Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Conference Room 1a, County Hall, Ruthin LL15 1YN
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APOLOGIES |
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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS Members to declare any personal or prejudicial interests in any business identified to be considered at this meeting. Minutes: None. |
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URGENT MATTERS AS AGREED BY THE CHAIR Notice of items which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972. Minutes: None. |
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MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING PDF 232 KB To receive Minutes of the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 6 October, 2016 (copy attached). Minutes: The minutes of the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee held on 6 October 2016 were submitted. Matters Arising:- Page 9 – Item 5 – the Scrutiny Co-ordinator confirmed that the Police and Crime Commissioner had been invited by the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group to attend Communities Scrutiny Committee on 2 February 2017. The Police and Crime Commissioner had accepted the invitation. RESOLVED that subject to
the above, the minutes be received and approved as a correct record. |
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NORTH DENBIGHSHIRE COMMUNITY HOSPITAL / HEALTH FACILITY PROJECT To receive a verbal presentation. 9.40 a.m. – 10.30 a.m. Minutes: The Chair,
Councillor Jeanette Chamberlain Jones, welcomed Gareth Evans, Project Director
and Stephanie O’Donnell, Project Manager, from Betsi Cadwaladr University
Health Board (BCUHB) to the meeting to update the Committee on the progress to
date with the development of a community hospital/health facility for the north
Denbighshire area, on the site of the former Royal Alexandra Hospital, Rhyl. Utilising a
PowerPoint presentation they briefed members on the history behind the project
and the steps which had been taken to date to bring the Health Board to the
position they were currently at of finalising the Outline Business Case (OBC)
for submission to the Welsh Government (WG) in early 2017. During the
presentation both representatives outlined the proposed service model that
would be developed on the site. The model under consideration would focus
on urgent and same day care, outpatient services near to service-users’ homes,
integrated physical and mental health services for older people and would
include access to prevention services to improve the well-being of local
residents. The Health Service was planning to deliver these prevention
services via a partnership approach with the local authority, community and
third sector organisations. Details were given
on the proposed service scope at the new facility, which would include: ·
Same
day care centre (including minor injuries unit (MIU) and a range of services to
support local primary care); ·
Outpatient
clinics; ·
Inpatient
beds; ·
Therapies
and assessment units; ·
Intravenous
therapy suite; ·
Diagnostics; ·
Therapy
services; ·
Community
Dental Services; ·
Child
and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS); ·
Sexual
Health Services; ·
Older
Persons Mental Health Outpatient Service; ·
Single
Point of Access (SPoA)/Integrated Health and Social Care working base; and ·
Community
Hub (which would include a café facility, access to the voluntary sector,
meeting rooms etc.) An aerial map of
the site (the Campus) was shown to members along with the proposed floor plans
for each of the three floors which would make up the new building, which would
be located on the site of the current Glantraeth Ward building. The range
of services that would be available at the new facility, as well as the
proactive approach to delivering intervention services was expected to: ·
reduce
the impact on the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd; ·
reduce
the strain on wards at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and community hospitals in the wider
area, which currently accommodated Denbighshire coastal area residents prior to
discharge; ·
create
a sustainable same day service that would reduce demand locally on primary
care; ·
enhance
and improve self-management of health and well-being needs through education,
information and the availability of prevention services in conjunction with the
local authority and third sector providers; ·
provide
facilities that would enable carers to remain on-site and aid the rehabilitation
process for the patient; ·
reduce
lengthy hospital in-patient stays through rehabilitation e.g. building up the
patients’ confidence in undertaking day to day tasks; ·
provide
a range of outpatients services as locally as possible and reduce the need for
outpatients to travel further afield to access appointments etc.; ·
optimise
the use of valuable resources by better integration of multi-agency teams etc.;
and ·
improve
the recruitment and retention of staff through the fact that they would be
based in a brand new, modern facility delivering innovative health services. Responding to
members’ questions Health Board representatives: ·
advised
that the third and final stage of the process, once the WG approved the OBC,
would be to proceed to develop the Full Business Case (FBC) and deliver the
project; ·
confirmed
that all partners were committed to the project’s delivery; · advised that the facility would include provision for a 28 in-patient bed unit (comprising of 22 ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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At this juncture, it was agreed to vary the order of the Agenda in order to accommodate the Lead Member for Public Realm, Councillor David Smith, who had to leave the meeting for a previously arranged meeting. |
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To consider a report by the Head of Planning & Public Protection / Public Protection Manager (copy attached) to provide Members with an update on the CCTV Partnership, the governance arrangements in place for the Partnership, and its effectiveness in delivering a service since its formation on 1 April 2016. 11.45 a.m. – 12.15 p.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Lead Member for
Public Realm, Councillor David Smith, introduced the report (previously
circulated), updating members’ on the governance arrangements in place for the
partnership and outlining its effectiveness in delivering the CCTV service
since its formation in April 2016. In his introduction
he outlined the reasons behind the Council’s decision to withdraw from
providing this non-statutory service. He
emphasised the role it had played in facilitating the establishment of the
partnership and supporting its work in delivering a service which was widely
regarded as a valuable service by residents and businesses alike. The
report detailed the extent of the service provision, including statistics on
the use made of recorded footage by the Police to combat crime and anti-social
behaviour, with 50% of the footage retrieved being used to secure
prosecutions. Although feedback received to date had been positive there
was also an acknowledgement that there was an overreliance on Denbighshire as
the Lead Partner, and employer of the CCTV Co-ordinator. This reliance
was unsustainable in the long-term. Therefore, work had recently been
undertaken to explore a number of potential service models, both public and
private sector models, details of which were contained in the report. The
CCTV Partnership Board would be considering a range of potential options for
future service provision at its next meeting in December 2016. Responding to
members’ questions the Lead Member and Public Protection Manager advised that: ·
whilst
the service currently provided was a reduced service, as it was not monitored
on a 24 hour basis, all partners regarded it as a valuable service for the
three towns it served; ·
North
Wales Police service who contributed £16K towards the CCTV Service (which was
its standard contribution to all local authorities for CCTV services) was of
the view that there had not been a visible increase in the number of crime and
disorder incidents in the area since the introduction of the ‘reduced’ service; ·
collaborative
arrangements with private business, or potential revenue arrangements with
large developers who were seeking planning applications, could be explored for
the purpose of financing and sustaining a service for the future; ·
if
sustainable funding streams could be secured, and with new technologies
becoming available on a regular basis, the Board could explore the potential of
rolling the service out to other areas of the county e.g. Denbigh, Ruthin,
Llangollen; ·
in
future the potential of having a ‘wireless’ CCTV system could be
explored. This option would probably be more cost effective than a Fibre
Optic option, particularly in rural areas; and ·
North
Wales Police had mobile CCTV cameras which could be mobilised to rural areas to
try and combat rural crime. At the conclusion
of the discussion the Committee: RESOLVED
that: (i)
subject to the above
observations, to support the Council’s role within the Partnership and the
Partnership’s retention; and (ii)
that a progress report be
presented to the Committee, at its March 2017 meeting, on the measures taken to
secure the Service’s long-term future, including potential options for rolling
the CCTV service out to other areas of the county. |
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STRATEGY FOR SUPPORTING INDEPENDENCE IN DENBIGHSHIRE PDF 104 KB To consider a report by the Service Manager – North Locality (copy attached) to provide information regarding Supporting Independence in Denbighshire Strategy and the various initiatives which have been developed. 10.30 a.m. – 11.00 a.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Lead Member for
Social Care (Adults and Children’s Services), Councillor Bobby Feeley,
introduced the report (previously circulated) detailing the Council’s corporate
approach to enabling the county’s residents to maintain their independence and well-being
in their own home. Copies of the draft
strategy and the Well-being Impact Assessment (WIA) on the Strategy were
attached to the report for members’ attention. The Head of Community
Support Services explained the reasons why a corporate approach to delivering
the strategy and the requirements of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales)
Act 2014 were required. Responding to
members’ questions the Head of Community Support Services and the Service
Manager: Strategic Development: ·
explained
the objective of the ‘Talking Points’ project and its potential benefits
to service-users. The project was very much in its infancy at
present, but as it developed and became better established it was anticipated
that the voluntary sector would take ownership of the work; ·
advised
that the community-based Welsh language outreach service provided at Y Waen,
near St. Asaph, had been established some years ago and was held in high regard
by those who attended and their carers. Community Support Services provided
a financial contribution towards the running of this project, although it did
not directly commission services from the organisation, or directly refer
individuals there. Nevertheless, individual social workers may signpost
individuals to the services available there. The Older People’s
Commissioner for Wales had visited the centre last year and concluded that the
services provided there fitted in with the new prevention duties placed on
local authorities under the Social Services and Well-being Act; ·
confirmed
that the Single Point of Access (SPoA) Service did employ members with Welsh
language skills. All vacancies within Community Support Services were
recruited in accordance with the Corporate Recruitment Policy, which made
provision for posts which were deemed essential or desirable to have Welsh
language skills; ·
explained
that part of the work involved with the Community Navigator project was to try
and find out via established organisations such as community councils what
groups or organisations operated within their communities. This would enable Community Support Services
to signpost individuals to those groups for activities to enhance their health
and well-being, and reduce the risk of isolation and loneliness; ·
outlined
the role and responsibilities of a ‘Social Care Practitioner’ and how a
practitioner could help support an individual’s reablement and enhance their
self-confidence in their own abilities to undertake day to day tasks once
again; ·
emphasised
the need to move away from a welfare reliance state to a state that enabled
people, by building their confidence, and addressing the issue of loneliness
and isolation; ·
confirmed
that the Strategy document was an internal officer focussed document, a more
succinct easy-read document would be produced for residents’ information in due
course; ·
explained
the four conditions that had to be met for an individual to be eligible to
access managed care and support to meet personal outcomes, and the process for
assessing the conditions. They explained that there was an Appeal Process
if an individual disagreed with their assessment and how that process was
undertaken by a different assessor; and · advised that a service-user’s ability (including financial ability) to achieve their social care outcomes had to be considered when they applied for services. However, WG had capped the rate that local authorities could charge for managed care and support at £60 per week. Benefits such as Attendance Allowance (AA) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) were included as resources available to the individual to achieve their outcomes as those benefits were paid for the purpose of helping them to enhance their welfare ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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DENBIGHSHIRE SUPPORTING PEOPLE - LOCAL COMMISSIONING PLAN 2017-18 PDF 102 KB To consider a report by the Commissioning and Tendering Officer (copy attached) which details the Local Commissioning Plan 2017-18 for the Supporting People Programme in Denbighshire. 11.15 a.m. – 11.45 a.m. Additional documents: Minutes: The Lead Member for
Social Care (Adults and Children’s Services), Councillor Bobby Feeley, introduced
the report and the draft Local Commissioning Plan 2017-18 together with the
associated WIA (previously circulated). The Lead Member
advised that the Supporting People (SP) Grant, which was ring-fenced by WG for
the delivery of SP services, had been subject to cuts in recent years.
The SP grant money delivered a number of the requirements of the Housing Act
(Wales) 2014, the Social Services and Well-being Act (Wales) 2014 and the
Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. She advised that
latest indications from WG were that the SP Grant for 2017-18 had been
protected from a further cut. However, when the draft Plan had been drawn
up a cut of at least 5% had been anticipated for the forthcoming year,
therefore pages 19 to 31 of the draft Plan outlined proposed service
development, decommissioning and remodelling proposals based on the anticipated
cuts. If the grant was maintained at its current level these
decommissioning/remodelling proposals would not need to be implemented unless
they would be in the interests of the service-users. Responding to
members’ questions the Lead Member, Head of Service and Supporting People Team
Manager advised that: ·
the
term ‘wet provision’ related to a safe environment for individuals suffering
from severe drug or alcohol addiction to ‘take’ their addictive substance up to
a managed tolerance level. At present the local authority’s services were
not geared to deal with individuals suffering from severe addiction; ·
the
SP Grant was a separate ‘standalone’ grant, ring-fenced for SP services, it was
not part of the Council’s Revenue Support Grant (RSG) and consequently the
Council did not have any control over cuts to the grant from central
government. All the Council could do was to manage the impact of those
cuts on SP services; ·
the
proposed service development, decommissioning and remodelling proposals
outlined in the SP Local Commissioning Plan were there as a contingency in
anticipation of an approximate 5% cut to the grant for 2017-18. If the
grant allocation was unchanged cuts would not have to be implemented,
nevertheless cost negative service improvements would as a matter of course be
considered; ·
the
process for providing and auditing grants to voluntary sector (third sector)
providers was extremely thorough and robust; and ·
there
was no evidence that Denbighshire suffered adversely from a greater number of
individuals that presented themselves in need of SP help who were deemed to be
‘…with no local connection…” than other areas. It was just that the
authority now had a better audit process and the question on local connection
was now being asked to all individuals who contacted the Council for help. Committee members
requested that: ·
they
be provided with a list of third sector providers who delivered SP services in
Denbighshire; and ·
the
graphic illustration relating to the ‘Hidden problem of Homelessness’ on pages
8 and 9 of the draft commissioning plan (pages 104 & 105 of the agenda
pack) be accompanied by a graph and the relevant numbers in each category; At the conclusion
of an in-depth discussion the Committee: RESOLVED that (i) Cabinet be advised of Scrutiny’s views that, having reviewed the
Supporting People Local Commissioning Plan for 2017-18, it wished to register its
concerns that the Supporting People grant had been subject to year on year cuts
from Welsh Government for a number of years; and (ii) whilst acknowledging that contingency plans had been made within the Supporting People Local Commissioning Plan for 2017-18 to accommodate further cuts, if the Supporting People Grant monies was maintained at its current level that the funding ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |
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SCRUTINY WORK PROGRAMME PDF 72 KB To consider a report by the Scrutiny Coordinator (copy enclosed) seeking a review of the committee’s forward work programme and updating members on relevant issues. 12.15 p.m. – 12.30 p.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: A copy of a report by the Scrutiny Co-ordinator, which
requested the Committee to review and agree its Forward Work Programme and
provided an update on relevant issues, had been circulated with the papers for
the meeting. A copy of the “Member’s proposal form” template had been
included at Appendix 2, Cabinet’s Forward Work Programme had been included as
Appendix 3, and a table summarising recent Committee resolutions and advising
on progress with their implementation had been attached at Appendix 4. The Committee considered its draft Forward Work Programme
for future meetings. 19 January 2017 The visit to Communities First Offices in Marsh Road, Rhyl
no longer to take place. Agreed to invite the Lead Members. 2 March 2017 CCTV update to be included on the work programme. 6 April 2017 Enquiries to be made on whether with BCUHB an update could
be provided on the progress with the Tawelfan inquiry. RESOLVED that subject to
the above the Forward Work Programme be approved. |
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FEEDBACK FROM COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES To receive any
updates from Committee representatives on various Council Boards and Groups. 12.30 p.m. – 12.40 p.m. Minutes: No feedback. |
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The meeting concluded
at 12.15 p.m. |