Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Mr M J Balfour and Mr S J G Koowaree.

Mr D L Brazier was present as a substitute for Mr Balfour and Mr R H Bird as a substitute for Mr Koowaree.

There were no declarations of interest.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 20 January 2021 are correctly recorded and a paper copy be signed by the Chairman when this can be done safely. There were no matters arising. 

The Cabinet Committee is asked to note that the following dates have been reserved for its meetings in 2021/22.

17 June 2021

29 September 2021

24 November 2021

18 January 2022

4 March 2022

21 June 2022 

All meetings start at 10.00 am.

The Cabinet Committee NOTED that the following dates had been reserved for its meetings in 2021/22:

17 June 2021

29 September 2021

24 November 2021

18 January 2022

4 March 2022

21 June 2022

All meetings would start at 10.00 am.

NOTE: The June 2021 date was subsequently reviewed when the County Council was required to return to face-to-face meetings for some committees. Further updates on meeting dates will be made as and when known.

1.            The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, Mrs C Bell,

gave a verbal update on the following issues:-

Symptom-free Testing sites – 24 sites were now open across the county and a full list of them could be found on the Kent County Council website. As at 28 February, 364,065 tests had been done, of which, 2,460 had been positive. Anyone testing positive would be advised to self-isolate.

Kent Infection Control Hub launch – an online portal brought together expertise from social care providers and offered interactive features such as webinars, podcasts and a chat facility.

Loneliness and Social Isolation Select Committee – work was continuing to implement the recommendations of the Select Committee, which had reported in March 2019:

·         Knock and Check Campaign – this had been running since October 2020 and encouraged people to check on a neighbour whom they knew to be vulnerable, elderly or alone, to check that they were alright and if they needed any help, for example, with shopping or household tasks.  The campaign had attracted positive media coverage and an estimated 6,500 people living alone had been helped by it.

·         Community Wardens Social Prescribingproject ‘Connected Communities’ – community wardens had been trained as community connectors, to reach people aged 65+, living alone, who may otherwise become isolated and lonely. Four pilot schemes had been established, in Folkestone, Maidstone, Ramsgate and Sheerness, which offered a 12-week intervention using video calling. Face to face meetings would be added later, once pandemic restrictions had been relaxed. In the pilot areas, referrals could be made online.

KARA project – a series of slides set out the latest statistics and feedback on the project. Licensing for tablets to access the project had now been extended to April 2022, allowing people to continue benefitting from the project while covid-19 restrictions were ongoing. More than 1,000 tablets had been activated for use with the project and a second dedicated support worker had been recruited. 127,000 calls had been made and feedback from the users of the project had been very positive. For example, use of tablets by care home residents had freed up the homes’ phone lines, which would previously have been tied up for long periods of time, and people working with sensory teams could communicate by sign language, using the device. One unit had been supplied to inpatients of a psychiatric unit and three supplied to Maidstone Hospital. Mrs Bell recorded her thanks to the teams who had set up and run the project and hoped that it could be further extended in the future.

2.            As this was the final meeting under the current administration, Mrs Bell thanked the Chairman for her leadership of the committee and thanked Members for their interest and constructive challenge and questioning at meetings. She also thanked the Deputy Cabinet Member, Diane Morton, for her support of the Cabinet Member role and, in particular, as a champion of mental health issues.

3.            Mrs Bell responded to comments  ...  view the full minutes text for item 255.

Ms Sian Walker-McAllister, an Independent Social Care and Health Consultant who had been engaged to undertake a strategic review of the Kent and Medway Safeguarding Adults Board, and Andrew Rabey, the new Board Chairman, were present for this item at the invitation of the committee.

1.            Ms Walker-McAllister presented a series of slides, which set out the statutory context and framework of the review, its findings, partners’ views and its twelve recommendations for change. Mr Rabey introduced himself and added that his key aim was to raise awareness of the Board’s work and improve understanding of the issues it dealt with.

2.            Ms Walker-McAllister and Mr Rabey responded to comments and questions from the committee, including the following:-

a)    the Board’s work and recommendations were welcomed and the importance of involving citizens was emphasised, as safeguarding was an issue for which everyone should take responsibility. Mr Rabey advised that, as part of his leadership, he would ensure democratic involvement and that everyone could have a say in how the review recommendations were to be actioned;

b)    it was suggested that the presentation of the annual report and recommendations be made to the whole Council so that all Members would have the chance to see it and understand the issues and the work of the Board;

c)    asked what steps were in place to ensure that all the recommendations were actioned, Mr Rabey advised that the Board would conduct an in-depth review to discuss the report’s findings and how to action these, after liaising with the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health to prepare and agree an action plan. This would include how to achieve democratic involvement.  He undertook to update the Cabinet Committee on the progress of this work; and

d)    asked about transition services for young people aged 16+, moving from children’s to adult services, Ms Walker-McAllister advised that innovative work was going on with children’s and families professionals to ensure that appropriate ongoing support was available to young people.  For example, Lambeth Council’s Safeguarding Partnership, which had a similar role to the Kent and Medway Safeguarding Adults Board, was working with the Local Government Association on a peer group review of this issue.  The outcomes of this would work be known in the next year or so and best practice would then be available for other authorities to adopt.

3.            The Cabinet Member, Mrs Bell, welcomed the report and advised that safeguarding issues had always had a high priority, particularly for the Chairman of the County Council, Graham Gibbens. She agreed that safeguarding was everyone’s business and that the public needed to be aware of it, what to look out for and how to report suspected abuse.

4.        It was RESOLVED that the presentation and ongoing work be noted and welcomed, with thanks.

1.            Ms J Davidson introduced the report and presented a series of slides (included in the agenda pack), which set out activity in the year from March 2020 to January 2021 and key developments in practice, including the Making a Difference Every Day (MADE) project and examples of practice as ‘postcards from practice’.  There were no questions.

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

1.            Mr Smith presented a series of slides (included in the agenda pack), which summarised the background to the review, which had only very recently issued its report, and advised that the recommendations arising from it would be considered in the first instance by the Directorate Management Team. A fuller report on the findings and recommendations of the review would then be made to a later meeting of the Cabinet Committee. The County Council had been keen to have an external review so had commissioned the peer review.

2.         It was RESOLVED that the recommendations from the Adult Social Care Internal Assessment, and put forward by the Local Government Association Equality Peer Review report, be noted, with thanks.

1.            Mr Smith introduced the report and explained that it represented a new interrelationship between the County Council and its NHS partners but emphasised that it did not replace the existing decision-making mechanism. He thanked Mat Pelling for the great amount of work he had put into establishing the new arrangements. Mr Pelling then gave a detailed summary of the background, rationale and process for developing the new arrangements and how they would be monitored.  

2.            Asked about the benefits of the County Council co-ordinating arrangements rather than taking on direct control of commissioning, Mr Smith explained that the integrated service model set out in the proposed decision would make the best sense to people receiving services and that the management and leadership role was the one which the County Council was required to take as a first tier local authority. The detailed contractual arrangements would be worked through as the next stage of implementing the proposed decision.  

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

a) enter into such agreements that are necessary with the Kent and Medway

Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and other local NHS organisations to create a new strategic planning and delivery framework for Kent’s residents with a learning disability, and autistic people; and

b) delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health, to finalise and approve the formal agreements to establish the new framework,

be endorsed.

1.            Ms Groombridge introduced the report and highlighted the key areas of performance. There were no questions.

2.            It was RESOLVED that the performance of services in quarter 3 of 2020/21 be noted, with thanks.

1.            Mr Gough introduced the report and explained that, in line with recent uncertainty and the ongoing pandemic restrictions, some risks had increased to a red rating. The risk register would be reviewed constantly through 2021 in the light of the gradual easing of lockdown and the stages of recovery. However, it was difficult to predict yet how much individual risks might change.

2.         It was RESOLVED that the risks presented be noted, with thanks. 

1.            Ms Goldsmith introduced the report and reminded Members that the rates listed applied only to in-house services and that, as most services were means-tested, people would only pay what they could afford. The charges listed were therefore the maximum possible payable.  

2.         It was RESOLVED that revisions to the rates payable and charges levied for adult social care services in 2021-2022 be noted, with thanks. 

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

1.            The Chairman thanked Members for their engagement and contribution to the work of the committee and the quality of debate of the issues on which the committee had been asked to comment. She also thanked the officers for their reports and the time and effort they had given to helping Members to understand and contribute to the issues placed before them. 

2.            The Vice-Chairman thanked the Chairman for her leadership of the Cabinet Committee.