Using an SDS Budget to pay for Community Brokerage Support

Budgets
1

Hi SDS Forum,
I received an enquiry about the use of an SDS budget (under Option 1) to pay for the support of a Community Broker. I couldn’t find any reference to this in any legislation, guidance, standards, good practise or handbook.

Would anyone know of any specific reference to this, at either a local or national basis?

It is possible to find reference to the flexibility that people should be able to exercise regarding the use of their SDS budget to meet their Personal Outcomes, but nothing specifically about Community Brokerage.

I can see how Community Brokerage might support people with a range of activities, such as:

  • Putting together a Personal Outcomes Plan

  • Being connected to other forms of information and support locally

  • Recruiting Personal Assistants

If anyone had any further reference to this in a document, that would be really helpful.

Many thanks,

Mark
@Becs @Kayleigh
therese.macdonald1@nhs.scot
info@communitybrokeragenetwork.co.uk
abcop@protonmail.com

2

Hi Mark

For Highland, it is likely that Therese is referring to the use of brokerage to manage the direct payment. Please do point her in our direction as we can help with the other aspects under or SiRD funding.

Take care

Becs

3

Hi Becs,
Many thanks for that. I was wondering whether Therese might be thinking about Payroll support rather than the wider definition of Community Brokerage. I will certainly point her in your direction.
Many thanks,

Mark
@Becs @Kayleigh
therese.macdonald1@nhs.scot

4

I’d really like to know what the business model for a support broker is supposed to be, and how it avoids conflicts of interest.

How is the support broker supposed to be paid? Their customers likely won’t have much, if any, spare money. If it turns out that payment from one SDS Option is easier or greater than another, won’t that incentivise the support broker to steer the service user into choosing that option?

Regarding the brokerage courses advertised on here, what is the point of paying a lot of money for a brokerage course to get a qualification (which is not needed to be a broker - it’s not a professional regulated job) and then not be able to make any money from it?

(I ask because I’d like to do support brokerage, I just can’t see how I’d be paid)

5

Hi Josh,
Many thanks for your post.

In Scotland we operate the community brokerage model of support brokerage, which you can see here: https://communitybrokerage.scot/

There is a community brokerage framework that we work within, which you can see here: National Brokerage Framework – Community Brokerage Scotland

There are many other models and Outside the Box produced a discussion document on different models a few years ago. The community brokerage model is explained in the diagram below:

image
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As you can see the basis of the operating model is that it is free to anyone who needs this support. The model is not in favour of individual’s themselves paying for the support of a broker and therefore funding is from other sources. Most of the funding is from central government as opposed to local authorities. This reduces conflict of interest where the LA is being challenged by brokers about SDS related matters.

In the community model of brokerage, the ‘broker’s’ employer would pay them and the money for that would come from central government as above.

Few people are self-employed brokers, and they would carry out the brokerage work on behalf of an organisation and paid by them not by the individual.

Most people who do the course are funded by their employer to do it as they support the community brokerage model and way of approaching support to people. Others pay for it themselves because they are interested in this type of work and want to have some evidence of their knowledge and understanding of SDS and how people can make maximum use of community assets.

The purpose of community brokerage is not about making money but about building capacity in communities.

Anyone interested in this kind of approach to working with people could consider roles such as community connectors, carers support workers, respite brokers etc. Not everyone who practices in this way is called a broker, but they do use the community brokerage approach.

There are many roles such as community connectors, some support and advice work which, like community brokerage type roles, that also falls into the non-regulated workforce. As long as there are standards around this type of work that are explicit as competencies expected of the ‘broker’ then that helps to maintain quality.

I hope that helps.

Many thanks,

Mark

6

Thanks @MarkieBoy, that’s really helpful. Yes that kind of model does make some sense and avoids the obvious conflicts of interest I couldn’t see a way around.

7

Do you tell people who apply to do the community brokerage award that support brokerage is unregulated, and they do not need the award to be a support broker, and that if they wish, they can apply for their own funding to be a support broker quite separately from anything SDSS does?

8

Hi Josh,
Thanks for the post and further questions.

I’m not directly involved in the Community Brokerage Award myself, but I understand that as part of the course, it is outlined how brokerage is an unregulated role and that many people are already working in roles that are also unregulated.

One of the reasons that people choose to do the award is because, while the role is unregulated, the award confirms their training to a standard verified by SQA which is level 7 on the Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework. This might provide some confidence to people who are looking for support from a Broker or Brokerage organisation.

It is up to individuals to pursue whatever ideas they have of being a broker and to secure their own funding. Community Brokerage Scotland can only assist those that wish to do the award to secure SAAS funding where they meet the eligibility criteria for assistance with fees.

I hope that helps.

Many thanks,

Mark

9

Thanks. I am concerned about quality as there is such a lot of misinformation around, particularly with regard to direct payments. And service users are not just vulnerable to unscrupulous individuals, but also, and perhaps especially, to incompetent public officials and professionals, the very people vulnerable service users will tend to trust. It may well be that the Community Brokerage Award is not defective or misleading in any way. I would love to have a look at the materials, but presumably this is commercially sensitive.

10

Hi Josh,
Thanks for the reply.

You would certainly be able to access the training materials and the learning opportunities provided by the Community Brokerage Award. Places are still available!

Thanks,

Mark

11

Ha! Yeah, I’d like to do it, but I’m not sure I can justify the expense. I’m very interested in the concept - brokerage is very much needed.

As I said I can see conflicts of where the individual pays the broker directly, but I’m not sure that the model you outline above is free of conflicts of interest either. Conflicts of interest are not necessarily a fatal flaw in any system, but they do need to be managed.