Agenda item

Mr Simon Mitchell, Senior Commissioner, and Ms Xan Brooker, Commissioner were in attendance for this item.

1.    Ms Brooker introduced the report and gave an overview of the current Positive Behavioural Support Framework and the options for the procurement of a new four-year open Bespoke Support Service Framework.  The framework would collaborate with providers from the NHS and Social Care.

2.    Mr Mitchell and Ms Brooker responded to comments and questions from the committee, including the following:

(a)  Asked about specific needs of individuals and whether specialist charities were included within the framework, Mr Mitchell said the open framework would allow the flexibility to approach relevant providers to deliver a required service and the number of providers would not be restricted.

(b)  Asked about the financial implications, and current and future costs for the Council, Ms Brooker said the service was being developed around individual needs and was joint funded by the NHS. The costs had been aggregated and sometimes were in favour of the NHS and sometimes of the local authority. Services were being developed in line with the strategic framework.

(c)  Asked whether the Cabinet Committee would be informed of the financial effect and benefits of recommissioning the service, Mr Mitchell said these were individual bespoke packages of care and it would be difficult to provide information on each one to the Cabinet Committee. Mrs Bell said more information would be provided to the Cabinet Committee at an appropriate time.

(d)  Asked about the current number of people receiving the service and how this had changed since the report was written, Ms Brooker said there were 65 inpatients aged over 18, of that number 21 were aged between 18 and 25 and 44 were aged over 25.

(e)  Asked whether there would be opportunities for providers within the arts sector, Ms Brooker said a benefit of an open framework was that it removed categorisation of people and provided a needs led partnership based approach which invited providers to collaborate.

(f)   Members expressed concerns that an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) had not yet been undertaken for the new service. Ms Dene said an EIA was in place for the existing service and the new EIA would be completed alongside the recommissioning process. Mr Thomas-Sam said the service was currently in a development phase and the EIA would be completed after the committee had endorsed the commencement to develop a new framework. Mrs Bell said the decision to award contracts would come back to the committee along with a completed EIA.

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

(a)          Approve the procurement for a new Bespoke Support Service for people with complex needs; and

(b)          Delegate authority to the Corporate Director Adult Social Care and Health and Corporate Director Children Young People and Education to take other 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.

Ms Meade and Mr Streatfeild asked for their abstentions to be noted in the minutes.