Issue - meetings

Transforming Adult Social Care

Meeting: 05/02/2009 - Cabinet (Item 375)

PROGRESS TOWARDS THE TRANSFORMATION OF ADULT SOCIAL SERVICES - FEE LEVELS FOR DOMICILIARY CARE, RESIDENTIAL, NURSING HOMES AND SUPPORTED LIVING

Additional documents:

  • Restricted enclosure 2

Minutes:

The Director of Adult Social Services updated members on work being progressed to ensure that value for money was achieved in relation to Supported Living, Domiciliary Care and Residential and Nursing Care.  Members were asked to approve consultation on specific proposals to existing contracts.

 

Resolved:- That Cabinet resolves to consult with all providers on the proposals set out below and receive a further report on 19th March 2009.

 

General

 

(1)  The existing inflation clause calculation is revised for all the contracted services referred to in this report to ensure that future payment can be met within existing resources.

 

(2)  That the Employment and Appointments Committee be recommended to approve the permanent establishment of an additional Contract Officer and a Team Support Officer at an estimated cost of £80,000 per annum which will be offset against the savings achieved through these proposals.

 

With regards to Supported Living

 

(3)  A maximum rate of £13.18 is implemented as a variation to the existing contract payable from 1 April 2009.

 

(4)  Work is commenced with providers to specify specialist support and propose a banded fee structure for approval by members. 

 

(5)  Revised contracts for supported living will include responsibilities in relation to the Quality Assessment Framework that was introduced in January 2009.

 

With regards to Domiciliary Care

 

(6)  A maximum rate of £11 is implemented as a variation to the existing contract payable from 1 April 2009.

 

(7)  Offers of new business to domiciliary care providers who have not complied with the department’s e-monitoring requirements by 1 April 2009 will be suspended until such time as these requirements are met.

 

With Regards to Residential and Nursing Homes

 

(8)  Current fee levels as at 29 November 2008 are reduced by 5% and introduced as the Council’s “usual fee” levels from 1 April 2009 (as set out in section 4.5 Table 3). 

 

(9)  The existing quality premium criteria and differential amounts paid are retained as an interim measure.

 

(10)   Members note the Director of Adult Social Services intention to consult on the adoption of Commission for Social Care Inspection star ratings and the premium payments to be paid at each level subject to the availability of a declared rating for all homes.


Meeting: 15/01/2009 - Cabinet (Item 337)

337 PROGRESS TOWARDS THE TRANSFORMATION OF ADULT SOCIAL SERVICES - EARLY VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT AND VOLUNTARY SEVERANCE UPDATE pdf icon PDF 91 KB

Minutes:

The Director of Adult Social Services advised members that the council had agreed a major Transformation Programme for Adult Social Care in Wirral.  That programme included the revision of many services and structures and would have a significant impact on the council’s workforce.  The report considered the impact of the Home Assessment and Reablement Team (HART) and the implications of reviewing the staffing within the Department.

 

The purpose of the report was therefore to:

 

·  Update Cabinet on developments and seek approval for the use of the corporate efficiency fund for the development of the Home Assessment and Re-enablement team (HART)

 

·  Inform members of the Early Voluntary Retirement (EVR) requests that had so far been received and to request Cabinet’s approval to progress a number of Early Voluntary Retirement(EVR)/Voluntary Severance(VS)

 

·  Seek approval to waive call in on the EVR issue so as to enable employees to plan their lives

 

Resolved (unanimously) - That

 

(1)  the contents of the report be noted;

 

(2)  an allocation of £1.5m be made from the Corporate Efficiency Investment Budget to enable investment in the development of Home Assessment & Re-enablement Team (HART) service in 2008/09;

 

(3)  an estimated figure of £1,519,464 in respect of EVR/VS be funded from the Departmental revenue budget

 

(4)  it be noted that these changes allow for a reduction in expenditure to meet existing efficiency targets and does not allow for any additional savings.

 

(5)  the call in for this matter be waived and the Council be advised accordingly.

 

 


Meeting: 10/12/2008 - Cabinet (Item 287)

287 PROGRESS TOWARDS THE TRANSFORMATION OF ADULT SOCIAL SERVICES- OUTSOURCING CARE SERVICES, FEE LEVELS FOR RESIDENTIAL AND NURSING HOMES AND A NEW CONTRACT FOR SUPPORTED LIVING SERVICES pdf icon PDF 87 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members were informed that delivering the Transformation of Adult Social Services was critical to the Council’s strategic objective: ‘To improve health and wellbeing for all, ensuring people who require support are full participants in mainstream society’. In particular the programme gave focus to the improvement priority of ‘promoting greater independence and choice’. That approach was central to the personalisation of Adult Social Care Services. The Director of Adult Social Services outlined progress, in particular with regard to Cabinet’s decision of 6th November to explore the outsourcing of care services.

 

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Inclusion welcomed the report.

 

Resolved - That

 

(1)  the progress made with the transformation of Adult Social Services be noted

 

(2)  a further report in May 2009 be received outlining details of the outsourcing project, with details of proposals and time scales for implementation;

 

(3)   amendments be made to the contract for residential and Nursing home fees and a new contract introduced from 1st April or as soon to that date as possible, the new fee rate to be closer to the regional average and affordable within a sustainable budget for DASS;

 

(4)  the fair price produced by use of a cost of care model for supported living services be implemented from 1st April 2009 through the introduction of a new contract; and

 

(5)  a further report be brought to the Cabinet in January 2009 on the progress of the negotiations with the providers of residential and nursing home care and of supported living services so that a decision can be made whether or not the new contracts can be introduced by agreement or by the termination by the Council of existing contracts.

 


Meeting: 06/11/2008 - Cabinet (Item 251)

251 Progress towards the Transformation of Adult Social Services pdf icon PDF 196 KB

Minutes:

Delivering the Transformation of Adult Social Services was critical to the Council’s strategic objective: To improve health and wellbeing for all, ensuring people who required support were full participants in mainstream society. In particular the programme gave focus to the improvement priority of ‘promoting greater independence and choice’. The Director of Adult Social Services presented a report which involved a number of key decisions, first identified in the forward plan in December 2007.

 

The decisions required as a consequence of this report would enable the Director of Adult Social Services to deliver cashable efficiencies over the medium term as outlined in his report to Cabinet of 4th September 2008. These were integral to achieving a stable and sustainable budget, and to contribute to the Council’s projected budget deficit reported elsewhere on the agenda. The report also responded to a request from Cabinet at its meeting of 25th September 2008 for further analysis of the Department’s Value for Money Profile as published by the Audit Commission.

 

With the permission of the Chair, Kevin Jackson and Joe Taylor of UNISON addressed the Cabinet and the Director of Adult Social Services responded accordingly.

 

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Inclusion outlined the work undertaken to transform Adult Social Services and supported the recommendations.

 

The Leader of the Council indicated that in view of the Council’s financial situation, maintaining the status quo was not an option.  He indicated his commitment to service users and council tax payers.  He requested the Director of Adult Social Services to identify where savings in the management structure could be made.

 

The Deputy Leader of the Council referred to other occasions where the Council had tendered to deliver services and that the evaluation process would not be purely based on price.

 

The Director of Adult Social Services confirmed the multi-faceted nature of the process to be developed as a full and detailed project with the involvement of service users.  He confirmed that there would be management cost reductions along with other efficiencies as a consequence.

 

With the permission of the Chair, the Leader of the Conservative Group addressed the Cabinet.  Councillor Green queried the support that would be available to enable staff to prepare an in-house bid and this was confirmed by the Director of Adult Social Services.

 

The Deputy Leader of the Council queried the transitional arrangements that would be in place to minimise any disruption to service users and the Director confirmed that they would be helped to develop where appropriate the services they required.

 

Resolved:  That the proposals to outsource in-house provided services by open tender as set out in the report be agreed in principle, subject to a further report being brought to Cabinet outlining in particular the staffing, service and financial implications.


Meeting: 16/10/2008 - Cabinet (Item 217)

217 Transforming Adult Social Care pdf icon PDF 109 KB

Minutes:

Delivering the Transformation of Adult Social Services was critical to the Council’s strategic objective: To improve health and wellbeing for all, ensuring people who require support are full participants in mainstream society. In particular the programme gave focus to the improvement priority of ‘promoting greater independence and choice’. The Director of Adult Social Services presented a report which involved a number of key decisions, first identified in the forward plan in December 2007.

 

The decisions required in the report would also enable the Director of Adult Social Services to deliver cashable efficiencies over the medium term as outlined in his report to Cabinet of 4th September 2008. These were integral to achieving a stable and sustainable budget; however Cabinet had recognised the requirement for bridging finance in the short term to allow savings to take full effect.

 

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Inclusion welcomed the report and the reduction of the projected overspend.  Councillor McLaughlin also indicated that further reports would be presented to the Cabinet in November and December with the later report looking at the concept of individual budgets.

 

Resolved - That

 

(1)  the closure of Feltree House by December 2008 be agreed;

(2)  the project to develop Poulton House as an Intermediate Care Centre and the related provision within the Capital Programme be cancelled;

(3)  the re-assignment of day services from Seacombe House to other Day Centres, and the closure of Seacombe House Day Service be agreed;

(4)  the standardisation of meals charges to £2.60 per full meal be agreed;

(5)  consultation be commenced on the future of Incentive Payments in day services;

(6)  the Director of Adult Social Services be authorised to re-negotiate the financial contribution to third sector providers of ‘out-of-home-activity;

(7)  the transfer of the remaining long term home care service provided by the Council to the independent sector be agreed;

(8)  the cancellation of the practice of making Holiday Grants to people with a disability be agreed;

(9)  charges for people with mental health needs who only access day services be waived;

(10) consultation be commenced on the proposal to increase the unit price of home care for people with more than £25,000 savings from £12.70 to the full cost incurred by the Council from April 2009; and

(11)  the management actions contained within the report in order to contain the projected overspend be noted.