Agenda item

A copy of a report by the North Wales Commissioning Hub Manager, which provided information regarding the operation of North Wales Commissioning Hub, had been circulated with the papers for the meeting.

 

The Corporate Director: Modernising and Wellbeing introduced the report which provided a progress update on the development and operation of the North Wales Commissioning Hub (NWCH) for social care, health and education care home placements.  An overview had been included as Appendix 1 to the report.

 

The North Wales Commissioning Hub Manager (NWCHM) explained that the NWCH was a collaborative project between the 6 North Wales Councils and BCU Health Board, which had been established based on a Full Business Case.  The NWCH encompassed children and adults’ services, in partnership with the NHS, and was hosted by Denbighshire.  It was accountable to a Management Board which was chaired by the Corporate Director: Modernising and Welbeing.

 

The following four main functions of the NWCH were summarised by the NWCHM:-

 

·      Ensuring value for money in current high cost placements.

· Sourcing new placements through a transparent process and ensuring value for money.

·      Monitoring the quality of services.

·      Working with partners to develop the market in a bid to ensure that services were able to meet current and future demand.

 

The NWCH had developed underpinning systems and processes to enable it to operate effectively.  Capacity had been invested in meeting with operational teams of all partners to ensure that the role of NWCH was understood and that internal changes were introduced accordingly.  A copy of the work programme had been included as Appendix 2 to the report.

 

Annual cashable savings of £298,000 had been made which included a saving of £20,000 for Denbighshire, plus cost avoidance of £27,000 across the region.  In addition there had been annual savings of £209,000 arising from negotiation on Learning Disability care home placements.  It was confirmed that the Council’s contribution to the annual running cost of NWCH had been £12,615. 

 

Members were informed that the NWCH had sourced 51 placements between August and November 2012.  Other work underway included the development of a regional Approved Provider Framework for children’s residential placements and a quality monitoring framework for adult services.  Following the development of the Framework the Quality Monitoring Officer now had a schedule of visits to carry out on behalf of Denbighshire.

 

The NWCHM confirmed that the NWCH contributed to the delivery of Denbighshire’s Corporate Priorities and would help ensure that the Council secured good quality and value for money services. The Council's Medium Term Financial Plan assumed cashable savings of £25k could be made this year and £100k for next year.  In reply to questions relating to the risk matrix prepared for the Management Board not having been signed off, it was explained that the risk matrix was linked to the full business case and it was confirmed that there were no significant major risks and that it was a matter of refinement.

 

All partners had been consulted on the Full Business Case and the NWCH was currently commencing engagement with Providers on proposed developments.  Members agreed that the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee should periodically monitor and evaluate the HUB’s effectiveness in commissioning quality services and realising value for money.  

 

In reply to questions from Councillor P.M. Jones, the NWCHM confirmed that there were currently 30 providers, 9 of which were in North Wales, which were used for children’s placements.  She explained that children had been placed in neighbouring North Wales county areas, the North West of England and other areas of the UK.  However, the number of placements had reduced significantly during the past two to three years.  Officers provided details of estimated costs which related to the type of placement and the needs and requirements of service users.  It was explained that links were being developed with other commissioning bodies to assist in ensuring best value for money.

 

The NWCHM responded to issues raised by Councillor M.Ll. Davies and provided details of the reviewing process adopted in respect of the service and facility provided for placements.  She confirmed that there were instances where the Welsh language needs of Welsh speaking placements outside the county were not always fully met.  She explained that in all instances there would be a need to assess the needs of the service user and in some cases it would not be possible to meet all the needs identified.

 

The CDMW referred to the collaboration process and explained that the work undertaken to date had been very encouraging in terms of the savings being made, quality monitoring and the relationships being developed through partnership working.

 

In response to questions from Councillor J. Butterfield, the NWCHM outlined the process adopted by the NWCH to address budget issues through the contingency budget.  The NWCH assisted in ensuring that best value and quality was obtained when securing placements and the Committee were provided with details of the funding process for out of County placements.  It was confirmed that the NWCH worked closely with the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW), who were represented on the Regional Quality Management Group, and details of the roles in terms of inspection responsibilities and quality issues were provided for Members.  In reply to a request from Councillor Butterfield, it was agreed that an item relating to the costs for residential care provision be included in the Committee’s forward work programme.  The Corporate Director: Moderising and Wellbeing explained that a date for the submission of the report would be confirmed following consultation with the Head of Adult and Business Services. 

 

During the ensuing discussion Members agreed that a further update report in respect of the progress of the North Wales Commissioning Hub be included in the Future Work Programme for submission in six months.  Following a request from Councillor E.A. Jones it was agreed that the report also include details pertaining to the scoping of high cost dementia placements.

 

Following a brief discussion, it was:-

 

RESOLVED – that the Committee:-

 

(a)   receive and note the contents of the report.

(b)   agrees that a further report on the progress of the North Wales Commissioning Hub, including details of the scoping of high cost dementia placements, be included in the forward work programme for submission in six months, and

(c)    requests a report on the cost for Residential Care provision be included in the forward work programme .