Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Panel member Rob Adams, Cabinet Member for Health and Well-being Marcus Hart, and from the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel: Ian Hopwood, Rachel Jenkins and Fran Oborski.

Healthwatch Worcestershire had also sent apologies.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Cllr June Griffiths declared an interest, as her daughter is a carer for someone 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 24 March 2015). Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/email address below.

Several representatives from carer groups had been invited to provide feedback on the Carers Strategy consultation, which would be considered as part of agenda item 5.

Previously circulated

The Minutes of the meeting on 22 January 2015 were confirmed as a correct and signed by the Chairman.

Attending for this item were:

Worcestershire County Council

Sheila Blagg, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care

Richard Keble, Head of Integrated Commissioning

Martin Heuter, Commissioning Manager

Carer Representatives:

Carole Cumino, Chief Executive, Worcestershire Association of Carers

Judy Adams, Worcestershire Association of Carers (Learning Disabilities) and also Patient and Public Involvement Lead for Redditch and Bromsgrove Clinical Commissioning Group

Anne Duddington, Chair of Trustees, Worcestershire Parent and Carers' Council

It was clarified that the purpose of the discussion was to enable scrutiny members to comment on the draft Carers Strategy 2015-2017, which was being refreshed and had been available for consultation since 26 January. 

The Strategy was a joint one dealing with adult and young carers and so the session had been set up as a joint discussion, to which members from the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel had been invited. Representatives from the carer community had also been invited to provide feedback on carers' views.

Healthwatch Worcestershire had asked for a copy of its response to the consultation to be circulated, as a representative was unable to attend.

Overview of the Strategy

The Head of Integrated Commissioning gave an overview of the draft Strategy, which refreshed the previous 2010-2014 document and was county-wide, covering the Council, NHS organisations, relevant voluntary sector organisations and other public bodies. The Strategy had been developed in collaboration with carers, and as agreed by Worcestershire's Health and Well-being Board (HWBB), it covered both adult and young carers.

There were several important national and local drivers to the refreshed Strategy, including the Care Act 2014, NHS Forward Plan 2015, Carers Strategy: the Second National Action Plan 2014-2016, Children and Families Act 2014, Think Local Act Personal, Worcestershire's Health and Well-being Strategy and Future Lives (the Council's own programme of transformation of adult social care).

The role of a carer went beyond provision of basic assistance, and an adult carer was defined as 'any adult who provides care to another adult, but who is not under contract to do so or as part of voluntary work. Care includes providing assistance to enable someone to carry out basic care activities, access necessary facilities or services, or engage in work, education, training or volunteering'. It was important to recognise that there was no expectation on people to fulfil the role of carer if they chose not to.

The Council's vision for both adults and young carers recognised the wider role of the community in providing support and care to vulnerable adults. The vision was to provide appropriate support and to ensure they were able to strike a balance between their role as carer and their own lives.

The Council's commitment to carers included:

·         Focus on carer outcomes

·         Recognition and respect

·         Involvement in decision making

·         Caring safely

·         Equitable support for all

·         Personalised support

·         Co-ordinated services

·         A life of their own

·         Co-production (developing services with carers)

Themes in the Strategy included access to information and advice, support in the community, training, health and other universal services, social  ...  view the full minutes text for item 184.