Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors B.A.L. Roberts and E.G. Thomas.

The Chair welcomed the new Member of the Committee, Councillor Jeff Owen and the new Democratic Services Officer, Catherine Gadd, to their first meeting of the Social Care & Health Scrutiny Committee.

There were no declarations of prohibited party whips.

The Chair advised that no public questions had been received.

RESOLVED that the list of forthcoming items to be considered at the next scheduled meeting to be held on Monday, 12^th December, 2016 be noted.

The Committee considered a report and presentation providing an update on the progress and development of an initiative aimed at maintaining and improving citizens’ quality of life at home and improving community resilience by reducing financial exploitation of vulnerable adults.

The Financial Exploitation Safeguarding Scheme (FESS) was created as a multi-agency scheme and developed by Carmarthenshire Trading Standards. Organisations/departments signed up to this reciprocal voluntary participation scheme to work together to develop safeguarding policies and procedures and refer victims of financial exploitation. It was noted that the scheme was funded by money that had been confiscated from criminals and had received national recognition for the work undertaken. The scheme underpins and brings together Carmarthenshire Trading Standards current portfolio of practical safeguarding measures, which were outlined to the Committee. In addition case studies highlighting the work of the scheme were provided.

It was queried if there had been success in finding the people responsible for running scams and whether they were prosecuted. The Lead Trading Standards Officer explained that it was often difficult to find the people responsible, however, wherever possible cases were built to prosecute them.

The Committee noted that only Barclays and Halifax banks had officially signed up to the Debt and Mental Health Initiative and it was asked why other banks had not. The Officer informed the Committee that local branches of other banks were interested and did informally provide them with information about concerns, however, official agreement had to be signed by head offices and they seemed reluctant.

Concerns were expressed in regards to the increase of doorstop selling and how older people were particularly vulnerable to this. It was queried how handy persons and gardeners could sign up to be on the registered list and how residents could obtain a copy of the list. The processes for becoming registered were outlined, which included having to agree to operate fairly and have a DBS check. The Officer recognised that more promotion of the scheme was required and it was explained that people could download the list from the Council website or call the contact centre to send it to them. The registered people would also have a card to certify they were part of the scheme. It was confirmed that the Service linked in with a similar scheme undertaken with Care and Repair. The Committee agreed that further publicity and promotion of the Register Handyperson and Gardeners Scheme should be undertaken during 2017. Examples of how the scheme could be promoted included advertising in local newspapers and with fifty plus groups.

The Head of Integrated Services highlighted the Make Every Contact Count initiative that was in place. The initiative focussed on older people and for services that were in contact with them to identify potential risks, including preventing them becoming victims of scams.

The Committee asked if information on the initiatives were displayed in GP surgeries and it was explained that Trading Standards had some difficulties in linking in with surgeries. The Head of Integrated Services said  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

[NOTE: Councillors K. Madge, E. Morgan and J. Williams had all earlier declared interests in this item.]

The Committee considered the Older People’s Services Extra Care report, which provided an update on the provision within the County. There were currently four schemes in the County: Cartref Cynnes (Johnstown), Ty Dyffryn (Ammanford), Plas Y Mor (Burry Port) and Cwm Aur (Llanybydder). It was noted that the advantage of Extra Care was that it provided a “home for life” enabling older people to remain living independently and prevent the need to move to alternative forms of care should their assessed needs change in the future. It was highlighted that the Extra Care Schemes gave people another option and was proving to be a popular choice. The schemes provide vibrant communities as there were a mix of people who live within the settings. It was noted that the occupancy rates were high for three of the schemes, however, in Cwm Aur in Llanybydder there had been more difficulty in filling the flats.

The Committee highlighted that the age to access the scheme was 50 plus and queried if this age was too young. Officers explained that the residents that chose this option in that age range tended to have disabilities and they did not want to exclude this group from accessing the schemes.

The Committee commended the scheme and the positive benefits resulting from it. It was noted that there was not a scheme in the Llanelli area which was the largest area in the County. It was noted that there were proposals for a scheme in the area, however, it had taken some time to develop and more details were requested. The Head of Integrated Services explained that it was part of the ARCH programme and early discussions would be taking place with local stakeholders regarding the development of a scheme in Llanelli. It was suggested that the Programme Manager for the ARCH Project presented information, including timescales, to the January meeting of this Committee as part of the ARCH programme update. It was highlighted that the £7mil allocated to the Scheme was still allocated to the project.

The Committee expressed concerns over one of the suggested names, the neuro village, for the scheme in the Llanelli area. They were reassured that the name was no longer an option. Concern was also expressed that Detla Lakes site suggested for this scheme was too isolated. It was noted that more information on the proposed site and how it would be developed would be included in the presentation at the January meeting.

It was highlighted that there had been proposals for a hydrotherapy pool in Llanelli and it was asked what progress had been made regarding this. The Head of Integrated Services explained that it was still an option and there had been early discussions regarding the best location.

The Committee queried what the procedures for waiting lists were and the turnover rates for tenancies for the Cartref Cynnes scheme.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

[NOTE: Councillors K. Madge, E. Morgan and J. Williams had all earlier declared interests in this item.]

The Committee considered a report on the Authority’s commissioning arrangements for domiciliary care that noted the findings of the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) national review of domiciliary care in Wales (October 2016). The Authority was satisfied with the implementation of the new contract and service specification. Six key elements were introduced and many of these had been identified in the National Review as suggested improvements. There had been positive feedback from those involved in the new way of working and approval from the CSSIW regionally and nationally of the commissioning approach taken.

The Committee were pleased with the positive inspection report and that the Council was already implementing the suggested improvements identified in the national review. It was asked what areas had been identified for the Council as requiring improvement and how were they being addressed. Officers explained that they were not big areas for improvement and an action plan had been developed to address them. It was agreed that the action plan would be circulated to the Committee for information.

The Committee queried whether the Service had prepared for increased pressures over the winter period, for example, ensuring there were sufficient staffing levels. It was confirmed that preparations had taken place with increases to intermediate care funding and bed blocking in the area had been significantly reduced. In addition, the Service was considering commissioning extra beds for stepped down and stepped up cases. In regards to extra staff the Head of Integrated Services and the Contracts Officer explained that recruitment nationally was a challenge and almost a bigger concern was the retention of staff. The Service was working closely with partners on strategies to build career pathways as a long term plan. They were working with colleges and schools to promote the care sector as a career and it was noted that Swansea University was considering running a diploma in health care. The Committee was supportive of initiatives to retain care staff as continuity was important to people receiving care.

The Committee asked if improvements had been made to support carers in their roles. It was explained that there was now more flexibility and there had been improvements to time and task work so that staff were not restricted to time and the service user had more control over what support they received. Travelling time had also been factored in. It was noted that there had been significant change and it would take time to embed.

The meaning of the phrase “hold the ring across social services, procurement and finance departments” was queried. The Head of Integrated Care explained that it meant to lead those services and it was requested that the wording be changed so it was more understandable.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.

[NOTE: Councillors K. Madge, E. Morgan and J. Williams had all earlier declared interests in this item.]

The Committee considered a report providing an update on progress relating to the implementation of the Welsh Government’s “More Than Just Words” Strategic Framework and information on the position regarding data being collected on the Welsh language skills of the social care workforce.

The Head of Integrated Services explained that it was a holding paper as key data was being collected and there would be a more detailed report presented to the Committee in January 2017. The data that had been collected would be useful in the mapping exercise and would provide a broader picture of the language skills of the workforce. It was noted that the new Careline service was made up of 85% Welsh speakers and was a first point of contact.

The Committee expressed concerns that it was difficult to recruit senior officers with Welsh language skills and the right expertise. It was highlighted that the action plan was very aspirational and it was requested that when the more detailed report was presented to the Committee it included information on whether the actions were achievable.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.

[NOTE: Councillors K. Madge, E. Morgan and J. Williams had all earlier declared interests in this item.]

The Committee received the report on how the Older People and Physical Disabilities division was managing the high level of demand for services. It provided a number of proposals to reduce costs and increase income in order to manage demand within the service budget. It was highlighted that the increasingly older population would present challenges in meeting future demand for social services and there was around a 3% increase in demand per annum. The specific budget actions were outlined to the Committee and the aim of the Service was to assist people to remain independent for as long as possible.

The Committee recognised the need to reduce budgets and expressed concerns that some of the actions could have a detrimental impact on service users and staff. The Head of Integrated Services provided assurances that any changes would be proportionate and safe and individual needs would be addressed. It was highlighted that a multidisciplinary focus had assisted in addressing demand and different approaches to assessment had allowed people to stay independent for longer.

It was noted that the word “reduce” was missing from the sentence on page 55 - d) Re-aligning service resources to demand for night care in the community and extra care, saving £200k over the next 2 years”.

It was queried how additional income of £50K over two years would be expected from additional beds in local authority care homes as detailed under specific budget actions. Officers were unclear of the details of the proposals and would find out this information and circulate it to the Committee.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.

The Committee received the half-yearly position in relation to complaints and compliments for the 2016/17 financial year. It was highlighted that the sections for Adult Safeguarding and Improvement, Primary, Community and Social Care and Mental Health and Learning Disabilities were specifically relevant for the Committee.

The Committee noted that it was a positive report and presented in an improved format. It was queried that the percentage of complaints investigated and responded to within and after the allocated time period between April 2016 and September 2016 for Community Services did not add up to 100%. This would be fed back to the relevant officers.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.

The Committee received the budget monitoring report for the Social Care and Health Service as at 31^st August 2016, in respect of 2016-17. It was highlighted that Services were forecasting a £688k overspend and the main and detail variances were outlined.

It was asked if staff vacancies were going to be filled. The Head of Integrated Services explained that there were difficulties with recruitment and retention, which were being addressed through the workforce strategy. However, the intention was to fill vacancies.

It was asked why there had been a reduction in grant relating to the Workchoice programme. The Group Accountant explained that the council acted as agents for Shaw Trust and that the grant was subject to a reduction due to the removal to the transitional element of the grant.

The Capital Programme budget 2016/17 was outlined to the Committee. It was noted that there was a predicted underspend, which was mainly due to the Learning Disabilities Accommodation Developments.

It was queried if there had been changes to the budget for the Extra Care scheme proposed for Llanelli. The Group Accountant outlined that the £7 million allocated would be rolled forward, as previously explained to the Committee. It was noted that as agreed by the Executive Board that contingency money from underspend for the Extra Care schemes had been reallocated.

RESOLVED that the report be received.

The Committee noted the reasons for the non-submission of four reports, which would be presented to future meetings. It was noted that items had been postponed due to the size of the agenda. Some of the reports would be presented at the next meeting and others still required to be reallocated to meeting dates. As discussed the Committee requested that the ARCH Project update would be presented to the January 2017 meeting.

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

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 20^th September, 2016 be signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Joint Environment & Public Protection & Social Care & Health Scrutiny Committee held on 26^th September, 2016 be received.