Agenda item

Ms P Watson, Commissioning Manager, Learning Disability, was in attendance for this item.

1.         Ms Watson and Ms Southern introduced the report and explained that all 12 districts of Kent will go through a consultation exercise about the way in which day services for people with a learning disability should be organised.  The Shepway consultation has recently ended and the responses are currently being collated, while the Thanet consultation took place earlier and the modernisation of service provision there is more advanced. Previous consultations have been run in Ashford, Maidstone and Medway.

2.         Ms Watson updated some of the information in the report about the Shepway consultation, to reflect developments since it was written, as follows:-

• The consultation ran from 27 November 2011 to 28 February 2012.

• 550 consultation packs had been sent out and 109 replies received, most filled in by service users and others by family members or carers.

• The 2012/15 Medium Term Plan includes £400,000 of capital funding to support the modernisation of day services in Shepway.

• The outcomes of the consultation exercise will be reported to the Cabinet Member, Mr Gibbens.

3.         Ms Watson, Ms Southern and Mr Ireland responded to comments and questions from Members and the following points were highlighted:-

a)         Members were pleased with the number of responses received to the consultation, particularly the number completed by service users. Advocacy support is key in allowing service users to take part in shaping service provision in this way. Members commented that this is an illustration that good consultation does indeed work;

b)         the report was praised for its clarity, and the consultation process described within it was accessible and inclusive.  Both are good examples of best practise;

c)         identifying and contacting service users to take part in the consultation is straightforward, even across a large geographical area, as they all attend the current day centre facilities at some time, and can be engaged there face to face.  Families of service users can be more difficult to reach, however, and might need different methods of engagement.  This and past consultations of this type have shown that using mixed methods of engagement does not reduce the level of response received. Consultation in each case involved only those service users and families who would be affected by the changes proposed; there were no general public meetings; and

d)         Mr Ireland told Members about a young man he had met at an event in Ashford, who had previously attended a day centre there and was now enjoying a much wider range of activities, including a gym and a farm centre, and had a much wider and more rewarding experience of life.  He is an example of the benefits of offering people with learning disabilities an improved range of activities in different settings.  Another example was given of a lady who has gained independence and new confidence from the modernised service provision in Ashford.

3.         RESOLVED that the clarity of the report be welcomed as an example of good consultation and reporting, and the information set out in it and in response to comments and questions be noted, with thanks.