Agenda and minutes

Councillor Ms Brown was present as a substitute for Councillor Mrs Temperton.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Adult Social Care and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 20 January 2015.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Adult Social Care and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Panel held on 20 January 2015 be approved as a correct record, and signed by the Chairman.

There were no declarations of interest relating to any items on the agenda, nor any indications that members would be participating whilst under the party whip.

There were no submissions from members of the public in accordance with the Council’s Public Participation Scheme for Overview and Scrutiny.

To consider the latest trends, priorities and pressures in terms of departmental performance as reported in the QSR for the third quarter of 2014/15 (October to December 2014) relating to Adult Social Care and Housing.  An overview of the fourth quarter of 2014/15 will also be provided.

Please bring the previously circulated Quarterly Service Report to the meeting.  The QSR is attached to this agenda if viewed online.

Panel members are asked to give advance notice to the Overview and Scrutiny Team of any questions relating to the Quarterly Service Report where possible.

The Panel considered the latest trends, priorities and pressures in terms of departmental performance as reported in the QSR for the third quarter of 2014/15 (October to December 2014) relating to Adult Social Care and Housing. An overview of Quarter 4 was provided.

Older People and Long Term Conditions

The Emergency Duty Service was due for re-tender and would be reviewed to capture some of the new developments. A meeting was due to be held with other local authorities to discuss this with the aim of strengthening delivery.

Clement House, an extra care scheme providing accommodation with care and support if needed for elderly people, was close to completion and people would begin to move in from April 2015 with an official opening due in June 2015. A conference had been held at Easthampstead Baptist Church recently and there had been feedback from the consultation and from people who attended the conference.

There were winter pressures on services and summer pressures on services due to the changing weather being experienced. Additional one-off funding of £325,000 had been received from the government for people delayed in leaving care.

Adults & Joint Commissioning

Dementia services were being developed and Statshare provided development data. There were regulations concerning safeguarding included in the Care Act legislation in 2014. Partners had been approached with the request for additional funding as a training programme and administrative support was needed. The Independent Living Fund (ILF) involved reassessment against criteria and the Learning Disability Team were dealing with this.

Housing

The landlord portal was due to be live and involved landlords being able to view benefits payments online rather than needing to telephone benefits staff for this information.

Performance & Resources

Detailed plans for implementing Phase 2 of the Care Act would be drawn up, as well as tracking the early impact of Phase 1

The Human Resources team would be assisting Chief Officers with the implementation of the Workforce Strategy which included remodelling and would affect approximately 50 staff. This work would be undertaken during the summer with the aim of giving the elderly a single care co-ordinator.

The Finance teams would be closing down the accounts for the year, and reporting on outcomes. Work on production of the Local Account was also taking place.

In response to Members’ questions, the following points were made:

·         There were Tiers of support for young people and the aim was to bridge the gap between the Tiers. The situation with long waiting lists was not sustainable at present. There was a need to ensure that budgets were allocated to the right categories.

·         There were a certain number of properties in Clement House which had been held pending a decision regarding housing stock and might be used for temporary placements.

·         There was a new joint assessment between Bracknell Forest Council and ILF; good practice guidelines had been developed, standards would be unchanged and this involved a permanent transfer.

·         There was a cost saving in relation to the landlord portal in terms of staff  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

To comment on the above Strategy which sets out how services will need to develop over the next five years in order to support informal carers to live the life they choose and to support them in their caring role.

The Panel were invited to consider the Joint Commissioning Strategy for Supporting People in an Unpaid Caring Role prior to its approval by the Executive.

There had been a consultation on the Carers Strategy as it was due for review in 2015 and this was specifically in relation to people in an unpaid caring role. There was an increased focus on public health in relation to prevention and early intervention, and the carers pack would be updated. The consultation was launched at a conference on 24 July 2014 and involved 12 key areas for development. Once agreed, work would be undertaken with the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and voluntary sector to develop an action plan.

In response to a Member’s question, the following points were made:

·         Further information on the number of young carers would be provided for panel members.

·         Work was undertaken to ensure that the transition for young carers to adulthood was smooth.

The Panel supported the Joint Commissioning Strategy for Supporting People in an Unpaid Caring Role and commended it to the Executive for approval.

A brief update in respect of the Care Act 2014 will be provided.

The Interim Director of Adult Social Care, Health and Housing gave a presentation on the Care Act 2014.

Legislative Reform in 2015 would involve: prevention and well-being, duties on information and advice, duty on market shaping, minimum threshold for eligibility, assessments and carers assessments, personal budgets and care or support plans, Safeguarding Boards, and Universal Deferred Payments (charges against the value of properties).

The legislation would come into effect from 1 April 2015. There were no new duties but some optional duties now had more emphasis. There were no immediate changes from 1 April 2015 but there would be funding reforms in 2016

Funding Reform in 2016 would involve extended means testing to allow an increase in the assets someone could own before they had to pay for care, a capped care charging system at £72,000, care accounts, and a new complaints system.

Expenditure would shift year on year due to people being kept healthy. Market shaping involved personal budgets being devolved to individuals. Social isolation would be tackled and there would be a minimum threshold for eligibility; many local authorities were not affected by this. Public health would need more funding if this involved a major change. There would be further information on the funding reform later in the year.

Implementation was scheduled for April 2015, for the legislative reform in 2015 and the funding reform in 2016. The Care Act Programme Board would be held with senior officers in Adult Social Care and Corporate Services (Finance & Legal). A detailed programme was being put together managed by the Head of Performance and Resources. There would be Work Stream leads from Commissioning, Finance, IT, and Practitioners.

In response to Members’ questions, the following points were made:

·         There was an assessment and then a financial assessment. A charge would be put against the value of a person’s estate so that when they died Bracknell Forest Council would be able to recoup the value.

·         There was a need to be aware of the risk involved. There was a possible limit of £160,000 and a capital limit of £118,000. A £72,000 care cap was contained in the system, and many people would not be affected. It was a universal system, not a means tested system.

·         A family assessment may be undertaken if, for example, accommodation for a spouse would need to be considered after a person died. A small number of people would need to start paying interest on their loans from 1 April 2015.

·         If money could not be recovered from a property after a person died, this was called deprivation of assets and was not covered in legislation. It was an unusual situation.

To receive a reprise of the Panel’s work and activities over the past four years.

The Panel received and noted a reprise of the Panel’s work and activities over the past four years.

The Chairman thanked Panel Members for their contributions and officers for their support.

The Panel noted the forthcoming Key and Non-Key Decisions relating to Adult Social Care and Housing.

I052949: Sensory Needs Contract Award

This was to enable specialist support alongside the Sensory Needs Clinic.