Issue - meetings

Mr Robert Underwood, Adult Social Care Project Manager, and Ms Maureen Stirrup, Head of Service - Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) County Team, were in attendance for this item. 

1.    Ms Stirrup introduced the report and said it was necessary for the current arrangements with South East Memory Assessment Services to be extended for a further year to 31 March 2023.  It was expected that the Liberty Protection Safeguards Code of Practice would be made public in summer 2022 and would provide the detail required to enable a new contract to be let to cover any requirements post 31 March 2023.

2.    Asked about the consultation process Ms Stirrup said it would last for 12 weeks and Ms Meade expressed her interest in being part of the consultation.

3.    It was RESOLVED that the decision to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health to:

a)    Extend the current contract with South East Memory Assessment Services for 12 months from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, by means of a Written Justification for Exemption from the Normal Contract Procedure; and

b)    Delegate authority to the Corporate Director Adult Social Care and Health to take relevant actions, including but not limited to finalising the terms of and entering into required contracts or other legal agreements, as necessary to implement the decision; and

c)    Consider and note the planned implementation of Liberty Protection Safeguards as a replacement to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards,

be endorsed.