Venue: Sparkenhoe Committee Room, County Hall, Glenfield. View directions
Contact: Mr. S. J. Weston (Tel. 0116 305 6226) Email: sam.weston@leics.gov.uk
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Webcast. |
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Minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2016. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 8th November 2016 were taken as read, confirmed and signed. |
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Question Time. Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 35. |
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Questions asked by members under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5). Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5). |
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To advise of any other items which the Chairman has decided to take as urgent elsewhere on the agenda. Minutes: There were no urgent items for consideration. |
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Declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda. Minutes: The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting. No declarations were made. |
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Declarations of the Party Whip in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 16. Minutes: There were no declarations of the party whip. |
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Presentation of Petitions under Standing Order 36. Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that no petitions had been
received under Standing Order 36. |
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Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017/18 - 2020/21. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee considered a joint report of
the Director of Adults and Communities and
Director of Corporate Resources which provided information on the
proposed 2017/18 to
2020/21 Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) as it related to
the Adults and Communities Department. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item
‘8’ is filed with these minutes. The Chairman welcomed Mr D W Houseman MBE CC,
Cabinet Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Mr R Blunt CC, Cabinet Lead Member
for Heritage, Leisure and Arts to the meeting for this item. In introducing the report the Director and
Cabinet Lead Members advised members of the financial challenges facing the
Council and the significant demand and cost pressures facing social care
services in dealing with an ageing population and an increased number of people
with complex disabilities. The Department had over the
last few years sought to prevent and delay the need for services by various
means aimed at promoting independence and by looked critically at the delivery
and cost of services. In response to questions and comments the
Committee was advised as follows:- Service Transformation i)
The County Council and
District Councils had agreed that the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) funding
would be passported in its entirety to the District
Councils on the understanding that any underspends would be returned and be
available for use on other health and social care services. ii)
The funding in
connection with Lightbulb Project is yet to be determined. Proposed Revenue Budget iii)
The County Council and
Departmental approach was not to ‘salami slice’ services but rather to consider
the impact of services on individuals and the local community, consider how the
delivery of service might be improved and whether the service could be
redesigned and recommissioned in a more cost effective way. The County Council
had made it a clear priority to support the most vulnerable in society and to
that end the Adult Social Care budget was one of the few in the Council to show
a year on year increase in spend. iv)
The additional 2%
precept to fund social care was not shown as a specific line in the budget
figures as the Council took a holistic approach to the preparation of the
budget. The Department was required to have regard to the guidance issued
concerning the use of the additional funding and could confirm that the
proposed increase in funding to adult social care would be more than the amount
raised through the precept. v)
The budget figures for 2018 onward in the
table at paragraph 14 did not include inflation as this was held as a central
contingency. Growth vi)
The growth now
identified in G3 – Older People Demand was less than that requested in previous
years. The Department had undertaken an analysis of the number of people
seeking assistance, the size of the care packages and the impact of measures
put in place to promote self-care and independence. The result was that demand
which had shown growth was beginning to stabilise hence the need for less new
resource. Adult Social Care – Departmental Savings vii)
The Shared Lives
Initiative (AC6) was currently supporting approximately 140 people and had been
well received. The Scheme enabled people with additional needs to be paired
with families who would provide social support rather than such people being
provided support in institutional settings. A detailed report would be made to
the Committee on the operation of the Scheme. viii) The proposals set out in paragraph 39 regarding a robust review of high cost placements was aimed at looking at the cost ... view the full minutes text for item 52. |
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Direct Payment Cards. Minutes: The Committee considered a report of the Director of Adults and
Communities concerning the progress to date and outcome of the decision of the
Council to implement pre-paid Direct Payment cards for service users. A copy of
the report marked’ Agenda Item 9’ is filed with these minutes. In response to questions the Director advised as follows:- i)
Service users were
invited to take up Direct Payment cards but where they chose not to do so the
previous arrangements were continued; ii)
The experience to date
suggested that service users were using the card responsibly and in many cases
were able to purchase services at a lower cost which had contributed to some of
the savings. Service Users have expressed satisfaction with the new
arrangements as it has empowered them and put them in control of their care
needs; iii)
The Department was able
to monitor expenditure patterns and this was important not only to ensure that
the money was spent appropriately but also to ensure service users were
purchasing the services needed for their care; iv)
The monitoring of the
card would be useful to developing an understanding the choices made by service
users in purchasing services to meet their needs and this in turn could be
useful in contributing to a more outcomes based approach to services; v)
That an officer from
East Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group was leading a project on
Individualised Personal Commissioning which would look to bringing together
into a single funding stream, personal budgets for social care and personal
health budgets. RESOLVED That the report and information now provided be noted. |
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Date of next meeting. The
next meeting of the Committee is scheduled to take place on 7 March at 2.00pm. Minutes: It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on 7th March 2017 at 2.00pm. |
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Any other items which the Chairman has decided to take as urgent. |