Agenda and minutes

The new Membership was noted and the Chairman welcomed new Members to their first meeting of the Cabinet Committee.

There were no apologies for absence and no substitutes.

The Chairman proposed and Mr A Weatherhead seconded that Mr S Webb be elected Vice-Chair of the committee.

There were no other nominations and it was duly agreed that Mr Webb be elected Vice-Chair of the committee.

Members made the following declarations:

·         Mrs A D Allen as a Trustee of North-West Kent Age UK.

·         Mr J Meade as a representative of Gravesham Borough Council on Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust.

·         Mr Collor as a relative of someone resident in a care home in Kent.

·         Mr Shonk as a relative of someone employed at a GP surgery in Kent.

·         Ms J Meade as a carer.

1.            It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meetings held on 5 March 2021 and 27 May 2021 are correctly recorded and they be signed by the Chairman when this can be done safely.

2.            There were no matters arising but the Democratic Services Officer referred to the future meeting dates listed at minute 254 and advised that the meeting calendar was currently under review. Revised meeting dates would be issued as soon as possible.

1.             The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, Mrs C Bell, gave a verbal update on the following issues:

New Cabinet Team – Mrs Bell welcomed the new Members who had joined the committee and introduced her Deputy Cabinet Members, Mrs P T Cole and Mr J Meade. Mrs Cole had served previously as a Deputy Cabinet Member and also as Chairman of the Cabinet Committee and Mr Meade had come to the Deputy Cabinet Member role after being elected to the Council in May.

National Awareness Campaigns – Mental Health Awareness Week had taken place on 10–16 May and had been strongly supported by the County Council via Explore Kent, Live Well Kent and others, and by Clinical Commissioning Groups. The emphasis this year had been on the importance of connecting to nature, for example, via walking and gardening, and by creative pursuits such as crafts and cooking.  The Kent Sheds project part 3 now had groups established all across the county.

Mental Health and Wellbeing – Given Members’ interest in mental health, Mrs Bell was arranging a joint member briefing with Sue Chandler, Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services, on the Council’s services in relation to mental health and wellbeing. The briefing would incorporate the roles of Adult Social Care, Public Health and Children’s Services, as well as the work arising from the Select Committee on Loneliness and Social Isolation. The date was yet to be confirmed but she encouraged all Members attend if they were able to.

2.            The Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health, Mr R Smith, then gave a verbal update on the following issues:

Staff update – Jeanette Young had joined the team as Interim Head of Commissioning, Adult Social Care. Recruitment would shortly be complete for a Director of Adult Social Care in East Kent and one more Assistant Director, and the team would then be complete. The Public Health team was also to become part of the Adult Social Care and Health directorate and he welcomed Dr Allison Duggal and her team.

Review of in-house services – work was ongoing to address and accommodate the changes in demand and the way in which services were delivered, which had arisen and would continue to arise from the impact of the pandemic.

Presentation - Development of a new Adult Social Care Strategy 2022-2026

3.            Mr Thomas-Sam presented a series of slides (sent to the committee before the meeting) which set out the draft structure and content of the new strategy and the timetable leading up to its publication.  He emphasised the importance of stakeholder engagement in drafting the new strategy and the need to work with, rather than for, stakeholders. Feedback would be a vital means of measuring the success of the new strategy and this would be sought from Members as well as stakeholders. Members were initially being asked to comment on the four key elements of the strategy; the vision statement, values and behaviours, the three  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

1.            Mr McKenzie introduced the report and emphasised the importance of the Winter Plan being robust to meet the demands of winter 2020/21 due to the significant challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. He responded to comments and questions from the committee, including the following:-

a)    the clarity of the report and the quality of the information included were welcomed, and the staff involved in managing winter pressures were commended;

b)    asked what part the Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) would play in managing winter pressures, Mr McKenzie advised that this was a vital part of the co-ordinated effort to manage pressures by working closely with partners.  The Council and its partners would liaise daily to brief and support each other. There was a permanent member of County Council staff whose role it was to liaise with the partners who made up the KRF; 

c)    asked about arrangements for out-of-hours discharges from hospital to a care home, Mr McKenzie commented that staff at the hospital and the home should both be fully aware when a discharge has been scheduled and that no patient should be discharged unless firm arrangements and appropriate staffing were in place to admit them safely to the home. Ms Maynard assured Members that the County Council worked closely with partners to manage the discharge process and ensure that it was properly followed;    

d)    asked how lessons could be taken from anything which had not gone well, Mr McKenzie advised that challenges arising from any period of particularly heavy pressure offered an opportunity to identify anything which had not previously been envisaged or a need to adjust practice to respond to a specific circumstance and thus strengthen service delivery; and

e)    Mr McKenzie advised that the majority of funding for winter pressures work this year came via the Clinical Commissioning Groups, as funding was provided to them to support the response to the pandemic, and this funding was able to be drawn down to cover actual spending on additional schemes which were put in place.

2.         It was RESOLVED that the information set out in the report be welcomed and noted, with thanks.

1.             Ms Maynard introduced the report, about which there were no questions.

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

a)    extend the Discharge Services contracts until 31 March 2022, with a further option to extend until 30 September 2022;

b)    extend the east Kent Cottage Hospital discharge service until 31 March 2022; and

c) delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health to take relevant actions, including but not limited to finalising the terms of, and entering into, required contract or other legal agreements, as necessary, to implement the decision, be endorsed.

1.            Ms Agyepong and Ms M Stirrup introduced the report and responded to comments and questions from the committee, including the following:-

a)    funding for services for 16-17 year olds was not yet known but identifying this would be part of the detailed mapping work which would start shortly;

b)    the proposed extension of the contract was welcomed but concern was expressed that changes introduced by the Liberty Protection Safeguards did not include the same requirement for an assessment. Ms Stirrup advised that this and other elements of the impact of the changes would be covered by a new code of practice.  The impact of the changes would be examined very carefully by a task and finish group; and

c)    it was suggested that a further report be presented to a future meeting of the committee to set out the details of the impact of the implementation of Liberty Protection Safeguards.

2.            It was RESOLVED that:-

a)    the decision proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, to:

i)    extend the current contract with South-East Memory Assessment Services from 1 September 2021 to 31 March 2022, by means of a Written Justification for Exemption from the Normal Contract Procedure; and

ii)   delegate authority to the Corporate Director of 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, be endorsed;

b)    the planned implementation of Liberty Protection Safeguards as a replacement to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards be noted; and

c)    a further report be presented to a future meeting of the committee to set out the details of the impact of the implementation of Liberty Protection Safeguards.

It was RESOLVED that the committee’s planned work programme for 2021/22 be noted.