Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Conference Room 1a, County Hall, Ruthin
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APOLOGIES Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Joan Butterfield, Jeanette Chamberlain-Jones (Chair) and Pat Jones. |
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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: Councillor Gareth Lloyd Davies declared a personal interest in items 5, 6 and 7 as an employee of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. |
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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: No urgent matters. |
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MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING PDF 329 KB To receive minutes of the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 2 November 2017 (copy attached). 10.05 a.m. – 10.10 a.m. Minutes: 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. |
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CONWY & DENBIGHSHIRE PUBLIC SERVICES BOARD'S WELLBEING PLAN 2018-2022 PDF 226 KB 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. Additional documents:
Minutes: 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 :
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PROGRESS REPORT - DENBIGHSHIRE CARERS STRATEGY 2016-19 PDF 330 KB 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. Additional documents:
Minutes: 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:
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At this juncture
(11.30 a.m.) there was a 10 minute break. The meeting
reconvened at 11.40 a.m. |
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REVIEW OF THE SINGLE POINT OF ACCESS (SPoA) PDF 135 KB 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. Additional documents: Minutes: 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:
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SCRUTINY WORK PROGRAMME PDF 138 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. – 12.25 p.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: 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. |
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FEEDBACK FROM COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES To receive any
updates from Committee representatives on various Council Boards and Groups. 12.25 p.m. – 12.30 p.m. Minutes: 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. |
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The meeting concluded
at 12.30 p.m. |