Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 11 January 2022, be agreed as a correct record.

A Member asked that it be noted within this meetings minutes that during the last meeting they had commented that in relation to the expansion of the Prevention team, officers needed to be able to respond to people’s queries quickly to allow people to live independently.

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The Chairman introduced the report which set out the delivery plan priorities for the Adults and Safeguarding Committee for the financial year 2022/23.

A Member enquired whether there was any information or training available to elected members on where to direct residents requiring mental health assistance. The Executive Director of Adults and Health agreed to circulate the mental health member training slides delivered in December 2020. The Chairman requested that the topic be added to the Adults and Safeguarding member training content, scheduled for the post-election member training sessions.

A member requested further information on how to access mental health services. An officer explained that the system was complicated, with a lot of services available, some through self-referral and others via a doctor. An officer explained that significant investment had been put into the Mental Health Trust which included ways to support people to access services. The Executive Director of Adults and Health would re-circulate information about current referral routes and explained that individual case work could be raised through members enquiries. The Executive Director of Adults and Health advised that discussions around issues in relation to access to mental health services would fall under the remit of Health, Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Following discussion of the report, the Chairman moved to vote on the recommendations as outlined in the report. The votes were recorded as follows:

For: 6

Against: 0

Abstained : 4

RESOLVED that the committee approved the Delivery Plan priorities for 2022/23 as set out in this report.

The Chairman introduced the report, which following consultation, sought approval from the committee of the final Fit & Active (FAB) framework 2022-2026. The Framework is supported by an implementation plan, which would be further refined as the work programme developed and refreshed annually. The equalities impact assessment concluded there was a positive impact for those with protected characteristics.

A member asked how the increase in the cost of living, impact of the Ukraine crisis and impact of the energy crisis could potentially adversely affect people using the services. Officers explained that a number of different interventions were available for residents at no cost, these included our parks (boot camps) and park runs. Other initiatives such as leisure organisations being free of charge and programmes being provided through children’s centres and care homes, as well as free swimming lessons for under 8’s. Officers also explained that the Fit and Active Barnet card offered concessions for services and that work was continually being done to promote the card and increase the number of residents using one.

Officers also explained that they were working with operators to reduce energy costs as far as possible. The Council was continually looking at efficiencies and carbon neutral options within leisure centres, to prevent the increased costs being transferred to the users.

The Chairman thanked officers for the work they were doing and agreed that services needed to continue to be both competitive and affordable.

Following discussion of the report, the Chairman moved to vote on the recommendations as outlined in the report. The votes were recorded as follows:

For: 10

Against:0

Abstain:0

RESOLVED that The Adults and Safeguarding Committee:

1) Approved the final version of the Fit & Active Barnet Framework (2022-2026) (appendix 1).

2) Reviewed and noted the report of the consultation findings (appendix 2).

3) Reviewed and noted the Fit & Active Barnet Implementation plan 2022-2023 (appendix 3).

4) Reviewed and noted the findings of the Equalities Impact Assessment (appendix 4).

The Chairman introduced the report which summarised the rationale for the recommendation to re-procure all advocacy services under a single tri-borough contract with a lead provider from 1^st November 2022. The lead provider would be expected to subcontract to smaller specialist organisations, where beneficial, to reach diverse communities and meet a full range of accessibility needs.

Following discussion of the report, the Chairman moved to vote on the recommendations as outlined in the report. The votes were recorded as follows

For: 10

Against:0

Abstain: 0

RESOLVED that the Adults and Safeguarding Committee:

1) Approved the proposed approach to proceed with the planned re-procurement of the tri-borough advocacy contract, under a single provider approach, to include all statutory and community advocacy functions, namely Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMHA), Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA), Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service (IHCAS) and Care Act Advocacy (CAA).

2) Noted the early termination of the Care Act Advocacy contract, in order that it be coterminous with the tri-borough and IHCAS contracts to facilitate tendering as proposed under recommendation 1.

The Chairman introduced the report which outlined the council’s work to promote the independence of adults with care and support needs. The report summarised recent relevant activity across Adult Social Care and plans for the coming year that support the delivery of the corporate plan ambition.

It was noted that members would like the opportunity to go and visit the extra care housing provision, as they had done on previous occasions.

A Member asked what plans were currently in development for extra care schemes. The Executive Director of Adults and Health explained that the current focus was on completing the two care schemes in development, Stag House and Cheshir House, which would complete £44.5 million of the building schemes. The Executive Director of Adults and Health advised that there were also two other extra care provision schemes run by housing associations in the Borough, Wood Court and Goodwin Court. It was also explained that a periodic re-fresh of the market position statement would be completed, which sets out the care and support needs within the Borough and what care providers the council is seeking.

Following discussion of the report, the Chairman moved to vote on the recommendations as outlined in the report.

It was unanimously RESOLVED that the Adults and Safeguarding Committee noted the content of the report and endorsed the prospective activity outlined to continue to support, maintain and improve the independence of residents in the borough.

A member enquired as to whether there was any indication around how much the Council might receive because of the national insurance increase. The Executive Director of Adults and Health advised that officers were unable to answer the question specifically, however the Council’s budget had been agreed which set out the known council income and funding settlements from Central government.

Following discussion of the report, the Chairman moved to vote on the recommendations as outlined in the report.

It was unanimously RESOLVED that the Adults and Safeguarding Committee reviewed the performance, budget and risk information for Q3 2021/22 and would make any referrals to Policy and Resources Committee or Financial Performance and Contracts Committee in accordance with the terms of reference of these committees, as it decides appropriate.

The Work programme for 2021/22 has now been completed so there are no items to report. A new Work Programme for 2022/23 will be presented to the June 22 meeting of this Committee

It was noted that a new work programme for 2022-23 would be devised and published within the next meeting’s agenda.

The Chairman thanked Mr Natynczyk in his absence for his support to the Committee over the municipal year and thanked Miss Lewis for stepping in to cover at short notice.

The Chairman thanked all committee members and officers for their work and gave well wishes to any members not re-standing during the elections.

Councillor Edwards thanked the Chairman for the polite and civil way in which he had chaired the committee and thanked officers for their hard work, particularly during the pandemic.