Agenda and minutes

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

Apologies for absence were received from Miss E Dawson, Mr G Koowaree and Mr D Monk.

Mrs R Binks and Mr R Bird attended as substitutes respectively.

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.

No declarations of interest were received.

To consider and approve the minutes as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2018 are correctly recorded and they be signed by the Chairman.

To receive verbal updates from the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and the Interim Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health.

1.    Graham Gibbens (Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care) gave a verbal update on the following issue:

KCC’s response to the Joint Communities & Health Committees Inquiry on the long-term funding and provision of Adult Social Care – The inquiry was announced in January 2018 with a submission deadline of 7 March 2018, therefore the submission occurred between Committee dates. As the inquiry was not a government consultation, but a call for evidence, the usual timeframe for responses to be submitted did not apply. Due to the tight timeframe, Mr Gibbens was unable to bring a draft response to the Committee. Comments from Kent County Council’s response to the inquiry had been reported in the national press, an article was published on the Daily Mail Online on 3 April 2018. The Leader of Kent County Council, Mr Carter, was in the process of making the case on the need for a sustainable solution to the funding of adult social care both in Kent and CNN roles, and had been for some time. Last year, Mr Carter asked the policy team with Kent County Council to undertake research into alternative funding models, including international social care insurance arrangements, one of which had been operating in Germany, and this research naturally formed the basis of Kent County Council’s response to the inquiry.

a)    In response to a question, Michael Thomas-Sam agreed to circulate further information on the German model to Members of the Committee.

2.    Anne Tidmarsh (Director of Older People and Physical Disability) gave a verbal update on the following issues in Penny Southern’s absence:

Local Care Implementation Plan– A workshop and conference had taken place recently in relation to local care. The Leader of Kent County Council, Mr Carter was chairing the Local Care Implementation Board for the STP, and the workshop focused on the work of GP’s, social care and housing colleagues to propose how the plan would be implemented. The conference focused on multi-disciplinary team working and jointly focusing on the vision and direction of a multi-disciplinary team. The conference was aimed at Kent’s practitioners and health professionals, and communications teams within Kent County Council had engaged with the public to gain an insight on their knowledge of multi-disciplinary working.

Dementia Action Week2018 – Mrs Tidmarsh talked about the range of activities which would be taking place throughout the country at the end of May 2018 to support people living with Dementia.

3.    RESOLVED that the verbal updates by the Cabinet Member and Director be noted.

To receive a brief verbal update on the Adult Social Care and Health Local Care Implementation Plan, a report went to the Health Reform and Public Health Cabinet Committee on 13 March 2018 and is provided for reference.

1.    Mr Gibbens (Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care) provided an update on the Adult Social Care and Health Local Care Implementation Plan and referred to the report which was presented to the Health Reform and Public Health Cabinet Committee in March 2018.

a)    In response to a question, Anne Tidmarsh said that there were no set dates in which the pilots would start as the intention of local care was that the model be implemented across the board. She said that there were ongoing discussions in relation to the pilots and whether accelerated delivery would be the best option as opposed to piloting.

b)    Mr Gibbens invited the Committee to speak to him directly with regards to individual issues or cases that needed to be raised, as each case would be investigated.

c)     In response to a question, Anne Tidmarsh said that all the plans for acceleration across the board would be incorporated so that there would be one Local Care Implementation Plan.

d)    In response to a question, Mr Gibbens said that he would work with all Members to ensure that they had all the information that they needed in relation to the Local Care plan.

2.    RESOLVED that the update be noted.

To receive a report which provides Members with an update on the commissioning of generic support services for vulnerable homeless adults and highlights new and emerging legislative change.

(Clare Maynard (Head of Commissioning Portfolio – Outcome 2 and 3) and Melanie Anthony (Commissioning and Development Manager) were in attendance for this item)

1.    Clare Maynard introduced the report which provided an update on the commissioning of generic support services for vulnerable homeless adults and the new and emerging legislative change.

a)    In response to a question, Mel Anthony said that extensive work had been undertaken to understand the diverse needs of vulnerable homeless adults. She said that some of the feedback received suggested that integrating services together to have 1 comprehensive assessment meant that Kent would be able to deliver appropriate services to people at a time of need.

b)    In response to a question Mel Anthony said that the current arrangements meant that services were not connected. Bringing the services together would better enable information to be shared, and this would also make things easier for the people who need to use them.

c)    In response to a question, Mel Anthony said that the prevention of homelessness and earliest intervention possible was critical. She said that work with the district and boroughs was ongoing in light of the Homelessness Reduction Act to ensure that any new service complemented rather than duplicated the work of the housing authorities.

d)    In response to a question, Mel Anthony said that the Voluntary Sector had been given the opportunity to inform, advise and shape proposals.

e)    In response to a question, Mel Anthony said that there was an agreed county-wide housing protocol for 16-17-year olds which described how the county and districts would interact with one another. She said that young offenders would be supported by the young person’s accommodation offer.

f)     In response to a question, Mel Anthony confirmed that Adult Social Care in Kent had 9 different providers, although many of the providers had several contracts.

g)    In response to a question, Mel Anthony said that there were ongoing conversations with districts and boroughs in relation to where the areas of demand were for the service. She added that there was a great deal of homelessness in rural areas, and therefore the offer needed to extend out to rural communities.

h)    In response to a question, Mel Anthony talked about the consultation that had been undertaken for the service and said that a questionnaire had been taken to different environments to ensure that both people that did and did not use the service were able to comment on the proposals.

i)     In response to a question, Mel Anthony said that ex-service personnel represented a high number of the rough-sleeper population. She said that they were included in the provision and creating the service would help them.

j)     In response to a question, Mel Anthony said that a key element of the service was to provide support to individuals to access their rights. She said that it was very difficult for people who had been multiply disadvantaged, and that support service do and would continue to pursue those pathways.

k)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

To receive a report which informs Members of the Committee of the new arrangements for commissioning new services for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards assessments, to reduce the size of the backlog of non-priority assessments.

(Michael Thomas-Sam (Head of Strategy and Business Support) and Clare Maynard (Head of Commissioning Portfolio – Outcome 2 and 3) were in attendance for this item)

1.    Michael Thomas-Sam introduced the report which set out the arrangements for commissioning new services for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards assessments and the plans to reduce the size of the backlog of non-priority applications. He said that the Supreme Court judgement of March 2014 had increased the DOLS applications nationally. Kent County Council had received a total of 4,402 applications yet to be completed since 1 April 2017.

a)    In response to a question, Michael Thomas-Sam said that less than 5% of DOLS applications were refused.

b)    In response to a question, Michael Thomas-Sam said that the number of DOLS applications included in the backlog would fluctuate.

c)    In response to a question, Michael Thomas-Sam said that 18% of the DOLS applications received in 2017/18 were from NHS Trusts in Kent.

d)    In response to a question, Michael Thomas-Sam said that when the additional funding for DOLS was provided by the Government in 2015, the demand for DOLS had since been factored into the budget allocation to local authorities. He added that KCC were responsible for managing the DOLS assessment process irrespective of where the applications came from – care homes or hospitals.

e)    In response to a question, Michael Thomas-Sam talked about the DOLS acid test and said that an individual who lacked the capacity to consent to the arrangements for their care and was subject to continuous supervision and control and was not free to leave their care setting, was deprived of their liberty and should be the subject of a DOLS application.

f)     In response to a question, Clare Maynard talked about the benefits of the light-touch procurement process and said that the regime enabled Kent to use a lighter procedure whilst keeping fully compliant with regulations.

g)    In response to a question, Michael Thomas-Sam said that although the new legislation applied to people aged 18 and over, there were transition issues that may have led to an individual aged 16-17 to go through the assessment. He said that there was no funding from Government in terms of the 16-17-year olds transitioning from children’s services to adult services, the funding came from Adult Social Services within KCC.

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

a)    commission new services for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards assessments to reduce the size of the backlog of non-priority assessments; and

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

be endorsed.

To receive a report which asks the Committee to endorse or make a recommendation to the Cabinet Member on the proposed decision to approve the Sensory Strategy 2018-2021.

(Beryl Palmer (Manager, Sensory and Autism Services) and Jo-Ann Robson (Specialist Teacher - Hearing Impairment at the Goldwyn School) were in attendance for this item)

1.    Beryl Palmer introduced the report which set out the finalised Sensory Strategy for 2018-2021.

a)    In response to a question, Beryl Palmer said that a Deaf Community Worker had been employed in Thanet to work with Deaf people to empower them and help them understand how things work and get improved access to local services.

b)    In response to a question, Beryl Palmer said that communication colleagues were working towards improving Kent County Council’s website accessibility for people with sensory impairments. A Member suggested that the recommendation be amended to ensure that the accessibility of Kent County Council’s website be improved as a priority. Members of the Committee supported this.

c)    In response to a question, Beryl Palmer said that there were ECLO’s (Eye Clinic Liaison Officers) based at Maidstone Hospital and William Harvey Hospital which were currently funded by KAB (Kent Association for the Blind).

d)    In response to a question, Beryl Palmer said that Hi Kent had expanded the number of lip-reading classes that they provided.

e)    In response to a question, Beryl Palmer said that Sensory Services were for everybody, regardless of a person’s other disabilities. She added that teams would work with colleagues to give advice, and input into an assessment for an individual and ensure that the needs of that person were met.

f)     In response to a question, Beryl Palmer said that KAB had arranged art clubs and found the classes very helpful and therapeutic for people with sensory impairments, there were opportunities to use The Heritage Arts Company to enhance these services.

g)    In response to a question, Beryl Palmer said that training courses were available for carers and staff in communication with people living with sensory impairments.

h)    In response to a question, Beryl Palmer said that technology was making a big impact on sensory-impaired people’s lives. Jo-Ann Robson said apps had been introduced in many Kent Schools and children were gaining a better understanding of sensory disabilities and how they affect people. Anne Tidmarsh said that Kent were developing a digital strategy for Adult Social Care, but this would be something that was looked at across the board.

i)     In response to a question, Beryl Palmer said that KAB had started to provide a counselling service for visually impaired adults.

j)     In response to a question, an officer confirmed that they would investigate and circulate information to Members of the Committee with regards to whether staff working on the reception desk within Sessions House were trained to communicate with a person who had a sensory impairment.

k)    In response to a question, Beryl Palmer said that several staff within sensory services were deaf and used hearing loops. She said that it was important to ensure that hearing loops were regularly tested and were accessible.

2.    RESOLVED that: -

a)    the proposal to end  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.

To receive a report on the British Deaf Association Charter for British Sign Language which identifies areas for ongoing and further improvement to improve Deaf people’s access to services.

(Beryl Palmer (Manager, Sensory Disabilities) and Jo-Ann Robson (Specialist Teacher - Hearing Impairment at the Goldwyn School) were in attendance for this item)

1.    Beryl Palmer introduced the report which set out the five pledges within the British Deaf Association Charter for British Sign Language and identified areas for ongoing and further improvement to improve Deaf people’s access to services.

a)    In response to a question, Anne Tidmarsh said that finding out the exact number of carers that were competent in sign language would be challenging but added that part of the strategy focused on ensuring that other agencies were involved in recruiting staff that could communicate with people with hearing impairments. Beryl Palmer added that KAB had a guide communicator service that was aimed at people who were deafblind. She said that it was important to understand how to stimulate the market to ensure that people with the right BSL skills were in the right area of Kent.

b)    In response to a question, Jo-Ann Robson said that finding a qualified and appropriately skilled person for a role was challenging, it was to know where the skilled people were and whether they were in a role that was suited to their skill-set.

2.    RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To receive a report from General Counsel on the committee’s work programme.

1.    RESOLVED that the Work Programme for 2018/19 be noted.