Minutes:
(a) Mrs Bell updated the committee on the Adult Social Care Charging Policy in relation to savings credit disregard which last came before the committee on the 18th of May 2022. A Key Decision along with an Officer Decision was taken on the 10th of June to prevent people who the Council supported from being overcharged and reassessments would be carried out to correct charges for those who had been overcharged. Phase two of the savings credit disregard would involve a consultation for those who had been potentially undercharged. The policy change that may result from this would only affect charges for new people under the auspices of the Authority’s Adult Social Care while current users, totalling around 650 users, would continue to receive the more generous allowance. Legal advice had been sought and had supported this action.
(b) Mrs Bell informed the committee that the Kent Drug and Alcohol Strategy 2023-28 consultation had been launched to gather views from Kent residents, who had been encouraged to share their experience of local drug and alcohol services to inform the 5-year strategy. This had been overseen by the Kent Substance Misuse Alliance. The strategy aimed to tackle drug and alcohol misuse through prevention, treatment and recovery and community safety. The priorities in the Kent strategy had been informed by local needs and aligned with the national drug strategy ‘From Harm to Hope’. Mrs Bell stated that the figures from 2021 showed that 308,000 people were drinking above the recommended level of alcohol, with 15% estimated to be binge drinkers. Self-reported drinking had declined among younger age groups significantly since 2011 while there had been an increase for those aged 45 or older, and highest amongst 45–65 year olds. Illicit drug misuse had remained a pervasive issue in Kent with around 10% of adults self-reported to have used recreational illicit drugs within the past 12 months, with an increasing trend among 25–29 year-olds. Mrs Bell noted that the 2023-2028 Kent Drug and Alcohol Strategy had 13 strategic priorities. The consultation sought participants impacted by drug and alcohol, those who had experience of treatment and recovery services, relatives of those impacted and practitioners. The consultation would close on the 31st October 2022.
(c) Mrs Bell noted that World Suicide Prevention Day had taken place on the 10th September 2022 and made Members aware of training and services that had been provided, and made available, by Mid-Kent Mind. The Council had published suicide support helplines on its communication channels.
(d) Mrs Bell informed the committee that to mark Blue Badge Enforcement Day on the 4th August 2022 the Kent Fraud Team had joined Swale Borough Council’s Parking Team as they conducted inspections of Blue Badge users. 209 people were inspected with 13 badges seized and around a dozen people spoken to regarding blue badge queries.
(e) Mrs Bell updated the committee on the video phone project Kara which won a first-place award in the category of Best Covid-19 Solution for Safeguarding the Vulnerable at the Health-Tech Digital Awards. Currently 1700 vulnerable people had been equipped with the technology so they could communicate with friends, family, and professionals.
(f) Mrs Bell expressed gratitude for the service of Mr McKenzie, Director of Adult Social Care and Health North and West Kent, who was leaving the Council, and wished him well for the future.
(a) He updated the committee on the reorganisation of Adult Social Care, which was informed by the Adult Social Care Strategy Development and Carers Strategy Development and was co-produced by people who had drawn on carer support. The reorganisation had been a move from diagnostic pathways to locality-based teams and aimed to provide more opportunities for career progression. The restructure would ensure that the Council met its statutory responsibilities outlined in the Care Act 2014 and the new social care reform. There would also be better alignment with geographical boundaries for help and support. The consultation ran from the 12th of July to the 2nd of September 2022 and received over 350 responses with engagement from individual teams, unions, and health colleagues.
(b) He said the team was preparing for an inspection from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) with a plan named ‘The Best We Can Be’, not just to get the team ready for the assessment but to deliver the best outcomes for all. The assessment framework covered 3 areas including the effect of the social care department, the internal relationship within the Council and the relationship with the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) and health colleagues. He also listed several areas that the assessment framework would look at under those 3 main areas including a work programme, delivery plan, quality assurance framework, audit tools, communications plan, key performance indicators, CQC inspection ready plan and new governance structure, to ensure they were well prepared for the assessment.
(c) A Winter Pressures Plan had been developed in collaboration with acute hospitals and the Integrated Care Board to prepare for the winter period. The plan aimed to avoid admissions over the winter period and to ensure the right staff were involved in decision making regarding pathways for patients. There had been an investigation into community setting and the team had worked with GPs to draw up action plans. He informed the committee that it was important to be aware that hospitals had been under pressure throughout the summer. Mr Smith listed several ongoing projects: the creation of virtual wards, single point of access for urgent crises and responses, development of an urgent treatment centre network and a discharge programme. He informed the committee that last week’s national announcement of £500 million for supporting hospitals with discharge was welcomed yet, the exact funding that would be allocated to the Council was not yet known.
(a) Asked if in-year savings were being made to the rate required and if the Council’s part of the £500 million would be enough to make up for the predicated loss of tax revenues, Mr Smith said that it was probable that the Council would receive between £10.5 to £12 million of the £500 million. He added that making savings had been difficult and complex due to inflation but was optimistic that savings targets would be reached despite this and statutory responsibilities would be met.
(b) Asked if Adult Social Care would meet the winter challenge with rising Covid-19 rates and the pressure throughout summer, Mr Smith stated that the health workforce and colleagues were very resilient and although the winter would be challenging, he remained confident in their preparations.
(c) Asked if a shortage of carers had impeded hospital discharges and how could the Council help vulnerable people stay warm in their homes during the winter, Mr Beale noted that the relationship with community support had improved, leaving them in a strong position to support people in their homes. They had been looking at intermediate care and community care to get more people out of hospital. The Winter Plan had already been worked on to ensure it moved at pace and focussed on solution-based actions to provide better outcomes, prevent hospital admissions, and support people.
(d) Asked about recruitment and retention, and what the contingency plans were regarding staff shortages due to illness if the flu forecasts were correct, Mr Smith responded that a proactive programme of vaccination for flu would be carried out in line with national guidelines but added there was the challenge of more circulation as people moved back to the office. He noted that recruitment had been difficult for social workers and his team had been proactively working on this. The Member asked for the number of social workers needed and geographical breakdown to be circulated.
4. The Chairman thanked Mr McKenzie for his contributions to the committee and wished him well for the future.