Agenda and minutes

None

Cllr Peter Kemp declared a personal interest as a Director of CNWL.

The minutes of 8 December 2011 would be considered at the next meeting.

All items were considered in public.

The report set out the draft revenue budget and capital programme of

Adult Social Care, Health and Housing (ASCH&H) for 2012/13, along

with indicative projections for the medium term. Members were informed that the Council was looking to make significant savings of around £17.8m, on top of the £26.2m delivered in 2011/12. It was noted that the final funding settlement for 2012/13 had not yet been announced and the budget had therefore been drafted on an estimated cut in funding of £9.2m, partially offset by a further central Government grant of £2.8m enabling a freeze in Council Tax in 2012/13.

The Committee was informed that the Department faced an almost

unique challenge within the Authority, given that the vast majority of its

budgetary spend was pre-determined by external demand which could

not be easily reduced. As such, the challenge for the Department was

to achieve the same outcomes at less cost by either re-designing

existing services or by providing more cost effective services coupled

with a preventative strategy that deflects an individual’s demand to a later date or eliminates it altogether. The Department’s Medium Term Financial Forecast (MTFF) for the current year was the start of this journey in which the provision of extra care housing, telecareline service and reablement play key parts in enabling this change to be successful.

The key issues were:

The Department faced a number of service pressures including:

• The significant demographic pressure of an ageing population and which primarily related to the increased numbers of placements into residential care.
• The transfer of children from education to adult services was an ongoing service pressure which accounted for a significant proportion of the Development and Risk Contingency.
• The changes to Housing Benefits
• The transition of Public Health services to local government and the principal implication of the Department of Health guidance was to confirm that 5 mandatory Public Health functions would be provided by local authorities. This would be funded from a ring-fenced grant due to be transferred from the NHS in April 2013.
• The report recommended that discretionary charges for Social Care and Housing Services were increased by 4.5% (rounded as appropriate) from 1st April 2012 with the exception of:

a.      TeleCareLine service, charges to remain unchanged for all service levels

b.      Meals service, charges to remain unchanged

c.      DFG agency fee, increase the fee we charge to administer, carry out and monitor the works for major disabled facility adaptations from 15% to 16.5%, the first increase since April 2005

Points raised by Members were:

• In relation the increasing number of dementia cases – Officers explained that they were awaiting the Government response to the Dilnot report with interest and would continue to work closely with the Director of Public Health, looking at trends and diagnosis.

• Private Sector Housing – Officers were monitoring the marketplace to ensure fair fees were charged for accommodation. The Committee were informed that the introduction of personalised budgets should make charging simpler and easier to explain
• Public Health –  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

The Performance and Intelligence Manager SCHH introduced the report.

The following points were noted:

• The Local Account was a statement indicating the quality of services being delivered and the progress the Council had made in achieving key priorities and outcomes for Hillingdon residents.
• This was the first Local Account and had been produced with input from key residents groups, such as the Older People’s Assembly, the Disabilities Assembly and Carer groups. The Account built upon local democracy and strengthened transparency by involving local people in the review of social services performance.
• The Hillingdon Local Account included information about the following:

1. What we are doing to keep people safe (e.g. TeleCareLine)?
2. What we are doing to promote healthy and independent lives (e.g. supported and extra care housing, re-ablement)?
3. What we are doing to enable people to have choice and control over their lives (e.g. self-directed support)?
4. What we are doing to support carers (e.g. carers support services)?
5. What we are doing to work with health and other partners to provide effective services?

• Officers would continue to work closely with the Assemblies and other forums representing the views of people who use services and their carers to further develop the Local Account for future years and engage meaningfully with local residents about adult social care services.  The development of the Local Account could include providing further information about housing services and services for children and families; integration of social care and health care services; and describing improvement priorities for the coming year.

Resolved –

1.      That the report be noted

The Democratic Services officer introduced the draft report and reviewed the evidence the Committee had received.

Following discussions, the following points were noted:

• That the final report be amended to include a Chairman’s Foreword and Closing Word.
• That the final report include an Appendix, providing a summary of the main themes arising from the evidence sessions
• That the following recommendations be amended to read:

(Rec1)That Cabinet be requested to recognise the difference that personalisation is making to individuals lives within the borough.

(Rec6) That Officers be requested to ensure that market co-ordination is incorporated into existing officer roles to develop the commissioning marketplace so there is no additional cost implication.

(Rec 7) That Cabinet request Children and Families and Adult Social care officers undergo training and development in order to promote a culture of service users choice that enables responsible, supported and shared decision-making so that reasonable, every day risks, can be taken with confidence, to achieve positive outcomes for the service user. This positive risk taking within a supported framework of safeguarding will introduce a cultural change to the way the Authority has previously viewed safeguarding concerns

(Rec 11) That Cabinet be requested to acknowledge the valuable work conducted by carers and that their essential contribution to the development of the personalisation agenda will be facilitated by a) a separate carer’s assessment and b) separate targeted advice for carers.

That the final report included further comments on the following topics:

1. Service user’s needs changing over time and the need for a flexible approach
2. The possible use of communal facilities in supported living units
3. The importance of the sustainability of care provision
4. Further information on the information portal

Resolved –

1. That officers be requested to include the above points in the final report to be considered at 15 February 2012 meeting.

The Committee had further discussions about possible topics for their second major review in 2011/12. Officers explained that further information gathering was required before the Tenancy Strategy could be developed and population flows were suggested as a possible area of work which would add value to the development of the Strategy.

Resolved –

1. That Officers be requested to provide a scoping report on Population flows and the impact on Housing to 15 February 2012 meeting.

The Committee considered the Forward Plan from January 2011 to March 2012 and decided to comment on the following Cabinet reports as follows:

CABINET ITEM 5: DISABILITIES COMMISSIONING PLAN 2011-2015

The Committee is impressed by the thoroughness of the consultation undertaken and notes the very positive feedback received from people who use personal budgets. The Committee recognise that service users will require support and guidance whilst undergoing the personalisation process and this may need to be a gradual process.

The Committee notes that libraries and the calendar of activities will play a significant role in assisting people to make informed choices about the care they receive.

The Committee notes that a variety of different circumstances are faced by service users and so a blanket approach to travel plans to access the proposed Queen’s Walk Day Centre will be inappropriate. The Committee welcomes the news that the Council will assess travel requirements on a case by case basis to ensure that every service user will have appropriate transport arrangements which will be integrated into the individual’s support plan.

CABINET ITEM 7: TRANSFORMING ADULT SOCIAL CARE: PERSONALISATION AND COMMISSIONING

The Committee notes that this Consultation has been as thorough as that in Item 5.

The Committee recognise the concerns raised in the Consultation and that Officers have made full responses. The Committee understands that such changes will, inevitably, result in anxiety for Service User's and Carers but have been reassured that Officers have a sound grasp of the issues and that they will be supporting Service User's and Carers through the process.

Cabinet will note that the Committee has recently conducted a review of Personalisation and Disabilities with Reference to Transition and the learning during the course of the review has been used to inform the consultation process.

The Committee will be presenting its final report to Cabinet in the near future.

CABINET ITEM 12: ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SAFEGUARDING ADULTS PARTNERSHIP BOARD

The Committee notes the protection of adults at risk is a critical activity of the Council and a key partnership area of work with health services and the voluntary sector.

The Committee notes the review of the functioning of the adult board and the resulting closer working between the Board and the statutory children’s safeguarding Board, with one independent chair covering both Boards and congratulates officers on this integrated approach.

Resolved –

That the above comments be presented to 26 January 2012 Cabinet.

Work Programme 2011/12 (Agenda Item 10 )

Reference was made to the work programme and timetable of meetings.

Resolved –

1.      That the report be noted.