The Improvement Service, together with the Scottish Government and Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB), have developed a framework to support the adoption of a common approach to the funding of advice services.
The framework sets out the key elements that funders should consider when reviewing their current funding arrangements with advice services, and when funding new projects.
Download the Framework for Public Funding of Advice
Events
Stakeholder Workshop (14 January 2019)
The event brought together representatives responsible for the commissioning and monitoring of local authority-funded advice services to:
- learn from the reviews of advice services which have been taking place this year
- update on the progress for commissioning approaches for advice services implemented this year
- discussing the challenges and risks around certain funding models
- agree what further support and guidance may be needed and mechanisms to assess and review effectiveness on an ongoing basis
Visit the event page for all the presentations and more information.
Stakeholder Workshop (15 October 2017)
This event brought together representatives responsible for the commissioning and monitoring of the local authority-funded advice services to hear about the decisions and approaches being taken across local authorities for funding advice services, and the challenges and opportunities this presents both at a local and national level.
Visit the event page for presentations and more information.
Launch event (20 January 2015)
You can download the summary report from the event, and watch the key speeches here. A Storify was also created to summarise the key points from the launch event.
Case Studies
A New Commissioning Model for Advice and Information Services in North Lanarkshire
Highland Council Review of Debt Advice and Related Services - A New Commissioning Approach
Fife Advice Partnership - A Fife Approach to Fair Commissioning
A Partnership Approach to Co-commissioning Financial Inclusion Services in Glasgow City
Reports
Scottish Local Authorities’ Commissioning Approaches for Advice Services in 2017/18 and Onwards
This review forms part of a series of publications by the IS to track local authorities’ progress towards embedding the principles of the Framework for Public Funding of Advice. By following these principles, local authorities can be confident that they are operating in line with best practice.
Money Advice Service Quality Monitoring and Performance Reporting in Scotland (March 2018)
This research addresses a gap in understanding of how local authorities monitor the quality of money advice provided across the in-house and external services that they fund. It also highlights the performance reporting arrangements which are in place to monitor services’ delivery against their agreed remit and any targets. Both the implementation of, and adherence to, quality controls and regular performance monitoring constitute key elements of the Framework for Public Funding of Advice.