Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Joan Butterfield, Jeanette Chamberlain-Jones (Chair) and Pat Jones.

Councillor Gareth Lloyd Davies declared a personal interest in items 5, 6 and 7 as an employee of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

No urgent matters.

To receive minutes of the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 2 November 2017 (copy attached).

10.05 a.m. – 10.10 a.m.

The minutes of the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee held on 2 November 2017 were submitted.

Matters arising – page 7 (second bullet point) – the Chair asked if any response to this issue had been received.  It was confirmed the Strategy had been presented to Cabinet earlier in the week and had been approved.  The Corporate Director: Communities confirmed she would make enquiries and report back to the Committee on the perceived lack of control local authorities had with respect to the provision of statutory homelessness assistance because the definition of the term ‘local connection’ as it related to the legislation was extremely vague and seemed to favour anyone who may want to access the service in an area. 

The Chair also raised the point that during the meeting he had requested information on the average cost per unit when families were placed temporarily in bed and breakfast accommodation and whilst figures for the total costs had been provided, average costs per family unit were yet to be provided.

RESOLVED that subject to the above, the minutes of the meeting held on 2 November 2017 be received and approved as a correct record.

To consider a report by the Strategic Planning Team Manager (copy attached) for Committee to receive and agree the report and respond as a statutory consultee.

10.10 a.m. – 10.50 a.m.

Councillor Gareth Lloyd Davies declared a personal interest as an employee of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB).

The Deputy Leader and Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets, deputising for the Leader who was away on another appointment, introduced the report and the Conwy and Denbighshire Public Services Board’s draft Well-being Plan 2018-2022 (previously circulated).  During his introduction he briefed the Committee on the background to the establishment of the Public Services Board (PSB), its membership, purpose and remit prior to presenting the draft Well-being Plan to members.  He advised the Committee that the draft Plan, which had been developed using a similar methodology to the Council’s own Corporate Plan, had recently been published for public consultation and that the Committee was one of the statutory consultees with whom the PSB was required to consult on its proposed plans, hence the reason why the Board was seeking its views on the seven consultation questions listed in the report and draft Plan. The public consultation period would run for a period of twelve weeks at the conclusion of which each partner organisation would take the Plan through their designated decision-making bodies.  In Denbighshire full Council would consider and hopefully approve the final Plan in February 2018.

During the introduction the Strategic Planning Team Manager stated that Denbighshire County Council was encouraged by the synergies between the six priorities in the  PSB’s draft Well-being Plan 2018-2022 and the five priorities in the Council’s own Corporate Plan 2017-2022.  Responding to members’ questions the Lead Member and officers advised that :

• the Plan itself was a high level strategic document which set out the PSB’s aims and aspirations for the next five years.  It would be underpinned with detailed cross organisational delivery plans for how these objectives would be achieved;
• whilst the priority relating to  ‘Promoting Resilience in Older People’ did not specifically mention physical well-being, the aim of building resilience amongst older people would include physical and mental well-being and ensuring that they were socially connected and did not suffer from isolation.  It was all part of the prevailing ‘prevention agenda’;
• similarly, in a bid to reduce obesity, particularly child obesity, education and prevention during the first 1,000 days was seen as key in order to nurture good habits for life;
• prevention was a key feature of both the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, both of which emphasised the need for every individual to take responsibility for their own health and well-being;
• whilst people were free to make their own life choices, in order to secure sufficient resources to deliver sustainable services for future generations an effective communication strategy required to be drawn up to ‘sell’ the benefits of sensible life choices and the prevention approach to residents.   Consideration was currently being given to linking into work being undertaken by Bangor University on behavioural rates and how to change the focus of corporate communications from emphasising the negative impact of behaviours to highlighting the positive impacts and achievements of changing behaviours and practices i.e. how much residents had achieved by recycling more waste etc.;
• there was a need encourage medical practitioners to promote the availability of physical or social activities taking place in their area, be they local authority, private or volunteer run,  as a non-medical way of improving resilience and well-being;
• whilst the Well-being Impact Assessment’s (WIA) conclusion on the draft Plan’s effect on the well-being goal of ‘a Conwy and Denbighshire of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language’ was that it would be neutral, this related to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To consider a report by the Commissioning Officer for Carers Service (copy attached) to provide information regarding progress on the development of the Strategy.

10.50 a.m. – 11.30 a.m.

Councillor Gareth Lloyd Davies declared a personal interest as an employee of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB).

The Lead Member for Wellbeing and Independence introduced the report and appendices (previously circulated) which provided members with an update on the progress made to date in delivering the three year strategy and informed the Committee on other recent significant developments relating to carers services.   During her introduction the Lead Member referred to a fact that was brought to her attention at a recent national conference where it was stated that there were an estimated 370,000 unpaid carers in Wales alone.  These carers saved Health and Social Services millions of pounds year on year, therefore it was key that they were supported as much as possible in their roles as carers. 

The Head of Community Support Services drew members’ attention to the updated version of the Denbighshire Carers Strategy Action Plan, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, advising that the majority of actions listed were attributed a Green RAG status, which meant they had either been delivered or were on track to be delivered, a few had a yellow RAG status which meant they were still being progressed, whilst one was registering a ‘red’ RAG status.  The latter one related to the proposal to explore the benefits of developing a ‘family conference model’ to deal with situations in Adult Services, similar to the successful model operating within Children’s Services.  Whilst the Service still planned to explore the feasibility of developing this model the work was currently on hold due to the need to prioritise other demands and the requirements of both the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.  The Head of Service advised that whilst there was no new or additional money available to develop carer services, the overall delivery of the Strategy was progressing well.  There was also a general feeling amongst carers, and those they cared for, that they were better supported now than in the past, and had access to services or assistance if they required them. 

Attached at Appendix 2 to the report was a summary of the findings of a recent study on progress made nationally in relation to the implementation of the requirements of the SSWB (Wales) Act 2014 as they related to Carers services, including Denbighshire’s current position in relation to each ‘finding’.  This Appendix also outlined other Carer related matters which the Council required to consider and explore further.

Responding to members questions the Lead Member, Head of Service and the Commissioning Officer for Carers Services advised that:

• the needs of young carers within the Education Service were now receiving a higher profile with actions identified as part of the Carers Strategy Action Plan in relation to young carers being incorporated into the remit of a number of health and education working groups;
• the work to promote and deliver e-learning modules on the implications of the SSWB (Wales) Act 2014 with respect to carers to Health Board staff was progressing and would continue as the Service had a high staff turnover rate and consequently training would be required on an on-going basis;
• whilst a representative from the Mary Dei social enterprise continued to sit on the Carers Strategy Group, the enterprise itself was still contemplating its future direction, although it still envisaged working to support carers;
• whilst it was regarded beneficial for voluntary groups who were represented on the Carers Strategy Group to have a business plan, it was not deemed to be a mandatory requirement.  However, voluntary groups who wanted guidance on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

At this juncture (11.30 a.m.) there was a 10 minute break.

The meeting reconvened at 11.40 a.m.

To consider a report by the Service Manager, Localities (copy attached) to provide an update on the performance of Denbighshire’s Single Point of Access for Adult Social Care and Community Health Services.

11.40 a.m. – 12.15 p.m.

Councillor Gareth Lloyd Davies declared a personal interest as an employee of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB).

Introducing the report and appendices (previously circulated) the Lead Member for Wellbeing and Independence advised that she was a keen advocate of the Single Point of Access (SPoA) Service as she felt it contributed to the community resilience agenda.  A copy of the review report, which detailed the review methodology and service areas considered as part of it, was attached at Appendix 1 to the report.  The objective of the review had been twofold - to assess how effective and efficient the SPoA Service was in delivering its services and in improving outcomes for service-users, and to establish whether the service delivery model was suitable for the future.

Statistics were contained within the report illustrating the demand on the SPoA Service during Quarters 1 and 2 for the last three years, these demonstrated a continual increase in contact with, and referrals to the Service.  In response to enquiries received the SPoA Service provided advice about services or agencies who could assist those requiring assistance.  The Service also instigated referrals to intervention services with a view to supporting individuals to live independently for as long as possible and therefore reduce the demand and pressures on more intensive services.  The Review had concluded that the SPoA concept was valued by all stakeholders and those who utilised its services.  Whilst the Service was deemed fit for purpose it was recognised that as Community Resource Teams developed there would be a need for the SPoA Service to evolve and adapt to complement the services provided by them.  A number of areas for improvement and future development had been identified, these included:

·         the need to establish and implement a robust quality assurance framework which would measure, amongst other things, the skills, knowledge and confidence of the SPoA Team to deliver Information, Advice and Assistance (IAA) Services;

·         improving interface working with hospital and community based health and social care services;

·         a need to review and redefine the roles and skill mix in the Service;

·         making SPoA more accessible to support GP practices and for it to promote more public health messages;

·         utilising SPoA to support the development of Talking Points and the Community Navigator Services; and

·         exploring potential joint working opportunities with Conwy County Borough Council’s SPoA Service.

During the introduction the Service Manager (Localities) detailed a number of case studies illustrating the Service’s success during the “What Matters” conversation, the initial contact the public had with the SPoA Service, where relevant advice etc. had been provided at the correct time which consequently resulted in approximately 35% to 40% of those who had contacted the Service not requiring more intensive and costly support from Social Services.  She advised that as part of the “What Matters” conversation discussions took place on the type of support or services the individual may require in order to maintain their independence and their ability to fund those services.  In essence the SPoA Service was an advisory service which signposted people to services which may be available to them, whilst also acting as a prevention service by referring individuals to community health based services with a view to maintaining their overall well-being.

Responding to members’ questions the Lead Member and officers:

• confirmed that managed care and support packages were only offered to those individuals who could not achieve the desired outcomes without help.  People who required these packages would be subject to a financial assessment.  If they could afford to pay for the package they would be charged up to a maximum amount  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

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. – 12.25 p.m.

The Scrutiny Co-ordinator submitted a report (previously circulated) seeking members’ review of the Committee’s work programme and provided an update on relevant issues.

The next meeting would be held on 22 January 2018 to which representatives from BCUHB had confirmed their attendance.

Members requested the Scrutiny Co-ordinator to explore the feasibility of changing the date for the Committee’s meeting scheduled for 1 March 2018 to a date in late March, or early April, with a view to receiving the Tawelfan reports earlier than at the June meeting as currently scheduled.  They felt that June’s meeting would be slightly late for the Committee to comment on the findings.

The Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group would be meeting on 18 January 2018.  If Members had any items they wished to be considered for future Scrutiny meetings they were asked to complete the proposal form included within the pack.

RESOLVED to confirm the Committee’s forward work programme.

To receive any updates from Committee representatives on various Council Boards and Groups.

12.25 p.m. – 12.30 p.m.

Councillor Melvyn Mile had attended the Business Improvement and Modernising Service Challenge.  He updated members on the points raised during the Service Challenge meeting, which included:

·         how confident was the Service that the Council was auditing the ‘right things’?;

·         exploring the potential for regional collaboration and cross-authority working in the field of ICT if the Council was to realise its ambition to be a fully digital Council by 2022; and

·         potential areas for income generation in future? i.e. from selling services to other councils

The key actions identified during the Service Challenge process for the Service to take forward during the forthcoming year were detailed in the notes circulated to Committee members in the Information Brief document ahead of the Committee’s meeting.

The meeting concluded at 12.30 p.m.