Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the last meeting be agreed as a correct record.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Kath McGuirk, who was for substituted by Councillor Julie Johnson.

Apologies for absence were also received from the Cabinet Member for Adults, Councillor Sachin Rajput.

There were none.

There were none.

Julie Pal, the Chief Executive of CommUnity Barnet, presented a report that contained the details of two Enter and View visits that had been undertaken by the HealthWatch Barnet Enter and View Team.

In introducing the Acacia Lodge Enter and View report, Ms. Pal highlighted that the visit had been pre-announced.  The Committee noted that Acacia Lodge was a well-established home, and that the volunteers had been generally complimentary about the standard of care.  The Committee were also advised that there were no residents with bed sores on the day of the visit. 

Ms. Pal referred to the recommendations made by the Enter and View Team on visiting Acacia Lodge, and noted their comments in particular to the replacement of carpets within the dining areas and corridors.  Ms. Pal noted that in the response from Acacia Lodge, as set out in the report, had advised that the majority of residents had expressed a preference for carpets in the dining room. 

Ms. Pal noted the Enter and View team’s recommendations about improving the ventilation in the home, and advised that she felt that the response from Acacia Lodge on this point was defensive.  A Member also commented on the reported unpleasant smells referred to in the report, and noted that in the response to the Enter and View report, the Manager and owner of Acacia Lodge had advised that this unpleasant smell was not urine, but a smell from redecorating work.  Members commented that they felt these smells were difficult to confuse.  Ms. Pal advised the Committee that she would feed Member’s comments back to the Enter and View Team.

Referring to the report, a Member advised that they did not know that residents were able to smoke in communal areas of residential homes, such as the conservatory, and questioned the legality of this.  Ms. Pal advised that she would clarify this, and respond to the Committee outside of the meeting. 

Referring to the report, a Member expressed concern that when observing the written Safeguarding Policy, some contact details were out of date.  Ms. Pal advised that she would take this back to the Enter and View Team. 

A Member commented that the response from Acacia Lodge had been dismissive, and questioned the powers that HealthWatch and the Borough had in relation to recommendations arising from the Enter and View Report. 

A Member questioned which organisation had responsibility when it came to matters of concern arising from care homes.  Matthew Kendall, the Community and Wellbeing Assistant Director advised the Committee that the Care Quality Commission was responsible for this.  Mr. Kendall stressed the importance of close working between HealthWatch Barnet, the Local Authority and the premises being inspected in order to improve relations. 

Ms. Pal then introduced the Enter and View report on The Limes Care Home in Fenstanton Avenue.  The Committee were advised that this was a pre-announced visit conducted by four volunteers.

Ms. Pal drew the Committee’s attention to a recommendation arising from the report which was for staff  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Mathew Kendall, the Assistant Director for Community and Wellbeing introduced a report in the name of the Cabinet Member for Adults which provided the Committee with an update on the provision of the Community Advice Service contract. 

Mr. Kendall advised the Committee that the current Community Advice Contract was delivered by the Barnet Citizens Advice Bureau.  The Committee noted that the current value of the contract was around £1.2 million, and that the contract would end in 2015.  The Committee were also informed that the new contract would go out to tender in due course.

Gary Johnson, Customer Finance Manager, Adults and Communities advised that the service provided a large amount of welfare and debt advice with a focus on resolving problems at the first point of contact.  The Committee noted that seventy per cent of problems were dealt with in this way.  The Committee noted that if advice could not be given on the first point of contact, then the issue would be considered by a generalist advisor. 

A Member referred to the Barnet Law Service, which under the umbrella of the Community Advice Contract delivers second tier specialist advice in the areas of welfare benefits advice and representation; immigration and nationality advice, and employment advice and representation.  The Member advised that the Barnet Law Service received a significant amount of funding from the Citizens Advice Bureau, which was in turn, funded by Barnet Council, and expressed concerns that due to cuts in funding, the Barnet Law Service would have to shut in March if additional funding was not secured.

Councillor Hutton advised the Committee that she was a trustee of the Barnet Law Service, and noted that Barnet Law Service had also being affected by Legal Aid reductions. Councillor Hutton noted that redundancy notices had already been issued by Barnet Law Service and that the service would close in March unless a new funding stream was found. 

Mr. Kendall advised the Committee that the Barnet Law Service wouldn’t receive a huge reduction in funding from the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, but other funding streams were reducing.  The Committee also noted that Mr. Kendall would be meeting with Tim Clark, the Chief Executive of the Barnet Citizens Advice Bureau to discuss how the service would be provided.

Mr. Clark advised the Committee that it was regrettable that the Barnet Law Service was in this situation, and commented that they were falling victim to a reluctance to fund specialist legal advice.  Mr. Clark informed the Committee that it would be a tragedy for the Barnet Law Service to close, and advised that should that happen, then the Barnet Citizens Advice Bureau would endeavour to take on the resulting work to try and minimise the impact. 

A Member of the Committee questioned if free Solicitor’s surgeries still took place within the Borough.  Mr. Clark advised the Committee that such surgeries did take place, and informed the Committee of the “Advice Partnership” which is funded by the Big Lottery Fund, where legally qualified  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Councillor Reuben Thompstone, the Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Families introduced a report which provides an update on the implementation of the Barnet Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) which went live in August 2013. 

The Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Families outlined the structure of the MASH, which is led by a Children Social Care Team Manager, who is responsible for assessing risk & risk rating all referrals. The Committee were advised that the Social Care team consists of  experienced social workers, five social work assistants and five duty support officers, who are co-located with the Police Public Protection Desk.   The Committee also noted that the MASH employs a health visitor, an education officer, a probation officer, an adult mental health worker, Children and Adults Mental Health Services social work manager, and an officer from Barnet Homes attends one day a week.

The Committee were advised that the MASH was a joined-up service, and that data sharing agreements are in place with all partner agencies.

A Member advised the Committee that she had attended the launch of the MASH, and noted the success of the MASH so far.

A Member of the Committee questioned if MASH staff were finding the new organisation beneficial.  Carolyn Greenaway, the Head of Assessment and Children In Need advised the Committee that the MASH staff were finding it very useful to have everyone in the same room, and noted the benefit in having better access to information, which in turn, could make responses more timely. 

Responding to a question, Ms Greenaway advised the Committee that the MASH enabled staff to research an issue, which in turn assisted them in making earlier decisions about taking action, or if action was necessary at all.

A Member sought reassurance that the MASH was being fully supported by external partners.  Nicola Francis, the Family Services Director advised the Committee that the MASH was being very well supporting.  Ms. Francis also noted then partner agencies were contributing to the staffing of the MASH, providing the MASH with the opportunity to grow in the future.

Referring to the report, the Chairman noted that an evaluation of the MASH is planned for April 2014, and questioned if the Committee would be able to receive this report at their next meeting on 10 April 2014.  Ms. Francis advised the Committee that they anticipated that the evaluation would take  approximately three months to complete, and that it would not be ready to be received at the Committee’s meeting in April.

RESOLVED that the Committee note the report. 

RESOLVED that the Committee note that Advanced Notice of Executive Decisions.

The Committee considered the Forward Work Programme as set out in the report. 

RESOLVED that the Committee note the Forward Work Programme.

There were none.