Purpose of the report:Scrutiny of Services and Budgets
To update the Committee on the progress and achievements of the Family, Friends and Community Support programme.
Minutes:
Declarations of interest: None
Witnesses:
Dave Sargeant, Strategic Director for Adult Social Care,
Shelley Head, Interim Assistant Director
Paul Carey-Kent, Strategic Finance Manager
Mel Few, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care
Steve Cosser, Cabinet Associate for Adult Social Care
Key points raised during the discussion:
1. The Committee was given a brief summary of the Family, Friends and Community programme and its goal to ensure that adult social care in Surrey provided better outcomes for vulnerable residents through more tailored care packages designed at keeping them connected to the communities in which they live while also registering savings for the Directorate. Significant concerns were raised by the Director of Surrey Coalition of Disabled People around reassessments and noted that Friends, Family and Community is perceived as a cost-cutting measure instead of a programme of reform designed to provide better outcomes for adult social care users. Members echoed this concern and highlighted the need to disseminate the message that Friends, Family and Community is not a cost-cutting initiative. The Strategic Director stated that care packages were not reduced where it was concluded that the support being provided prior to the reassessment was in line with the particular requirements of the resident and in some cases more expensive care packages were being put in place where the reassessment showed that a more expensive care package was necessary. It was also highlighted that a theatre company had been employed to train frontline staff in talking to vulnerable adults if their reassessment deemed that their support package should be reduced and gave valuable insights into how to conduct this conversation with the resident and their families. It was acknowledged, however, that more could be done to get the message out to affected residents that Family Friends and Community is first and foremost about providing better outcomes rather than being a cost-saving measure.
2. Members suggested that County Councillors should also be more active in promoting the benefits of Family, Friends and Communities across Surrey and ensure that residents are aware that the initiative is about promoting better outcomes. It was recommended that it be added to the agendas of formal committee meetings as these are more widely attended and plans put forward on how Councillors can be encouraged to engage with and promote the initiative amongst their residents.
3. The Interim Assistant Director stipulated the need to empower staff and give them the tools to develop innovative approaches towards creating care packages which can provide the best possible outcomes for Surrey’s vulnerable adults. Members drew attention to particularly creative schemes which had happened in their boroughs or which they had heard about taking place in other boroughs and asked the officers present to ensure that schemes which worked well in one borough were considered for the whole County to share best practice. The importance of regional visits by members was also emphasised to ensure that they retained an up-to-date understanding of local issues and developed a connection with frontline staff and care providers.
3. The Strategic Finance Manager provided the Committee with a detailed insight into how the Family, Friends and Community initiative was performing against its projected budget and its impact on the budget of the Adult Social Care Directorate as a whole. FF&C is projected to contribute a significant amount to reducing spending on adult social care with a target of saving the Directorate £13.3 million for 2013/14. It was advised that, at present, FF&C was on course to exceed this specific target and record savings of £16.5 million.
4. FFC DP surplus, which relates to the cost of new care packages as from reassessment indicates that a saving of nearly £2 million was made from April – July and that projected savings of £2.1 million would be made from August to March.
5. Savings arising from reassessments in light of the new FFC guidelines for care packages indicate that up to the end of July savings of £654k although these were not evenly spread throughout the community. Further savings of £3.75 million are projected to be made in light of reassessments from August until the end of March. These savings are weighted towards the latter half of the year as a result of more reassessments being scheduled for the end of the year. These positive figures have prompted an upwardly revised saving of £9 million from reassessments for next year.
6. The cost of conducting reassessments has contributed to an over-spend of £605k to the end of July in this area. Savings of £5.5 million are projected for the year but is hard to predict as the cost of creating care packages for children moving into adulthood who will require a care package from the Adult Social Care Directorate is unclear. The FFC Catch up field also has projected savings for the year although none have been recorded to date. Both of these were highlighted as potential areas of risk by the Strategic Finance Manager where the projected savings might not be realised although was hopeful that the savings would be achieved.
7. The Committee expressed support for the Family, Friends and Community initiative but stressed that a strategic, Surrey-wide approach was required for implementing it effectively rather than the CCGs and Borough Councils working independently. Members stressed the importance of officers across the Boroughs cross-fertilising ideas for the implementation of FF&C, sharing tips on best practice and discussing schemes that have been effective. The importance of local knowledge, however, was also promoted and suggestions were made about how this could be accessed through systems such as Surrey Information Point and Surrey-i. It was suggested that Councillors be issued with business cards and Surrey Information Point that they could distribute to residents to make them more aware of the benefits of this system. Member involvement in FF&C was further advocated by the Committee who recommended the creation of ‘Member Champions’ for each district and borough in Surrey who would be able to share positive schemes with each other on how the programme was working in their area.
8. The Committee asked for assurances that the Directorate was indentifying the care needs of 18-25 year olds. The Strategic Director stated that key connections and networks were in place to ensure that young adults with care needs were being identified and their needs catered for.
Recommendations:
The Committee:
· Commends and echoes the enthusiasm among officers and practitioners for the Family, Friends and Community Support programme.
· Recognises the understanding officers and practitioners have for the cultural change which the programme represents.
· Notes that the Directorate needs to present a clear and positive message to ensure individuals’ and families’ expectations
· Recommends that information exchanges including Surrey Information Point and Surrey-i are readily available and localised.
· Will provide members with Surrey Information Point business cards to disseminate to residents.
· Recommends that ‘Member Champions’ are identified in each district and borough to help develop the programme in their area and link up with contacts such as GPs and their Practice Managers with officer support to gather and share information on the implementation of FFC across Surrey. Local networks which can be collaborated with should also be indentified such as Neighbourhood Watch groups, community navigators and other voluntary groups operating at the local level.
· The Chairman will write to the Chair of Local Committees to ensure that the FF &C Support Programme is scheduled as a formal item.
Action points/ further information to be provided:
None
Committee next steps:
None