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The European Union has proved a valuable source of finance and inspiration for social care in the UK, lecturer in international social care Brian Munday offers a guide to sources of EU funding.

There is no escaping the continuing and sometimes acrimonious debate over the UK's position in Europe. Baroness Thatcher's view is that the UK should never join the Euro and should preferably leave the European Union. The latter is now unthinkable in the real world while a referendum vote on joining the Euro may well result in a modest "yes" majority. True, there is still genuine uncertainty about the "added value" to the UK of its membership of the EU but this article argues that there are clear opportunities for social care agencies, their users and staff that are still only being partly realised.

Globally, similarities are rapidly becoming greater than the differences - at least in the developed world. In social policy the term "globalisation" indicates that most countries exhibit similar economic and social trends, while facing increasingly similar social problems - and no single country has all the answers. In the EU the issue of "social exclusion" is an obvious example. All member states recognise that they have groups of citizens who, for various reasons, are excluded from access to resources and rights enjoyed by mainstream society. Many socially excluded citizens are long-term users of social care services. In response, the European Commission has launched substantially funded programmes to enable countries to work together on ways of reducing or eliminating social exclusion.

A striking feature of discussions about the problems of health and social care in the UK is the search for ideas and solutions from abroad. There are two striking recent examples. First, Alan Milburn's enthusiasm for the greater integration of health and social care services in Sweden that helps to overcome the problems caused in the care of older people by bed-blocking. And second, the practice of fining local authorities if they are too slow in providing community-based accommodation for elderly and disabled patients fit for discharge, first adopted in Denmark. As well as looking for new ideas from abroad the NHS is actively recruiting staff from Europe, paying for UK patients to have certain operations in France, and engaging specialists from other countries to work intensively on short-term assignments in the UK.

Europe offers "added value" for UK social care. It hardly seems possible now that there was a time when the UK looked almost exclusively to North America for new ideas in social policy and social work. That former dependency began to change in the 1970s and has accelerated with our membership of the expanding EU. But many applications for Community Care's annual Isabel Schwarz travel fellowships are still for study visits to North America and Australia, reflecting uncertainties about working in another language and limited knowledge of social care services in other European countries.

But despite this one of the features of social care development in the UK in recent years has been its steady "Europeanisation". Evidence of this includes the growing number of social care agencies, their staff and users involved in EU-funded programmes, the number of statutory and voluntary agencies that have secured often large sums of European funding to develop their social care services, and the introduction of European comparative material into social work training courses reflecting the increasing literature and research findings from European-wide studies.

So how does a UK social care agency begin to tap into Europe? It is important to emphasise that there is no easy "pot of gold" - or euros - in Brussels which can solve the problem of funding core social services in the UK. The EU's responsibility for social care remains quite limited so that social care applicants for Brussels funding must meet the requirements of EU social policy programmes in priorities such as employment creation and social exclusion reduction. The European Social Fund¹ (ESF) is the main source of European funding available to social care agencies in the UK. Its funds are available "for activities to develop employability and human resources" with the following funding priorities between 2000 and 2006:

- Active labour market policies.

- Equal opportunities for all and promoting social inclusion.

- Improving training and education and promoting lifelong learning.

- Adaptability and entrepreneurship.

- Improving the participation of women in the labour market.

One or two features of ESF funding need to be emphasised. First, ESF provides up to a maximum of 45 per cent of the full cost of a successful application. The remaining "match funding" must come from other sources. Secondly, unlike other forms of EU funding (see below) UK applicants for ESF funding do not normally need partners in other EU countries. The advantage is that the construction and subsequent management of funded projects is less complex and time consuming. A disadvantage is the loss of exposure to different service models and practice from abroad.

The voluntary organisation RPS Rainer is a good example of an agency that has been very successful in securing ESF funding. RPS Rainer provides care, support and new opportunities for 10 to 25-year-olds who are at risk of family breakdown, young people in or leaving care, offenders, homeless people or those outside education, training or employment. This makes it a likely recipient of ESF funding and it has successfully applied to the tune of around £4m. This has been used primarily to develop its Breaking the Cycle programme that offers young people opportunities for personal development and access to training and employment.

The Equal Programme² is a recent social programme funded through ESF that is proving relevant and attractive to social care agencies. Equal describes itself as "an initiative which tests and promotes new means of combating all forms of discrimination and inequalities in the labour market, both for those in work and those seeking work, through transnational co-operation". The programme also includes action to help the social and vocational integration of asylum seekers. It is different from other forms of ESF funding in that projects are transnational with UK agencies collaborating with partners in other EU countries.

The European Institute of Social Services (Eiss) is co-ordinating Equal projects involving RPS Rainer, Kent social services department and Carers UK. The first project will develop and test a nationally transferable model of resettlement that ensures the smooth transition from prison to community and sustainable employment for young offenders aged 16 to 18. The second aims to develop and transfer new methods of supporting people from several disadvantaged groups to gain and retain employment. It will form an intermediary organisation bringing together unemployed people with employers. The third project will test mechanisms to support 2,000 carers towards employment in six pilot areas, and develop a national partnership of the main interest groups in this field. The total European funding element in these schemes is around £3.7m - a very considerable sum for new developments in the broad field of UK social care.

As well as the ESF, Brussels regularly launches new programmes that UK social care interests can and do apply for. The Gender Equality programme is concerned with such issues as tackling gender gaps in the labour market, promoting women's participation in political, economic and social decision making at all levels, improving social rights such as parental leave, and changing behaviour and attitudes with gender roles and stereotypes. All proposals must be transnational and include proof of at least 20 per cent co-financing.

Another important initiative is Daphne, a programme to fight violence against children, young people and women. There is a strong emphasis on encouraging collaboration between NGOs and public bodies in the fight against violence, and on raising public awareness of the problem of violence and other forms of abuse. The EU will pay up to 80 per cent of project costs up to a value of between £30,000-£125,000 per project.³

These are only some examples of funded programmes relevant to social care that emanate from Brussels. Of course, Europe is much more than the EU and there is no time here to consider the implications for social care of the enlargement of the EU when former communist countries will become members. As Community Care has reported, there is already substantial EU and UK government funding and agencies' involvement in the much-needed development of social care in central and eastern Europe.⁴

So what are the benefits and costs of greater European involvement for UK social care agencies? Obviously the funding - sometimes substantial - enables them to start or develop services for users that could not otherwise be afforded. This means that individual users benefit personally from these services and also from participation in transnational visits and exchanges - another major benefit. Participation in transnational projects also exposes agencies and their staff to different, sometimes better forms of services and individual practice. Good practice in social care can be imported from abroad.

Staff recruitment and retention can be an important benefit for agencies known to be active in Europe.

But there are also undoubtedly costs to be considered. These include the need to co-finance involvement in most EU projects. The cost of staff time in making applications and subsequent involvement in funded projects can be high, and the sometimes time consuming and irritating bureaucracy involved in meeting Brussels' funding and other requirements is another factor to be borne in mind when considering whether to make an application.

But if the potential benefits seem to be worth the costs, and you are not already involved, how do you get started? There are several possibilities. Your local authority or agency might have an European officer who can be consulted for information and advice on funds and projects that may be suitable for you. An initial audit of your activities, interests and needs can be a useful starting point. Larger agencies - particularly local authorities - may have an office or agent based in Brussels that can be used for up-to-date information on what is available and how best to make applications. There are also some intermediary organisations including the European Institute of Social Services⁵ at the University of Kent which has the expertise to assist social care agencies interested in capitalising on the UK's membership of the EU.

European social fund cash has helped...

- A two-year project by Buckinghamshire social services to provide opportunities for disabled adults to gain paid employment through an individualised service with support and monitoring.

- A three-year project by the Scottish Borders Council offering integrated skills training and work experience to prepare disabled people and people with learning difficulties for further training or paid employment.

- Surrey social services have secured a range of funding mainly under the heading of "developing a skilled workforce in the care sector" and have launched projects to enhance the social inclusion of 13-17 year olds at risk of disengaging from education and training.

Brian Munday is senior lecturer in international social care at the University of Kent

Web sites and references

The European Commission regularly publishes information on new social programmes that are relevant to social care interests (see the website http://Europa.eu.int).

¹ For more information about the European Social Fund see www.esfnews.org.uk  

² See www.equal.ecotec.co.uk/intro.html  

³ See http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/project/daphne/en/index.htm  

⁴ F Rickford, "Eastern promise", Community Care, 28 March

⁵ www.ukc.ac.uk/eiss