Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

None were received.

None were received.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 9 September, 2019.

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 9 September, 2019.

Approval was moved by Councillor David Wisinger and seconded by Councillor Martin White.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To consider the Forward Work Programme of the Organisational Change Overview & Scrutiny Committee and to inform the Committee of progress against actions from previous meetings

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be submitted as approved;

(b)       That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)        That the progress made in completing the outstanding action be noted.

The Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator presented the report which outlined the Committee’s current draft Forward Work Programme.  She reported that the following items had been added to the Programme for consideration at the next meeting of the Committee to be held on 27 January:

·         Theatr Clwyd Trust Model Transition Staged update report

·         AURA Service Contract Renewal

The Facilitator provided an update on action tracking and referred to the action arising from the meeting held on 1 July regarding the Council’s Closed Circuit Television Service and a Shared Service with Wrexham.  She advised that there were no actions arising from the meeting held on 9 September.

The recommendations were moved by Councillor David Wisinger and seconded by Councillor Sean Bibby. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be submitted as approved;

(b)       That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings, as the need arises; and

(c)        That the progress made in completing the outstanding action be noted.

That the Committee endorses the Organisational Change portfolio cost pressures recommended for inclusion in the budget for 2020/21. 

The Strategic Finance Manager introduced the report to advise Members of the latest budget position for 2020/21 and any specific proposals for the Portfolio.  She advised that the report sets out the current financial forecast and the projected ‘gap’ in the Council’s budget funding requirement for 2020/21.  She reported that the full gap ahead of the budget solutions outlined in the report and the Welsh Government (WG) Budget for 2020/21 stands at £16.2m.  A summary of the forecast and the changes to the forecast position previously reported was set out in the report.

The Strategic Finance Manager provided background information and explained that the report presented all of the proposed budget efficiencies and costs pressures to be included in the budget for 2020/21.  The report highlighted the specific efficiencies and costs pressures for services previously structured within Organisational Change for consideration by the Committee as part of its portfolio responsibilities.  In conclusion the Strategic Finance Manager said this was an interim budget closure report pending the completion of ongoing work on corporate finance options and resolution of the WG budget.

Councillor Tudor Jones asked why the Council would be contributing towards the Aura and Newydd’s pay award.  The Finance Manager Community Services explained that Aura and Newydd had their own pay structures and staff received a 1% uplift in pay the previous year but there was a recognition that in order to allow them to be a fair employer when it came to pay, additional contributions were needed from the Council.

The Chairman thanked the Strategic Finance Manager and Officers for their hard work to reduce the budget gap, through a combination of corporate and portfolio efficiencies and income, to a forecast of £8.0–£8.5m. 

The recommendation was proposed by Councillor David Wisinger and seconded by Councillor Janet Axworthy.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee endorses the Organisational Change portfolio cost pressures recommended for inclusion in the budget for 2020/21. 

(a)       That the Committee congratulate Social Services in Flintshire for starting a project to add capacity in the caring community; and

(b)       That the Committee received an update report on the progress of the project in the Autumn 2020.

The Chief Officer (Social Services) introduced a report on the implementation of the Miro-care Alternative Delivery Model in Flintshire. He provided background information and commented on the pressures to meet the increasing demand for social care due to a growing older population and the difficulty experienced by care agencies in recruiting and retaining employees.  

The Chief Officer reported that the Authority had established a pilot Micro-care enterprises project to innovatively address the   problem of the supply of care and had been successful in bidding for funding from both Cadwyn Clwyd and the Welsh Government’s Foundational Economy Fund to support implementation of the project.  The pilot would run until June 2021 and together with Social Firms Wales, Wales Co-operative, and other stakeholders would support the development   of   new   Micro-care enterprises in   Flintshire.

The Chief Officer introduced Marianne Lewis, Planning & Development Officer for Micro-Care, and invited her to provide an overview of the Micro-Care project.   The Planning & Development Officer explained that Micro-care enterprises were defined as small companies with five employees, many of which were sole traders, providing   care   or care-related services to Flintshire residents.  She referred to the key points concerning the development of the Micro-care project, as detailed in the report, and advised that two Micro-care development officers had been recruited to deliver the pilot and an Implementation Board established to oversee the project.  There were currently six individuals interested in becoming Micro-care businesses which would be working to promote the pilot and expand the number of Micro-care enterprises operating across Flintshire.  In addition they were working with three micro-care businesses to explore further development opportunities. 

In response to a question from Councillor Martin White around raising awareness of the service the Planning & Development Officer explained that the Project would be actively promoted in the New Year through local community networks

Councillor Tudor Jones commented on an increasing demand on social care services due to the projected rise in life expectancy for people aged 65+.  He asked if the Micro-care service was only available for people who were aged 65+ and referred to the change in the age at which people were eligible to claim the state pension.  In response to the points raised the Chief Officer explained that the project was flexible and support could be provided to requests for care made by individuals.  The Planning & Development Officer said that if Micro-care was not the best solution for an individual he/she would be informed of other options available to support their needs. 

During discussion Officers responded to the further comments and questions raised by Members around ongoing funding to support/develop the project in the future, direct payments, and delivering care in rural areas.  A key point to emerge was the hope that more flexibility might be possible; a micro care business may be able to arrange appointment times which fit in with their other personal commitments.

The Chief Officer advised that the pilot would involve positive risk-taking to enable the Council to safely and legally commission with Micro-care enterprises  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

That the report be noted.

The Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator introduced the report which presented a summary of performance at the mid-year point of 2019/20 for the Council Plan priorities ‘Connected Council’, ‘Caring Council’ and ‘Ambitious Council’ relevant to the Committee.  She advised that the mid-year monitoring report for the 2019/20 Council Plan was a positive report, with 88% of activities making good progress and 90% likely to achieve their planned outcomes.  77% of the performance indicators had met or exceeded their targets.  Risks were being managed with a minority of 14% being assessed as major and 40% of risks decreasing in significance.  There were no major risks identified for the Committee. 

The recommendation in the report was moved by Councillor David Wisinger and seconded by Councillor Martin White.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

There were no members of the public or press in attendance.