Meeting documents

The Committee is invited to discuss and comment on the report and appendices.

The focus for this meeting will be with regard to:

a) Appendix B – Adult Social Care report

b) Appendix D – Children’s Services report  

The Committee received a report and presentation on the work undertaken on the One Somerset programme, the Government Consultation process and initial ‘Stronger Somerset’ independent report findings.

Adult Social Care

The Chair of the Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee invited questions from the Committee on the independent report findings, focussing on the independent report by Professor John Bolton on Adult Social Care, set out in Appendix B, and the PwC report (overall Stronger Somerset proposal) as it relates to social care, as set out in Appendix A to the submitted report. 

A number of questions and comments were made on the report findings, which were responded to at the meeting. These covered issues such as the integration of health and social care and partnership working, the benefit of boundaries being co-terminus and risks associated by the creation of new structures; the ‘Stronger Somerset’ case had a lack of understanding of the current position re Somerset Adult Social Care and the transformation which has taken place.

Following discussion and consideration of the report on Adult Social Care set out in Appendix B to the submitted report, it was agreed that the following comments be forwarded to Cabinet: -

·         Acknowledges that the County Council is well along its improvement journey.

·         That Adult Social Care is performing well and is working well with partners, including health and other providers.

·         Queried whether services could be made worse under the ‘Stronger Somerset’ proposals and there could be a risk that services could take time to stabilise, to be as good as where they are now.

Children’s Services

The Chair of the Children and Families Scrutiny Committee invited questions from the Committee on the independent report findings, focussing on the independent report on Children’s Services by Trevor Doughty, set out in Appendix D to the submitted report. 

A number of questions and comments were made on the report findings, which were responded to at the meeting. These covered issues such as the Alternative Delivery Model (ADM) not being fully explained in terms of how it would operate (governance), the benefits and why / how the overarching organisation will deliver its ambitions and aspirations.

Following discussion and consideration of the report on Children’s Services, set out in Appendix D to the submitted report, it was agreed that the following comments be forwarded to Cabinet: -

·         That the report was informative and that Children’s Services is on the ‘journey to be good’.

·         The Alternative Delivery Model as outlined in the ‘Stronger Somerset’ proposal, has not been fully outlined so as to provide clarity and detail as to how it may work.