Issue - meetings

Report of the Leader, Clean Growth and Development, attached.

The report of the Leader of the Council was submitted setting out the details of the business undertaken by the Executive.

The Leader and the Cabinet made statements and responded to questions.

The following questions were submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.1.

1.  Service Users, Carers and Financial Assessments

Does the Cabinet Member have confidence in the procedures for carrying out service user, carers and financial assessments? 

Answer

In order to provide assurance on the procedures in place for carrying out assessments for people receiving social care and their carers, the council commissioned an independent desk top audit of 80 case files from the last three years. The council has recently received the report following this audit, which identified areas where practice needed to be improved.

I have had regular briefings from officers on these matters and have confidence in the actions the council is taking to address the issues identified. This includes the implementation of a new client case management system, which will improve record keeping, and providing additional training and supervision for social care practitioners.

Full ownership of the process for carrying out financial assessments returns to the council in July 2019, when the current outsourcing arrangement ends. The council will at this point be able to make improvements to address the issues that people have experienced.

2.  Budget for Respite Services

Can the Cabinet Member outline the proposals for the use of £600K figure in the budget for respite services?

Answer

The £600K figure in the 2019/20 budget is earmarked for the provision of respite services at Kentish Road.

The nature of the services will depend on the outcome of the work that is currently underway with carers, people who are living with a learning disability, care providers and disability organisations to agree the vision for the future use of the site at Kentish Road.

The group has met six times since September 2018 and is keen to explore ways of complementing the current respite service with other services for people with learning disabilities, including housing (both supported living and training flats) and life skills services, to promote independence. The group is supportive of these options and an architect, commissioned by the council to provide sketches that illustrate different ways of configuring these services on the site, presented these to the group on 5 March 2019.

The council is committed to continue to provide overnight respite care at Kentish Road in the future and the budget will enable this.

3.  Overspend at Care Homes

Can the Cabinet Member advise what measures have been made to reduce over spends at both our care homes and commit that these overspends will not continue into the next financial year?

Answer

Action has been taken to address overspends in both homes and to ensure that this will not continue into the next financial year.  There is recognition that the budget set for managing the care homes did not fully account for the full staffing costs and this has  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74