Agendas, Meetings and Minutes - Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Online

Contact: Emma James /Jo Weston  Overview & Scrutiny Officers

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Items
No. Item

377.

Apologies and Welcome

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

 

378.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

None.

379.

Public Participation

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance, in writing or by email indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 27 January 2021). Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/email address below.

Minutes:

None.

380.

Confirmation of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Previously circulated

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Meeting on 18 November 2020 were agreed as a correct record and would be signed by the Chairman.

 

381.

Performance, In-Year Budget Monitoring and 2021/22 Budget pdf icon PDF 141 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In attendance for this item were:

Paula Furnival, Strategic Director for People

Rebecca Wassell, Interim Associate Director, Commissioning

Kerry McCrossan, Service Manager

Michael Hudson, Chief Financial Officer

Steph Simcox, Head of Finance

Sally Baldry, Principal Management Information Analyst

Cllr Adrian Hardman, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Adult Social Care

 

The Chief Financial Officer and Head of Finance summarised the main points of the presentation which was included in the Agenda.

 

Draft Budget 2021/22

The Council had started the current 2020/21 budget year with a net settlement of £345million, and at Period 8 a very small underspend was predicted, which indicated progress with budgetary control and was also tremendously encouraging given the context of the Covid pandemic.

 

One of the ways in which the Council managed expenditure was by looking at projected demand for services, which indicated £26.5million of funding pressures.  Clearly the Council needed to work within the financial envelope received from the Government and the council-tax raising ability.  The net government grant increases totalling £9million was encouraging, however this was largely Covid related, and the effects of the pandemic would extend beyond quarter 1 of the budget year.

 

The Government’s Fair Funding Review had been deferred and two grants which were originally planned as one-off had continued to be rolled-forward; the additional Social Care Grant (of c£2.2m) and the Better Care Fund, however the New Homes Bonus had reduced by just over £1million. After applying a council tax increase of just over £6million, this left a shortfall of just over £10million, however £7.1million of savings had been identified. £3million of reserves were earmarked and it was explained that an element of bridging was needed because the figure of Council Tax collected by district councils and possible additional support from the Government for the impact from the pandemic remained uncertain and figures would not be fully confirmed until August/September.

 

The Directorate of People planned to work within its budget through demand management and partnership working.

 

In terms of the budget planning timeline, the 2021/22 Draft Budget report had been considered by Cabinet on 7 January and following consultation including with the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board, would be reconsidered by Cabinet on 4 February and Council on 18 February. One change to the Cabinet papers was further investment in public rights of way.

 

The Head of Finance summarised the key points from the budget report relevant to Adult Services, including:

·         recommendation for a 1% increase in the Adult Social Care Levy for 2021/22 (which could be increased up to 3%)

·         additional Social Care Grant for 2021/22 of c£2.2million

·         pressures (£10.2million) were greater than the value of grant and recommended value of levy - £7.5million of demand including increased care costs, £2.7million inflation

·         figures in the budget report for inflation were across People Services and included £1.3million relevant to Communities and Public Health.

·         Services would need to continue to deliver efficiencies, transformational change and increase levels of income generation to remain within the overall recommended budget

·         £11.5million of pressures had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 381.

382.

Safeguarding Adults pdf icon PDF 146 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Derek Benson, Independent Chair of Worcestershire Safeguarding Adults Board

Bridget Brickley, Board Manager

Paula Furnival, Strategic Director for People

Adrian Hardman, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Adult Social Care

 

The Independent Chairman of Worcestershire Safeguarding Adults Board (WSAB) introduced the Board’s annual report which covered the period up to the end of March 2020 and was included in the Agenda. He briefly highlighted the main themes in safeguarding.

 

Clearly the world was now a very different place due to Covid, and the Board had sought to rationalise its priorities in order to deal with the increased pressure and had scheduled additional meetings to maintain oversight of safeguarding. A high number of Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) had been completed, as well as a review around homelessness. The WSAB continued to work with the Children’s Safeguarding Partnership around cross-cutting areas for example domestic abuse.

 

Questions were invited and the following main points arose:

 

·       There was no right answer for the number of SARS to be expected and the WSAB Chair explained that referrals were assessed by the case review group, which in his view had been correct each time. While some areas around the country had not completed any this year, the process was event-led. The Board Manager added that different areas may interpret the procedure differently. Currently, Worcestershire applied the full SAR process, however the Board was reviewing approaches and considering whether some repeated issues may be better tackled by reviewing progress rather than by a review.

·       Areas which had been in the spotlight known as the ‘wicked issues’ included care homes, rough sleepers, exploitation and the challenge of identifying the lead professional to deal with those issues which sit just beneath the threshold before they reached a level requiring statutory intervention - the Board Manager explained that safeguarding budget reserves may be used to consider this latter area as well as work on handling of complex cases and how organisations could work better together.

·       The Board representatives were asked about the envisaged long-term impact of Covid and advised that this was a huge question with more reflection needed, but what was evident was the significant and sustained pressure across so many sectors. There would be an impact on the younger generation, and a change in people’s living habits and communication. Partnerships had moved to another level with greater willingness, and the potential to tackle long-term issues such as rough sleeping and admission into care homes from hospital. Analysis of referrals had revealed an initial drop at the start of the pandemic with numbers then increasing, for example about financial scams. Analysis suggested that while referrals were not necessarily Covid-related, general awareness had been heightened.

·       The Strategic Director for People added that research indicated the pandemic was exacerbating inequalities present in society which may lead to increased demand in future. 

·       A Panel member asked whether gender played a role in perceptions and reporting of safeguarding concerns, however the Board Manager explained that previous analysis pointed to the fact that higher numbers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 382.

383.

Council Provided Day Services for Adults with Learning Disabilities pdf icon PDF 364 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In attendance for this item were:

Paula Furnival, Strategic Director for People

Hannah Perrott, Assistant Director: Communities

Korrina Campbell, Interim Day Opportunities Review Manager

Adrian Hardman, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Adult Social Care

 

Hannah Perrott, Assistant Director for Communities referred to the presentation slides included in the Agenda which summarised the report going to Cabinet on 4 February on the review of Council provided Day Services for adults with learning disabilities. The context for the review was around the Council’s duties under the Care Act 2014, to meet the care and support needs of adults and support needs of carers who are assessed as eligible under the Act’s eligibility criteria.

 

Korrina Campbell, Interim Day Opportunities Review Manager explained that there was a mixed market of day opportunities (40% internal and 60% external), with the Council providing two different types (Resource Centres for those with more complex needs which were more buildings based and Connect Services which mainly supported those with less complex needs).

 

Covid had impacted on day opportunities which had had to close or be delivered differently, and this had triggered a review of provision in order to continue to meet assessed need in the most efficient, cost-effective way that promoted independence, social inclusion and importantly, positive outcomes. The preferred approach was to move to a position where internal day opportunities would only be provided where there was not capacity within the external market.

 

The report to Cabinet provided an update on the first phase of the review which focused on provision for individuals with more complex needs. Officers were very conscious that those involved may be anxious, therefore a Communications and Engagement sub-group had been set up to ensure engagement with stakeholders and carers across all key areas of the review. Desktop exercises had been very important in establishing the picture pre and during Covid and the level of assessed need within the service and proportion of those with health needs. Staff had been included as well as a review of the market and transport.

 

Profiling of existing service users at the four Resource Centres was concerning for the future in terms of the older age of service users and duration of service, since 74% had used services for over 15 years.

 

Regarding the location and level of support provided by external providers in Worcestershire, only two services specialised in working with people with profound and multiple disabilities (PMLD) in the Worcester/Droitwich areas. The Resource Centres had been reviewed to assess whether they were fit for purpose. Interestingly, only 14% of individuals were identified by centre staff as being suitable for just a Resource Centre service and 45% as being better supported through attending a combination of both Resource and Connect Services.

 

Engagement feedback and options for future consideration were set out in a slide which would be used for further engagement with staff and carers, which generated questions about the service user journey and whether doors were being opened to all potential service users, including elements  ...  view the full minutes text for item 383.

384.

Work Programme 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 131 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was agreed that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman would review the current work programme before the Council’s next administration. 

 

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Adult Social Care suggested that it would be helpful to look at the process of how safeguarding concerns are looked at by Worcestershire’s Safeguarding Board in comparison with other areas, to give reassurance that issues were not being missed.