Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendation.

The Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance welcomed Mr Peter Graham, Regional Director of CSSIW to the meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Social Services introduced the report which provided an overview of CSSIW’s evaluation of social care in Flintshire and gave a positive view of the authority’s Social Services for both Vulnerable Children and Adults.

Mr Graham thanked the Cabinet Member for her introduction and delivered a presentation to Members on the key areas of progress for the year 2012/13 in Flintshire’s Social Services and areas for future improvement.

The key points were:

Adults Services

• Due to the emphasis on prevention, fewer people were supported in residential care and more able to lead independent lives
• The reablement service had been particularly successful in helping people regain independence with the majority not requiring ongoing services
• Adult safeguarding needed to be strengthened and the authority had taken action to improve the management of risk
• Ongoing issues in improving community health services with the authority reporting that the complex decision making processes with Betsi Cadwalader University Health Board (BCUHB) had not leant themselves to joint working for shared outcomes

Children’s Services

• Performance against a significant range of national indicators remained amongst the best in Wales
• The authority provided an effective response to incoming referrals and performed well in fulfilling its responsibilities in relation to child protection and looked after children
• The authority should consider the potential to improve placement stability
• The authority had developed a range of preventative services and provided good support to young people leaving care and access to accommodation had improved
• The authority’s annual performance report had been restructured to reflect the key components of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill and would better lend itself to public scrutiny against the key areas of leadership, commissioning, improvement, voice for citizens, safeguarding and integrating services
• The report recognised that the current economic climate, welfare changes and demographic pressures presented significant challenges for the future and was increasingly realistic about how to prepare for new demands and shifting public expectations

Potential Risks

• Sustainability of medium term financial planning
• Continuing ability to influence locality focused strategic planning with the BCUHB
• Securing sufficiently robust outcomes in adult safeguarding

Summary

• The authority had benefited from strong leadership and clear vision and continued to make progress in a number of key areas
• The authority was able to evidence a range of positive outcomes which had been delivered through its strategic transformation of services
• The authority had signalled its intention to put people in control of the services they received and to support more people to live independent lives
• The authority was seeking to reduce dependency on its services by strengthening support in communities and the use of new technology
• The authority was forward looking and was innovative.  This was recognised in the number of awards it had been given

Members thanked Mr Graham for the presentation and welcomed the positive report.

            RESOLVED:

            That the CSSIW’s evaluation of performance be received and endorsed.