Agenda and minutes
PDF 57 KBVenue: Ashcombe Suite, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2DN. View directions
Contact: Leah O'Donovan or Andrew Spragg
| No. | Item |
|---|---|
|
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Minutes: Apologies were received from Liz Bowes. The Committee also noted apologies from Sarah Mitchell, Strategic Director for Adult Social Care. |
|
|
MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING: 11 April 2013
To agree the minutes as a true record of the meeting. Minutes: These were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting. |
|
|
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.
Notes: · In line with the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, declarations may relate to the interest of the member, or the member’s spouse or civil partner, or a person with whom the member is living as husband or wife, or a person with whom the member is living as if they were civil partners and the member is aware they have the interest. · Members need only disclose interests not currently listed on the Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests. · Members must notify the Monitoring Officer of any interests disclosed at the meeting so they may be added to the Register. · Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
|
|
QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
To receive any questions or petitions.
Notes: 1. The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (14 June 2013). 2. The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (13 June 2013). 3. The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received. Minutes: There were no questions or petitions. |
|
|
RESPONSES FROM THE CABINET TO ISSUES REFERRED BY THE SELECT COMMITTEE
There are no responses to report. Minutes: There were no issues referred to Cabinet at the last meeting, so there were no responses to receive. |
|
|
DIRECTOR'S UPDATE
The Strategic Director for Adult Social Care will update the Committee on important news and announcements. Minutes: Declarations of interest: None.
Witnesses: Anne Butler, Assistant Director for Commissioning Liz Uliasz, Senior Manager, Personal Care and Support
Mel Few, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care
Key points raised during the discussion:
1. The Committee was informed that the Strategic Director for Adult Social Care had been meeting with staff in workshops to update them on the refreshed priorities for 2013-17 and the requirements of the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP). Officers noted an encouraging response from practitioners. The Committee asked if there had been feedback on the kind of support that staff felt they may require, in particular whether there were appropriate ICT resources for remote working. It was confirmed that there was a program of work undertaken jointly with Human Resources to assist staff in identifying their support needs. Officers agreed to share the feedback from the workshops with the Committee once it had been collated.
2. It was outlined that there were two Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs) planned: social care debt and hospital discharges. It was asked whether Members had the opportunity to input into the RIE process. The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care explained that Members were advised of the RIEs taking place, and that they were encouraged to attend at the beginning of the RIE to understand and agree the briefing with officers. Once this was agreed they were then able to attend at the end of the RIE to be advised of the outcomes. It was agreed that details of the RIEs would be circulated to the Committee.
3. The Committee was informed that a review had been undertaken on out-of-county placements for users with learning disabilities. It was outlined that 535 placements were out of county, and that the reviews had now been conducted for all of them. The majority, with the exception of one, had been undertaken in person with the user in question. The feedback had been positive and the Committee was told that there had been no major safeguarding concerns.
4. Officers confirmed that the intention was now to complete a similar review process with out-of-county placements for users with physical disabilities. Members questioned whether there had been individuals identified that could be moved to placements within County. It was confirmed that a number had been identified and that the commissioning team would be working to meet those wishes.
5. The Committee asked why the Service was required to fund out-of-county placements when a user had opted to move voluntarily. It was clarified that there are funding responsibilities relating to out-of-county placements particularly for people in registered care. Officers asked the Committee to note that the arrangements between local authorities and the funding of out-of-county placements in general ‘balance out,’ as people from other local authorities also made use of services in Surrey.
6. The Committee noted that the Strategic Director for Adult Social Care is the Sponsor of the Surrey Adult Social Care Workforce Strategy and will examine the changing demographic pressures on Adult Social Care and ... view the full minutes text for item 28/13 |
|
|
AGEING WELL IN SURREY
Minutes: Declarations of interest: None.
Witnesses: Anne Butler, Assistant Director, Commissioning Jean Boddy, Senior Manager, Commissioning Kirsty Malak, Assistant Senior Manager, Commissioning Lisa Andrews, Public Health
Michael Gosling, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Health & Wellbeing Board
Key points raised during the discussion:
1. Officers outlined the Ageing Well Commitment, which was in the process of being shared at a District & Borough level. It was felt that the response had been positive and a number of initiatives were being developed to support the work. Amongst these was an older people’s festival, older people champions and a range of volunteering opportunities.
2. Members queried whether the Ageing Well Commitment was being extended to local employers, in particular how it could be linked to retirement courses. It was clarified that this was part of the staged implementation, with District & Boroughs and voluntary sector organisations signing up before it was shared with private sector employers.
3. The Committee asked for clarification about what measurable outcomes lay behind the Ageing Well Commitment. Officers explained that there were a number of qualitive and quantitive outcomes being developed. The Committee was informed that one of these measurable outcomes would be how many organisations signed up to the Ageing Well Commitment. Officers commented that they would be happy to share these measurements with the Committee once they had been finalised.
4. Members expressed concern that there had been no explicit mention of how poverty can impact on older people within the report. Officers commented that the commitment to support people in accessing clear advice and resources was intended to include support for those who may be experiencing poverty.
5. It was highlighted that Local Committees would be an effective resource in communicating the Ageing Well Commitment on a District & Borough level, and that this would also allow a sharing of local knowledge and detail between officers and Members. Officers were in agreement with this.
6. The Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing gave a brief outline of the work being undertaken by the Health & Wellbeing Board and how this linked to the Ageing Well Commitment. The Committee was informed that part of this work was adopting a preventative approach around older people’s mental health concerns, and that this was a priority for commissioners of services.
7. The Committee thanked Officers for the work undertaken so far, and agreed to collectively endorse the Ageing Well Commitment.
Recommendations:
a) That the report is taken to each Local Committee.
Action by: Senior Manager, Commissioning
b) That the Committee form a Task and Finish group to aid the implementation of this strategy and ensure that Members are involved in its success.
Action by: Chairman/Scrutiny Officer
Actions/further information to be provided:
None.
Committee Next Steps:
A task group scoping document will be shared with Council Overview & Scrutiny Committee to approve at its meeting on 12 September 2013.
|
|
Purpose of the report: Scrutiny of Services and Budgets
To provide an overview of the budget for Adult Social Care Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of interest: None.
Witnesses: Paul Carey-Kent, Senior Finance Manager, Change & Efficiency Anne Butler, Assistant Director, Commissioning
Key points raised during the discussion:
1. Officers gave an outline of the savings that are required for Adult Social Care in 2013/14. The Committee raised a question about the £15 million savings target connected to the use of social capital, and expressed concerns that this was over-reliant on external organisations, such as the voluntary sector, being able to meet the demand. Officers commented that there had been no reduction in the support the Council offers to these organisations, and that the Personalisation, Prevention and Partnership (PPP) fund would also strengthen this.
2. The Committee asked for further detail on the nature of the one-off savings indicated in the budget. Officers clarified that these were made as result of unanticipated scenarios, such as staff vacancies and direct payments that were unspent. It was noted that, while these were not unusual, it was not the case that the directorate could rely on such savings being made on a regular basis.
3. The Committee queried how the directorate worked with external providers to identify the appropriate level of funding they required. Officers commented that they worked closely with those providers to identify savings and where costs had increased to ensure that levels of funding were adequate. Members commented that a greater number of “open book” contracts would help support the Directorate in this work.
4. Members asked whether there was a way of reducing the number of out-of-county placements in order to make savings. The Committee was informed that the review work around out-of-county placements would help identify possible savings. However, it was clarified by officers that those placed out-of-county are never done so on cost grounds, but on the basis that their individual needs cannot be met within the county.
Recommendations:
a) That the Cabinet examine and evaluate the realistic potential for savings via “social capital.”
Action by: Cabinet
Actions/further information to be provided:
None.
Committee Next Steps:
None.
|
|
|
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The Committee will receive a series of brief presentations from a number of key stakeholders, outlining their work in relation to Adult Social Care.
Minutes: [Ernest Mallett and Graham Ellwood left the meeting at 12 noon]
Declarations of interest: None.
Witnesses:
Action for Carers – Karen Holdsworth-Cannon, Chair Citizens Advice Bureaux – Norma Corkish, Chair, Helen Drake, Anne Haigh Surrey Disabled People’s Partnership – Clive Wood, Chief Executive Surrey Coalition of Disabled People – Carol Pearson, Chief Executive Surrey Care Association – Richard Williams, Chairman Surrey Independent Living Council – Lorna Marsh, Independent Living Advisor
Key points raised during the discussion:
1. The Chairman welcomed the stakeholders and asked each to give a brief presentation on their respective organisations. A summary of each follows:
Action for Carers is an organisation of 40 staff based across two offices in Surrey. The aim of the organisation is providing unpaid carers with a voice. This is achieved in part through a GP recognition service that aims to assist GPs in identifying carers. Action for Carers is also the parent organisation of Surrey Young Carers, which was founded in 1998 to support young carers. They work closely with both with Adult Social Care and Children’s Services to raise the awareness and aspirations of young carers, as well as offering a range of services to support them.
Citizens’ Advice Bureaux (CAB) gave an outline of their work, and the aims and principles of the charity. It was highlighted that volunteering formed an important cornerstone to their work. The Committee was informed that the organisation’s key challenge was mitigating the impact caused by welfare reform. It was also noted that CAB had seen an increase in demand since the announcements concerning welfare reform last year.
Surrey Disabled People’s Partnership is a user-led organisation that delivers a range of services across Surrey. This includes an advocacy service that is jointly funded by Surrey County Council and the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). It also provides advice around transitions, choices around social care and housing. The Partnership offers a foot-care and hand-care service for those who may require it. The organisation had been provided with a grant by the Council to provide welfare benefits advice across Surrey.
Surrey Coalition of Disabled People was set up in 2007, it had been previously known as the Surrey User’s Network (SUN). It is user-led and receives funding from Surrey County Council. Its principle role is around engagement for disabled people in Surrey, as well as helping co-design services with the Council and other providers. It works in close partnership with other organisations such as Action for Carers. It is currently setting up a user-led organisations project with a number of hubs opening. Four of these are already in operation in Epsom, Woking, Redhill and Addlestone, with four more to open September 2013. The Coalition also operates a number of county-wide forum and empowerment boards for specific disabilities. Surrey Care Association (SCA) works to support all Adult Social Care providers in Surrey. It receives its core funding from the Council. It holds regular provider meetings with representatives from all services to discuss areas of interest ... view the full minutes text for item 31/13 |
|
|
RECOMMENDATION TRACKER AND FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME
The Committee is asked to monitor progress on the implementation of recommendations from previous meetings, and to review its Forward Work Programme. Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of interest: None.
Witnesses: None.
Key points raised during the discussion:
1. The Committee noted its forward work programme and recommendation tracker. There was no further comments.
Recommendations:
None.
Actions/further information to be provided:
None.
Committee Next Steps:
None.
|
|
|
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Committee will be held at 10am on 5 September 2013. Minutes: It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be on 5 September 2013 at 10am. |