Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors K. Davies, B. A. L. Roberts, G. Jones and J. Tremlett (Executive Board Member for Social Care & Health).

There were no declarations of personal interest or of any prohibited party whips.

The Chair advised that no public questions had been received.

The Chair advised the Committee that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2(3) she was going to vary the order of business on the agenda.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 20^th May, 2019 be signed as a correct record.

The Committee received an explanation for the non-submission of the following scrutiny report:

·         Compliments and Complaints 2018-19 Annual Report

RESOLVED that the explanation for the non-submission be noted.

The Committee considered its Forward Work Programme for 2019/20, which had been prepared in accordance with the Council’s Constitution which required Scrutiny Committees to develop and publish annual forward work programmes identifying issues and reports to be considered at meetings during the course of the municipal year.

RESOLVED that the Forward Work Programme for the Social Care & Health Scrutiny Committee for 2019/20 be confirmed.

The Committee received a revised report of the Task & Finish Group it had established on 21^st May 2018, to review the impact of loneliness in Carmarthenshire.  The recommendations contained within the report had been formulated by the Group following the consideration of a range of evidence over a series of meetings held between June 2018 and April 2019.

The Chair and the Task & Finish Group thanked Julia Wilkinson for all the work and guidance provided in developing the report.  Thanks also to Sue Smith and the various organisations that were consulted during the research phase.

RESOLVED that the report be received and referred to the Executive Board for its consideration.

The Committee considered the Authority’s Annual Report on Adult Safeguarding, which provided information on the role, functions and activities undertaken by the Authority with regard to Adult Safeguarding and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding.  As the statutory organisation responsible for adult safeguarding, the Authority was required to have effective arrangements in place to ensure vulnerable adults are protected from harm.  The Authority undertakes its role in close partnership with Dyfed Powys Police, the Hywel Dda University Health Board and other statutory and non-statutory organisations.  The Authority was also the supervisory body for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard. The report detailed some of the key improvements made to the DoLS arrangements and forthcoming changes and challenges.  

The report related to the last financial year and summarised the national policy context of Adult Safeguarding at that time, including the implications of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 and provided a variety of information including:-

·         National and regional strategic position

·         operational arrangements

·         key achievements and significant events

·         key process changes

·         quality assurance

·         partnership working

·         performance and activity information

A number of questions were raised to which the officers responded.  The main matters were as follows:

• Reference was made to the fact that there were only 3 officers with approximately 1000 patients each which results on patients having to wait.

The Senior Safeguarding Manager advised that the 3 officers being referred to were dedicated to Safeguarding referrals.  There were 32 Social Workers trained to undertake DOLS assessment with 2 full-time dedicated assessors.  The appointment of the Operational Team Manager post had been delayed due to a recent inspection but the appointment was now underway.

• Officers were asked for more information on the multi-agency forum and how the Authority worked with the police.

The Committee was advised that the Authority liaised daily with the police with close working links with the Carmarthenshire local Safeguarding operation group.  The Committee was advised that there was an agreed protocol for reporting concerns and sharing information and that the police were very proactive.

• A question was asked that in light of the recent Panorama programme highlighting the abuse at the Durham care home, could officers confirm if Carmarthenshire had any people placed out of County that the Authority may have concerns about.

The Head of Mental Health and Learning disabilities confirmed that the Authority did have patients out of county however robust processes were in place to monitor. In the event of any concerns the Authority would work with the home to improve matters but if there were no improvements and the Authority was not confident the individual could be safeguarded an alternative placement would be sought.  Assurance was given that nobody was placed with the organisation mentioned in the Panorama programme.  It was stated that the intention was to bring people back to the County for care and that integrated Funding would be used to develop units locally.  It was also stated that the Authority is looking to increase the use of supported living which would reduce the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Committee considered the draft Annual Report of the Statutory Director of Social Services on the Performance of Social Care Services in Carmarthenshire 2018/19. Members were informed that there was a statutory requirement for the Director of Social Services to report annually on delivery and performance, as well as plans for the improvement of the whole range of social services. 

The report detailed the progress made on areas identified for improvement in last year’s report and highlighted those areas to be developed in the current year.  It examined each service area within Social Care and showed how service strategies, actions, targets and service risks will be addressed and delivered operationally by the service this year, based on the approved budget.

The report outlined how the service performed in 2018/19 together with an assessment on the future, together with strategic priorities for 2019/20.  It linked closely with the Business Plans for the Directorates of Community Services and Education & Children’s Services.

Following publication of the report, Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) and the Welsh Government will complete their analysis and review of the report.  There will be a formal meeting with CIW in October to discuss their analysis and proposed plan.  This will be followed by an Annual Letter to Council in late November/early December, confirming their analysis and inspection plan.  The process will link in closely with the Wales Programme for Improvement and the Annual Letter from the Wales Audit Office.

The Director of Community Services stated that it was a very positive report on the whole, however, officers were coming to the end of their ability to simply drive efficiencies and it was essential to look at how demand is funded. 

A number of questions were raised to which the Director of Community Services responded.  The main matters were as follows:-

·         It was asked why the ‘Children in Care’ figures had reduced.

The Director of Community Services advised that the figures were low compared to the rest of Wales but not in comparison to the rest of the UK.  The return to home rate had doubled due to a better social care system actively working to get children home. Children should only be looked after in the public care system when there are no other alternatives available.

·         The report stated that “a priority will be to make the in house service more efficient as its proportion of the overall domiciliary care market grows”. It was asked how this would be achieved.

It was stated that a range of plans were in place to make domiciliary care more efficient. The use of technology would assist with deploying the workforce more efficiently and the commissioning of care could be improved. The Director of Community Services advised that the drive in efficiencies had reached the end and the Authority, while in a better position than most other Authorities may have to start making difficult decision regarding service cut backs.

·         A question was asked what steps were being taken to safeguard children being educated at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Committee was informed that in line with the requirements of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 the Authority must publish an Annual Report on past performance by the end of October each year and under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 the Authority was also required to publish an Annual Report on its Well-being Objectives.

The Council’s draft Annual Report included the Well-being Objectives relevant to the Social Care & Health Scrutiny Committee.  The report provided an overview of 2018/19 performance, progress reports for all 15 Well-being Objectives and a link to track progress on every specific action and target set for each Well-being Objective.  The report will provide additional performance information on out-turn data and National Survey for Wales Results which will be included when results became available.

The following questions/observations were raised on the report:-

• Question was asked what could the Authority do to alleviate poverty in Carmarthenshire.

The Director of Community Services advised that the Authority was undertaking a range of initiatives, many of which are through the Communities and Rural Affairs portfolio. Improvements had been made with increase in employment and tourism.  The Authority itself had increased salaries from minimum wage to living wage.

• The Committee informed officers that the use of smiley faces indicating the status of performance measures was inappropriate.

Officers advised that this had already been raised at Community Scrutiny Committee and would be fed back.

• Officers were asked if the Sense of Community survey results had improved since the results of the last survey.

Officers advised that the data had not yet been received and the report would be updated once received.

RESOLVED that the report be received.

The Committee considered the Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report in relation to the Social Care and Health Service, which provided an update on the end of year actual financial position in respect of the 2018/19 financial year.

The Social Care & Health Service showed an overspend of £816K on the revenue budget and net variance of -366K against the 2018/19 approved capital budget.

The following question was raised on the report:

Appendix B

• Question was asked if the Welsh Independent Living Grant (WILG) grant will be on-going.

Officers advised that this is now part of the core budget and will remain at the current level for the time being.

RESOLVED that the report be received.