Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1 - Wallasey Town Hall. View directions

Contact: Lyndzay Roberts 

Items
No. Item

26.

Members' Code of Conduct - Declarations of Interest / Party Whip

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minutes:

Councillor A Davies declared a Personal Interest in Item 5 All Age Disability Strategy and Item 8 – Families and Wellbeing Dashboard Quarter 2 Report by virtue of her employment at Cheshire and Wirral Partnership.

 

 

27.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 94 KB

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the last meeting of the Families and Wellbeing Policy and Performance Committee held on 8 September 2015.

 

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

That the Minutes of the Families and Wellbeing Policy and Performance Committee held on 8 September 2015 be approved as a correct record.

 

28.

Minutes of the Children Sub-Committee - 23 September 2015 pdf icon PDF 72 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Children Sub-Committee held on 23 September 2015 be noted.

 

29.

Report of the Chair from Meeting of the Health & Care Performance Panel pdf icon PDF 123 KB

To consider the reports of the Chair from the meetings of the Health & Care Performance Panel

 

·  28th September 2015 (Attached)

·  25th November 2015 (Attached)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair of the Health and Care Performance Panel introduced the report which provided feedback on the key issues arising from the meetings held on 28 September 2015 and 25 November 2015.

 

The Chair introduced the reports and updated Members on the following activity undertaken by the Panel.

 

·  Hospital Finance Report - Members would continue to monitor the financial situation at Wirral University Teaching Hospital.

   `

·  Complaints process for Adults Social Services

 

The Chair in relation to the concerns raised by Members at the Panel on 25 November 2015 regarding the complaints process for Adult Social Services suggested the following additional recommendation:

 

“Committee is aware of that, as more services delivered to users of social care are commissioned by independent providers, an accurate picture of user satisfaction will only be possible if the complaints data which is available for scrutiny includes that which is made to, or about a provider, as well as that which is made about services directly delivered by DASS. We therefore request that officers work to develop a mechanism to gather this from providers and so be able to produce reports which includes this data”

 

Further to a request received by Councillor Brightmore, the Chair indicated that Councillor Philip Brightmore was to be replaced as a member of the Panel and recommended that Councillor Irene Williams be appointed as a Member to the Panel.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)  the report of the meetings of the Health and Care Performance Panel held on 28 September 2015 and 25 November 2015 be noted;

 

(2)  Committee is aware of that, the majority of services delivered to users of social care are commissioned from independent providers. Whilst Adult social care deal with all complaints referred to them by individuals regarding their provision it is recognised that not all complaints made directly to providers are captured through the formal procedure scrutiny would want to understand complaints including those made directly to providers as well as those forwarded to adult social care. We therefore request that officers work to investigate the cost and benefit of developing a mechanism to gather this information from providers and so be able to produce reports which includes this data; and

 

(3)  Councillor Philip Brightmore be replaced as a member of Health and Care Panel and Councillor Irene Williams be appointed as a Member to the Panel.

 

 

 

30.

ALL AGE DISABILITY STRATEGY pdf icon PDF 109 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Adult Social Services updating on the work that had been completed with regards to Wirral’s All Age Disability Strategy.

 

Members were informed that people with disabilities needed to have a stronger voice and Wirral had now written a draft All Age Disability strategy to ensure that the priorities of disabled people in Wirral were being met. The strategy had been developed through consultation and a number of events had been undertaken and feedback received. The All Age Disability Strategy would be the overarching strategy which would have all strategies that would have an impact on disabled people in Wirral would sit under.

 

The draft Wirral’s All Age Disability Strategy: People with Disabilities Living Independent Lives 2016-2020 were attached as an appendix to the report.

 

The Director of Adult Social Services reiterated that it was not too late for Members if they wished to feedback their comments on the strategy.

 

In relation to the All-age Disabilities Partnership Board, the Director of Adult Social Services explained that there had been a review of its membership to ensure that it could effectively deliver the plan, as it was felt that the membership was not broad enough therefore it had been re-constituted.

 

A Member congratulated the Director and his officers on the excellent work undertaken to complete the strategy and was pleased to note that hate crime was included. She asked if there were any figures on the levels of hate crimes reported and also in relation to any benefit related concerns asked if these had been factored in and would be monitored. In response, the Director of Adult Social Services indicated that Wirral’s 20 pledges would be looking at the whole issue of benefits and welfare and its links to health and wellbeing along with economic wellbeing.

 

In relation to Hate Crime figures, the Director of Adult Social Services indicated that a specific piece of work was being undertaken around safety in the community for all age disability; officers also worked in conjunction with MARAC and agreed to bring back to Members information on the work being undertaken in relation to Hate Crime.

 

In response to a Member, the Director of Adult Social Services indicated that the strategy focused not too much on the operational detail but was more a focal point to enabling people to look after their wellbeing; Healthy Wirral was also helping people access care in the right place with the right people.

 

In relation to integrated commissioning, it was felt there was too much fragmentation with too many providers and no pooling of resources. Resources would now be pooled to have one approach and greater improve outcomes.

 

The Director of Children’s Services indicated that with introduction of the Children and Families Act in September 2014, SEN statements became Education Health and Care (EHC) Plans which were provided to each child along with a specialist team from the Department giving appropriate support to the child to achieve their aspirations and goals.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

31.

Day Services Local Authority Company (LAC) Wirral Evolutions - Update pdf icon PDF 139 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report from the Director of Adult Social Services, updating on Wirral Evolutions, a new Local Authority Trading Company.

 

The report had previously been considered by Cabinet at its meeting on 5 November 2015 (Minute 71 refers) who had originally agreed to the development on 19 March 2014 as a response to shrinking resources, and concerns about the sustainability of day services for people with Disabilities. Services were downsized to increase efficiency and reduce costs. There was however, a strong user and carer voice that these services were very highly valued and that they could contribute to both the design and running of an alternative more cost effective model.

 

The service linked strongly to the following Wirral Plan Pledges; enabling people with disabilities to live independently, realising the personal assets that people with disabilities have and working directly with them to release their full potential. Also, greater job opportunities for Wirral, Wirral Evolutions had based their business plan on growth which would increase employment opportunities, “Best Bites” and other employment schemes enabled people to develop the skills that they needed to get into employment rather than care.

 

The report brought together progress in relation to creating Wirral Evolutions. It covered the formal arrangements and key documents that had been developed in order for the company to effectively operate, and for the commissioner (DASS) to move from direct provider to a client of the service.

 

There had been challenges and changes relating to the original financial assumptions that were taken into account by Cabinet in 2014. These were covered in the report to provide a contemporary view. The 5 year formal Business Plan, developed by the company was a key document that set out confirmation of the company’s plan for viability, sustainability and growth. It had been subject to review and challenge from the Council client side and Section 151 Officer.

 

Members were asked to note the progress made.

 

The Director of Adult Social Services informed Members that Wirral Evolutions and Edssential LAC Companies were both being launched today and wished them well for the future.

 

In response to concern raised by a Member who had been contacted by service users and families of the Moreton facility regarding fundraising issues, the Director of Adult Social Services indicated that fundraising along with charitable work and donations were an essential and important part of creating an effective working relationship. He further indicated that he had met with officers from Wirral Evolutions, Charities and the Council’s Audit team to ensure that going forward, all charity and fundraising activity was done so in a formalised way. 

 

In response to a Member, the Director of Adult Services indicated that the Council was the 100% shareholder in Wirral Evolutions and could if needed take the company back under the control of the Council, there was also a Scrutiny Board chaired by the Leader of the Council which would be scrutinising all aspects of the contract.

 

In relation to other Authorities accessing the Council’s day  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

32.

Healthwatch Wirral - Update Report pdf icon PDF 95 KB

Minutes:

The Committee considered an update report from Healthwatch Wirral detailing their progress to date and their current work programme.

 

The report concluded by noting that there were considerable concerns about the onerous process for families when being assessed for Contining Healthcare Funding (CHC) and recommended that the Family and Wellbeing Policy and Performance Committee supported, and promoted, the work of Healthwatch Wirral to improve the experience of individuals and families being assessed for CHC.

 

In response, the Chair requested that Healthwatch Wirral be asked to submit a report to a future meeting of the Health and Care Performance Panel highlighting the concerns raised within their report regarding the assessment process for CHC.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)  Healthwatch Wirral be thanked for their update report; and

 

(2)  officers be asked to submit a report to a future meeting of the Health and Care Performance Panel highlighting the concerns raised within their report regarding the assessment process for CHC.

 

 

 

 

33.

Families and Wellbeing Dashboard Quarter 2 Report (including Public Health) pdf icon PDF 99 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Strategic Director Families and Wellbeing which detailed the Quarter 2 (July – September 2015) performance against delivery of the Families and Wellbeing Directorate Plan. The performance report was attached as Appendix 1 and set out progress against a suite of agreed key performance indicators.

 

Introduced by the Strategic Director Families and Wellbeing, the report indicated that the Corporate Plan 2015/16 (and supporting Directorate Plans) had been superseded by the Wirral Council Plan 2020 Vision and they still formed the basis of the in-year performance management framework. A new Performance Management Framework would be developed for the Council Plan once the associated delivery plan had been finalised.

 

In relation to the performance indicator regarding the rate of referrals to Children’s Social Care, the Head of Specialist Services indicated that the services surrounding assessment had been re-designed to ensure greater planning and assessment turnaround. The assessment rate was now just below the regional average and children were moving more effectively through the process. 

 

In response to a Member, in relation domestic abuse, the Head of Specialist Services indicated that prior to August 2015, the Department had no Police presence when dealing with domestic abuse referrals, the Police in August introduced a system to log all domestic violence referrals but had no admin support therefore the department had supported them through the August and September periods. Domestic Violence officers were now working alongside Social Work staff in the MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) and this had, had a massive impact on the amount of referrals received.

 

In relation to the rates of Children in Need (CIN) and Child Protection Plans, the Director of Children Services indicated that CIN, were cases that without social work or partner intervention were children that would not meet their potential. The local authority had looked at those cases to ascertain whether or not there was a need for a Child Protection Plan, this was partially responsible for the increase in children with a child protection plan since April. 

 

In relation to the adoption timescales, the Head of Specialist Services indicated that process for adoptions was being improved to ensure that they were dealt with more efficiently there would also be a greater drive to encourage more Special Guardianships.

 

In response to a Members question, the Director of Childrens Services indicated that the family intervention services would be picked up as part of Phase 2 following the successful Troubled Families initiative. Phase 2 was now in progress and included managing issues of neglect within families.

 

In preparation for Phase 2, the intensive family intervention service had been rolled out and the service had undergone a major re-design with staffing etc.. It was hoped that the RAG rating would be Green from October 2016.

 

In relation to the target on smoking cessation a Member sought assurances that the new contract would be effective and that this would be monitored to ensure it was fit for purpose and had successful outcomes.

 

In relation to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

34.

Financial Monitoring 2015/16 Quarter 2 Report pdf icon PDF 119 KB

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Acting Section 151 Officer setting out the financial monitoring information in a format which was consistent across the Policy and Performance Committees. The report aimed to give Members sufficient detail to scrutinise budget performance for the Directorate. Financial information for Quarter 2 (July-September 2015) which was reported to Cabinet on 5 November 2015 was attached to the report

 

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Financial Monitoring report be noted.

 

 

35.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 85 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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 updated the Committee on the following:

 

·  Safeguarding Review – Still to be completed. It was hoped that the report would be included on the Committee agenda of 19th January 2016

·  Avoiding Hospital Admissions Task and Finish Group – Progressing well with several sessions already held

·  Wirral Plan Workshops – Members were thanked for their attendance and outcomes of the workshop would be reported to the Coordinating Committee on 10 December 2015.

·   Budget Scrutiny – The Coordinating Committee to agree the appropriate form of budget scrutiny this year, in the run up to Cabinet on 23 February 2016 and the Council Budget meeting on 3 March 2016.

·  Still awaiting CQC reports for both Cheshire and Wirral Partnership Trust and Wirral University Teaching Hospital

·  Report requested from Healthwatch Wirral to a future meeting of the Health and Care Panel highlighting the concerns raised within their report regarding the assessment process for Continuing Healthcare.

 

The Chair also requested that Members nominate the membership for the Ready for School Task & Finish Group which was due to commence shortly. All nominations should be submitted to the Scrutiny Support Officer ASAP. 

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)  the Work Programme be noted;and

 

(2)  Members be requested to nominate the membership for the Ready for School Task & Finish Group which was due to commence shortly. All nominations should be submitted to the Scrutiny Support Officer ASAP.