Agenda item

To consider the Annual Report of the North Wales Regional Partnership Board on its activities during 2022/23 (copy enclosed) and provide observations on its contents and the Board’s work.

 

10.45am – 11.30am

 

The Lead Member for Health and Social Care introduced the North Wales Regional Partnership Board (NWRPB) Annual Report.

 

Regional Partnership Boards were established as part of the Social Services and Well-being Act.

 

Regional Partnership Boards had two core aims: -

To improve the well-being of the population.

To improve how Health and Care Services were delivered within the region.

 

Annually the North Wales Regional Partnership Board were required to produce a report and submit it to Welsh Government.

 

The report (previously circulated) for the year 2022- 2023, gave a comprehensive overview of the achievements and communication and engagements efforts as well as providing an insight into the future priorities of the NWRPB.

 

Due to the breath of the report the Lead Member asked if the discussion could be opened to Members with the approval of the Chair.

 

Questions were welcomed from Members.

 

Members referred to the Regional Integration Fund (RIF) which was outlined in the report. Projects which directly supported carers were important however, the report stated that this funding was granted until 2027. Members questioned whether the funding would be continuing after this date.  The Corporate Director- Social Services and Education stated that prior to the introduction of the RIF there was the Integrated Care Fund (ICF), which was allocated on a year by year basis. Currently there was a 5-year commitment to the funding however, the decision as to whether this continued after 2027 was with Welsh Government.

 

Members questioned the number of Boards that were operating within the NWRPB and their functions. Concerns were raised around how large the NWRPB was becoming.  The Corporate Director stated that the NWRPB was a very busy environment and managing meetings and colleagues time was organised as efficiently as possible. Many of the Boards and meetings were required by the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act and more responsibility had been put on the Regional Partnership Board over recent years. Officers were always mindful that Denbighshire and Denbighshire residents were receiving the maximum value from their involvement within the NWRPB. There was a statutory element to the Partnership Board and the Boards within it.

 

The Corporate Director informed Members that the report was a regional report and the requirements as to how it was constructed were defined by Welsh Government. Therefore, the report did not go into the level of detail for Denbighshire that Members may have required to see. If there were areas of the report that Members felt that they would like more detail on they were advised to inform officers and potentially this detail could be provided at a future meeting. 

 

Members referred to the Housing with Care Fund (HCF). The purpose of the HCF was to support independent living in the Community for people with care and support needs, and to provide intermediate care settings in the community so that people who needed care, support and rehabilitation could return to living independently or maintain their existing independence. This was a 4-year funding programme which funded schemes under 3 objectives.

 

Members questioned objective 1- Increase the existing stock of housing with care significantly asking if there was an update on this within Denbighshire.

 

The Corporate Director explained that there was little progression on objective 1 at this time however, this was under constant review. There were currently Projects under objectives 2 and 3 of the report (previously circulated). Denbighshire were utilising their allocation and were moving forward with the HCF.

 

Members questioned if there was an evaluation of the success of the Boards and the outcomes of the work that was taking place.  The Corporate Director stated that evaluation of the Boards was thorough. Many reports were statutory required to be submitted to Welsh Government including the Population Needs Assessment and the Market Stability Report. These reports were evaluated when they were submitted to Welsh Government. The NWRPB was subject to Audit Wales reviews and formal, informal and good practice evaluation was undertaken.

 

Members referred to the Annual Delivery Plan in appendix 2 of the report (previously circulated). Specific concerns were raised around the cancellation of the Health Care Support Team Workforce Project, within the District Nursing Team, although it was making a clear difference in the number of patients in hospital waiting for care packages.  The Corporate Director stated that difficult decisions needed to be made within the financial climate at that time.  As this team was funded via RIF funding, which was a tapered fund where funding reduced year on year, a decision had to be taken on which priorities could be funded going forward.  Unfortunately, given the current financial climate further similar difficult decisions would need to be taken in future.

 

Members commented that North Wales had the largest Health Board in the country and the NWRPB played a crucial role within North Wales. Members commented that many residents were unaware of the NWRPB and what its purpose was and questioned if there was a way to engage local communities and give them knowledge of this. The NWRPB was still in need of being publicised to ensure that local people understood where money was spent and that it controlled many aspects of the care system within North Wales.  The Head of Regional Collaboration explained that engaging with the public on the NWRPB was difficult. The NWRPB was good at communicating and sharing information with the people involved in the NWRPB and further work was ongoing to reach a wider audience. 

 

Work was continuing to gather the stories of service users on the success of the projects that had helped them.  It was hoped that once the stories were finalised a booklet would be circulated on a regular basis to residents, local members and to Welsh Government to help further with the knowledge and understanding of the NWRPB in the region.

 

Continuing, the Head of Regional Collaboration informed the Committee that there was an event planned for November 2023 to help residents understand the schemes and projects that were being delivered on a daily basis across the region.

 

Members questioned that in the report there was no reference to the concerns of the officers at the end of the funding time frame.  The Corporate Director confirmed that the report did not contain that information as the contents of the report was dictated by Welsh Government. It was suggested that the report should be read alongside the Corporate Director’s Annual Report as this outlined the hopes and aspirations but also the concerns for the coming year.

 

The Chair thanked the Corporate Director, Lead Member, Head of Regional Collaboration and Officers for bringing the report to the committee.

 

 

 

At the conclusion of an in-depth discussion the Committee:

 

Resolved: 

 

(i)             to confirm that it had read, understood, and taken into account the work that was required to be undertaken by the Regional Partnership Board; and

(ii)           subject to the above comments and observations, to receive the details provided on the work and progress achieved during 2022/23 on the areas that were being taken forward under the auspices of the North Wales Regional Partnership Board.