Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 November 2024 were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 34.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5).

There were no urgent items for consideration.

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.

There were no declarations of the party whip.

The Chief Executive reported that no petitions had been received under Standing Order 35.

The Committee considered a joint report of the Director of Adults and Communities and Director of Corporate Resources which provided information on the proposed 2025/26 to 2028/29 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 Mrs. C. M. Radford, Cabinet Lead Member to the meeting for the item.

Arising from Discussion, the following points were made:

Proposed Revenue Budget, Other Changes and Transfers

Growth

i.          The current negative growth position of -£1.8million for 2025/26 was an unusual position to be in. However, this had been due to the substantial increase in the number of people approaching the Department for services in 2023/24, and the increase in size, scale and cost of care packages, which had resulted in the Council having to put in substantial additional growth for 2024/25. Over the past 12 months, the Department had contained that growth to manage costs, and had successfully negated the requirement for further growth for the current financial year. The Director highlighted, however, that whilst the Department would continue to work towards containing costs, the position was dynamic and could change over the next year.

ii.          Members noted that with an increase in the number of people using services, it was expected that there would be an increase in income as people contributed to their cost of care, and income from the NHS to support people in receipt of services, which could be balanced against the overall growth figures.

iii.          Members queried the older people demand budget and how modelling had resulted in a projected budget of £2million for the 2025/26 rising to £15million for 2028/29. The Director explained that modelling was based on information held at a point in time, and by using national models (Office of National Statistics (ONS), Poppi and Pansi) data, which provided an estimated figure over the four-year period. The growth averaged out at 2-3% each year which was in line with the demographic growth in the elderly population in Leicestershire. The budget for 2024/25 had not been over-modelled, but the Department had worked hard to mitigate demand and contain costs over the year.

iv.          Members queried if the demand management target of -£4million was a control of costs by limiting services. Members were reassured that whilst the Department would seek to limit expenditure and contain growth through a series of initiatives, it had not been at the expense of services provided. For example, additional resources had been targeted into reviewing people’s care needs to ensure the support being offered was meeting need in an equitable way, to ensure people had a fair outcome from the assessment process, and that people were as independent as they could be. In terms of eligibility of services, this was set nationally and had been laid out under the Care Act.

v.          Members heard there would be growth in the numbers of people requiring services as they moved from Children’s into Adult Social Care placements, but numbers would potentially peak around the year 2030 following which they were expected to fall due to a decline in birth rates.

vi.          Members questioned whether the impact of the Fair Outcomes policy had levelled off. The Director commented that the policy had been in place for around 10 years, and that a panel had been set up to provide added assurance to the Department that assessments and provision of services were being made in accordance with the policy. As the panel had been in place for just over 12 months, the requirement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

The Committee considered a joint report of the Chief Executive and Director of Adults and Communities, which highlighted the comparative performance position in 2023/24 through national benchmarking and presented an update on the Adults and Communities Department’s performance at the end of November 2024. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 9’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the discussion, the following points were made:

1. A representative from Healthwatch questioned whether the low admission numbers into care facilities in Leicestershire were due to people having better health outcomes by remaining at home, and not needing as much hospital intervention as those in care. The Director reported a slight increase of approximately 2% in the number of contacts made to the authority from hospitals, but with the support of the Reablement Service approximately 90% of people receiving assistance had not required ongoing services after. It was noted that people in care homes would, by their very nature, have higher levels of ill health, disability and frailty and, therefore, were more likely to require additional health services.

2. There were very specific services in place across health and social care to support people who lived in care homes, for example, additional medical services, additional nursing services and different ambulance protocols, to prevent the need for them to be admitted into hospital unless absolutely necessary, but inevitably because of their health conditions they were more likely to require health services.

RESOLVED:

That the National Performance Benchmarking 2023/24 and Performance Report 2024/25, position at November 2024, be noted.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Adults and Communities, the purpose of which was to provide a summary of the latest position and process for the Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment of the County Council’s adult social care service following receipt of the CQC assessment site visit notification on 2 December 2024. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 10’ is filed with these minutes.

The timeline for the CQC’s assessment report findings and feedback would be dependent on its moderation programme and would take into account the reporting restrictions in place during any pre-election period.

RESOLVED:

That the report on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment of the County Council’s adult social care service be noted.

The next meeting of the Commission is scheduled to take place on 3 March 2025 at 2.00pm.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on 3 March 2025 at 2.00pm.