Members are asked to consider whether they have personal or prejudicial interests in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state what they are.

Members are reminded that they should also declare, pursuant to paragraph 18 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules, whether they are subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.

Members were asked to consider whether they had a personal or prejudicial interest in any matters to be considered at the meeting and, if so, to declare them and state what they were.

Members were reminded that they should also declare, pursuant to paragraph 18 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules, whether they were subject to a party whip in connection with any matter to be considered and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.

Councillor Pat Glasman declared her personal interest in the report of Dr Mantgani, Clinical Executive Lead – Wirral GP Commissioning Consortium, concerning Community Physiotherapy (see minute 23 post)

To receive the minutes of the Health and Well Being Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 20 June, 2011.

Members were requested to receive the minutes of the meeting of the Health and Well Being Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 20 June, 2011.

In response to a request for an update in relation to the Cheshire and Merseyside Vascular Surgery Review (minute 5 refers), the Chair advised Members that an update report would be presented to the November meeting of the Committee. The Interim Director of Adult Social Services also provided an update in relation to his Progress Report on Changes to Service Provision, particularly with regard to intermediate care for older people.

Mr G Doherty, Acting Chief Executive of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust referred to his verbal report to the last meeting (minute 7 refers) and proposed to present a full written report to the November meeting of the Committee.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 June 2011, be approved.

The first quarter performance report on activities relevant to Health and Well Being Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be available to view in the web library and a presentation will be made by the Interim Director of Adult Social Services.

Steve Rowley, Head of Service (Finance and Performance) gave a presentation on the progress made against the indicators for 2011/2012 in the first quarter. He highlighted what had worked well during the quarter and indicated that all corporate projects were classified as green. He also referred to the considerable progress that had been made in relation to addressing the budget deficit and advised Members that a copy of the full report had been made available to view in the web library.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

Report and presentation by the Interim Director of Adult Social Services.

The Interim Director of Adult Social Services reported that as part of the 2012/13 Budget Consultation process Cabinet were asking Scrutiny Committees to consider the functions within their portfolio and offer suggestions as to how to close the estimated £25m budget gap and limit any Council Tax increase in 2012/2013. The responses would be considered along with the responses from the other engagement processes to inform the budget setting process and further consultation would be undertaken regarding any specific service changes.

He outlined the services provided by the Department of Adult Social Services (DASS) and gave a detailed presentation, which highlighted the challenges and priorities it was facing. He commented that everything done in DASS impinged on Health and that partnership working was key to meeting the key challenges. He set out the reduction in budget in 2011/2012 and highlighted this as a percentage of Council spend. Savings of £12.2m had been achieved, against a target after re-provision of £12.9m. He outlined the reasons for the projected shortfall and reported for Members consideration upon areas where potential savings could be achieved in 2012/2013. In response to comments from Members, the Director indicated that financial data in relation to specific savings to be taken forward would be provided as part of the consultation process and would be presented to a future meeting of the Committee once specific options were further developed.

In response to questions from Members, the Director agreed to provide by email, details of the charges set by other North West Authorities in relation to the percentage of net disposable income, in setting the Fairer Charging Policy.

On a motion by Councillor A Bridson and seconded by Councillor P Williams, it was –

Resolved –

(1)  That the report be noted.

(2)  That the thanks of the Committee be accorded to the Director of Children’s Services for his detailed presentation.

(3)  That this Committee will consider setting the date for a Special Meeting and consider Cabinet-led suggestions highlighting potential savings.

(4)  That Committee requests that any such reports are produced with the in-depth detail required to make informed decisions and that reports are produced within timescales that allow Members to raise queries before the date of a Special Meeting.

The Director of Public Health submitted an update on public health following the Government’s publication on 14 July 2011 of ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy people: Update and way forward’, a policy statement in response to the public health white paper Healthy Lives, Healthy People: our strategy for public health in England consultation process and the NHS reforms listening exercise. Her report provided an overview of the key messages contained in the report and how they would impact on the Council. However, she commented that at this point in time, there was no legislation or mechanisms in place to enable the transfer of public health into the Council. Further reports were expected in the Autumn on the development of budget allocations, public health outcomes and the local authority and Director of Public Health roles. A transition plan for Wirral would be constructed using this information during the late Autumn.

Resolved –

(1)  That the report be noted.

(2)  That a further report be presented to a future meeting of the Committee when more detail is available in relation to future responsibilities, budget and human resource issues.

The Committee received an update on its work programme and Members were invited to consider whether any issues should be added to the schedule for the current municipal year.

Resolved – That the following topics be added to the work programme and reports be presented to future meetings of the Committee –

·  An update in relation to Cheshire and Merseyside Vascular Surgery Review

·  An update with regard to Highcroft Day Centre, and work being undertaken to promote day care centres.

·  A report in response to media coverage in relation to alleged rationing of operations for hips, knees and cataracts at Clatterbridge and at the Royal Liverpool Teaching Hospital.

·  A report upon the use of buildings at Clatterbridge and Arrowe Park Hospitals, including proposals for the Centre for Oncology.

The Forward Plan for the period September to December 2011 has now been published on the Council’s intranet/website and Members are invited to review the Plan prior to the meeting in order for the Committee to consider, having regard to the Committee’s work programme, whether scrutiny should take place of any items contained within the Plan and, if so, how it could be done within relevant timescales and resources.

The Committee had been invited to review the Forward Plan prior to the meeting in order for it to consider, having regard to the Committee’s work programme, whether scrutiny should take place of any items contained within the Plan and, if so, how it could be done within relevant timescales and resources.

Resolved – That the Forward Plan be noted.

The minutes of the meeting of the Cheshire and Wirral Councils Joint Scrutiny Committee held on 11 July, 2011 are submitted for the Committee’s information.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting of the Cheshire and Wirral Council’s Joint Scrutiny Committee held on 11 July 2011 be noted.

The Chair has agreed to consideration of this item as a matter of urgent business.

The Chair agreed to consideration of this item of urgent business in view of the need for it to be considered prior to the next meeting of this committee.

Dr Abhi Mantgani, Clinical Executive Lead – Wirral GP Commissioning Consortium, submitted a report on proposed changes to the commissioning of Community Physiotherapy. The Consortium (WGPCC) currently commissioned Physiotherapy services from three providers on behalf of the registered patients of its Member practices: Wirral Hospital Trust, Wirral Community Trust, and Peninsula Health LLP. He reported that in accordance with national guidance, the Consortium was proposing to undertake an ‘Any Qualified Provider’ (AQP) procurement process to recommission Community Physiotherapy to be in place from 1 April 2012. It was envisaged that this would ensure equity of service provision and delivery of a safe, high quality service, whilst demonstrating value for money.

A standard service specification would be devised for all Community Physiotherapy to be commissioned by WGPCC for its patients, which would include a range of KPIs that would enable providers to be robustly monitored and would drive up quality to a consistent standard. It would be developed in response to consultation with GP Practice members, service users, and in line with best practice. Providers would also be required to deliver services from GP practice bases and meet strict requirements around maximum waiting times. He commented also that contracts for Community Physiotherapy would be on a cost-per-case basis, rather than a block contract, where a fixed tariff was charged across providers.

Resolved –

(1)  That the report be noted.

(2)  That the thanks of the Committee be accorded to Dr Mantgani for his informative report.