Agenda item

1.    The report was introduced by Diane Morton, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, who provided an overview and context surrounding the Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment of Kent County Council’s Adult Social Care function.

2.    Mr Richard Smith, Director of Adult Social Care, outlined the strategic timeline post-Covid, the ‘requires improvement’ outcome of the assessment and the steps taken since March 2024 to achieve improvement.

3.    It was confirmed that there was a £45 million overspend rolled over from the previous year within the Adult Social Care Directorate that was offset by savings in other areas of the Council.

4.    In response to comments and questions from guests and Members the discussion covered the following:

• Regarding Appendix 2, Mr Smith outlined the areas of success within the improvement plan which included moving staff into community teams and the approach to innovation and transitions between children’s and adult services. Safeguarding referrals were identified as an area requiring further monitoring as well as strategic partnerships in which Miss Morton detailed future plans for a Partnership Communication Board.
• Concerns on the net overspend of £35.5 million were contextualised by the national issue of demand outstripping resources with a 4% gap in demand and funding within Kent also being reflected in the national overspend. Emphasis was placed on the complexity of balancing savings programmes and the statutory obligation to meet assessed care needs as well as an overview on preventatives measures to reduce demand for social care. The financial relationship with the NHS was also addressed, with various degrees of satisfaction existing across different areas of care.

• The key area of the improvement plan that posed the greatest challenge was ensuring consistency across the service. Tricia Pereira, Head of Service Improvement, also identified remaining key areas, including raising awareness towards accurate safeguarding referrals, investment in workforce, improving workflow, and utilising technology.

• An unpaid carers online assessment tool had been launched, for which work to raise awareness and accessibility was being reviewed.
• It was confirmed that there were no cost efficiencies or savings set against the Ring-Fenced Grant for domestic violence.
• Steps had been taken to improve staff survey results, including the incorporation of feedback from 24 community teams across Kent into future planning. A summary of improvements to the review and reassessment process was also provided by Mark Albiston, Director of Adult Social Care (Operations), with sustainable improvements made across several targets, despite further overall progress still being required. Details were shared on the forward-looking approach to transition services into Adult Social Care including moving the 18–25 year-old strengthening independence services back to the Adult Social Care directorate.

5.    Following the questions, the Chair welcomed comments and views from the Committee about the report. These included:

• Concern was raised regarding the ongoing overspend in the Adult Social Care budget, and the effectiveness of current arrangements in ensuring future savings.
• Support for the Plan was expressed alongside scepticism on whether Local Government Reform would hinder the development of important new strategies.
• A Member queried the impact of central government changes to National Insurance on the Adult Social Care budget, and whether additional budgetary provisions would be made as a result.
• Structural changes to induce savings such as a reduction in the overreliance on the private sector and a focus on domiciliary care to reduce the need for complex care interventions were posed by a Member.
• Clarification was required about the specific impacts and decisions that were taken as the result of the CQC report and whether this would be signposted in future reports.
• A Member posed a question on the budgetary impact of the removal of overseas care workers visas.

6.    The Chairman called on the Cabinet Member to provide comments and clarifications on the Member’s points of debates:

• Miss Morton acknowledged the comments made by Members and highlighted the upcoming Casey Review, National Insurance contributions and Employment Bill as having potential future impacts on the Adult Social Care provision.
• In response to questions regarding increasing the Adult Social Care budget, Mr Smith highlighted the financial constraints imposed by central government and the Council’s statutory duty to deliver services within these limitations.

7.    The Chairman proposed to note the report and request that the Adult Social Care and Public Health Cabinet Committee adds to its work programme a further review of the Improvement Plan, specifically in relation to the eight bullet points on page 23 of the Scrutiny Committee report, giving regard to the budget position of the Adult Social Care & Health Directorate. This was seconded by Mr Eustace and agreed by the Committee.

RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Committee note the report and requests that the Adult Social Care and Public Health Cabinet Committee adds to its work programme a further review of the Improvement Plan, specifically in relation to the eight bullet points on page 23 of the Scrutiny Committee report, giving regard to the budget position of the Adult Social Care & Health Directorate.