

the area.”

Frustrations

One of the great frustrations the centre has faced has been getting the local authority

services to sit up and listen. “Over the years they have been slow to catch on and

perhaps then they didn‟t take us seriously. In recent years though it has changed and

we are doing much more partnership work. They are seeing the benefits of using local

women as qualified youth workers. It is still a hard slog, but if we weren‟t here I really

don‟t know where the support for these young girls would come from.”

Again the issue of funding raises its ugly head and the centre has been no exception.

They have faced worrying times and almost closed down. “I know there has been no


72

money here at times and I have worked voluntarily as the only worker in the building. It

has been a one worker project, no wages just me and so you do it voluntarily, and

that‟s how the centre has been kept open at difficult times. I believe in the women

and girls in this area and it was vital that the centre stay open.”

Impact on people

West End Women‟s and Girls Centre is providing local girls with future opportunities.

The centre is providing people with the support they need to achieve their aspirations.

“This is one of the most deprived areas in Newcastle and then the country. If we can‟t

grow our own workers then there is no hope for the country is there.‟” With increasing

career opportunities and providing young girls with advice from experience the centre

has grown a successful project built around local people.

Many women are too afraid to truly open up to social workers in fear of what it might

bring to their family. During the process of contact with the centre women begin to

open up and talk to workers in a way that would never occur with the social workers.

“A lot of people think social workers are there just to take your kids off you, and that‟s

the be all and end all of what they do. This is a certain attitude that is going to stand in

the way of them opening up about any difficulties they may be experiencing. We can

act as a mediator between the two and begin to get things moving in the right

direction.”

Learned/Future

One of the major strengths of the centre is its consistency and quality of staff. Those

who initially set the project up were working within the area as local community

activists. Huffty herself has been with centre for 25 years, through the centre doors

walk four generations of women which she knows personally. The future for West End

Women and Girls Centre is looking bright. With development work currently being

carried out on the building they hope to add even more services to their long list. In

three years time the building sitting on Elswick road will be worth almost 3.5 million to

the local authority. This will be gifted to the local community with the trustees of the

building being three local women. The centre will see its own community kitchen

where it can run cooking programmes and facilitate catering to local businesses. A

hall with 120 people capacity and fully licensed bar provides the perfect location for a

conference venue.

“With the resources in this building we are enabling women to get jobs, to start their

own business and to reach their aspirations. We are keeping women and their

daughters safe and secure.” Huffty.


73

APPENDIX 7

Green Office Checklist: SES 2009-10 Paper

Are photocopies double-sided?

Action Note: When appropriate all staff are encouraged to

use photocopies that are double-sided

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are envelopes opened carefully and stored for reuse?

Action Note: Remind staff and partners to continue reusing

envelopes where possible

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are non-essential copies photocopied on re-used paper?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

To avoid mistake, do you trial copy before printing off large

batches?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Is scrap paper turned into useful note pads?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Is e-mail used whenever possible?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are copy documents kept on disk rather than paper?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are computer printout margin sizes, fonts etc set to minimise

paper use?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Does the office use recycled paper?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Does the office use recycled paper? Yes


74

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Energy

Does your office source any energy from renewable

sources?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are hot water tanks and pipes properly insulated?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Is the water temperature comfortably hot

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are the windows and doors free of draughts?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are reflector panels fitted behind radiators?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are lights always turned off in unused rooms?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are lights turned off when good natural light is present?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are windows kept clean, and free from obstructions etc?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are all lights energy efficient?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are electrical appliances switched off when not in use?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes


75

Are boilers serviced regularly?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are heating thermostats used?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Office Supplies

Are long-life products chosen over short life ones?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Pending

Are materials brought in large packs to avoid excessive

packaging?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Do you purchase eco-friendly or green products?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Do you use paperclips rather than staples?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

When

Appropriate

General office

Is the toilet paper/hand towels made from recycled

materials?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are aerosol products with CFC propellants avoided?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are products made from tropical hardwoods avoided?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are dripping taps repaired quickly?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes


76

Do you use environmentally-friendly cleaning materials?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Have low-flush volume WC’s been installed?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Pending

Do you use washable cups rather than disposable ones?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Do you purchase fair-trade or organic tea and coffee?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Do you use local suppliers?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are all fridge doors seals clean and seal firmly shut?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are any outside areas around the office managed for the

benefit of wildlife?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

N/A

Recycling

Is all used paper saved for recycling?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Does the office store and recycle cans, glass, plastics etc?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Does the office separate and compost materials?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

No

Is there a paper recycling bin next to the photocopier?

Action Note:

Yes


77

Time Scale 2009

Does the office recycle its electrical equipment, toner

cartridges etc?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

If plastic cups are used, are they recycled?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

No

Are you utilising recycling opportunities by co-operating

with nearby businesses?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Transport

Do employees have access to dry, secure cycle storage

facilities?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

If you have a pool car, does it run on unleaded petrol or

diesel?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

N/A

Do you have information available on prices and timetables

of public transport?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are meeting times organised around public transport

timetables?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are working hours flexible to allow staff to maximise the use

of public transport?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Do cyclists receive preferential mileage expenses?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Pending


78

Are employees taught and encouraged to drive in an

environmentally-friendly manner?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

No

Is it policy to use public transport for business purposes

whenever possible? Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

No


79

Health and Safety

Is fresh fruit available alongside biscuits at break time or for

visitors?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Occasionally

Is clean drinking water available?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are house plants grown in the office to lower stress and

absorb chemicals?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

No

Are Sick Building Syndrome problems identified and

corrected

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

No

Is sitting at the computer for long hours discouraged

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Are policies on lone working, safe handling/use of

equipment enacted

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Implementation

Is there a green office notice board in a prominent position?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

No

Does the office have a suggestion box for environmentally-

friendly ideas?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

No

Does the office hold events with a green theme, e.g. a

stationery amnesty?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

No

Does the office have an environmentally policy? No


80

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Is there an opportunity to raise environmental issues at staff

meetings?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

Yes

Is resource use monitored and are environmental effects

audited?

Action Note:

Time Scale 2009

No


81

APPENDIX 8

FISCUS CASE STUDY EXAMPLES Case Study Example 1… SINGLE PERSON AGED 35, UNEMPLOYED FOR OVER 6 MONTHS RECEIVING JSA – A single person aged over 35 on Job Seekers Allowance paying rent of £70 per week and £12.87 per week (25% single person’s discount) in Council Tax would receive overall weekly benefits of £148.32 based upon a combination of Job Seekers Allowance (£65.45pw), Housing Benefit (£70pw) and Council Tax Benefit (£12.87pw). Over a year, this equates to £7712.64 in welfare benefits received by the client. If the client entered self-employment and worked 30 hours per week and earned £100 per week, she would receive Working Tax Credit of £52.08 per week and still retain Housing Benefit at a reduced rate of £28.06 per week. The client’s disposable income would immediately increase resulting in the client being £31.82 per week better off. The Client would also be entitled to Self Employment Credit of £50 per week for first 16 weeks if unemployed for 6 months or more (extra £800) and a Job Grant of £100. There is also a possibility of help with rent and council tax for first 4 weeks (£331.48). Equating to an increased disposable income of £2637.51for the first year and £1654.64 per year there after for the individual to spend in the local economy. The client would also pay £2.40 per week Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (£124.80 per annum) and would not pay Income Tax. This would result in a Treasury net gain of £124.80 per annum.

22001100//22001111 22000099//22001100 22000088//22000099 22000077//0088 22000066//0077 22000055//0066

TTrreeaassuurryy NNeett GGaaiinn.......... 112244..8800 112244..8800 ££115500 ££111144 ££110099 ££110099

WWeellffaarree BBeenneeffiitt

ssaavviinngg iinnddiicceess ooff............ 55558844..2288 66884400..6600 ££77,,116699 ££66,,443366 ££66,,339999 ££66,,002277

IInnccrreeaasseedd ddiissppoossaabbllee

iinnccoommee ooff............ 22663377..5511 22229999..4444 ££11,,667744 ££11,,772299 ££11,,332200 ££11,,119988

First Year Tax Liability = Nil Case Study Example 2…LONE PARENT WITH ONE CHILD AGE UNDER 20 IN FULL-TIME EDUCATION A lone parent on Income Support with one child aged under 20 in full time education rents a property from the local housing association for £70 per week. He also pays weekly council tax of £12.87 (including single person 25% reduction). The client received a total of £223.29 in benefits and Tax Credits (IS £65.45, CTC £54.67, HB £70, CTB £12.87 and Child Benefit £20.30) equating to £11,611.08 per annum in benefits. On becoming self-employed and earning £100 self-employed income per week, the client would be entitled to £88.34 in Working Tax Credits, £54.67 Child Tax Credits, £30.69 Housing Benefit and £20.30 Child Benefit totalling £294 per week. This would result in the client being £61.49 per week better off (after adding the cost of school meals which would no longer be free (£10)). The Client would also be entitled to Into Work Credit of £40 per week for 52 weeks if unemployed for 12 months or more before commencing Self Employment (extra £2080) resulting in the client being £110.49 per week better off in the first year of self-employment. A Job Grant of £250 would also be paid. There is also a possibility of help with rent and council tax for first 4 weeks (£331.48). Equating to an increased disposable income of £6332.06 for the first year and £3717.48 per year thereafter for


82

the individual to spend in the local economy. The client would also pay £2.40 per week Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (£124.80 per annum) and would not pay Income Tax. This would result in a Treasury net gain of £124.80 per annum. This increase from last year is due to Child Benefits not being taken into account for Housing and Council Tax Benefit from November 2009.

22001100//22001111 22000088//0099 22000077//0088 22000066//0077 22000055//0066 22000044//0055

TTrreeaassuurryy NNeett GGaaiinn.......... 112244..8800 112244..8800 ££115500.. ££111144 ££110099 ££110099

WWeellffaarree BBeenneeffiitt ssaavviinngg

iinnddiicceess ooff............ 66007766..2200 77220066..6688 ££1100,,777744 ££66,,447755 ££66,,339999 ££66,,002277



First Year Tax Liability = nil Case Study Example 3… COUPLE WITH TWO CHILDREN RECEIVING INCOME SUPPORT The table below tracks the changing patterns of disposable income and welfare indices. This illustrates a couple with 2 children aged under 19, paying £70 rent per week and £17.16 Council Tax would have a benefit entitlement of £322.45 per week. This is based upon a combination of Income Support (£102.75), Child Tax Credit (£98.84), Child Benefit (£33.70), Housing Benefit (£70.00), Council Tax Benefit (£17.16). When the client enters self-employment, based upon a self-employment income of £100 per week, the couple would be entitled to Working Tax Credit of £88.34 per week (£4593.68 per annum) and Child Tax Credit of £98.84 (£5,139.68 per annum). Housing Benefit entitlement would be £53.89 per week (£2,802.28 per annum), Council Tax Benefit of £12.21 (£684.92 per annum) and Child Benefit would continue to be paid at £33.70 per week (£1,752.40 per annum). On becoming self-employed, the client will also pay Class 2 National Insurance Contributions of £2.40 per week (£124.80 per annum). The Treasury will have a net gain of £124.80 per annum. By becoming self-employed and earning £100 per week, the client would be £64.53 per week better-off after taking into account all benefit and tax credit entitlements and adding the cost of losing free school meals. The Client would also be entitled to Self Employment Credit of £50 per week for first 16 weeks if unemployed for 6 months or more (extra £800), a Job Grant of £250. There is also a possibility of help with rent and council tax for first 4 weeks (£348.64). Equating to an increased disposable income of £4754.20 for the first year and £3355.56.48 per year there after for the individual to spend in the local economy. The client would also pay £2.40 per week Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (£124.80 per annum) and would not pay Income Tax. This would result in a Treasury net gain of £124.80 per annum.

22001100//1111 22000088//0099 22000077//0088 22000066//0077 22000055//0066 22000044//0055





iinnccoommee ooff............ 44775544..2200 22992299..0088 ££11,,226655 ££990044 ££990000 ££888855

First Year Tax Liability = nil Owing to the degree of variation of each case study and associated financial gains/ deficits we have ‘averaged’ these financial indicators over the last four years as the table below illustrates. The average


83

disposable income has increased substantially this year due to the range of back to work and self-employment incentives available. Average (- +) financial profiles of three case studies

22001100//1111 22000088//0099 22000077//0088 22000066//0077 22000055//0066 22000044//0055






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