Agenda and minutes

Agreed as an accurate record.

 It was confirmed that all items on the agenda would be considered in public.

The Operational Finance Manager introduced the report.

The Committee was informed that the budget proposals had been developed to support a ninth successive Council Tax freeze for all residents, and an eleventh year for over 65s, whilst avoiding implementation of the Social Care precept and maintaining frontline Council services.

This represented a significant achievement in light of continuing cuts to government funding for local government, estimated at 17% in 2017/18 alone, alongside a growing population, driving an ever increasing demand for locally provided services.

The Committee was informed that savings had been developed under five broad themes, which focused on maintaining the existing service offer: Zero-Based Reviews; Preventing Demand; Service Transformation; Effective Procurement; and Maximising Income.

Members were asked to note that the draft budget report did not include the impact of the recent Local Government Provisional Settlement, which would be addressed in the budget report to February Cabinet.

Corporate Position

Members were informed that the final funding settlement for 2017/18 would not be available until February and so the budget had therefore been drafted on the latest estimated position.

The Committee was informed that the principal challenge in delivering a balanced budget for 2017/18 was the development of significant savings, with the savings requirement for 2016/17 originally being estimated at £18,464k. This had since been revised upwards to £19,388k, primarily as a result of increased inflationary pressure on the cost of Social Care placements. Taking account of the planned drawdown of £5,000k from General Balances, this had left a net savings requirement of £14,388k.

The budget proposals presented to Cabinet in December 2016, showed a £11,314k projected reduction in Government funding, being off-set by increased Council Tax and Business Rates receipts of £4,638k, to reduce the net reduction in resources to £6,162k.

Inflationary pressures and growth in demand continued to drive up the savings requirement, with savings proposals of £14,388k presented in this draft budget.

Savings

The Committee was provided with details of the savings proposals across the Council for 2017/18, which totalled £14,388k. This included £1,669k of full year effects of prior year savings. The total savings included in the draft budget for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Housing Services/Group totalled £3,837k and were made up of the following.

Adult Social Care

Transformation - £1,627k

Zero Based Reviews - £1,106k

Preventing demand - £407k

Effective procurement  - £305k

Income generation - £210k

Housing

Members were informed that savings which fell under the remit of this Committee, which would be delivered within Residents Services, totalled £182k. This figure comprised of £131k for reviews of Housing/Homelessness functions and £51k from Zero Based reviews.

Capital Programme

The Committee was informed that the draft capital programme would need to be revised once the final impact of the settlement was known, as this would impact on the affordability of the programme.

Members were provided with a summary of the draft capital programme which fell within the Committee's remit:

· The development of a new Dementia Centre.

· The development of a housing project  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

The Committee was provided with a summary of the evidence received for the three witness sessions for the Committee's review into Hospital Discharges.

The Council's Health & Social Care Integration Manager reported that the key themes which came out of the review were that services were required to be in place to enable elderly patients to be discharged quickly from hospital. Improvements were required in communication between all agencies, to keep the patient and their families informed.

Discussion took place around the themes of the review and it was agreed that communication to the patient was the key. The involvement of families, advocates, and Age UK for example, was very important.

The Committee noted that for many elderly patients admitted to hospital, it was a traumatic experience, so maintaining their mental health was very important. Keeping the patient and their families updated, with clear and consistent information was important in terms of keeping patient's positive, and enabling them to be discharged quicker from hospital.

Support was also required when the patient had been discharged from hospital to their home.

The Corporate Director of Adults, Children & Young Peoples Services explained to the Committee that the Council had a statutory duty to make assessments on individuals' social care needs. However, a balance had to be made in terms of the care package the individual needed, and what was available in the market. Cost considerations had to be taken into account, as part of the decision reached, and the care package offered.     

Subject to further discussions with officers and the Chairman of the Committee and the Labour Lead, the following suggested draft recommendations of the review were agreed:

1.         a) That clear information about the discharge process is developed for and with people admitted to hospital and their families so that they know what to expect.

b) That this information is provided to patients on admission as agreed through a joint working policy.

2.         a) That a joint working policy across all partners involved in the hospital discharge process is developed to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the appropriate teams within each organisation and to ensure consistency of approach.

b) That the joint working policy is formally endorsed by each organisation.

c) That briefings with staff across organisations on the content of the agreed joint working policy are undertaken.

3.         That partners explore options for delivering a more integrated intermediate care service that ensures that people admitted to hospital are supported to go home by the most appropriate professional first time and that the number of hand-offs between different organisations is reduced.

4.         That partners explore affordable options to enable people who are medically fit for discharge are able to step down from hospital without the need to be admitted to a care home.

5.         That partners explore affordable options that will ensure an appropriate supply of care home places to address the needs arising from Hillingdon's changing population.

6.         That partners explore affordable options for ensuring that people admitted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

The Chairman informed the Committee that after discussions with officers, it was suggested the Committee's second major review of the Municipal Year should be looking at how the Council was implementing the benefit changes and the impact of the changes on residents.

The Council's Benefit and Governance Manager attended the meeting and provided the Committee with a summary of the recent changes made to benefits.

Reference was made to Universal Credit which was the new Department for Work and Pensions benefit which had been designed to provide the support needed to prepare individuals for work, move into work or earn more. This replaced income based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income based Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit.

Members were informed that Benefit Cap changes had come into effect in August 2013. The Benefit Cap was a limit on the total amount of income from certain benefits, a working aged household, aged 16-64 could receive. If they had received more than the benefit cap allowed, then their Housing Benefit or Universal Credit would be reduced to the cap.

Details of the further reductions in the benefit cap were provided and the resultant impact on the affected 369 households in the Borough.

Another change was Housing Benefit changes for tenants who were under-occupying social housing. This rule only affected people of working age and reductions in housing benefit would  reduce by 14% if there was one extra bedroom, and 25% if they had two or more extra bedrooms.

Reference was made to Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP), which were short term emergency payments to help with the shortfall in rent. The aim of the payment was to give claimants time to move or reassess their finances.

The Committee was informed that to help local authorities manage the impact of Housing Benefit reforms which were announced in the summer budget in 2015, the overall DHP funding nationally would be £150 million for 2016/17.

The Committee was also informed that as part of the joint Fraud and Error Strategy, the Department for Work and Pensions and HRMC, had launched a Real Time Information (RTI) bulk data matching project. This project looked at the data held on six social security benefits, which included Housing Benefit and looked to identify cases where claimants had either failed to declare, or had under declared earnings and non-state pensions.

The impact on Hillingdon was that the overpayments generated as a result of RTI changes equated to £10m in 2015/2016.

      RESOLVED

1. That the information provided at the meeting be noted and officers be asked to draft a scoping report on the topic for the next meeting of the Committee, and to invite relevant witnesses to start the review.

To Follow.

The Committee noted the progress made in drafting the final report and it was agreed that the Chairman of the Committee and the Labour Lead, in consultation with officers, be given approval to agree the draft report, before its submission to Cabinet.

Noted.

Members noted that the Chairman of the Adult Safeguarding Board would be invited to attend the Committee's meeting on 21 February 2017 to present the Board's Annual Report. 

In addition for the February meeting, there would be an item on the Council employment of people with disabilities.

Noted.