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  • Issue
  • Issue details

    Wayfarers care home, Sandwich - proposal to work with the market to secure the transfer and sale of the registered care home Wayfarers, Sandwich, as a going concern

    Proposed decision: Subject to the outcome of consultation, to agree that the County Council:

    1.      Sell Wayfarers as a going concern to a provider of care with a good track record

    2.      Transfer staff under TUPE to the new provider

     

    The proposed decision relates to Corporate Objectives, and there are a number of strategies and frameworks that need to be considered:

    ·         Increasing Opportunities, Improving Outcomes: Kent County Council’s Strategic Statement 2015 – 2020

    ·         The Care Act 2014

    ·         KCC Adult Social Care Transformation Programme

    ·         Facing the Challenge: Delivering Better Outcomes

    ·         The Kent Accommodation Strategy which is the over-riding Market Position Statement for Kent

    Financial Implications:

    It is not known what the financial implications are until formal market tender activity is underway. It is not expected there will be any immediate savings due to the impact of TUPE and service costs but it is expected there will be over time.

    Legal Implications:

    The County Council has a statutory responsibility to accommodate people assessed as requiring residential care services. There is a duty to make sure that all care home provision that the council places residents in is safeguarding individuals and that effective contract management is in place.

    Equality Implications:

    An Equalities Impact Assessment has been completed for the overall project. Individual EqIAs will be completed to accompany the recommendation report and proposed decision.

    The matter is referred to in the Directorate’s Business Plan/Medium Term Capital Programme.

    Decision type: Key

    Reason Key: Expenditure or savings of more than £1m;

    Decision status: Recommendations Approved

    Division affected: Sandwich;

    Notice of proposed decision first published: 14/01/2016

    Anticipated restriction: Part exempt  - View reasons

    Explanation of anticipated restriction:
    Part of the supporting paperwork will contain commercially-sensitive information.

    Decision due: Not before 8th Feb 2016 by Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health
    Reason: in order that the proposed decision can be published for a minimum of 28 days, in accordance with statutory requirements

    Lead member: Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health

    Lead director: Mark Lobban

    Department: Social Care, Health & Wellbeing

    Contact: Christy Holden, Head of Children's Commissioning 03000 415356.

    Consultees

    At its meeting on 11 September 2015, the Adult Social Care and Health Cabinet Committee was given the opportunity to comment on the proposals before the start of formal public consultation.  The Committee resolved that the proposal for consultation be endorsed.

     

    An update on the formal consultation process was provided to the Adult Social Care and Health Cabinet Committee on 3 December 2015.

     

    The proposed decision was discussed at the Adult Social Care and Health Cabinet Committee Meeting on 14 January 2016.

     

    Officers introduced the report and explained that the County Council was confident of being able to secure a trusted provider to run Wayfarers as a care home and assured Members that the contract of sale would include a requirement that the purchaser undertake to continue to do this.  The sale was expected to take approximately twelve months to complete. Officers responded to comments and questions from Member, as follows:-

     

    a)    concern was expressed that County Council Members had not been notified of or invited to attend meetings about the proposals which had been held in Sandwich in November.  The Chairman agreed that it would have been useful for County Council Members to have had an opportunity to attend but advised that the meetings concerned had been organised by the Sandwich Town Council, so the County Council had no input into who was notified or invited. Officers added that the officer team had attended and made presentations at several related meetings in Sandwich. At these meetings, the strength of local feeling and wish to retain Wayfarers as a care home had been clear, and the County Council’s drive to achieve this via a covenant in the contract of sale was supported; and

     

    b)    concern was expressed that the County Council’s in-house unit cost across various types of social care provision was generally higher than unit costs achieved by private providers for comparative services.  The public trusted the local authority to provide care services so should continue to offer this option for those who wanted it.  Although the unit cost of local authority care services was higher, the authority had the advantage of being able to have its services formally scrutinised and be held to account for the quality of service it provided.   

     

    The Cabinet Member, Mr Gibbens, reported that he had attended a meeting in Sandwich at which it had been clear that the Town Council did not support the sale of Wayfarers as a going concern.  He sympathised that people were generally fearful of change.  It was important that older people in Sandwich should continue to have a choice of services.  He stated his commitment to securing the best way forward for Wayfarers and said he would give it all the support necessary to ensure that it would thrive.

     

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

     

    a)    secure the sale of the Wayfarers registered care home, Sandwich, as a going concern; and

     

    b)    delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Social Care, Health and Wellbeing, or other nominated officer, to undertake the necessary actions to implement the decision,

     

    taking account of the comments made by this committee, be endorsed.

     

    Mrs P Brivio and Mr T Maddison requested that their abstentions from this resolution be recorded

     

     Other consultation planned or undertaken:

     

    The County Council has a duty to undertake formal consultation on any proposed changes to services. The procedure for consultation on modernisation/variation or closure of establishments for Social Care will be followed.

     

    A range of stakeholders have been informed in writing and invited to comment on the proposal.

     

    A meeting was held with staff, residents and relatives of the home and the minutes of this meeting have been circulated to all participants and posted on the consultation webpage.

     

    The 12 week consultation period for the modernisation of our Older Persons’                        Provision concluded on 20 December 2015. Residents, carers, staff, unions and       relevant bodies have been involved with meetings and their views have been      considered.

     

    The consultation concerning Wayfarers received a total of 65 responses. A number of letters were copied to the local MP, local councillor, Cabinet Member and Leader, and officers within KCC. Each letter was responded to either by a standard acknowledgement or a more detailed letter responding to any queries or inaccuracies in their statements.

     

    A breakdown of the consultation responses is set out in the accompanying recommendation report.

     

     

    Financial implications: Christy Holden, Head of Commissioning (Accommodation) Christy.holden@kent.gov.uk 03000 415356

    Legal implications: 16/00006

    Decisions

    Agenda items