Witnesses:
Mark Hak-Sanders, Strategic
Finance Business Partner (Corporate)
Peter Hopkins, Assistant
Director of Commercial Property
Wil House, Strategic Finance
Business Partner (Adult Social Care and Public Health)
Jonathan Lillistone, Assistant
Director of Commissioning (Adult Social Care)
Sinead Mooney, Cabinet Member
for Adults and Health
Simon White, Executive Director
of Adult Social Care
Rachel Wigley, Director of
Financial Insight
Key
points raised during the discussion:
- The
Chairman of the Select Committee informed Members and witnesses
that she had taken action to address the late submission of the
Cabinet Extra Care report to the Select Committee for the 14 July
2020 meeting, so this issue should not be included in the
discussion at this Call-In meeting.
- Moreover,
the Chairman was aware that the Select Committee had operational
questions about the Accommodation with Care and Support programme,
and these would be addressed with a deep dive by the Select
Committee.
- The
Chairman then outlined the decision in question: the route to
market for Extra Care Housing across two sites (Pinehurst and
Brockhurst). On 21 July 2020, Cabinet had taken the decision to
approve the proposed route to market. This decision had been called
in by Cllrs Nick Darby, Fiona White and Angela Goodwin. Since the
Call-In had been initiated, Cllr Darby had had meetings with
relevant officers on the subject and the Select Committee had
received the relevant reports with more information on the proposed
route to market for the two Extra Care Housing sites.
- The Members
who had brought about the Call-In explained that the Select
Committee was not against the principle of Extra Care Housing and
that Members believed Extra Care Housing could be beneficial both
in terms of outcomes for residents and financially for the Council;
nor did Members object to the ambition of creating 725 Extra Care
homes by 2028. The reason behind the Call-In was that Members did
not feel they had been involved in the decision-making process
early enough or presented with sufficient information, which had
not allowed them to fulfil the Select Committee’s role of
providing genuine scrutiny, protecting tax payers’ money and
acting as a critical friend. Members desired formal confirmation in
this meeting that that had been acknowledged by officers and
Cabinet Members.
- The Cabinet
Member for Adults and Health emphasised the necessity of building
more affordable housing in Surrey, the urgency of the Extra Care
Housing scheme and the importance of supporting those most
vulnerable. She detailed a case study of successful outcomes for a
woman living in supported housing and emphasised its quality and
safety.
- Furthermore, the Cabinet Member emphasised that becoming a
social landlord would not be in the Council’s best interest,
as it was a costly, lengthy process and most applicants were not
accepted, meaning this application could add delay to the Extra
Care Housing programme, which should be urgently
implemented.
- The
Assistant Director of Commissioning (ASC) agreed with the Cabinet
Member’s statements and expressed a desire to deliver
Surrey’s ambition while facilitating scrutiny.
- A Member
asked for clarification on ...
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