Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Conference Room 1a, County Hall, Wynnstay Road, Ruthin, LL15 1YN
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APOLOGIES Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors Colin Hughes and
Win Mullen-James (Chair of the Future of Adult In-house Social Care Task and
Finish Group). The Chair paid tribute to the
late Councillor Richard Davies, a member of the Committee and of the Task and
Finish Group, who had passed away recently.
Condolences were conveyed to his family and as a mark of respect all in
attendance stood in silent tribute. |
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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: The Scrutiny Coordinator (SC) responded stating that the
Task and Finish Group (T&FG) had been established by Performance Scrutiny
Committee to undertake a piece of work on its behalf. Its membership was made up of representatives
from all scrutiny committees. The T&FG was effectively a sub group of Scrutiny
who had been asked to look at the subject of in-house social care in more
detail and report their findings back to the full Committee. No decisions had
been taken by the T&FG as it did not have decision making powers. It was only reporting it findings, and based
on those findings, its recommendations to Performance Scrutiny Committee at the
current meeting. The current meeting was
the Committee’s opportunity to scrutinise the findings and the proposals being
put forward prior to formulating recommendations in relation to them for
submission to Cabinet for approval in late May 2016. On the issue of observers at Task and Finish Group meetings,
the SC re-iterated that the T&FG was a ‘closed group’ working on behalf of
the scrutiny committees, and therefore it was not normal practice to permit
observers to attend. Councillor Roberts asked to have it noted that he thought this
was very unfair. Councillor Jason McLellan
declared a personal interest in business item 4 in relation to his work in the
constituency office of Ann Jones AM – a copy of the AM’s response to the
consultation was included in an appendix to the report which the Committee
would be considering. |
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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 items were raised 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 |
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IN-HOUSE CARE SERVICES REVIEW AND CONSULTATION PDF 92 KB To seek the Committee to consider the findings, conclusions and proposals of the Task and Finish Group established to examine options for delivering high quality social care services in Denbighshire, and formulate recommendations for presentation to Cabinet in relation to the care establishments at Hafan Deg (Rhyl), Dolwen (Denbigh), Awelon (Ruthin) and Cysgod y Gaer (Corwen). Additional documents:
Minutes: Prior to the
introduction of the report the Chair advised that there had been some
considerable interest in this review, with councillors receiving a high volume
of e-mail and other correspondence with respect to it. He explained that for the discussion on this
business item he would be permitting Committee members to ask questions first,
followed by questions from other non-scrutiny elected members, prior to asking
the Committee to formulate recommendations for submission to Cabinet. Councillor Meirick Lloyd-Davies,
past Chair of the Task and Finish Group (T&FG), introduced the report in
the absence of the current Chair. Councillor Lloyd-Davies explained that the
T&FG was a politically and geographically balanced group that had been
asked to examine value for money options for delivering high quality social
care in the County. He emphasised that
as the process progressed initial assumptions changed based on the evidence
analysed. The Group had met
nine times over the preceding two years. It oversaw the planning and
implementation of the ‘listening and engagement’ exercise which resulted in the
development of the options for public consultation. On 17th March
2016 Officers presented the responses received during the public consultation
to the T&F Group. The Group then prepared the recommendations in the
report, presented to Committee at the current meeting, for scrutiny and
comments prior to their submission to Cabinet on 24th May 2016. The Head of
Community Support Services (HoCSS) presented the evidence from the public
consultation on the future of Denbighshire’s in-house care services. He explained
how the consultation had been undertaken in accordance with the 1985 Gunning
Legal Principles around consultation to ensure that the Authority complied with
legal expectations. The HoCSS put
forward the case for the need to change in-house care services as: •
Although
the number of older people was increasing, demand for standard residential care
and day services in Denbighshire had been falling for several years, and was
continuing to fall; •
Demand
for more enabling alternatives to standard residential care (such as Extra Care
Housing) was increasing, and there was unmet demand for Extra Care Housing in
Denbighshire, as well as for more specialist mental health and nursing homes; •
Research
showed that outcomes for people who lived in Extra Care Housing were better
compared with outcomes for people who lived in standard residential care; •
The
introduction of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act required the
council to focus on enabling people to remain as independent as possible for as
long as possible; •
The
cost of running care services in-house was high compared to commissioning
services form the independent sector, and compared to the cost of supporting
people to live in Extra Care Housing. At the conclusion
of the Task and Finish Group’s work the following options had been presented
for public consultation: Options
presented for Hafan Deg (Rhyl) 1. The council’s preferred option: The council would enter into a partnership
with an external organisation and transfer the building to them, commissioning
a day care service within the building and, in addition, enabling 3rd
sector agencies to provide early intervention activities for older people that
reduce social isolation, support independence and promote resilience. 2. To re-provision services at Hafan Deg with
the potential that the centre would close and the service users and their
families be supported to find suitable alternative provision. 3. The council would consider any other
alternative or option put forward that met the demand for day care places and
social activities within the available resources. • The only alternative option put forward during the consultation was for the ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |