Issue - meetings

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any questions, representations or statements of case, received in accordance with Council procedures.

The Scrutiny Commission received the following questions in accordance with Council procedures: -

i)          Top Up fees

            Mrs Bromiley asked the following question: -

“What is the current position around ‘top up’ fees and what was going to happen.”

The Assistant City Mayor responded by stating that a decision by the Executive was not expected until mid-August and that information would be gathered and forwarded to the questioner.

ii)         Closure of Care Homes

            Miss Haines asked the following question: -

“Have the City Council looked at all options, other than the closure of care homes in Leicester and, if so, what are those options.”

Officers responded by stating that several option had been considered, namely:-

·         No change – did not address falling numbers of residents and costs

·         Closing all of the homes – move people into private sector

·         Sell or lease all homes as a going concern

·         Close some of the homes and sell others as a going concern.

Miss Haines questioned whether consideration had been given to whether, the homes that had been identified to be closed, and were under-utilised, whether the option of say amalgamating into one home and closing the other two. Residents could now end up in homes further away from their preferred area.

Officers stated that this had been considered but stated that under the Care Directive the City Council were required to give residents a choice of where they wanted to live. Officers had mapped elderly person home provision and know that, should the Council have to move residents, they will remain close to their chosen area.

At this point of meeting the Chair outlined the procedure to be followed at the meeting and introduced the members of the Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Commission present at the meeting, Councillors Sangster and Chaplin (also Vice-Chair of Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission).