Agenda item

The Corporate Director for Social Care, Health and Housing introduced the report and answered questions from the Committee.

The report outlined the future aims and challenges facing the Group, including:

         I.      Managing demand: keeping residents independent, investing in preventative services to stop or significantly delay residents from requiring ongoing social care or becoming homeless or in housing need

       II.      Managing the support system: efficient and effective in-house provision that is reablement focused, delivering time-limited interventions to effect change so residents can learn or re-learn crucial skills to live independently

      III.      Managing supply: commissioning private and voluntary social care and housing services, delivering support, choice and independence to vulnerable, complex and high dependency residents

Challenges highlighted in the report included:

·        Responding to the national economic crisis – the budget situation facing the public sector and the constraints placed on local government in the face of increasing demands for services.

·        Demand pressures

o       Demography - from an ageing population. Learning disability where there is increasing evidence of a significant population increase over the next 5-10 years. Addressing the needs of ageing carers represent a potential pressure.  The needs of people with dementia and for occupational therapy services is increasing.  Demand for residential placements for older adults with adults with mental health needs will continue. The increasing numbers of households reflecting increasing numbers of single households, including older people.

o       Legislation and rising expectations – the expectation to provide people with a better standard of living continues.  Legislative change has led to increased demand on services provided by in relation to housing, including: homelessness prevention, the Houses in Multiple Occupation licensing system, Disabled Facilities Grants, the demand for affordable housing, a rising number of housing benefit claimants.

o       Economic - Increased demand is related to the wider economic down-turn.

·        Turnover of placements – supplier pressure to increase the cost of a placement as new placements for services are made as well as the costs of meeting the needs of people with more complex needs.  This is happening at a time where local authorities are placing increasing expectations on suppliers of price reductions and improved value.

·        Managing change – maintaining and improving services during periods of change

·        Customer engagement – making full use of customer views and involvement in shaping service delivery.

·        Partnership working - including the health and voluntary sector.  The Council need to continue to work closely with our partners to respond to and manage these challenges effectively.

·        Recruitment and retention –is a major challenge for some key posts across Social Care, Health and Housing to ensure effective succession planning with an ageing workforce profile and fewer people available to appoint from. 

·        Heathrow - robust dialogue with Government to minimise the costs falling on Hillingdon residents

·        Housing – including Housing Benefit Changes, Housing Benefit changes and the strategy to find homes and pay rent, Special Needs and Supported Housing

In the course of discussions Members raised the following additional issues:

• The Committee were pleased to learn that the number of people currently in temporary accommodation had fallen.
• The importance of focusing on health promotion and the potential cost savings this could achieve
• The need to track the success of the re-ablement programme to ensure support is not withdrawn prematurely
• The numbers of residents using personalised budgets to purchase social care had increased
• The importance of effective procurement (through the West London Alliance) to purchase services at competitive prices without impacting upon quality.
• The role or pare-payment and smart cards in delivering the Transformation Agends and the encouraging news that discussions were underway with DASH to pilot these cards.

Resolved –

1. That the aims and challenges facing the Social Care, Health and Housing Directorate be noted.
2. That officers be asked to write to CNWL on behalf of the Committee to express it ongoing concern about the availability of medical supplies and specifically incontinence pads
3. That  the newly appointed officer managing the personalisation programme be invited to a future Committee meeting
4. That officers be requested to provide further information on….