Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of 19 March 2015 are agreed as a correct record.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Tom Davey who was substituted by Councillor Anthony Finn.  

Councillor Barry Rawlings declared a non-pecuniary interest in relation to Agenda Items 7 and 8 by virtue of being a member of Unison. 

Councillor Reema Patel declared a non-pecuniary interest in relation to Agenda Items 7 and 8 by virtue of being a member of Unison. 

None.

The Committee noted the details of the submitted public questions and the published answers which were provided with the agenda papers for the meeting. Responses to the supplementary public questions were given at the meeting.

Mr. Tony Solomons addressed the Committee and made a public comment in relation to Agenda Item 7 (Your Choice (Barnet) (YCB) – follow up report to Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspection of the Barnet Supported Living Service, August 2014). Following the comment, Members asked questions which were answered by Mr. Solomons.

Ms. Janet Leifer made a public comment in relation to Agenda Item 7 (Your Choice (Barnet) (YCB) – follow up report to Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspection of the Barnet Supported Living Service, August 2014) and answered queries raised by Members of the Committee.

There were none.  

 The Chairman introduced the report which set out the response to items requested by the Chairman and the Members’ item in the name of Councillor Barry Rawlings and the full action plan as formally submitted to the Care Quality Commission in March 2015.

At the previous meeting of the Adults and Safeguarding Committee on 19 March 2015, the Chairman requested that an update report is brought to the Committee. 

The Committee noted the responses as set out in the report (pp 2-6) in relation to the issues raised at the previous meeting.

·         Whether any reviews of care plans highlighted any issues before the inspection

·         An analysis of the increase in use of agency / temporary staff from 2010/11 to date

·         An analysis of the impact of changing the management structure to only one manager across 5 sites

·         Whether there were any safeguarding alerts relating to the service at any point

·         An update on implementation of the action plan since the inspection

A Member of the Committee queried the delay in recruiting full time staff. Julie Riley (Care and Support Director, Barnet Group) informed the Committee that recruitment of staff is currently taking place.

Following a question from the Committee about the six month period for producing the CQC report, Dawn Wakeling briefed the Committee about the testing that was piloted to ensure consistency of the methodology for ratings used in the report.  

The Chief Executive of the Barnet Group, Troy Henshall informed the Committee in response to a question about bringing services in-house, that it is not fully clear what those benefits will be by bringing services in-house and noted the importance of continuity of services being provided in light of the financial challenge and the competition in the market.

In order to have oversight of the performance indicators as reported quarterly to the Performance and Contract Management Committee, the Head of Governance noted that Members of the Adults and Safeguarding Committee will be added to the mailing list to receive electronic notification of the publication of the Performance and Contract Management Committee agenda. (Action: Governance Service)

The Committee noted the Care Quality Commission Action Plan as part of the report at Appendix A.

In response to queries raised by the Committee, Ms Riley informed that risk assessments are reviewed on a regular basis and at least every six months.

In relation to Regulated Activity under Regulation 9 HSCA 2008 - welfare of people who use the service, the Committee were informed that a review date has been set against each identified risk which is being monitored and that a series of quality monitoring spot checks are in place to ensure the service is being delivered to a good standard. The Committee heard that additional support is provided to ensure that documents are up to date, legible and clear for all to understand.

It was noted that in response to Regulation 10 HSCA 2009 – assessing and monitoring the quality of service Providers, a Quality Assurance Group has  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Chairman of the Adults and Safeguarding Committee introduced the item which sets out a number of recommendations on how the Independent Living Fund transfer will be managed in Barnet and invited Jon Dickinson (Assistant Director, Adults and Communities) to join the table.

Mr Dickinson briefed the Committee about the contents of the report and noted that from 30 June 2015 the Independent Living Fund will close and that from the 1^st of July 2015 funding will be transferred to the Council. The Committee heard that ILF provides funding for disabled people with high care needs to live independently in their own homes.

The Chairman noted the corrections at paragraphs 1.18, 1.19 and 2.2.1 (page 26-27 of the Agenda Report pack) and that the corrected version should read:

1.18    In Barnet there are 11 Group one users (pre-1993 applicants) who receive a total of £374,000 (gross) per year, £334,000,889  £334,889 (net) and 79 Group two users (post-1993 applicants) who receive a total of £1,508,000 (gross) per year, £1,240,000 (net). The gross amount is the value of the Independent Living Fund payment before a client contribution, the net amount is the actual amount paid after deducting client contribution.

1.19    In addition to receiving payments from the Independent Living Fund, the 90 people transferring across have been assessed as having care needs by Adults and Communities. There are 79 87 people receiving care services provided by the London Borough of Barnet at a cost of £1,830,000 £1.99 million a year.

2.2.1   There are 79 87 people receiving Independent Living Fund payments who also receive care services either as a managed personal budget or as a direct payment from the Council. The remaining 11 3 users (all Group one) do not receive care funding from the Council and rely on funding from the Independent Living Fund to pay for their care.

In response to queries from the Committee, Mr Dickinson informed the Committee that an update report will be brought back to the Committee in relation to this item in six months’ time with feedback incorporated from service users. (Action: Adults and Communities team and Governance Service)

Ms Wakeling briefed the Committee around funding arrangements and stated that all users of Independent Living Fund payments are also required to undergo a financial assessment. Ms Wakeling informed the Committee that following a review of care needs, a scheme of transitional protection is proposed to mitigate against any reductions for those receiving ILF funding. Ms Wakeling further noted that where there is a reduction in support provided, this will not take place until six months after the review date.

The Chairman moved to the vote. Votes were recorded as follows:

RESOLVED that:

1.            That the Adults and Safeguarding Committee approve the recommendations on the transfer of the Independent Living Fund as set out in paragraphs 2.2.4, 2.3.3 and 2.4.3 of this report:

1(a)     That approval is given to the Adults and Communities Delivery Unit to assess  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Chairman introduced the report which seeks approval to increase the number of Dementia Advisors from one to three.  The Committee noted the contents and the recommendation as set out in the report.

The Chairman of the Committee moved to the vote. Votes were recorded as follows:

The Committee therefore RESOLVED:

1.         That a variation to the Council’s contract with the Alzheimer’s Society for the provision of dementia support services be approved to increase the number of Dementia Advisors from one to three, from 1st May 2015 until the contract ends on 31^st March 2016.

The Governance Officer introduced the report. Members of the Committee noted the items on the work programme for the Adults and Safeguarding Committee. It was noted that the forward work programme will be refreshed for the new municipal year.

Ms Wakeling informed the Committee that an item will be added to the Forward Work Programme in six months’ time to update on the Independent Living Fund transfer.

 RESOLVED that:

1.    The Committee consider and comment on the items included in the 2014/15 work programme.

There were none.