Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Allen and Councillor Sharp.   Councillor Peach was in attendance as substitute for Councillor Allen and Councillor Harrington was in attendance for substitute for Councillor Sharp.

There were no declarations of interest or whipping declarations.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 November 2013 were approved as an accurate record.

The decision notice for each decision will bear the date on which it is published and will specify that the decision may then be implemented on the expiry of 3 working days after the publication of the decision (not including the date of publication), unless a request for call-in of the decision is received from any two Members of a Scrutiny Committee or Scrutiny Commissions.  If a request for call-in of a decision is received, implementation of the decision remains suspended for consideration by the relevant Scrutiny Committee or Commission.

There were no requests for Call-in to consider.

The General Manager for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough introduced the report which provided the Commission with an overview of the East of England Ambulance Service and in particular the performance of Peterborough ambulance services. It noted that in all areas of 999 call priority response times from ambulances in the Peterborough area were above target. Furthermore in all areas of call priority apart from Green 2 (serious, but not life-threatening) performance had improved from the 2012 figures. Green 2 was down from 94% on time to 92%.

Members were advised that the Ambulance Service were working with the Clinical Commissioning Group and Primary Care providers to develop robust alternative care pathways to provide patients with the most appropriate level of care for their needs and reduce the number of patients being transported to the Emergency Department. Therefore providing new and innovative services in which ambulance services were more integrated into the local healthcare economy.

Members were also advised that the 111 service would possibly go live in Peterborough in February 2014 and quality assurance processes were currently being undertaken as demand had been higher than anticipated.

Recruitment for Cambs and Peterborough had been a particular success this year with twenty new staff and there were currently ten vacancies.

Observations and questions were raised and discussed including:

·         Members asked how difficult it was to recruit people. The Area General Manager responded that with regards to recruitment, staff were divided between paramedic and non-paramedic staff with a paramedic aimed to be on every ambulance and every rapid response vehicle. The current ten  vacancies were for paramedics as recruitment of non-paramedics was easier.  Paramedics were either from a graduate background or they would need to undergo a significant long period of training. A new programme was being introduced for student ambulance paramedics which was a form of on-the-job training, but graduate paramedics and paramedics from other areas were being looked for.  The emphasis was on recruiting high-quality staff rather than just filling vacancies.

·         Members asked if delaying the go live of the 111 service would be prudent in order to defer it until winter was over. The Director of Corporate Affairs for the Clinical Commissioning Group was in attendance and advised Members that a reassessment of the 111 service was being undertaken as to when the service could be launched and a final decision regarding rollout would be taken at the end of February with a full launch expected in March.

·         Members also asked how targets were fixed and asked if a performance level of 87% was good enough given that a late response time could still place lives in danger. The Area General Manager advised Members that due to ebb and flow in demand it was not always possible to predict how many resources would be needed at certain times and therefore sometimes response times were not on target.  Peterborough was however a better performing area.

·         Members asked how the targets were set in the first place. Members were advised that targets were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The report was introduced by the Director of Corporate Affairs and provided the Commission with an update on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) work. This included the following:

• Financial position
• Commissioning intentions 2014/2015
• Better Care Fund 111 service
• Older peoples Programme

Observations and questions were raised and discussed including:

·         Members referred to the Older People’s Programme and asked what the steps of procurement were and if the City Council were being consulted on the process of procurement.  The  Director of Corporate Affairs, CCG advised Members  that with  a traditional NHS tender a specification would be drawn up then it would go out to consultation and then the specification would go out to tender. In this case however certain outcomes had been identified for the elderly but there was no specification on how this should be achieved. This was a new method for the CCG in which bidders were asked to suggest ways in which they felt they could deliver better outcomes. In the meantime work had been undertaken with the City Council and the Older People’s Programme Board, which had been sitting for a year and there was patient representation from Peterborough on that board. There had also been discussions regarding the best time to go to public consultation to ensure the public had all the necessary information available. There had been ten initial expressions of interest and this was now down to five submissions.

·         Members wanted to know where the engagement was for the next stage of the process. Members were informed that discussions were still ongoing regarding public consultation. Members were assured that there was however engagement and it would be in place going forward.

·         Members referred to the Better Care Fund and sought clarification as to what issues there were if any and if the council and other partners were fully engaged with the CCG. The Local Chief Officer – Borderline Peterborough responded that the Health and Wellbeing Board had agreed to the setting up of a task group which had been working on the Better Care Fund which was comprised of both professional and public representation. The group met on a regular basis and had a template action plan which needed completion. Vision objectives had already been agreed and stakeholders had been consulted regarding the action plan. Healthwatch had also been engaged and agreed to work with the CCG on the publicity around the Better Care Fund.

·         Members asked if the transfer of funds for housing was ring fenced. The Executive Director, Adult Social Care and Health and Wellbeing informed Members that this was a complex debate with many issues in terms of existing arrangements governing the transfer of funds. The intention was to review the transfer of funds however local authorities inevitably depend on funding for front-line services and there was a question as to how to make the transition between different means of funding. Transparency was important as funding for this year would be smaller at approximately £600,000 therefore it was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Head of Commissioning Learning Disabilities and Autism, Adult Social Care presented the report which provided the committee with an opportunity to comment on the consultation paper and survey regarding the Transformation of Day Opportunities for Adults under 65. The consultation proposed three key objectives:

1.    Investing in re-enablement and transitional support to help people gain employment and skills for living

2.    Redesigning how the current service operates and reinvest in support that people from needing Adult Social Care and maintain their independence in the community

3.    Redesigning how people’s future opportunities are governed and managed.

Consultation began on 6 January 2014 initially with eleven dates but more consultations had been requested so there would now be fourteen consultations. Six had already taken place. The themes coming out of the consultations were varied with some expressing desire for change and others who wished to continue the service currently delivered. Feedback had been largely positive.

Observations and questions were raised and discussed including:

·         Members referred to section 6.5, Discrimination and Equality in the report and asked what analysis had been done with regard to rural communities. Members were informed that in terms of consultation rural areas, minority groups and individuals had been included. There was a suggestion for satellite bases as a solution to areas which did not have connections to the service. Areas such as Derby were already providing this type of community engagement in local communities which had been successful. Often people spent a lot of time travelling on buses to get to the service provided and it would be more beneficial if the service was provided locally.

·         Members asked with regard to the consultation if the officers were getting on buses and checking if travel times and distances were convenient. Members were informed that this was part of their remit and they were looking at ways to improve this.

·         Members asked how people with complex needs were being included in the consultation. Members were informed that the project group set up last year included an advocacy scheme run by PCVS which was tasked with capturing the views of those people with learning or communication difficulties and complex and profound needs. Parent carers of people with profound and complex needs were also part of the project group. There were also day centres which were represented on the working group.

·         Members asked what the timescale would be if the consultation recommendations were accepted. Members were informed that the consultation would end on 3 March and then the final proposal would be taken to cabinet. Following that the installation period for the proposals would be from March 2014 to April 2015.

·         The Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health and Wellbeing stated that often in situations which involved parents and carers of those with complex needs, there were significant concerns and it would take a long time for people to understand the changes. It was therefore important to be mindful of the issues and to work with those with complex  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Commission received the latest version of the Forward Plan of  Key Decisions, containing key decisions that the Leader of the Council anticipated the Cabinet or individual Cabinet Members would make during the course of the following four months.  Members were invited to comment on the Forward Plan of Key Decisions and, where appropriate, identify any relevant areas for inclusion in the Commission’s work programme.

ACTION AGREED

The Commission noted the Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

Members considered the Commission’s Work Programme for 2013/14 and discussed possible items for inclusion.

ACTION AGREED

To confirm the work programme for 2013/14 and the Senior Governance Officer to include any additional items as requested during the meeting.  Additional items to be included were:

• A further report on the progress of the Transforming Day Opportunities for Adults Under 65 and outcome of the consultation.

·         10 February 2014 – Joint Meeting of the Scrutiny Committees / Commissions – Scrutiny of the Budget

·         25 March 2014 – Scrutiny Commission for Health Issues

Monday 10 February 2014 – Joint Meeting of the Scrutiny Committees and Commissions – Scrutiny of the Budget

The meeting began at 7.00pm and finished at 9.15pm