Agenda item

Ethical Care Charter

This paper concerns the potential for the Council to become an Ethical Care Council that commissions its homecare services in a way that is consistent with the Ethical Care Charter (ECC).

Minutes:

John Drake, UNISON Regional Organiser for the B&NES branch, which includes Sirona Care & Health addressed the Select Committee. He said that his colleague Fred Jerrome has sent a detailed briefing document to the Chair.

 

I am here to update you on a long running dispute between Sirona & low paid, mainly women, workers in care homes and sheltered accommodation across the Banes area.

 

The basics of this dispute is the requirement of Sirona to make savings and their approach of achieving these savings will mean care workers having to make a choice between taking a pay cut or spending more time at work for the same amount of pay, not a choice anyone should have to make. It is little wonder that a recent study has shown that nationally around 900 workers are leaving the care sector each week. Our members in Sirona are openly talking about leaving a job they love and seeking alternative employment in retail because it pays better.

 

We accept that Banes Council is not the direct employer in this case, however as the commissioning authority you do have a responsibility to ensure not only the care of the service users but also that staff delivering these services are treated fairly and that includes pay

 

It is pleasing to note that the Council is seeking to earn the Ethical Care Chartermark and that is a laudable aim, however this dispute is fundamentally about the ethics of austerity and how this politically driven policy is impacting negatively on those carrying out vital work in the care sector.

 

Following the Your Care Your Way consultation, Virgin was awarded the bulk of the work that had been previously carried out by Sirona. As a consequence Sirona had to radically adjust its finances. We can discuss the way Sirona did this, we can discuss the rights and wrongs of things they should and shouldn’t have done but that is not going to help the immediate situation.

 

UNISON is all too well aware of the financial plight of Banes and we are actively working with officers to mitigate the impact of the 300 job losses across the council, again due to ongoing austerity, however the monies required to resolve this dispute are relatively small, between £150 & &180 k depending on who you talk to in Sirona.

 

I must make it clear our members do not want to strike, our members are not militant members of a strike happy union, they are dedicated public sector care workers who have faced 8 years of below inflation pay raises and are now facing another attack on pay are saying enough is enough.

 

Which is why 95% voted to take strike action in a lawful ballot after Sirona came forward with plans to dismiss and re- engage these staff which would force them on to new contracts that will reduce their pay or make them work longer for the same pay.

 

We are asking this scrutiny committee to work with us to identify additional funding to ensure workers the council has a moral responsibility to support to take home a fair days pay for a fair days work. The clock is ticking on the very real possibility of strike action taking place unless a solution is found to this dispute. We have held a joint meeting with ACAS but this has not resolved the situation. UNISON will meet with Sirona SMT at any point but clearly their proposals must be withdrawn for any such meeting to be productive.

 

The Director of Integrated Commissioning confirmed that the Council’s funding of this service was not cut, but has not been significantly increased either. She said that a £700,000 capital investment had been provided and, also, improved Better Care Funding to support the service redesign was provided by the Council last year (2017/18) and is being provided this year. She added that the Leader of the Council, Councillor Tim Warren has responded directly to John Drake on the issues raised. John Drake confirmed that he had received Councillor Warren’s response.

 

Councillor Vic Pritchard confirmed that no cuts have been made and that a commitment has been given to Community Resource Centres. He said that matters such as pay were for Sirona to consider internally.

 

Councillor Robin Moss asked about contingency arrangements to ensure service continuity. He added that retention and recruitment in this work area is going to prove difficult and that he was concerned on what the position will be in six months’ time.

 

The Director of Integrated Commissioning said that she could assure the Select Committee and Unions that due diligence, including financial due diligence, is always carried out when awarding a contract. She added that Commissioners have assured themselves that Sirona has appropriate contingency plans in place. She also reminded the Select Committee that the Market Position Statement considered at a previous meeting includes a section on market failure and the Council’s work with care providers to support a viable, sustainable and diverse market. She said that obviously this was not a satisfactory position from any point of view.

 

Councillor Lin Patterson asked how likely the possibility of strike action was as she was aware of the recent demonstration outside of The Guildhall.

 

John Drake replied that action may take place within the next couple of weeks and that they were willing to have further meetings to avoid a strike.

 

The Commissioning Manager for Adult Social Care introduced the report to the Select Committee. He informed them that the report sets out the potential for the Council to become an Ethical Care Council that commissions its homecare services in a way that is consistent with the Ethical Care Charter (ECC). In addition, it also provides an update on transformation activity to establish new homecare and reablement pathways and service models from April 2019, and in particular where the ECC standards can be incorporated within that work. 

 

He explained that the ECC’s 12 standards are spread across 3 stages:

 

  • Stage 1 – Ensuring visits are client-focussed and are not rushed, pay for travel time.

 

  • Stage 2 - Consistency of carers, zero-hours contracts, reporting concerns, funding for training and peer support.

 

  • Stage 3 – Living wage requirement and occupational sick pay schemes

 

He said that many elements of the ECC are already in place within B&NES. For example, the Council does not commission 15 minute visits and ensures that commissioned providers pay for travel time between visits.

 

He stated there are national concerns about the high turnover of staff in care provision and development of the social care workforce, which naturally impact on carer continuity. He said these are reflected to some extent in B&NES as well as other parts of the South West. The Council is actively participating in a number of initiatives in place to address these at local, sub-regional and regional level. The Market Position Statement has a dedicated chapter identifying priorities and opportunities in workforce development.

 

Councillor Lin Patterson asked how the work regarding the ECC marries up with the issues raised by the UNISON statement.

 

The Commissioning Manager for Adult Social Care replied that as stated earlier the Council recognises that acute pressure exists in this work area and reiterated that it is not the direct provider. He said that a collaborative approach with care providers is needed.

 

He explained that commissioners are hosting workshops in partnership with Virgin Care and Strategic Partners to review current provision and establish new commissioning intentions and procurement models for homecare. Workshops will also involve key stakeholders, service user representatives and other local providers.

 

Councillor Robin Moss commented that he would be interested to see how this piece of work progresses. He added that from recently attending the Resources Panel the message was that a number of contracts were out of date and no longer fit for purpose.

 

The Commissioning Manager for Adult Social Care replied that more contemporary contracts are being put in place, including to address new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements.

 

The Chair asked that the Select Committee be advised on developments regarding employees of Sirona.

 

The Select Committee RESOLVED to:

 

i)  Note and endorse the Ethical Care Charter standards to be specified in the recommissioning of home care services.

 

ii)  Note the update on the transformation work to establish new homecare and reablement service models set out in the report.

Supporting documents: