Agenda item

Gavin Fernandez, Head of Service – Adult Social Care presented the report. Members were informed that, in May 2020, Cabinet had been updated on the delivery of the Carers Strategy in 2019/20 and had agreed a proposed approach to support the Strategy going forward. The approach included priorities for 2020/2021. The report shared with the Committee provided Members with an update on the delivery of those priorities. Key points highlighted included:

·         A guide for people who suddenly became carers was on track – an initial draft had been developed and was due for completion by Q4;

·         A response to carers’ feedback from the CCG’s October 2019 AGM had been implemented and a Farsi speaking interpreter in the south of the Borough had been recruited;

·         Information for children with learning disabilities and/or autism was being prepared including Easy to Read guidance on accessing the health service appropriately; and

·         The Hillingdon Parents’ Forum was working with officers to improve the information available on the Council’s for parents of children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) conditions.

In terms of achievements from April – September 2020, Members were informed that some strong partnership working had been taking place during the pandemic. In the first 3 months of the pandemic, the Hillingdon Carer’s Partnership had supported:

·         134 families to receive deliveries of meals;

·         the delivery of 378 food parcels; and

·         the collection of 296 prescriptions.

In Q2 £36.4k Covid grants had been secured to provide the following:

·         Hardship grants to 40 families with Young Carers;

·         Hardship grants to 23 Adult Carers; and

·         22 young adult carers with laptops to support their home study.

Other support had included providing regular care calls to over 1,034 carers and the completion of 324 Emergency Replacement Care Plans with Carers to ensure that alternative care arrangements were in place if the Carer was incapacitated for any reason.

The Committee heard that the period from April to August 2020 had seen 525 Carers’ Assessments completed which would suggest an outturn for 2020/21 of 1,260 assessments against a target of 986. There had also been positive increases to the Carers’ Register – as at 30/9/20 there were 7,982 Adult Carers registered on the Hillingdon Carers’ Partnership Carers’ Register, which was an increase of 264 on the position in April and represented 30.7% of Adult Carers against a target of 28%. The Council’s Carers’ Champion, Councillor Haggar, had identified Carers with Multiple Caring Responsibilities as a focus area - the implications of these additional responsibilities on the wellbeing of Carers were being taken into consideration as part of the annual review process. Members were informed that all 43 of the GP practices that were members of the GP Confederation had now identified a Carers Lead to raise awareness among practice staff. Moreover, the Hillingdon Carers’ Partnership had helped to improve the income of 140 Carers by securing an additional £607,397 in Carer-related benefits. 1,213 breaks had been provided via the Carers’ Partnership during the review period – many in a virtual format due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Members congratulated officers on the report and were pleased to note the vast improvement in partnership working.  In terms of challenges, Members sought further clarification regarding the difficulties faced during the pandemic and projections for the future. It was confirmed that the focus had been on linking all the partners together so as to not lose sight of Carers. A large amount of learning had taken place and the department was now better prepared to face the future.

In response to further queries from the Committee, it was confirmed that sources of information were available to assist Carers in securing their allowances.  A sum of money had been secured by Hillingdon Carers through the DWP – the exact figure would be confirmed by Democratic Services at a later stage.  Members requested further clarification regarding the likely challenges in supporting Carers in 2021/22. It was confirmed that many people had become Carers during lockdown and a whole system approach was required to ensure they were not lost in the system or left behind in the future.

Members enquired how businesses had been able to support Carers. It was agreed that officers would explore this further and clarify at a later stage. It was noted that, during the pandemic, respite services had been provided virtually. Feedback had generally been positive to date. Further details would be provided to the Committee following the meeting.

RESOLVED That:

1)    the Committee noted progress against the Carers Strategy delivery plan activity for 2020/21;

2)    the Committee confirmed that reporting on the delivery of the Strategy should be annual and precede the annual progress report to Cabinet;

3)      Democratic Services contact officers to establish the exact sum of money secured by Hillingdon Carers through the DWP;

4)      Officers clarify how businesses were supporting Carers and;

5)      Further information be provided to the Committee in relation to the virtual respite services provided during the pandemic and feedback received in relation to them.