Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Panel member Phil Grove.

Cllr Fry declared an interest as an employee of a care home for people with learning disabilities in Worcestershire

During Item 6 Cllr Griffiths declared an interest as a family member worked with an individual who may be eligible for a personal budget.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, in writing or by email indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 21 January 2015). Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/email address below.

None.

(previously circulated)

The Minutes of the meeting held 11 November 2014 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman welcomed Kathy McAteer, new Independent Chair of the Worcestershire Safeguarding Adults Board (WSAB), and also the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and the Director of Adult Services and Health.

Although new to Worcestershire, Ms McAteer knew the region well as she had always worked across the West Midlands. By way of a presentation, she updated the Panel on the Board's work, including preparation for the Care Act, key findings, membership and engagement, governance, performance and quality assurance, board business support and action being taken. Much of the work in hand was not unusual to Worcestershire, as all safeguarding boards would be working to common processes.

Safeguarding adults boards were now a legal requirement, their main objective was to assure themselves "that local safeguarding arrangements and partners act to help and protect adults in its area who meet the criteria".  The three statutory partners of safeguarding boards were the police, council and clinical commissioning groups.

There was a clear focus for the Board around assurance and co-ordination, and three core duties, which were to:

·         Develop and publish an Annual Strategic Plan setting out how they will meet their objectives and how their member and partner agencies will contribute;

·         Publish an Annual Report to tell people how effective their work has been;

·         Arrange Safeguarding Adults Reviews (previously Serious Case Reviews) for any cases which meet the criteria for these.

Ms McAteer's appointment  when the previous Chair had reached the end of his term of office, in October 2014, had been well timed as nationally all safeguarding boards were looking at the requirements of the Care Act 2015, and Worcestershire's Board was in the process of shifting its focus from operational to strategic.

A series of strategy days involving key partners had identified actions required to ensure compliance with the Care Act and the way forward. The work underway to address the main areas for development were:

Membership and Engagement

Board membership was at the right level of seniority. Whilst engagement with family carers was good, engagement with people who use safeguarding services was found to be a major weakness, with too much focus on processes rather than the experiences of those involved. Development of an engagement strategy was therefore a key priority, as the Care Act has a clear requirement for safeguarding boards to listen to service users.

Governance

A draft new constitution had been developed for consultation, as it was felt that the current terms of reference did not set out clearly the role and functions of the Board and the rules of engagement. The membership model included three tiers, supplemented by stakeholder networks, which prevented board meetings from becoming too large. A risk assessment framework was also now in place.

Board meetings took place every three months and consisted of 10-12 people.

Performance and Quality Assurance

A priority was to put in place a quality assurance framework, including key performance measures, and also to build on current processes towards a more systematic approach of analysis of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 178.

As part of the Panel's monitoring of performance, the Chairman had asked the Director and the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care to provide an update on the direction of Adult Services and Health. Representatives of service users and providers of services for older people had been invited to the meeting to provide feedback on what was planned.

The Panel had considered the 2015/16 budget plans for Adult Services and Health, in November 2014 and had agreed to "dig deeper" into the proposals by hearing from services users, providers and staff

The Director gave a presentation on Future Lives: Pathways to Independence, which was the major change programme for Adult Services and Health.  The update included the projects involved, an overview of the new operating model, digital access and inclusion, new models of care (assessment, case management and effective commissioning), implications for in-house provider services, financial planning, the Care Act, the Well Connected Programme, Better Care Fund and communications. Further information was available on the Council's website, and consultation meetings were taking place across the county, to which all were welcome.

Headlines from the Future Lives Programme included:

·         The new website would be called 'Your Life, Your Choice'; testing and co-designing with stakeholders would start in January

·         Consultation with staff on new models of care had been completed and feedback was being considered

·         The Council's financial challenge was increasing and Adult Services and Health would need to make additional savings.

Discussion with service users and providers – main points:

Personal Budgets and Service Users Receiving Direct Payments

Experiences were mixed; some reported positive feedback from those who had opted for personal budgets, however other representatives reported that many older people did not want, or feel able to manage their own care budget, and that the task often fell to carers or family members.

As more service users were encouraged to manage their own budgets, there would be a need to look more to the voluntary sector to act as advocates. Onside, an organisation which provided advocacy and support, reported positive experiences but some of the people they worked with would be appalled by the additional pressure in managing their own, or a family member's budget; it was important not to end up with a system of haves and have-nots.

The Age UK Herefordshire and Worcestershire representative pointed out the need to be realistic, as the number of older people receiving funded care was very small and that care received was for basic needs, with only those with substantial needs being eligible for care – the majority did not want to take on the responsibility of managing their own personal budget. Mechanisms for assessing how much money someone was entitled to were very important.

The Panel heard that of those who received social care in Worcestershire, more than half self-funded their care. Of those eligible for council funded care, 25% had opted for a direct payment, while the remainder had chosen to have their care arranged by the Council. Only  ...  view the full minutes text for item 179.