Agenda item

The Cabinet Member(s) will update the Panel on any relevant issues. Panel members may ask questions on the update provided.

Councillor Alison Born, Cabinet Member for Adult Services addressed the Panel and highlighted the points below from her update report. A copy of the report will be attached as an online appendix to these minutes.

Community Support Services

The review of community support services started in April 2024, with a view to re-commissioning services over the period 2024/26. This work is being overseen by the new Community Services and Early Help Strategic Board which is chaired by Mandy Bishop (Chief Operating Officer), with input from relevant lead members and officers. Cllr Paul May and I are both permanent members of the board, with input from Cllr McCabe as required.

The Board monitors progress and supports decision making and risk management, with a focus on the successful procurement of contracts and delivery of planned savings over a two-year period.

Representatives of 25 local community service providers attended a meeting with lead members and senior officers on 14th May to discuss the work of the Board and the process and timescales of the review and re-commissioning processes. Further engagement meetings will be held with the sector in the coming months.

CQC Inspection

The government has recently introduced a new local authority inspection regime for adult social care and B&NES was told in April that along with South Gloucestershire and Wilshire Council, we will be inspected within the next 6 months. This means that B&NES will be one of the first 15 councils to be inspected by the CQC. To help inform the inspection team in advance of their visit to B&NES, officers were required to submit a significant amount of data by May 3rd which they did. We now await confirmation of the inspection date.

Visits to Services

Following the transfer of adult social care services back to B&NES Council, I have been visiting services with Suzanne Westhead and meeting with staff and service users. To date, I have visited the learning disability day services at Connections and Carrswood and the supported living services. I have also met people working in social work and occupational therapy teams. Staff have generally been very happy with the transfer process, are highly motivated and are pleased to be working for the Council.

Following implementation of planned changes to the Community Resource Centres, we also visited Cleeve Court and were delighted to see how the service is developing expertise as a specialist centre for people with dementia. We were also pleased to meet with some members of staff who had transferred from Charlton House and who have settled well in Cleeve Court.

Kevin Burnett asked if a timescale for the conclusion of the review of Community Support Services had yet been agreed.

The Director of Adult Services replied that they were not fully able to announce that at this stage, but said it was hoped that the specification details would be ready by September / October 2024 in advance of contracts needing to be in place by 31^st March 2025.

She added that there was still a lot of work to do and was pleased with the level of engagement from partners so far.

Councillor Joanna Wright referred to the Public Health element of the update and asked if the Panel could be informed of the aims and outcomes for the Women's Health Hub funding of £54,000 in regard to sexual and reproductive health.

Councillor Born replied that she did not have that information to hand and would therefore seek a response for the Panel.

Councillor Wright acknowledged that GLL's 'Better' brand had been endorsed by Which? as a recommended provider for leisure centres and gyms. She commented that she would like to see cycle storage and infrastructure improved at the Bath Leisure Centre as she felt that it was currently difficult to access.

Councillor Born replied that she would enquire as to whether this was an issue for either GLL, the Council or both to pursue.

Councillor Lesley Mansell also asked for further information on the funding that has been received for sexual and reproductive health. She referred to the drugs and alcohol update and asked if the Panel could be informed of other ongoing work in relation to this across the Council.

She also asked if further details of the outcomes expected from the tackling inequalities work could be shared with the Panel.

Councillor Born replied that she would take these points away and discuss them with Public Health officers and respond to the Panel. She said that a further announcement on the tackling inequalities work was due to be made soon.

Referring to the issue of drugs & alcohol she said she had recently spoken with the Director of Public Health and explained that a lot of partnership work was ongoing across the Avon & Somerset area.

Kevin Burnett asked if the re-procurement of public health nursing was to include school nursing and will the services be run to the same specification as the old contracts.

Councillor Born replied that she felt it was unlikely that there would be no changes to the contracts as they were last in place around seven years ago. She added that school nursing was to be included in this work and would ask officers to provide a fuller response.

Councillor Ruth Malloy asked what could be done to encourage primary schools that didn’t take part in the Schools Health and Wellbeing Survey (SH&WS) to do so. She also asked what percentage of secondary schools had taken part in their survey.

Councillor Born replied that she would consult with officers for a reply on this matter.

Councillor Liz Hardman referred to the Community Services and Early Help Strategic Board and commented that despite none of the 3SG representatives being part of the Board it was pleasing to hear that discussions remain ongoing with them.

She asked if the Panel could be updated on the budget position, in relation to the £802,000 savings that were initially proposed in the recent budget, in light of receipt of some additional funding.

She asked if it was known how the initial list of new CQC inspections was drafted and how prepared is the Council for when it will take place.

The Director of Adult Services replied that 3SG have scoped and led our current work in this area, in particular on work for our smaller providers. She added that the £802,000 saving still sits within her budget, but is not directly attributable to Community Services and that she has discussed with the Chief Executive of B&NES how this will be progressed.

Referring to the CQC inspections, she stated that she did not know why B&NES was listed as one of the first fifteen to be inspected and said that no criteria had been shared with any Local Authority. She added that three Councils have published their inspection results and all had received a ‘Good’ rating. She explained that they have completed the self-assessment forms and shared that with the CQC, 187 pieces of evidence.

She informed the Panel that representatives from the LGA were currently addressing frontline staff to prepare them for the inspection which will have to take place by the end of October this year.

Councillor Hardman asked if the recently developed two-year sexual and reproductive health action plan to support the attainment of improved sexual health outcomes for the communities of B&NES would be targeted and could the plan be shared with the Panel.

Councillor Born said she would reply following discussing the issue with Public Health officers.

Kevin Burnett asked how much B&NES had received from the additional Social Care Funding that was announced in February.

Councillor Born replied that B&NES had received around £1.5m of short-term / one-off funding to enable some of our strategic work to be carried out.

Kevin Burnett asked if the funding had been specifically allocated to an area of work.

The Director of Adult Services replied that it was being used at the moment for Provider Services to provide an uplift to them on a one-off basis. She added that the underlying Adult Services deficit was also being supported by this funding.

The Chair, on behalf of the Panel, thanked the Cabinet Member for her update.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the update.