Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence and notification of any substitutes present.

1.            Apologies for absence had been received from Mr D D Monk and Ida Linfield.

2.            Mr G Cooke was present as a substitute for Mr Monk and Mr D S Daley was present as a substitute for Ida Linfield.

To elect a Vice-Chairman for the committee

1.            Mr K Gregory proposed and Mrs A D Allen seconded that Ms D Marsh be elected Vice-Chairman of the Committee. There were no other nominations. 

Agreed without a vote.

2.            Ms D Marsh was duly elected Vice-Chairman of the Committee.

To receive any declarations of interest made by Members in relation to any matter on the agenda.  Members are reminded to specify the agenda item number to which it refers and the nature of the interest being declared.

1.            Mrs A D Allen made a general declaration of interest as the Co-Chairman of her local Partnership Group for People with Learning Disabilities.

2.            Mr S J G Koowaree made a general declaration of interest as his grandson was looked after by the County Council.

3.            Mr R A Pascoe made a general declaration of interest as his granddaughter was severely disabled.

To consider and approve the minutes as a correct record

RESOLVED that, subject to the deletion of a question mark in the second italic bullet point in paragraph 4 of minute 4 of the 14 March minutes, the minutes of the final meeting of the former Adult Social Care and Health Cabinet Committee held on 14 March 2017 and the first meeting of this committee held on 25 May 2017 be approved as a correct record.  There were no matters arising.

1.            The Chairman welcomed the new Members who had recently joined the County Council and welcomed all Members to the first meeting of the new Adult Social Care Cabinet Committee.

2.            The Cabinet Member, Mr G K Gibbens, advised the committee that a Government consultation on the core offer of services for older people living with Dementia had started on 9 June and would continue until 21 July. He added that any Member wishing to speak to him about the consultation would be most welcome to come to his office at any time.   

The Chairman asked Members if, in debating these items, they wished to refer to the exempt appendices which accompanied agenda items 6 and 7, and if they wished to pass a motion to exclude the press and public.  Members confirmed that they did not wish to refer to the exempt information and discussion of the two items was thus able to take place in open session.    

To receive a report from the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and the Corporate Director of Social Care, Health and Wellbeing and to consider and endorse or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member on the proposed decision to agree to continue, for some contracted providers, service provision on the existing terms and conditions through to 31 May 2019, and, for other contracted providers, where mutual negotiation can be agreed, to award varied interim contracts through to 31 May 2019.

1.            Mr Lobban introduced the report and explained that, although the two services covered in this and the next agenda item were parts of a larger programme of community service delivery, the proposed treatment of the two services would require separate key decisions. He set out the main issues affecting the delivery of home care services nationally, including workforce issues (staff terms and conditions, travel to clients and competition from other local employers), and the need to integrate and align social care and NHS services.  These issues had prompted a review of the way in which the services were to be delivered.  The current proposals were part of phase three of the County Council’s transformation programme, and would be helped by the additional funding made available nationally to support social care services.  It was proposed that the County Council continue to contract with its current providers until May 2019, at which time the re-modelled services would be ready to re-tender. This delay would allow time to tackle the workforce issues.

2.            Mr Lobban, Mr Ireland and Mrs Tidmarsh then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following:-

a)    a view was expressed that, as part of a sustainable employment market, zero-hour contracts were a welcome choice for some workers, and so should be offered as an option, alongside full-time and permanent contracts.  Mr Lobban reiterated that the current plans allowed for workforce issues to be examined as a whole.  This would present a challenge but would bring long-term benefits; 

b)    in response to a question about how the home care market could tackle the issue of many older people being lonely rather than being in need of any specific care services, Mr Lobban explained that this could be addressed when reviewing the provision of Domiciliary  Care as part of the service re-model. Applying national trends, it had been estimated that, in Kent, some 30,000 older people were isolated from neighbours and family, and establishing initiatives to help them keep in touch was an important area of work.  Mr Ireland added that the Care Act of 2014 had broadened the definition of ‘eligible needs’ to include emotional as well as practical needs;

c)    the need to achieve consistency of care was emphasised, so an older person would know whom to expect to arrive at their home and would be able to build a rapport with that person;

d)    the extent of  work invested in innovating and finding the best model of care provision was acknowledged, but concern expressed that the delay in finalising NHS Sustainability Transformation Plans (STPs) would mean they would not be as helpful as they could be in supporting this agenda;

e)    in response to a question about the danger of contractors being unable to fulfil their contractual obligations, and what would happen in this instance, Mr Ireland explained that the ultimate responsibility to provide services for those who needed them rested with the County Council, and if a contractor were to default on a contract  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To receive a report from the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and the Corporate Director of Social Care, Health and Wellbeing and to consider and endorse or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member on the proposed decision to agree to continue service provision on the existing, or varied, terms and conditions to 31 May 2019, and, for other contracted providers, where mutual negotiation can be agreed, to award varied interim contracts through to 31 May 2019.

1.            Mr Lobban introduced the item and explained that this proposed continuation was also part of phase three of the transformation agenda, and was being presented for the same reasons as the Homecare service.  The Supporting Independence Service was also affected by the same workforce issues as set out in the previous item. It was proposed that the County Council continue to contract with its current providers until May 2019, at which time the remodelled services would be ready to re-tender. This delay would allow time to tackle the workforce issues. This issue was also the subject of a pilot scheme currently running in Canterbury, working with service users to help them identify and set achievable goals and to monitor their progress, and to look at how services could best be integrated with those of the NHS. Mr Lobban explained that the use of Canterbury for both pilot schemes was coincidental and that projects were not area-specific. When required, a pilot would be allocated to whichever of the four transformation teams was able to run it, and the Canterbury team happened to be doing the two mentioned. 

2.         RESOLVED that the decision proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, to:-

a)     agree to continue service provision on the existing, or varied, terms and conditions through to 31 May 2019, and, for other contracted providers, where mutual negotiation can be agreed, to award varied interim contracts through to 31 May 2019;

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; and

b)     authorise officers to commence market engagement in readiness for the full procurement process, where required,

be endorsed.

To receive a report setting out a position statement for services within Social Care and Health regarding equality and diversity work and progress on KCC equality objectives for 2016/17.

Mr M Thomas-Sam, Head of Strategy and Business Support, and Ms A Agyepong, Corporate Lead, Equality and Diversity, were in attendance for this item.

1.            Mr Thomas-Sam introduced the report and he and Ms Agyepong responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following:-

a)    data relating to religion and sexual orientation listed in the report included a high proportion ‘unknown/not recorded’, and Ms Agyepong explained that, although the aim was to gather the fullest information possible, this would rely on respondents being comfortable and willing to share information. Most respondents were aware that they were under no obligation to supply such information.  It was always important that data provided be protected and treated with caution.  Information requested from people must be relevant and proportionate to the intended aim.  For example, in planning end-of-life work, a person’s religious beliefs, if any, would play a role in the service provided for them in their final days;

b)    the information listed in the report referred to County Council employees, and it would be useful to be able to compare this with the proportion of the Kent population as a whole.  Ms Agyepong undertook to provide this information to the questioner outside the meeting; and

c)    the report stated that there had been no financial implications in producing it, and Ms Agyepong explained that gathering and reporting such data was a core activity for the Equality and Diversity team and hence did not require any additional cost,  beyond the usual everyday resources. Future reports could refer to there being ‘limited’ financial implications rather than ‘none’.  

2.            RESOLVED that:-

a)    current performance and proposed priorities be noted;

b)    it be ensured that equality governance continue to be observed in relation to decision making; and

c)     the approach for delivering against the new equality objectives, and

      annual reporting to the committee, be agreed, the latter in order to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), and ensure progress against the Council’s objectives.

To receive a report from the Head of Democratic Services on the Committee’s work programme

RESOLVED that the committee’s work programme for 2017/18 be noted.