Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Chakraborty who was substituted by Councillor Woodcock- Velleman

Apologies were received from Councillor Alison Cornelius

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The Committee considered a report that sets out Overview & Scrutiny arrangements at the London Borough of Barnet following the move to Executive arrangements at Annual Council on 23 May 2023. The Sub-Committee noted the legislative framework that underpinned the scrutiny arrangements.

RESOLVED that the Committee noted the Overview & Scrutiny arrangements as outlined in the report.

The Executive Director – Communities, Adults and Health presented her report, providing a summary of performance for 2022/23, which focused on activities to deliver the council’s priorities.

It was explained that the final outturn for year 2022/23 reported an overspend of £16m which had been reduced by the application of reserves; a significant factor was the increased number of people the Council had to provide statutory care for in conjunction with the increased complexity of care needs. The Council has a statutory duty to meet the needs of care provisions regardless of the current budget pressures and this was a situation that was reflected across the country.

Whilst there had been numerous pressures throughout the year a savings programme was already in place with robust controls in relation to agreeing cost of care packages. Barnet was one of four North London Boroughs sharing an ethical but robust approach to setting care fees, using independent analysis. Barnet also works closely with the community and voluntary sector and emphasises an ‘independent living’ ethos.

In response to questions the Executive Director – Communities, Adults and Health confirmed the following information:

Concerns over potential closure of care homes due to financial pressures:

·         A minimum sustainable price for placements is used for Barnet residents and this price is modelled; no non-local authority residents were placed in the same care home as private residents so private residents are not ‘subsidising’ local authority care homes. Around   30-40% of care homes in the Borough are small businesses rather than large national chains, and the typical financial risks for the sector were factors across Barnet.

Proportion of people offered reablement following hospital discharge:

·         There continued to be increased demand in the system, and Barnet’s homecare and reablement service had grown significantly as people are supported on their return from hospital with a care package in place. 

The Committee raised several questions in relation to the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework provisional indicators for 22/23.

• Two indicators; only 62% of users felt safe and secure.
• 35% of carers felt they needed more social contact.

It was explained that improvements were being made and the Council is using many channels including the voluntary and community sector, GPs and other health professionals, focussing on providing a wraparound approach. As a social care service, great efforts were being made to actively engage and improve service delivery including co-production of services.

In response to a question on how resident engagement in the Healthy Hearts Programme is being encouraged, Dr Djomba, Deputy Director, Public Health responded that there is a comprehensive approach, using existing channels including the voluntary and community sector, as well as Barnet Health Champions. Officers are also raising awareness amongst health professionals, specifically targeting GPs and health visitors.

A Member asked whether bespoke resources for faith communities were in place as part of the Barnet Dementia Friendly Borough. Dr Djomba responded that the service has undertaken an accreditation process to achieve ‘Dementia Friendly’ status. She would ask a colleague to forward detailed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Head of Governance reported that there is a legal requirement for a list of key decisions to be made by Cabinet to be published a minimum of 28 days before the Cabinet meeting.  In Barnet the Forward Plan covered a longer period where possible, of up to 12 months ahead. He recommended that committee members consider undertaking pre-scrutiny, to influence a strategy or policy prior to the decision being made. Members should notify the Scrutiny Officer of any item on the Cabinet Forward Plan that they wish to scrutinise. 

The Chair commented that there would also be continued discussions with the relevant Portfolio Holders for early engagement on issues that the Committee may wish to scrutinise.

A Member noted that the Homelessness Strategy would be of interest and relevance to the Adults & Health O&S Sub Committee. It was noted that Members could attend the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to participate on the discussion on the item.

Resolved that: the Adults & Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee considered the Cabinet Forward Plan and considered items the Committee may wish to request for pre-decision scrutiny during 2023/24.

To follow

The Chair noted that the report set out the draft 2023/24 Work Programmes for the Adults and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee 2023/24 and provides the committee’s plan of work for the municipal year. He added that the committee can make any amendments or additions, to enable it to respond to issues of concern or to request new pre-decision items ahead of their consideration by Cabinet/Council.

It was agreed that progress reports on the Task and Finish Groups would be added to the Work Programme, to begin on 20^th September. 

Action: Scrutiny Officer

The Chair noted that the Health and Wellbeing Board Work Programme would be circulated at each meeting for awareness.

Action: Scrutiny Officer

Resolved that:

a)    the Adults and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee received and inputted into the proposed 2023-2024 Work Programme for the Adults and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee

b)   The Committee noted the scrutiny review topics attached at Appendix BI and using the prioritisation criteria attached (appendix BII), determined which items should be prioritised for reporting to a committee or the subject of a task and finish group.

c)    the Work Programme was noted and recommended to Council at its meeting on 11 July 2023.

To follow

The Chair noted that the report set out scoped Task and Finish Group review items for the Sub-Committee to consider and include in the work programme. These had been suggested by residents, officers and Members. The Chair recommended that the two scoped items be chosen first as they reflected public concern as reported to Members.

A Member suggested including in the GP Access scope a forecast of where people are due to be moving in to the borough over the next 10-15 years, in light of new developments currently going ahead.

Action: Scrutiny Officer

The Head of Governance commented that Task and Finish Group Members did not need to be Adults & Health O&S Members and that any non-executive Member can become a Task and Finish Group Member. He recommended cross-party membership of up to 4-5 Members.

Also co-opted Members could be invited to join. The Head of Governance noted that professional Task and Finish Group Members usually contributed their time on a voluntary basis but this could be reviewed if incentives were needed. The Executive Director, Adults, Communities and Health noted that patient representatives were paid under the Council’s Reward and Recognition Policy. 

Cllr Stock nominated herself for the GP Access Group and noted that she would enquire with the Conservative Group to seek additional members. Cllrs Sargeant, Barnes and Perlberg nominated themselves to join this group.

Cllr Cohen noted that he, Cllrs Sargeant, Wakeley and Woodcock-Velleman had nominated themselves for the Discharge to Assess group. An additional Member would be requested from the Conservative Group.

Action: Scrutiny Officer

Resolved that:

·         the Sub-Committee received and inputted into the proposed Task and Finish - Scoped items at Appendix A and B of the report and determined both of the scoped items in the appendices.

·         the Sub-Committee agreed to a) proceed to the two Task and Finish Groups; and b) agreed the make-up/membership of the agreed task and finish group.

Health and Wellbeing Board Work Programme – to note.

The Executive Director, Communities, Adults and Health presented her report which provided options for resident involvement in the work of the Adults and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee and recommendations to ensure co-production and involvement with people who draw on health, care and support in Barnet. The Committee was asked to appoint an advisor. If agreed officers would work on an appropriate recruitment exercise. The principles of the Coproduction and Engagement Plan were also outlined in the report.

It was noted that the Committee would regularly receive reports from groups such as Healthwatch and patient participation groups on their experiences of accessing health and care services in Barnet.

The Executive Director, Communities, Adults and Health commented that suggestions for appointing the advisor were welcome outside the meeting. She offered to share details of the recruitment process outside the meeting if requested but emphasised that a fair process would be followed.  

Resolved that:

1.    the Adults and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee agreed to appoint an advisor to the committee with lived experience of using health and social care services within the borough, as set out in paragraph 1.6.1 of the report.

2.    the Adults and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee agreed to adopt the co-production and engagement ways of working set out in paragraphs 1.6.2 and 1.6.3 of this report.

The meeting finished at 8.07 pm