Issue - meetings

This report presents the People and Communities Directorate Plan to the Panel for initial consideration and feedback as part of the Council’s service planning and budget development process.

The Chairman invited Jane Shayler (Director, Adult Care & Health Commissioning) to introduce the report.

Jane Shayler explained that this report sets out the framework for the service planning and budget processes which lead up to the statutory and legal requirement for the Council to set a budget in February 2016. Proportionate equality analysis is being carried out on the proposals within the Directorate Plans.

Jane Shayler explained that there is a single Directorate Plan for People & Communities, which covers all ages.  It has also been presented by Ashley Ayre to the Children & Young Peoples’ PDS Panel.  She would, therefore, focus on the Adult Care and Community Health part of the plan which encompasses provision of statutory services under the Care Act 2014, provision of residential and nursing care, re-ablement, domiciliary care, community mental health services, drug & alcohol treatment, rehabilitation and preventative support, and social work services for people with learning disability or mental health needs and those in intensive supported living and extra care services.  I would also provide the provision of preventative services which prevent, reduce or delay care and support needs and slow the escalation of costs in meeting individual care and support needs; delivery of services which support the effective functioning of the wider NHS system and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions or delays to discharge from hospital; securing either directly or through commissioning of the services required to discharge all duties.

Jane Shayler took the Panel through Appendix 4 of the report (Finance & Resource Impacts) and highlighted £450k proposal for Substance Misuse which would involve contract re-negotiation and overall would be likely to impact on provider organisations with some reduction of staff in those organisations.

The Panel highlighted the following points:

Councillor Ball expressed his concern in reduction of Substance Misuse services.  Councillor Ball added that he was aware that the DHI (Developing Health and Independence) had struggled to cope with existing pressure, especially with people who were on waiting list for the programme.  It would have a knock on effect if people would not be able to access services.  Councillor Ball said the taking £450k out of Substance Misuse services could have large impact on the community where people, who were in detox, live.  Councillor Ball concluded by saying that some reduction in services must be considered, but £450k may be a little bit too much for Substance Misuse services.

Jane Shayler acknowledged that there is a risk in terms of increased waiting times for services and on wider implications. Both providers and the commissioners were satisfied that proposals could mitigate those impacts through service redesign, efficiencies from co-location of services to reduce accommodation costs, some reduction in management costs, and a shift from residential to community detox and rehabilitation. People who go through detox would need to be properly motivated, whether it is residential or community detox.

Councillor Gerrish (Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources) commented that he viewed the changes as improvements and cited the proposal to offer fewer one-to-one sessions and more group  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44

This report presents the People and Communities Directorate Plan to the Panel for initial consideration and feedback as part of the Council’s service planning and budget development process.

The Chair asked from where the £1.2m associated with increased employer’s national insurance contributions in the Children’s Services budget would come.

The People & Communities Director replied that this was a sum that would be sourced from the central corporate budget.

Councillor Alison Millar asked how much of a budget impact will there be to the Council when it welcomes Syrian refugees to the area.

The People & Communities Director replied that the key first step is housing and they will need access to good interpretation services in order that we can fully assess the needs of each family member.  We can then access families into the services needed including health and education. He added that Government funding is allocated for one year. He stated that it is likely that families will present with a high degree of need given the trauma and dislocation they have suffered and that he had been pleased to hear that some schools will breach their admission numbers if required in order to admit any children.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if the Panel could receive the Alternative Provision Strategy at their next meeting.

The People & Communities Director replied that they could and said that the plan is to double the amount of provision.

The Chair queried the Health, Commissioning & Planning budget line as the income line seems extraordinarily high, whereas the Direct Schools Budget grant appears to be non-existent on the line below.

Officers agreed this was a quirk of the accounting system that they planned to address.

The Chair asked how accurate can officers be with regard to their growth assumptions for the area.

The People & Communities Director replied that birth data is used and analysed as the children grow and their care needs change.

The Chair asked for an explanation of the impact to children of the efficiency savings of £450,000 relating to substance misuse and £50,000 relating to sexual health.

The People & Communities Director replied that these figures were regarding adults and related to how the Council manages its resources and the ability to signpost people to services. He added that he did not anticipate an adverse effect on Children & Young People.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if a direct grant to the Music Service was to cease and if so would more children have to pay for lessons.

The People & Communities Director replied that the service was moving towards becoming self-funded and that a grant was available from central Government. He added that the majority of music lessons have always had to be paid for.

The Chair asked if once the indicative settlement announcement had been made would there be a draft medium-term 3 year budget plan available for their January meeting.

The People & Communities Director replied that he was already working within a four year plan and clear figures would be available for 2016 / 17. He added that care placement costs would be a focus as we move forward.