Eitem ar yr agenda

Ystyried adroddiad gan Reolwr Tîm Cefnogi Pobl (copi ynghlwm), sy’n gofyn am sylwadau’r Pwyllgor am y Cynllun Comisiynu Lleol am ddwy flynedd ar gyfer Rhaglen Cefnogi Pobl yn Sir Ddinbych.   

                                                                                                         10.55 a.m.

A copy of a report by the Supporting People Team Manager, which detailed the two-year Local Commissioning Plan (LCP) for the Supporting People programme in Denbighshire, had been circulated with the papers for the meeting.

Councillor R.L. Feeley introduced the report and explained that Supporting People (SP) was a policy framework and funding stream to provide housing related support to vulnerable people, promoting independence and preventing homelessness.  The LCP for 2014/15 and 2015/16 would be submitted to Cabinet on the 29^th October, 2013 for agreement.

Supporting People provided housing related support services to a wide range of vulnerable people and details of the services supported by SP in Denbighshire had been outlined in the report.  Housing related support aimed to enable people to maintain their housing tenure and live as independently as possible.  The SP Programme had been evaluated at national level and shown to deliver very positive financial and other benefits. 

The report incorporated details of changes to the administration of the SP programme which included new guidance and governance, contractual arrangements and funding distribution formula.  The funding distribution formula had cut the Denbighshire SP budget by 5% each year from 2012-13 until 2016-17.   Plans had been introduced to manage the cuts without significantly impacting on service levels in 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/5 and to develop and consult on a fair and transparent strategic prioritisation framework to inform the management of cuts in 2015/16 and 2016-17.  In July, 2013 the WG had detailed further cuts from April, 2014 and the Council had been consulted on options for managing the cuts.  It was understood that the total level of cuts in 2014-15 would be in the region of 12%, though this had not been confirmed by WG.

Members were informed that the Local Commissioning Plan (LCP) had focused on managing known reductions whilst also being in a position to respond to additional budget cuts while minimising the impact on service users.  Planning the 2014/15 budget had involved abandoning projects which had not been commissioned, decommissioning projects with the consent of providers and negotiating reduced contracts for projects which were not fully occupied or struggling to maintain service delivery.

Confirmation was provided that the challenges for 2015/16 would increase.   However, the impact on service users would be minimised wherever possible through negotiating efficiency savings and reconfiguration with individual service providers.  Concern had been expressed that not all the savings for 2014/15 could be achieved and that contracts may have to be reduced where savings had not been negotiated or identified by 10%.  However, the Council was seeking to achieve savings by consensus and had already negotiated 75% of the expected scale of savings for 2014/15.  While promoting a strategic approach to identifying efficiencies, WG had explicitly required constructive engagement from providers to deliver savings in 2014/15, and this had proved helpful.

It was explained that Denbighshire was committed to taking a strategic approach to the difficult choices ahead, which potentially included the decommissioning of some services, and the development of the Strategic Priority to Fund framework would continue.

Details of actions listed in the SP LCP for 2014/15 and 2015/16 had been incorporated in Appendix 1.  The main strategic priorities which had been identified included:-

·                     Women & Men experiencing Domestic Abuse

·                     People with Learning Disabilities

·                     Young People with Support Needs (16 - 24)

·                    Generic/Floating Support/Peripatetic (tenancy support services which cover a range of user needs)

The Supporting People Team Manager (SPTM) provided a summary of the SP Spend Plan included in the report.  The final SP Spend Plan would be concluded following confirmation of the funding level.  Summaries of the grant calculations and the anticipated impact of the spending reductions for 2014-15 had been included in a confidential document Appendix 2.

Details of the consultation process undertaken,           the Chief Finance Officer Statement, risks and steps implemented to reduce them and cost implications had been included in the report.

Councillor C.H. Williams highlighted the lack of reference in the report to the provision of services for men who were victims of domestic abuse.  The SPTM referred to services currently provided for men, and explained that the remodelling of the SP service had incorporated the improvement of service provision for male users.  In response to a request from the Chair, it was agreed that clarification of service provision for men be incorporated in the report.  The Committee:   

RESOLVED – subject to clarification on the service provision available for men being incorporated into the report, to support the Supporting People Local Commissioning Plan 2014/15 and 2015/16, for submission to the North Wales Regional Collaborative Committee and the Welsh Government.