Minutes:
– Report by Director – Resources, Kent Adult Social Services)
(1) Following notification of grant allocations from the Department of Communities and Local Government, the Supporting People team had revised the five year forecast. Previous indications were that the implementation of the proposed Supporting People Distribution Formula could have resulted in a reduction in funding from £32m to £28m over a period of time. However, the indicative figures for the current Comprehensive Spending Review period indicated that Kent would receive £32m in each of the next three years.
(2) During the course of discussion, the Commissioning Body discussed in particular a proposal that the Supporting People Programme should match fund the Handyperson services in West Kent over the next three years. Caroline Davis said that the East Kent and Coastal Primary Care Trust has put in a bid to fund the Handyperson services in East Kent over the next three years. That bid would need further development which would be undertaken in discussion with Supporting People colleagues.
(3) Some Members of the Commissioning Body said that it was difficult to determine funding provision for a Handyperson service in West Kent without knowing whether that was going to be matched by a similar service in East Kent. Following discussion on this point it was agreed that the recommendation in respect of this matter should be amended, on the basis that both PCT’s should be approached about funding Handyperson schemes.
(4) During further discussion, Caroline Davis said that she had recently attended the meeting of the Kent Public Service Board at which papers relating to LAA Governance was submitted and said she would arrange for these to be forwarded for information to Members of the Commission Body.
(5) Caroline Highwood said that the cumulative value of the recommendations detailed in the report was some £4m in 2008/09. By far the biggest proportion of that money was for floating support services across the county.
(6) Subject to the proposed amendment to the recommendations put forward during the course of discussion on this item, the Commissioning Body agreed as follows:-
(a) additional floating support be commissioned to impact on waiting lists in the A,B and C bands;
(b) the PCT’s be approached to provide funding towards Handyperson schemes; and should this not be agreed, the Commissioning Body support direct funding to enhance these;
(c) that the funding identified for accommodation-based services should be tendered for as floating support and converted into accommodation-based services as the services come on stream;
(d) that service user qualifications and involvement in monitoring and review should be funded via the main grant; and
(e) that an approximate figure of just over £4m be applied to achieving this in 2008/09 and subsequently in 2009/10 this being subject to tendering where relevant and appropriate and further financial scoping of the recommendations.
(f) In agreeing to these recommendations, Members of the Commissioning Body noted that the figures given in Appendix 1 of the report did not include the impact of the one-off bid reported under item 11 of the agenda.