All Members present are
required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as
possible thereafter
(i)Any disclosable pecuniary interests and /
or
(ii)Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in
respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this
meeting
NOTES:
·Members are reminded that they must not participate
in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary
interest
·As well as an interest of the Member, this includes
any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the
Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the
Member is living as a spouse or civil partner)
·Members with a significant personal interest may
participate in the discussion and vote on that matter unless that
interest could be reasonably regarded as prejudicial.
Minutes:
Pauline Searle declared a non-pecuniary interest as a
trustee of a charity that was a provider of play and leisure Short
Breaks.
4/17
QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
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To receive any questions or
petitions.
Notes:
1. The deadline for Member’s questions is
12.00pm four working days before the meeting (Monday 16 January
2017).
2. The deadline for public
questions is seven days before the meeting (Friday 13
January)
3. The
deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no
petitions have been received.
Minutes:
There were no questions or petitions
received.
5/17
RESPONSES FROM THE CABINET TO ISSUES REFERRED BY THE SCRUTINY BOARD
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There are no responses to report.
Minutes:
The Board made a referral to Cabinet at its last meeting. The
Cabinet considered this referral in its next meeting of 31 January
2017.
Purpose of the
report:To provide an update on the
current status of the Home Based Care (HBC) market in Surrey; and
provide an update on the proposed re-commissioning of the Adult
Social Care HBC Service in 2017.
Minutes:
Witnesses:
KirstyMalak, Senior Commissioning Manager
Ian Lyall, Senior Category
Specialist
Erica Lockheart, Chief Executive,
Surrey Care Association
Richard Williams, Director, Carers at Home Ltd.
Mel Few,Cabinet Member for Adult Social
Care, Wellbeing and Independence Clare Curran, Cabinet Member for
Children and Families Wellbeing
Nick Markwick, Surrey Coalition of
Disabled People
Declarations of interests:
None
Key
points of discussion:
Officers provided a short update to the Board on the
state of the market conditions and the planned commissioning of
service.
It was explained by officers that the Home Based
Care (HBC) market was facing significant local and national
pressures. A key challenge was highlighted with regard to capacity
to meet increasing demands, particularly in rural areas, and the
recruitment and retention of care staff.
Officers noted that there was a planned shift in
strategy with regard to contract procurement, noting that
strategic, large care providers had not adapted to the changing
conditions in the market as well as was anticipated. It was
explained that the new system of procurement was aimed to be more
flexible in its approach to adapt to market changes. It was
explained that an e-brokerage system was being introduced to
improve care outcomes and provide value for money.
Witnesses noted that there were difficulties in
staff recruitment for HBC workers on a local and national level. It
was suggested that a possible cause for this were the low rates of
unemployment within Surrey. The Board was informed that, as a
result of the provision of the Care Act 2014, new skills were
required in the role, making recruitment more challenging.
Witnesses noted that, in an effort to alleviate this issue, the
Surrey Care Association had employed a Partnership Workforce
Project Manager.
It was noted by the Director of Carers at Home Ltd.
that there was a significant challenge with regard to HBC staff
turnover, noting an average rate of 20% - 25%.
The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing
and Independence noted that there was a requirement for funding
high needs groups and that there was a funding shortfall as a
result. It was noted that strategies that encouraged best practice
and value for money were a key element to reducing this, in
conjunction with other strategies, but that there was still a
challenge posed by this shortfall.
The Board questioned whether HBC workers had the
capacity to be flexible and provide care across a community
effectively. The Director of Carers at Home Ltd. noted that there
was a need to deploy HBC workers in close proximity to the
community they serve to effectively deliver urgent care in a timely
manner. It was noted that this was a challenge in rural communities
where there was less commercial profitability for a private
enterprise to operate. Officers noted that they work with providers
to provide care in these areas.
It was highlighted by the Director of Carers at Home
Ltd. that there was a challenge involved with the provision of the
National ...
view the full minutes text for item 6/17
Purpose of
report:This report provides the Social
Care Services Board with an update on the short breaks
re-commissioning project along with an opportunity for feedback and
comment to inform procurement decisions and planned formal public
consultation from 8 May to 16 June 2017.
Minutes:
Witnesses:
Frank Offer, Head of Market
Strategy
Chris Tisdall,Senior Commissioning Manager
Early Help
David Izatt, Co-Chair of the Steering
Committee, Family Voice Surrey
Clare Curran, Cabinet Member for Children and Families
Wellbeing Mel Few,Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing and
Independence
Declarations of interests:
Pauline Searle declared a non-pecuniary interest as a
trustee of a charity that was a provider of play and leisure Short
Breaks.
Key
points of discussion:
Officers highlighted that the service had opened up
live engagement with the market on 9 January 2017. It was noted
that the service was seeking input from the Board regarding its
direction of travel before it formalised its approach with the
Cabinet. It was also pointed out that the service was keen to work
in collaboration, noting that it had worked closely with Family
Voice, Surrey and had adopted a creative approach to feedback. It
was highlighted that this co-designed approach had involved several
workshops, and engagement with families, family groups and focus
groups to gather information.
It was explained by officers that the service was
timetabled to deliver the recommissioning of the Short Breaks service on the
1 December 2017.
Officers explained that there was a rising demand
for Short Breaks in conjunction with more complex need
requirements. It was noted that the service was aiming to use
currently available resources for delivery.
Officers highlighted that they were aiming to
provide a better SEND outcome and that the aim was to create a more
inclusive provision for children and the parents of children with
SEND.
TheCo-Chair of the Steering Committee, Family Voice
Surrey highlighted that this project was the culmination of 15
months of co-design work, noting that the project was, from the
perspective of Family Voice, Surrey, the most successful
co-designed project that they had worked with.
The Co-Chair of
the Steering Committee, Family Voice Surrey noted that this work
was supported by the families of children with SEND. It was
expressed that there was more support required for the family of a
child with SEND and that parents valued the inclusive approach that
this strategy takes.
It was suggested
by the Co-Chair of the Steering Committee, Family Voice Surrey that
the service couldutiliseunder-used
resources to provide short breaks services and improve
outcomes.Members questioned whether youth
services and other underutilised facilities, such as school halls,
could be deployed in the provision of short breaks. It was
particularly stressed that more work could be undertaken to improve
links with youth centres, to improve provision for short breaks
locally. Officers noted that the service was seeking to use youth
services facilities more and that this was a good opportunity for
partnership work with youth centres and that better links were
being forged as part of this.
The Board questioned whether the service could
establish closer links with Districts and Borough authorities to
provide an improved local service and improve partnership links.
Members also questioned whether the service took into consideration
the ...
view the full minutes text for item 7/17
Purpose of the report: To
provide an update on the impact of the initiatives to improve
recruitment and retention of key staff in Adult Social Care and
Children’s Services.
Minutes:
Witnesses:
Sonya Sellar, Area Director,
Adult Social Care;
Penny Mackinnon, Area Head of Children’s
Services Clare Curran, Cabinet Member for Children and
Families Wellbeing Mel Few,Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing and
Independence
Declarations of interests:
Helena Windsor declared a non-pecuniary interest as a
member of the Improvement Board
Key
points of discussion:
Officers outlined the current position of the adults
and children’s workforce. It was highlighted that the updated
vacancy rate for the Adults Services as of November 2016 was 11%.
It was also noted that the Children’s workforce had an
improved vacancy rate of 21% and an improved turnover rate of
14.04% as of December 2016.
The Board questioned why the directorates
experienced relatively high levels of staff vacancy rates and what
was being done to attempt to alleviate this issue. It was
highlighted that the services experienced high turnover rates at
experienced qualified staff levels, rather than those at a newly
qualified level. TheCabinet Member for Children and Families Wellbeing
highlighted that this type of staff turnover would not be
alleviated by the provision of key worker housing, but it was
stressed that the service was looking into options for delivering
this in future to maintain an attractive employment offer. Officers
also noted that the service was providing re-location expenses for
new employees, as part of the improved Surrey offer.
Members questioned the Adult Social Care
directorate’s three year recruitment and retention strategy
and whether it was the most effective method available, or whether
a more flexible approach would have been more suitable. Officers
noted that the three year strategy had been constantly under review
to ensure that it maintained flexibility to deal with unexpected
issues and new opportunities.
It was highlighted by officers that an issue
limiting effective recruitment into vacant positions was pay,
highlighting that Surrey’s proximity to London and the high
cost of living in Surrey could be barriers to recruitment. Officers
noted that these issues were being resolved as part of the Pay and
Reward review 2016.
Officers noted that the services had used exit
interviews with departing staff as a means of assessing issues and
identifying how we can learn from and improve recruitment and
retention. It was also noted that the service was using data
collected in the staff survey in order to improve the wellbeing of
workers. It was suggested that feedback from surveys had been
implemented and incorporated into recruitment and retention
strategies.
The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing
and Independence stressed that the three Sustainability and
Transformation Plans (STPs) consider workforce as key to their
plans. It was noted that the future plans may include the idea of
integrating social work into an NHS care worker model, creating a
defined career path and resolving some issues regarding
recruitment. Members questioned whether this idea could be
scrutinised by the Wellbeing and Health Scrutiny Board in
future.
Purpose of
report:To inform the Social Care
Services Board of the content of the Surrey Safeguarding Adults
Board Annual Report for 2015-2016 and invite the Board to
review.
Simon Turpitt,Independent Chair, Surrey Safeguarding
Adults Board
Amanda Boodhoo,Surrey Wide CCG
Deputy Director Safeguarding
Sonya Sellar,Area Director Clare Curran, Cabinet Member for Children and Families
Wellbeing Mel Few,Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing and
Independence
Declarations of interests:
None
Key
points of discussion:
TheIndependent Chair of the
Surrey Safeguarding Adults Board (SSAB) gave an overview of the
annual report to the Board, explaining to the Board that the report
was historic for the year 2015/16, rather than a state of current
affairs. He highlighted in this overview that there was a smooth
implementation of the Care Act 2014 over the time period
highlighted in the report and that there had been significant
improvements to the SSAB’s multi-agency links.
The Independent Chair highlighted several key areas
of risk, noting that neglect was listed as the most frequent risk
category. It was also noted that self-neglect and financial abuse
had been highlighted as areas of concern for the SSAB, but that
they were working closely with partners to help resolve these
issue. The Independent Chair also highlighted that evidence of
physical abuse had reduced by 2%, and hat the SSAB were finding new
ways of working with partners to further reduce this.
The Independent Chair assured the Board that there
had been no Serious Case Reviews undertaken since January
2016.
The Independent Chair highlighted that the SSAB had
implemented new processes in order to improve outcomes, pointing
out that there was multi-agency training in place. However, it was
noted that the benefit of this was difficult to quantify as a
result of its preventative nature.
The Independent Chair highlighted several key
projects undertaken by the SSAB which had improved safeguarding
awareness; citing examples of advertisements for the SSAB in Surrey
and a greater representation on local groups. It was also noted
that the SSAB had improved its ways of working, highlighting that
there was a new and improved systems database in place to improve
performance monitoring, which included an improved data model. It
was also noted that the SSAB was fully staffed.
The Independent Chair specified three key priorities
for the SSAB to maintain quality of service and achieve
improvements:
Improved training methods
Improving visibility with partners and
residents
Increasing and strengthening ties with partner
organisations
The Independent Chair expressed the need to improve
links with General Practitioners (GPs) as a means of improving the
safeguarding process. Members questioned why links with GPs were
poor and what could be undertaken by the SSAB and Clinical
Commissioning Groupss (CCGs) to rectify
this issue. TheSurrey Wide CCG Deputy
Director Safeguarding highlighted that CCGs were working to improve
these links, noting that an appointed safeguarding GP was being
introduced and that training for GPs regarding safeguarding would
be implemented. Members asked if progress regarding this and
possible scrutiny of implementation could be brought to the Health
and Wellbeing Board.
Purpose of
report:To inform the Social Care
Services Board of the content of the Surrey Safeguarding Childrens
Board’s Annual Report for 2015-2016 and invite the Board to
review.
Kerry Randle, Area Education
Officer – NE, Schools and Learning
Mark Jowett, Head of Safeguarding, Children’s
Services
Declarations of interests:
None
Key
points of discussion:
The Independent Chair of the Surrey Safeguarding
Children’s Board (SSCB) highlighted that the SSCB was working
closely with the SSAB, noting improving work and links with regard
to the transitions period. It was noted that the SSCB had produced,
as part of the statutory requirement to produce an annual report,
an “End of an Era” report which detailed a strategic
rethink of Children’s Services in the transition
period.
The Independent Chair noted that the report was
linked to the Ofsted report of Children’s Services published
June 2015, the Safeguarding Children’s Board Inspection of
August 2015 and the inspection Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
Constabulary (HMIC) of Police Effectiveness, efficiency and
legitimacy (PEEL) in December 2015. It was noted that the report
reflected the situation that was present at that time, rather than
the current one.
It was highlighted by the Independent Chair that an
Improvement Board was established to improve the issues that were
highlighted in the Ofsted report, and that the Independent Chair
considered that there had been some improvement registered overall.
However, the Independent Chair noted that there was still work to
be undertaken to improve. Officers noted that they were positive
about evidence of improvement.
The Board noted that they would like to receive a
version of the SSCB Annual Report earlier in the year.
Members highlighted the need to include the voice of
the child into the strategic thinking of the SSCB. The Independent
Chair noted that this was included in the SSCB’s thought
processes and that appropriate language is used to reflect this. It
was explained that the SSCB had undertaken seminars to highlight
specific safeguarding issues, for example Child Sexual Exploitation
and the utilisation of theMulti-Agency
Safeguarding Hub (MASH).
Recommendations:
The Board thanks the
independent Chair and partner agencies for the report. It
recommends:
That officers work with the Safeguarding Board to
explore how a more timely update is brought to the Scrutiny
Board.
The recommendations
tracker and forward work programme were noted and approved by the
Board.
The Board received a
short update regarding the work of the Performance and Finance Sub
Group of the Board, which is attached as an annex to this
document.
The Board were
informed of a letter delivered from the Chairman of the Board to
the Strategic Director of Children’s, Schools and Families
and the appropriate Cabinet Members highlighting concerns with the
Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). A full update regarding the
discussion relating to the MASH at its Performance and Finance Sub
Group was appended to the next meeting of the Board.
Recommendations
None
12/17
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
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The next public meeting of the
Board will be held at 10.00am on 16 March 2017 at County
Hall.
Minutes:
The next public meeting of the Board will be
held on the 16 March 2017 at 10.00am.
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