Agenda and minutes

The Chair led on introductions.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Dave.

Members will be asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

The Chair informed those present that only interests not already declared on the Members Register of Interests need to be declared.

Councillor Surti declared that she had previously worked in Adult Social Care and that her daughter currently worked in Adult Social Care.

The minutes of the meeting of the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission held on 15 March 2023 have been circulated and the Commission is asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The Chair noted that none of the Members present were in attendance of the previous meeting, which was held during the prior election cycle.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held 15 March 2023 be confirmed as a correct record.

Members of the Commission will be asked to note the Membership of the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission for 2023/24:

Councillor March (Chair)

Councillor Surti (Vice-Chair)

Councillor Cole

Councillor Dave

Councillor Joannou

Councillor Kaur Saini

Councillor Orton

Councillor Singh Sangha

AGREED:

That the Membership of the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission for 2023-24 be noted.

Members of the Commission are asked to note the Commission Meeting dates as follows:

·       18 July 2023

·       24 August 2023

·       5 October 2023

·       30 November 2023

·       25 January 2024

·       7 March 2024

AGREED:

That the dates of the meetings for the Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission for 2023-24 be noted.

The Chair agreed to take the Call-In item, Hastings Road Day Centre as the first Item on the agenda. The Chair noted the ongoing concern about the item and reminded those present of the Code of Conduct.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Surti to the Vice-Chair position of the Scrutiny Commission.

The Monitoring Officer to report on any petitions received.

The Monitoring Officer noted that none had been received.

The Monitoring Officer to report on any questions, representations or statements of case.

The Monitoring Officer noted that none had been received.

The Monitoring Officer submits a report informing the Commission that the Executive Decision taken by the Deputy City Mayor - Social Care, Health and Community Safety on 3 July 2023, relating to ending the service at Hastings Road Day Centre and instruct Adult Social Care to start working with families to undertake reviews, identify suitable alternative arrangements, and support the safe transition of people into those arrangements, has been the subject of a five-member call-in under the procedures at Rule 12 of Part 4D (City Mayor and Executive Procedure Rules) of the Council’s Constitution.

The Commission is recommended to either:

a) Note the report without further comment or recommendation. (If the report is noted the process continues and the call in will be considered at Council on 28 September 2023); or

b) Comment on the specific issues raised by the call-in. (If comments are made the process continues and the comments and call in will be considered at Council on 28 September 2023); or

c) Resolve that the call-in be withdrawn (If the committee wish for there to be no further action on the call-in, then they must actively withdraw it. If withdrawal is agreed the call-in process stops, the call-in will not be considered at Council on 28 September 2023 and the original decision takes immediate affect without amendment).

The Monitoring Officer submitted a report informing the Commission that the Executive Decision taken by the Deputy City Mayor - Social Care, Health and Community Safety on 3 July 2023, relating to ending the service at Hastings Road Day Centre and instructed Adult Social Care to start working with families to undertake reviews, identify suitable alternative arrangements, and support the safe transition of people into those arrangements, had been the subject of a five-member call-in under the procedures at Rule 12 of Part 4D (City Mayor and Executive Procedure Rules) of the Council’s Constitution.

The Commission was recommended to either:

a) Note the report without further comment or recommendation. (If the report is noted the process continues and the call in will be considered at Council on 28 September 2023); or

b) Comment on the specific issues raised by the call-in. (If comments are made the process continues and the comments and call in will be considered at Council on 28 September 2023); or

c) Resolve that the call-in be withdrawn (If the committee wish for there to be no further action on the call-in, then they must actively withdraw it. If withdrawal is agreed the call-in process stops, the call-in will not be considered at Council on 28 September 2023

The Chair invited the proposer of the call-in, Councillor Modhwadia, and the seconder, Councillor Kitterick, to the table and allotted them five minutes to make their case. The proposer and seconder raised the following points:

·       That the decision was financially harmful to the Council as it may place the Council in a difficult position in relation to the private sector, which could see any agreed contract prices increasing year on year, in attempting to provide alternative services for the 19 service users at the Hastings Road Day Centre. It was suggested that an internal contract within the department would be a financially better solution.

·       That the impact of the decision on the already strained workforce may send staff of the Hastings Road Day Centre into redundancy.

·       That the impact on the 19 users and their families following the termination of services may limit opportunities for care going forward.

·       The proposer noted contact with families and local residents as the  ward councillor in which the centre was based, and that closure of the centre would be akin to taking away a loved home for the current 19 users.

·       The proposer raised that the seven years without a referral had not been through want of trying as residents had been turned away from the facility during attempts to gain access to the centre’s services.

·       That the council consider alternative options such as dividing the space and providing usage of vacant parts of the building for other opportunities.

·       That the call-in be allowed to progress and that the Hastings Road Day Centre and its services be retained.

The Chair invited Deputy City Mayor for Social Care, Health and Community Safety, Councillor Russell, to make their case. The following points were raised:

·       That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Strategic Director for Social Care and Education submits a presentation to provide an overview of the service and key challenges.

The Strategic Director for Social Care and Education, Martin Samuels, Director for Adult Social Care and Commissioning, Kate Galoppi and Director for Adult Social Care and Safeguarding, Ruth Lake, delivered a presentation to provide an overview and key challenges of the service.

The Strategic Director noted that Councillors acting on behalf of their ward constituents were advised to direct the member of public to contact the service directly on 0116 454 1004 instead of themselves making a referral, to allow for members of the public to contact the service in their own time and at their own convenience.

Following discussion, the ensuing points were raised:

·       Concern was raised about the healthy life expectancy figure provided on the presentation, noting healthy life expectancy to be younger for many than current retirement age.

·       The Departmental figure in the Adult Social Care Budget was noted to be regarding staff wages which covered between 900 and 1000 members of staff.

·       Concern was raised about the community’s perception of the Council in relation to the low ethnicity statistic provided in the presentation. The Director noted the ongoing concern and importance of investigating the cause of the issue. Work had been ongoing to engage with various communities in the city in attempts to breach the divide in statistics. It was further noted that grants were available and had been provided to smaller communities and groups to engage with residents on the behalf of the council.

·       It was clarified that financial abuse was considered a safeguarding issue that Adult Social Care could provide help to residents who were concerned.

·       Concerns were raised about the provision of council support for the development of workforce from ethnic backgrounds. It was noted that ongoing reverse mentoring had been conducted with considerable success and the issue would be further picked up by the Overview Select Committee.

AGREED:

That the report be noted.

Members of the Commission will be asked to consider items for the future work programme.

The Chair noted suggestions for the work programme which had arisen throughout the meeting, which including the following:

·       The increasing demand for provision for growing numbers of autism and complex autism cases.

·       The makeup of workforce in Adult Social Care provision.

·       Transition from Childrens to Adult Social Care.

·       Quality of the Adult Social Care provision.

Members be requested to forward any additional items for consideration for the scrutiny work programme be forwarded to the Chair, Vice-Chair or Scrutiny Policy Officer.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 7:55pm.