Decision details

2017/18 Residential and Nursing Provider Fees

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Decision status: For Determination

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: Yes

Purpose:

Report outlining proposed recommendations for 17/18 fees for the adult community provider market.

Decisions:

Councillor-Chris_Jones LATEST

Councillor Chris Jones – Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said:

 

“This report is proposing investment into making sure residents can access nursing and residential care of the highest quality.

 

Following extensive consultation with care providers, an investment of £2.9 million is being proposed, helping to ensure a responsive and sustainable market of care providers is available in Wirral to support our vulnerable residents”.

 

Councillor Chris Jones introduced a report that informed of the outcome of a consultation with care providers on the 2017-18 fee rates for services provided for adults by the Council.

 

The Cabinet noted that the Council was required to maintain and support a local market to deliver care and support.  The work undertaken by officers had taken into account legal requirements and core standards of care and had provided a clear evidence base for the proposed fee increase. 

 

The Council had a duty to commission a range of high quality, appropriate services, offering people choices.  There was a duty to ensure the market was responsive and sustainable; looking after the care market as a whole and ensuring continuity of care. 

 

The proposed fee rates took account of the recent volatility in a dynamic domiciliary care market and the recent and growing challenges identifying sufficient capacity in sectors such as residential EMI.  The Cabinet noted that a further potential difficulty was that third party top up arrangements were now an established feature of the market place. 

 

A range of provider engagement options were made available during the consultation period; including 1:1 or group sessions, dedicated e-mail correspondence and open book accounting offer. 

 

Benchmarking exercises had been undertaken across the Northwest finance group.  Consideration had been given to the benchmarking data gathered to inform fee proposal rates, a copy of which was attached in Appendix 2 of the report.

 

A full list of provider feedback and explanation of the consideration the department had been given to these and was attached as Appendix 1. 

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)  the rates and fees recommended within the report be agreed;

 

(2)  the increased cost of £2.9m (note the DASS precept raise of £3.7m) be agreed;

 

(3)  uplift fees to providers be approved from 1 April 2017;

 

(4)  the forward work plan to work in collaboration with the Liverpool City Region (LCR) and the Supported Living Sector be approved to pilot test and phase in a sustainable new model of care;

 

(5)  the forward work plan to work with partner organisations and the independent sector be approved to develop a new model of step up and step down bed base provision. 

Report author: Jacqui Evans

Publication date: 13/04/2017

Date of decision: 27/03/2017

Decided at meeting: 27/03/2017 - Cabinet

Effective from: 27/04/2017

Accompanying Documents: