Agenda item

To consider the report.

Resolved to write to the Executive Committee to request assurance that the digital platform that ASC require to deliver this function of our data that Microsoft are working on with us is resourced and ready at an appropriate timescale, and that we have the capability to address this.

The committee agreed that the digital team working on this project would be added to the work programme to better understand the resource challenges.

Cllr Sarah Wakefield, Lead Member for Adult Services introduced the report, and Emily Fulbrook, Service Director – Adult Social Care Operations, and Emily Faldon, Newton Europe, gave a presentation which provided a refresh on the programme, progress so far over the first seven months, and looked at areas like Learning Disabilities and Preparing for Adulthood in focus.

During the discussion, the following points were raised and responded to:

·       Key to understand the program’s financial benefits – how do they value accrued benefit over time?

·       What about the challenges of the Voluntary Redundancy (VR) process? Need to ensure that we retain valuable staff that will be needed to make sure this process goes through seamlessly. Whenever there is VR and we lose staff there is fragility, there is a corporate risk.

·       On the programme plan, what does the grey mean? The grey is for things we have not yet started.

·       Data workstream - could the wider transformation in the council undermine this piece of work, and without this piece of work how will you be able to assess the other workstreams? The data visibility workstream is key, and we have taken that to the corporate transformation board to look at how we manage that. Microsoft our working with us and our IT systems to look at how we pull this together in future. We need a proper system but it will not happen overnight.

·       On page 56 – table of financial benefit summary. What is the reduced starts in residential care item? We are predominantly focused on residential starts coming through community teams – how many of them come from acute settings or care settings, looking at the different roots of getting into residential care. At the national context, people aren’t going in to residential care until they’re approximately 85. We need to monitor and manage it, and look at having the right processes in our hospital settings, if you come in from home you should be able to go back home.

·       Preparing for adulthood item – what about those who are placed in Somerset by other authorities? We have data on those who are in our system but not those from outside. We are working on recognising and understanding those in Somerset – we have data on every 14 year old. Not all of those individuals will come through to Adult Social Care when they turn 18. We are working with providers to identify those who are placed here from outside Somerset and the impact they may have. We are also linking with the ICB and looking at data from continuing healthcare, health funding for children. At any one time there are 700-800 people placed in Somerset by other authorities, these are supported by our health services but not our Adult Social Care services. We know a proportion of them, and many of them go back home. What should happen is we should be notified, there is a process that should be followed but this doesn’t always happen. If another local authority brings them here they should be supporting them here.

·       What is presented today is data driven, cost driven, very corporate. It would be great if the language would be less corporate and we could communicate better. Take on that point. We are getting a lot of meaningful feedback from individuals.

·       The support is person-centred but success is in the budget. Are we putting caregivers under pressure, and how does it feel to receive that care when time is squeezed for people in their homes? The short answer is no – we want to get the right care. It’s very dependent on a person and their needs. Right support, right time, right place. Support needs to meet person-centred outcome, and be sustainable and holistic. We always want to make sure that we’re providing the least restrictive care and that it’s not always about paid services.

·       Have also heard about time being squeezed. Who scrutinises the time to make sure it is correct? There is a Care Act Assessment and a support plan. Nothing is agreed until it’s been to a peer forum. When someone is receiving care and support, there is a 28 day review – either in person, by phone, or with a trusted provider. The CQC will also do a review and we have our own QA team that links in with providers.

·       Concerned about people without anyone to speak up for them, and if anyone scrutinises the CQC.

·       The main risk is regarding data and the lack of capacity. Can we highlight this to the Executive Committee if it is an issue? Yes, it’s very fragile as there are only two people who can do this. We are trying to get more people trained up, it also takes time to build the software. There is a risk around getting this right – do we have the skills and expertise to do this currently and if we don’t how can we build that?

·       We would like to recommend to the Executive that this be looked at in detail.

·       For the VR process, do you have sight of those who have applied? Is there a danger that someone leaves who is vital? Everyone is aware of what our needs are. We have to reduce staff, and there is a risk to doing that. We are flagging the risk now to make sure we have corporate support in.

·       As Adult Social Care is the lion’s share of the budget, needs the lion’s share of the savings. This is part of the transformation programme. Really important that ASC is given the resources. 90% of the budget is on the care, not on the staff. So not going to save a huge amount of money from cutting staff. That is the goal of the My Life, My Future savings.

·       Preparing for Adulthood – believed we were starting at 18 for this, now learning otherwise. From an Adult Social Care perspective we are interested in people from age 14. Last year we weren’t getting to those assessments until people were nearly 24, which is not where we want to be. We are now assessing at 18, which is better but still not where we want to be. We are linking with Children’s Social Care and improving our processes, continuing to see a downward trend. We know about people now from the age of 14 and are actively working with people post-16 and linking in with commissioners as well, there is a continued downward trend. The goal is assessments completed by the time someone is 17-17.5.

·       After the risk discussion, it would be great to have a report from the digital team on the progress of this. Added to the work programme.

The Committee resolved to write to the Executive Committee to request assurance that the digital platform that ASC require to deliver this function of our data that Microsoft are working on with us is resourced and ready at an appropriate timescale, and that we have the capability to address this.