Agenda and minutes

The members had before them:

A.    The Agenda papers (previously circulated); and

B.    The Minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2018 (previously circulated).

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services in writing or by e-mail indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case Wednesday 14 November 2018).  Further details are available on the Council's website.  Enquiries can also be made through the telephone number/e-mail address listed below.

None.

The Minutes of the meeting of 18 October 2018 have been previously circulated

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2018 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Families introduced the report. He commented that the social services improvement plan was progressing well as set out in the recent inspector's report. He commended officers for their efforts. It had been agreed that the service would become a wholly-owned company next year. It was now necessary to provide a steer as to whether to allow the functions of Children's Services to fragment or to co-exist within the company. An officer review had looked at all aspects of Children's Services which concluded that the scope of the company should be widened to the education function. This reflected the strong synergy between the education function and safeguarding services.

He understood concerns about loss of sovereignty and control but he considered that the benefits that would come from attaining the best outcomes for young people outweighed any other concerns. In particular, the proposal would conform with the DfE Notice and satisfy the wishes of the Commissioner; strengthen the focus on improving outcomes for children and young people; support a more inclusive and integrated approach; broaden the scope of responsibilities for an inclusive improvement plan; and less likely lead to a dip in the improvement of the service – which was more important than any structural change.

The timescale was tight and the size and nature of the Board needed to be revisited because the company now encompassed education. There were also issues around the client function to ensure that the Council was fulfilling its duties and obligations. The lead member would retain responsibility for ensuring that all the functions of the Children Services were delivered. It was likely that some staff working with Early Help and SEND would come under the scope of the company. Work was also required on the transitional services and the Communications Strategy.

In the ensuing debate, the following points were raised:

·         The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills commented that to avoid fragmentation it was better to keep as many services as possible integrated to provide a seamless service to improve outcomes for children and young people. Although education services were not under Direction, the benefits of this proposal were set out in the report.  As a result of this proposal, the size of the company would increase by approximately 200 members of staff, including staff directly employed by the Council and by Babcock Prime. It was appropriate to receive a further report in Spring 2019 to make a final decision on the scope and transfer of  services

·         The governance arrangements for the company needed further work to ensure transparency in its operations and enable effective challenge and scrutiny and to satisfy Cabinet that improvements were being delivered. An argument had been put forward that the company should include elements of public health. Public health included a wide-range of service including adult services and there was no desire to move adult services into the company. It was important that integration was achieved without negatively impacting on other services

·         A member from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1881.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care introduced the report. He commented that in relation to the forward demand pressures on Adult Social Care, the demographic 'time-bomb' had now gone off. Due to changes in demographic pressures, there was an anticipated significant increase in demand in all elements of adult social care services in the near future in the county. On a positive note, this reflected well on the county in terms of an increase in life-expectancy and quality of life. Recent external reports had indicated that demand pressures on Adult Social Care had been reflected on a national and that the existing system was not sustainable in the long-term. One peculiarity for this Council compared to others was that a greater amount of resources had been directed to support the NHS to ensure that patient discharges from community hospitals remained at an acceptable level.

A plan had been devised for the period 2018-22 which aimed to address the demand pressures on the service. The next stage of the process was the development of a Market Position Statement. He noted particular issues facing the service going forward in relation to provider cost pressures, the future workforce, and the structure of care homes.

It was disappointing that the Government's Green Paper on Adult Social Care had not been published yet because it was difficult to plan for the medium to long term without a clear national framework for Adult Social Care.

In the ensuing debate the following points were raised:

·         There was not enough money nationally or locally in the system to cater for people as they got older

·         The importance of spreading broadband countywide was that it helped support the provision of assistive technology which enabled people to remain in their own homes and be monitored remotely without the need for unnecessary visits

·         A member from outside the Cabinet highlighted the lack of a national solution to the demographic pressures and the additional pressure caused by people who had previously funded their own care now being eligible for care due to depleted resources. Doubt was also expressed that the proposed savings from the roll out of the 3 Conversation model in the next financial year could be achieved particularly with the time-pressures facing front-line staff.  The effectiveness of equity release schemes was also queried

·         The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care commented that there was a general lack of public recognition of the implications of the funding difficulties facing Adult Social Care. It had been suggested to the Secretary of State that the Pensions Dashboard should include a section on the care needs and costs. County roadshows could be used to increase public awareness of the issue. The 3 Conversations Model had been rolled out elsewhere and had been particularly successful in relation to the speed of assessments and ensuring social workers took responsibility for their case-load. The Council was committed to an outcome-based, commissioned model of domiciliary care. This approach would stop the Council providing care for people who  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1882.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care introduced the report. He commented that a formal consultation exercise had been carried out with users of the service on the proposal to close Wyre Forest Connect Long-term Learning Disability Day Service.  The service had only 5 users who attended 8 out of a possible 35 available days which showed how little the service was used. No responses had been received from any of the key stakeholders or the public with regard to the Personnel Care Suite. Service users had indicated that they were content with the alternative service provision offered to them.

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

·         A thorough engagement and consultation process had taken place on the future use of this service including a pre-consultation engagement exercise with all service users. The service was funded by £603k Public Health Ring-fenced Grant which given the number of service users, did not represent value for money especially as alternative provision was available in the community. The equality impact of the change had been fully assessed

·         A local member from outside the Cabinet commented that users of the service had expressed their satisfaction with the alternative facilities offered within Kidderminster and local councillors had not received any complaints about the proposed closures.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a)    noted the feedback from formal consultation with individuals using services and carers on the proposal to close the Wyre Forest Connect Long-term Learning Disability Day Service;

b)    noted the feedback from engagement with stakeholders regarding other services located at Wyre Forest Connect (Blackwell Street, Kidderminster), namely the Wyre Forest Connect front desk service, the Wyre Forest Connect drop-in service and the Personal Care Suite;

c)    noted the work carried out on options to remodel the Connect Short-term Service for adults with lower and medium levels of need, specifically the option of aligning the service with the Three Conversation Model social work teams;

d)    noted the detailed Equality Impact Assessment completed on the proposals previously approved by Cabinet on 14 June 2018 in relation to Council-provided Day Services for Adults with a Learning Disability and the Connect Short-term Service;

e)    approved the closure of Wyre Forest Connect Long-term Learning Disability Day Service, Wyre Forest Connect front desk service, the Wyre Forest Connect drop-in service and the Personal Care Suite, with effect from 1 April 2019;

f)     endorsed the continuation of the Connect Short-term Service and relocation of the service into the Three Conversation Model social work teams with effect from 1 April 2019, on the basis set out in paragraphs 18-22 of the report, with the detail of implementation and how the service will operate in the future to be decided by the Director of Adult Services and the Director of Public Health; 

g)    noted ongoing work in relation to the Council's other Learning Disability Day Services (Resource Centres, Connect Long-term Services and Leisure Link) to develop strategies for cost reduction and income generation in order to reduce the gap between the cost of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1883.

The Cabinet Member for Economy and Infrastructure introduced the report. He reported that the downhill section of the Southern Link Road between Norton and Whittington was now open in both directions. The uphill section remained a single lane due to work taking place over night. Two lanes in both directions should be open soon. Due to the absence of the proposed bridges, the temporary pedestrian crossing would remain in situ for the time-being. 

The Broomhalll Way Footbridge would enable access from the proposed new housing developments for cyclists and pedestrians as well as providing a mobility access. The bridge would be funded through a 106 agreement with the developer. The Crookberrow Way Footbridge would provide an important link from the town to the west for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders towards the Worcestershire Parkway Station. The timescale for the completion of the structure was 18 months which would be in advance of the completion of the housing developments.

In the ensuing debate, the following points were raised:

·         A local member from outside the Cabinet expressed concern about the safety of pedestrians at the crossing point on the Norton roundabout on the eastern bound carriageway, given the speed of vehicles at that point. He also queried whether the points of access for the Broomhall Way footbridge were in a suitably convenient place

·         The Leader of the Council emphasised the improved connectivity with the Worcestershire Parkway Station as a result of the completion of the Crookberrow Way footbridge. The bridge would allow cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders to cross the link road safely 

·         The Cabinet Member for Economy and Infrastructure indicated that it was not practicable to expect pedestrians to cross three lanes of traffic. It therefore seemed sensible to provide a central reservation for pedestrians crossing the link road at the Norton Roundabout especially given the speed of traffic at this point

·         The Leader of the Council emphasised the importance of forward funding this project through cashflow to avoid unnecessary delays waiting for the funding streams to become available.     

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a)    recommends to Council that £3.5m of funding necessary to complete the Broomhall Way Footbridge is allocated to the Southern Link Road Phase 3 Dualling Project with funding ultimately being received from developers' s.106 contributions and that the Capital Programme is updated accordingly;

b)    authorised the submission of a planning application for the construction of the Broomhall Way Footbridge and the completion of any public engagement that is necessary regarding the proposals;

c)    authorised the expenditure of the allocated funding to enable the delivery of the Broomhall Way Footbridge;

d)    delegated authority to the Director of Economy and Infrastructure to finalise and award contracts and other necessary agreements for the delivery and future maintenance of the Broomhall Way Footbridge, and authorised the acquisition by the Director of Commercial and Commissioning of any land or rights over such land as are necessary to put the above into effect;

e)    recommends to full Council that the £3.5m necessary to complete the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1884.

The Leader of the Council introduced the report. He commented that an overspend of £8.6m had now been forecast. The outcome of the voluntary redundancy scheme was awaited which could reduce this overspend further. The Council was on track to balance the budget by the end of the financial year. He welcomed the extra £2.4m Adult Social Care Winter Pressures grant received from the Government, particularly as this Council had put more resources than most other councils into acute settings to prevent delays in discharging patients.

In the ensuing debate, the following comments were made:

·         The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care commented that an agreement had been reached with partners on how the extra £2.4m Adult Social Care Winter Pressures grant would be spent to avoid any unnecessary delay in its use

·         The Leader welcomed the extra £6.6m funding from the Government for the pothole challenge but indicated that it was not covered in the period 6 report. This funding was an in-year capital investment which would enable the Council to accelerate its existing programme

·         A member from outside the Cabinet queried the one-off saving of £0.5m following the risk review of fire insurance liabilities. The Chief Financial Officer explained that after examining insurance reserves including current liabilities, the trend of liabilities and the liability position had any buildings been affected by fire, it was considered that the previous balance of £1.8m should be reduced to £1.3m. This position would be kept under review

·         A member from outside the Cabinet asked if individual councillors would be consulted as part of the allocation process for the use of the additional funding for potholes. The Leader responded that the funding was a capital in-year resource and therefore its allocation had not been delegated to local members.   

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a)    endorsed the Cabinet Member's conclusions concerning revenue budget monitoring up to 30 September 2018;

b)    noted the current progress regarding savings plans approved by Council in February 2018;

c)    noted the current progress on the additional management savings plans to address the forecast position, in particular that the forecast overspend is reducing; and

d)    recommended Council approves the use of £2.4 million Adult Social Care Winter Pressures grant and updates the revenue budget cash limits accordingly.