Agenda item

To consider a report by the Commissioning Officer for Carers Services (copy enclosed) providing an update on the Denbighshire Carers Strategy and seeking members’ views and support thereon.

10.10 a.m. – 10.40 a.m.

The Head of Community Support Services and the Commissioning Officer for Carers introduced the report, Strategy Action Plan and Well-being Impact Assessment (WIA) (previously circulated).  In their introduction they advised members that the North East Wales Carers Information Service (NEWCIS) had recently received notification that they had been successful in their bid for Lottery funding.  This was good news for carers in Denbighshire as NEWCIS would be able to offer respite for carers in the county’s extra-care housing scheme.  In relation to actions still registering as ‘red’ on the action plan NEWCIS’ successful application included funding for an element of counselling services for carers, whilst discussions on the adoption of the Family Conference model for situations within adult services would now commence in January 2018.

Responding to members’ questions officers advised that –

·         officers and partner organisations did their utmost to promote the services available to all carers within the county, be they young or old, living in rural or urban areas, i.e. Single Point of Access (SPoA) and Talking Point staff were trained to identify carer issues and needs and to raise their awareness of services available to support them, third sector organisations commissioned by the Council and Health Board visited various outlets including supermarkets and GP surgeries etc., to raise awareness and promote services for carers

·         carer roadshows and promotional events were drawn to members’ attention on a regular basis and would continue to be publicised so, as councillors were welcome to attend

·         not all individuals recognised themselves as carers, particularly within family situations.  They tended to view caring duties as an integral part of their relationships

·         the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act (SSWBA) 2014 had a particular focus on carers, the promotion of independence and how local authorities would support services aimed at building resilience among communities

·         the Council was aware that there were in the region of 3000 carers actively seeking support in Denbighshire.  However, this figure was estimated to be around a third of the actual number of carers in the county

·         it was estimated that 8% of children below 18 years of age in Denbighshire were carers

·         not all carers wanted to receive formal support from the Council or other organisations.  For example, carers in rural areas tended to be very resilient and received support from within their communities

·         unclaimed benefits was a complex area, whilst the monetary value of ‘unclaimed benefits’ in Denbighshire as reported in the media seemed relatively high the rules relating to household entitlements and overlapping benefits meant that individuals could not claim all benefits to which they had entitlement.  Denbighshire Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) which delivered benefits advice on the Council’s behalf had developed a holistic approach to benefits advice, with a view to ensuring that households could claim their maximum permitted entitlement

·         both the SPoA Service and the CAB were very proactive in signposting carers to services which may be available to them; including referral for benefit checks

·         the ‘What Matters’ conversation which social care staff had with service-users was also a useful tool to identify carers and sign post them to potential support available

·         some of the outreach work undertaken to support young carers across the county did include taking groups of them to use Leisure Service facilities.  The Commissioning Officer for Carers Services undertook to discuss with both Children’s Services and Leisure Services the feasibility of issuing Leisure Centre cards for young carers to use in their own time as part of the support provided to them

·         the North Wales Regional Partnership Board (NWRPB) for health and social services would be undertaking a review of the work undertaken in recent years, and financed using the transitional funding allocated for the financial years 2016-17 and 2017-18, in order to evaluate the outcomes and use them as the basis for a new Regional Business Plan for carers’ services from April 2018 onwards.

Officers acknowledged that, whilst a lot of work was being done to support carers across the county, the Council could not be complacent.  It would continue to work with others to develop services for carers of all ages.  At the conclusion of the discussion the Committee –

RESOLVED that subject to the above comments and observations –

(a)       to endorse how partners in Denbighshire are continuing to work together to further develop support to Carers in Denbighshire, within the context of increasing demand, new legislation and demographic changes;

(b)       to continue to support and promote the achievements of the Carers Strategy in order for Denbighshire Community Support Service (CSS) to meet its statutory obligations in regard to Carers, in partnership with statutory and third sector partners;

(c)        to confirm that it had read, understood and taken account of the Well-being Impact Assessment (Appendix 3) as part of its consideration;

(d)       to request that officers arrange a training event on ‘social care’ for all councillors, including a visit to social care establishments such as Extra Care accommodation, and

(e)       that a progress report on the implementation of the Carers Strategy Action Plan 2016-19 be presented to the Committee in December 2017.