Agenda and minutes

No apologies for absence were received.

At this point Members must declare whether they have an interest, whether personal or prejudicial, in any of the items on the agenda. Members must also declare if they are subject to their party group whip in relation to any items under consideration.

Item 6 -  Older Peoples Accommodation Strategy

Councillor Rush declared that he had a personal interest with regard to the Older Peoples Accommodation Strategy and would therefore step down as Chairman for that item and not take part in the discussion.  Councillor Lamb would take over as Chairman for item 6 on the agenda.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2012 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.

At this point the Chairman announced that the Commission had agreed to change the order of the agenda and that item number 6 Older Peoples Accommodation Strategy would be presented after item 8 – Work Programme on the agenda to allow more time for discussion.

The Assistant Director Quality Information and Performance introduced the report which provided the Commission with an update on the delivery of Adult Social Care services in Peterborough against the four outcome domains contained within the national Adult Social Care outcomes framework.  The report covered the fourth quarter of 2011-12 and gave the position at the end of the annual performance cycle highlighting key achievements and areas of concern.  Progress had been made regarding the reviews backlog and safeguarding investigations.   The original 450 open safeguarding cases that had existed when the service was transferred had all been assessed and only 92 open active referrals remained.  Areas for improvement highlighted in the National Survey which had been undertaken in February 2012 were; overall levels of satisfaction from service users, access to information and advice, and the extent to which social care services helped people to feel safe.

Observations and questions were raised and discussed including:

·         Members sought clarification on the average number of open active referrals that should be open at any one time.  The report had stated 77 active cases but the minutes of the previous meeting in response to a similar question had stated 54.  Members were informed that the number in the report had covered the entire number of open case loads including those investigated by the Mental Health Trust.  The reference in the minutes had referred to Adult Social Care council investigations only.

·         The report had mentioned that in the Adult Social Care Survey undertaken Peterborough had been below the national average in certain areas.  Why?  Members were advised that more work was needed in the area of client satisfaction to understand what the issues had been.  Dissatisfaction with access to information had been because there was no on-line information advisory service available.  This had therefore become a priority in the Business Plan for this year.  Other areas below national average had been settled accommodation and employment for mental health. 

·         Do you have enough staff to resource the service? Members were advised that a review was currently being undertaken to assess the level of staffing required which would be concluded in September.

·         Councillor Fitzgerald advised that the Adult Social Care service would be redesigned to take the service forward.

·         Members sought clarification on the statement in the report “The Adult Social Care outcomes have strong links to the health and wellbeing aspects of the community strategy”.  Members were advised that the Quarterly Report reported against the four outcome domains contained within the national Adult Social Care outcomes framework which had been key priorities in all local authorities Sustainable Community Strategies.  The four domains were:

• Domain 1 -      Enhancing quality of life for people with care and support needs
• Domain 2 -      Delaying and reducing the need for care and support
• Domain 3 -      Ensuring that people have a positive experience of care and support

·         Domain 4 -      Safeguarding adults whose circumstances make them vulnerable and protecting from avoidable harm.

·           Members were concerned that the Peterborough Adult Social Care  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Chairman introduced the item and advised that two people had registered to speak at the meeting. The Chairman addressed the audience and read out the procedure for how the Commission would hear from speakers in the audience and the order in which the item would be dealt with.

The Chairman then asked the members of the audience if there were any other people wishing to speak.  Each person would be allowed three minutes each to speak.

The Legal Officer then read out a press release which had been published on 17 July 2012 confirming that the consultation had commenced into the future options for care homes.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care was then invited to introduce the report which asked the Commission to consider, challenge and comment on the Cabinet report recommending authorisation to consult with residents and families, and appropriate staff on the proposed closure of two care homes:  Greenwood House and Welland House and approve the refreshed Peterborough Older People’s Accommodation Strategy.  The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care explained the reasoning behind the recommendation to close the two homes that had been put forward to Cabinet.  The Commission were advised that no decision had been reached and that all options were open for consideration.

The Assistant Director Strategic Commissioning informed the Commission that the Older Peoples Accommodation Strategy set out the need for accommodation for the medium term. It built on the previous strategy, reviewed local data and demographics and projections of need.  The aim was to enable as many old people in Peterborough to maintain their independence and be able to live in accommodation which was of high quality.  The Assistant Director Strategic Commissioning went through the strategy highlighting the key points and spoke about the reasoning behind the proposal to close Greenwood House and Welland House.  Members were informed of the support that would be given to residents, families of residents and staff throughout the consultation process.

The Chair invited members of the public to address the Commission.

·         Sally Cottington who worked at Greenwood House made a statement which drew the Commissions attention to an email which had been sent to members of the Commission from Councillor Swift on 17 July 2012.  The email had put forward suggested land sites belonging to the Council around Peterborough which could be used to build a new home if it proved necessary to close the two care homes.  The Director for Adult Social Care informed the Commission that he had also received the email and that it would be included in the consultation.

·         Kathy Wiseman, Manager at Welland House made a statement which included the following points:

o        Kathy advised that she had worked for the department managing various homes for ten years and had managed Welland House for seven years.

o        Background information was provided on the history of care homes in Peterborough advising the Commission that there had originally been six care homes.  Greenwood House and Welland House had been identified to provide  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Commission received the latest version of the Council’s Forward Plan, 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 Plan and, where appropriate, identify any relevant areas for inclusion in the Committee’s work programme. 

ACTION AGREED

The Commission noted the Forward Plan

Members considered the Committee’s Work Programme for 2012/13 and discussed possible items for inclusion.

ACTION AGREED

To confirm the work programme for 2012/13 and the Senior Governance Officer to include any additional items as requested during the meeting.

Members agreed that an item on HealthWatch be included in the work programme.

At this point Councillor Rush stepped down as Chairman and Councillor Lamb took the position as Chairman for Item 6 on the agenda - Older Peoples Accommodation Strategy.

Thursday 20 September 2012