Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Adults and Communities which provided members with a progress report on the Adults and Communities Local Account and invited the Committee to make comments on the content and format of the Local Account. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 9’ is filed with these minutes.

The Chairman welcomed the Cabinet Lead Member for Adult Social Care, Mr D W Houseman MBE CC, to the meeting for this and other items. Mr Houseman advised the Committee that there was no statutory obligation for local authorities to produce a Local Account. However, the County Council recognised that the Local Account was a useful document in enabling service users and the wider public to gain a better understanding of the Adults and Communities Department’s performance and the challenges that it faced. The document provided useful information and outlined examples of schemes that were providing better outcomes for service users as well as saving money. The document also recognised areas of weakness where the County Council needed to improve.

The Chairman also welcomed Fiona Barber, Healthwatch, to the meeting for this and other items. Ms Barber advised that Healthwatch welcomed the Local Account and commended its readability and format. She suggested that an Executive Summary might make the report more accessible to a wider audience. The report was open in identifying areas of concern and Healthwatch would hope that these areas would be addressed by the County Council.

Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

(i)      The Committee welcomed the accessibility and readability of the report. It was explained that in producing the Local Account officers had tried to ensure that the report was presentable and transparent. Consideration was being given to producing a one page summary document;

(ii)     Members expressed concern at some of the areas identified in the report where the County Council was performing below the national average and noted that a relatively high proportion of service users did not feel they had control of the services that they received or were satisfied with services. The Committee was advised that the County Council would continue to ascertain what drove people’s views on services and to identify the key indicators to better ensure that service users were satisfied with the services that they received. In producing the report officers had tried to ensure that areas of poor performance were identified to allow for improvements to be made in these areas over the coming year;

(iii)    The Committee queried the decrease in service users’ satisfaction levels over the previous year. Members were advised that there was a large variation in satisfaction levels year on year. Over the past five years levels had moved from the bottom quartile to the top quartile and now resided in the third quartile. Evidence suggested that this variation did not accurately represent true satisfaction levels for service users and it was only by looking at longer term trends that a more accurate level could be ascertained. The County Council would continue to engage with people locally to establish how it could make improvements and ensure a more positive experience for service users;       

(iv)   The report presented a lot of information as percentages. Members stated that this could unintentionally mislead readers and that actual figures for services would allow for a better understanding of performance. Officers undertook to take this on board;

(v)    Members emphasised that where a service user contacted the Customer Service Centre (CSC) in relation to adult social care, it was vital for them to get a response quickly and not to be diverted to other areas. The Committee was advised that the majority of enquires were responded to on first contact. Where a person unsuccessfully tried to contact the CSC this was logged and latest figures indicated that performance in this area was good. The priority for the CSC was to ensure that a clear and timely response was given to the service user. More information on social care queries received by the CSC could be provided to the Committee if required.        

RESOLVED:

That the progress report on the fourth Adults and Communities Local Account be noted.