Members are asked to consider whether they have any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

Members are reminded that they should also declare 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.

Councillor Hornby declared a personal interest by virtue of his appointment as a trustee/Director of the Voluntary and Community Action Wirral.

Councillor Roberts declared a personal interest by virtue of her appointment on the Management Committees of Arch Initiatives and Wirral Council for Voluntary Service.

Councillor Mooney declared a personal interest by virtue of her employment with Age UK.

Councillor McLaughlin declared a personal interest by virtue of a family member working at Wirral University Teaching Hospital.

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the last meeting of the Families and Wellbeing Policy and Performance Committee held on 28 January 2014.

RESOLVED:

Subject to the addition of Councillor P Gilchrist to the deputies attendance list, the Minutes of the Families and Wellbeing Policy and Performance Committee held on 28 January 2014 be approved. 

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Attainment Sub-Committee held on 17 March 2014 be noted.

To receive a report and Presentation from Julia Curtis, Project Manager, Cheshire and Merseyside Commissioning Support Unit

The Committee considered the report of the Cheshire and Merseyside Commissioning Support Unit in relation to the consultation plans being developed with regard to the Commissioning Policies Review.

Ms Julia Curtis, Project Manager, (Cheshire and Merseyside Commissioning Policies Review) Cheshire and Merseyside Commissioning Support Unit introduced the report and gave a verbal presentation outlining the Commissioning Policy; main policy changes; important policy changes; communication and engagement; feedback and next steps.

In response to Members questions regarding how patients were chosen for specific treatments, Mr Phil Jennings, Wirral CCG indicated that decisions were based purely on medical evidence and was consistent with all other neighbouring CCGs. Mr Jennings indicated that such decisions were open to challenge by patients and could be appealed against. There were also mechanisms in place for dealing with individual patient requests.

The Chair indicated to Members that if they had any further comments to add to the review, they could do so online.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the report be noted; and 

(2)  Ms Curtis be thanked for her informative presentation.

To received an update from Ms Val McGee, CWP

At the meeting held on 28 January 2014 (minute 51 refers).Members received a verbal report from Ms Val Mcgee, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust updating on the recent inspection undertaken by the Quality Care Commission on Springview at Clatterbridge Hospital.

At the meeting, Members requested a copy of the Action Plan following the CQC’s inspection.

RESOLVED:

That the action plan be noted and Ms Mcgee be thanked for her update.

The Committee considered the report of the Members of the Care Homes Scrutiny Panel providing background information regarding the Final Report.

Members of the Panel had met a range of witnesses throughout the course of the Review and thanked all those who had assisted in the review by giving their time.

The Final Report, ‘Quality Assurance and Standards of Care Homes in Wirral’ was attached as an appendix to the report.

The Chair of the Panel, introduced the report indicating that the information on RAG rating detailed in the report highlighted that some of the homes were not fully compliant with the contracts, which was why the Committee wanted to look at this as an important issue. 

The Chair indicated that the Panel had set out some detailed recommendations for the Department of Adult Social Services, some more challenging than others, but it was hoped that the outcome of the review and the Panel’s recommendations would make a difference to those living within our residential homes.

Members of the Panel thanked the Chair and those colleagues, and also the Scrutiny Support Officer who had assisted with the review and the final collation of the report.

A Member of the Panel reported that as part of a previous review, standards in relation to the Wirral University Hospital were looked at and which were of a high quality, but commented that some private sector homes fell well below the standards expected for the residents of Wirral; the Member further indicated that the Panel had noted and praised the excellent work undertaken by the CCG and Quality Assurance team.

Within the findings of the review the Panel felt that more was needed to be done to encourage people to raise concerns regarding the care received at care homes.

Mr Graham Hodkinson, Director of Adult Social Services thanked the Panel for their report and in response to Members comments, indicated that the quality of the sector was at present very mixed; the Quality Assurance Team had only been established by the Council for a short period therefore information they had gathered had been relatively recent.

Mr Hodkinson stressed the importance of the role to be played by the elected Members feeding back information based on their observations and information received from their constituents.

In relation to staffing costs, Mr Hodkinson indicated that the Department had a costing model which was used for each home for staffing, food etc; this included the cost of living minimum wage which was paid to staff.  In response to a Member, Mr Hodkinson indicated that the Department worked closely and consulted with all providers and the Care Home Association.

Mr Phil Jennings, Wirral CCG welcomed the report and indicated that the CCG had done some great work to date; and indicated that the CCG would be  working alongside the Department of Adult Social Services on the recommendations detailed within the report and feedback to the Committee in due course.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the contents and recommendations of the Scrutiny  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Children’s Services which indicated that on 11 July 2013, Cabinet approved new home to school transport policies including a new approach for pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND). Cabinet also approved a change to the original budget savings arising from the Post 16 SEND policy, resulting in a savings shortfall of £560,000. It was resolved that the remainder of the savings would be met through a range of demand management initiatives  (Minute 35 refers).

The report indicated that the Council had commissioned iMPOWER consultancy to carry out a review of SEND Transport to identify new ways to meet the budget reduction of £560,000 and to assist in taking forward existing plans. The SEND review report is provided to the Committee for review. This demand management approach directly addresses the Council principles. Through it we will promote independence working to equip families with the tools and knowledge to make the best choices, and drive aspiration and achievement in young people.

iMPOWER carried out a review of SEND Transport from September to December 2013. This was to support the Council in identifying new ways to meet the budget reduction of £560k in relation to the new policy changes and to assist in taking forward existing plans.

The review findings included the extensive work carried out by the Integrated Transport Unit in recent years to increase efficiency in the SEND transport service which has resulted in a low average cost of transport per SEND pupil. From September 2014 the introduction of new policies and the introduction of new Independent Travel Training (ITT) will reduce overall transport costs by reducing the numbers transported.

The iMPOWER analysis indicated that due to the efficiencies already in place and the plans being implemented related to the new policy approaches, the £560,000 saving gap could not be closed through transport measures alone. Instead the underlying demand drivers require addressing. These include the high statementing rates (Wirral has 20% higher rate of SEND than statistical neighbours) and the high proportion of students attending Special Schools (10% of Wirral schools compared with 4%, 4% 5% for statistical neighbours, England and North West respectively).

In addition the review puts forward recommendations for reducing transport demand and findings from consultation with service users.

The review report was attached as an Appendix to the report.

Mr David Armstrong, Deputy Chief Executive/Head of Universal and Infrastructure Services introduced the report and outlined the Executive Summary detailed within the review.

At this point in the meetimg, Councillor T Norbury declared a personal interest in the item by virtue of a relative being a recipient of the specialist transport service.

Mr Armstrong indicated that the Department had been pleased with the recommendations provided as it was felt that this reflected the requirement of the services users.

Members raised concerns regarding the comments made by the consultants who indicated that the Council should take a bolder approach to reduce the number of statemented children. In  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

To receive a presentation from Ms Fiona Johnstone, Director of Public Health/Head of Policy and Performance

Prior to consideration of this item, Councillors Niblock, Stapleton and Roberts declared a personal interest by virtue of their appointment on the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority.

The Committee considered a verbal presentation from Ms Fiona Johnstone, Director of Public Health/Head of Policy and Performance regarding  improving the public’s health – kings fund report.

The presentation provided a summary of the resource evidence; suggested priorities for action/investment and outlined the business case supporting each area of focus in relation to the following nine key areas;

·  The best start in life

·  Healthy Schools and Pupils

·  Helping people find good jobs and stay in work

·  Active and safe travel

·  Warmer and safer homes

·  Access to green and open spaces and the role of leisure services

·  Strong communities, wellbeing and resilience

·  Public protection and regulatory services (including takeaway/fast food, air pollution and fire safety)

·  Health and spatial planning

Ms Johnstone further highlighted the direct and indirect impacts of actions on health outcomes. 

Ms Johnstone in response to a Member, agreed to look into the request to utilise Public Health money to purchase outdoor gym equipment for use in Clatterbridge ward.

In relation to Health and Spatial Planning, a Member suggested that the Planning and Licensing Departments could do some joint working looking at both its processes and practices to incorporate the suggestions given by the Kings Fund. It was further suggested that both departments could look at examples from other local authorities and undertake a joint review.

In response to Members, Ms Johnstone highlighted a project was undertaken by Environmental Health Department and take away establishments  in Rock Ferry which had proved very successful, Ms Johnstone suggested that a presentation be given at a future meeting demonstrating the impact the project had, had on both residents and health outcomes.

RESOLVED:

That Ms Johnstone be thanked for her informative presentation.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Children Services updating on the work of the Birkenhead Foundation Years Project.

The report indicated that at its meeting on 13 March 2014, The Cabinet resolved to allocate the child poverty funding of £250,000 being held in reserve to the Foundation Years Trust on the basis of the business plan (minute 172 refers) 

Ms Zoe Mumby, Project Manager introduced the report and in response to Members questions indicated that the projects undertaken were ambitious but dovetailed other projects undertaken within Birkenhead and were based on a gap analysis of needs undertaken with local residents.

In relation to Rock Ferry, a Member asked when it was likely that Ward Councillors and residents would see the impacts of projects undertaken. Ms Mumby in response indicated that in Rock Ferry, a pilot scheme with a small group of parents was currently being undertaken at St Peters school, although the long term impact this had, had on residents could not yet be evidenced. However, the short term impact could be evidenced by take up of the services by parents.

A Member suggested that a dashboard could be produced to evidence the performance of schemes such as IFIP, Child Poverty etc, similar to those submitted to the Committee on a regular basis.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted. 

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Adult Social Services giving an update on the implementation of the Social Care Bill.

Mr Graham Hodkinson, Director of Adult Social Services indicated that reforming the care and support system was vital for the department to be able to meet the challenge of an increasingly vulnerable ageing population.  The Care Bill reflected National priorities for meeting need and was currently making its way through Parliament.  It was essential that the Council was prepared to implement the care and support reforms from 2015.  The Department of Health had partnered with the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) to deliver a programme of work to support this. 

The report indicated that the planning process to ensure successful local implementation of reforms to care and support was already underway in many local areas and that Wirral had made a start, however there was much more to be done across the Council. 

Mr Hodkinson indicated that the challenges set out within the report were intended to help facilitate dialogue between elected members, Chief Executive Strategy Group (CESG), across Council Directorates and partners in relation to working to implement the reforms.

A Member asked if a training session could be arranged for Members highlighting the implications of the Social Care Bill. In response, Mr Hodkinson suggested that Members waited for the Bill to become law and for the Department to undertake some detailed work on the implications in late 2014 in readiness for 2015.

Ms Clare Fish, Strategic Director of Families and Wellbeing suggested to Members that with the introduction of a new Childrens and Families Act, they may wish to have a training session on the implications of this, alongside the Social Care Bill

RESOLVED: That

(1)  given the size and scope of the preparation task, and the impact that this will have on the business of the Council, it be noted that a number of recommendations have been developed based on LGA guidance;

(2)  the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) be appraised of progress against preparation for and implementation of the Care Bill;

(3)  as the Bill drives key policy changes, it is recommended that, in   addition to an Officer-led project board, the Council has an implementation overview group led by the Lead Member for Adult Social Care but linking to Cabinet members with responsibilities for Resources, Transformation and Public Health, to enable full engagement of political leaders;

(4)  a nominated lead officer reporting to the Director of Adult Social Care be requested to provide executive support to the lead members overview group as well as leading the project implementation team drawn from across the Council; and

(5)  Work-streams be set up across the Council under the overall project to reflect changes required in Children's Services (Transition);IT (Information and Advice, Informatics); Finance (Deferred Payments and Cap on Care Costs); Communications & Website (Information and Advice, Communicating the Changes); and Housing (Wellbeing and Prevention).

(6)  training sessions be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

The Committee considered the report of the Strategic Director of Families and Wellbeing outlining the current performance of the Families and Wellbeing Directorate as at 28 February 2014 against its Directorate Improvement Plan for 2013/14.

The Directorate Plan Performance Report for 2013/14 and the Exception Report which referred to permanent admissions of older people (aged 65 and over) to residential and nursing homes, per 100,000 population, were attached as appendices to the report.

In relation to the rate of CIN (Children in Need) and adoption, the Chair indicated that she was pleased to see that both areas had shown significant improvements and commended the Director and her department on the work undertaken in relation to this.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Committee considered the report and a presentation by the Director of Public Health/Head of Policy and Performance regarding the current performance of the Directorate as at 30 November 2013 against the delivery of the Policy, Performance & Public Health Directorate Plan 2013-14.

The Directorate Plan Performance Report was appended to the report and set out performance against 13 measures. A commentary was provided against each indicator.

Of the 13 measures that were RAG rated, 6 were rated green, 4 were rated amber and 3 were rated as red.  Action Plans have been developed for all the following three red indicators:

·  Proportion of opiate users that left drug treatment successfully who do not represent to treatment within 6 months

·  Smoking at the time of delivery (SATOD)

·  Rate of Chlamydia diagnoses per 100,000 young adults aged 15-24 years.

In relation to the Smoking at Time of Delivery (SOTOD), Ms Johnstone, Director of Public Health/Director of Policy and Performance indicated that although this was still above target the Department was working with the CCG to understand the rise and identify if there were problems with the data recorded which may be affecting the figures.

In relation to the Chlamydia diagnosis rate, Ms Johnstone indicated that the data held in relation to this was to be challenged and further feedback would be provided to the Committee following the outcome.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the Directorate Plan be noted; and

(2)  the information contained within the report be used to inform the Committee’s future work programme.

The Strategic Director for Families and Wellbeing presented the report of the Director of Resources, which set out financial monitoring information for Month 10 (January 2014), to ensure consistency across Policy and Performance Committees and provide sufficient detail for Members to scrutinise budget performance for the Directorate.

Ms Fish, indicated that she held weekly monitoring meetings with both the Director of Adult Social Services and the Director of Childrens Services to look at the financial monitoring reports.

RESOLVED - That

(1)  the report be noted;

(2)  the Strategic Director of Families and Wellbeing and her Department be thanked for all their hard work as detailed within the report.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Public Health/Head of Policy and Performance detailing the draft guidance for setting up and operating Scrutiny Review Panels to ensure that there was a consistent approach to task and finish work across the four Policy and Performance Committees.

The draft guidance was approved by the Policy and Performance Coordinating Committee on 15 January 2014 (Minute 38 refers) and was attached an appendix to the report. 

RESOLVED:

That the draft guidance be noted.

The Committee considered the report of the Chair of the Committee, updating on the progress and the activity proposed for this Committee in relation to its agreed Work Programme.

The Chair and Spokepersons thanked all Members, Officers and Alan Veitch, Scrutiny Support Officer for all their excellent work on the reviews undertaken so far.

RESOLVED:

That all Members, Officers and Alan Veitch, Scrutiny Support Officer be thanked for all their excellent work on the reviews undertaken so far.