Issue - meetings

(a)       That the Committee thank officers for the report and congratulate Flintshire Social Services for developing the much needed Young Carers Support Service;

(b)       That the Committee further commends NEWCIS for setting up the Flintshire Young Carers Support Service and for performing above the expectations in the service contract and delivery outcomes, and for developing the Young Carers ID Card;

(c)        That funding for the Young Carers Support Service be reviewed in 12 months; and

(d)       That the Committee propose that a press release be issued regarding the Young Carers – NEWCIS contract.

The Chair commented on the excellent standard of the report which was submitted to the  Committee for consideration.  

The Chief Officer (Social Services) introduced the report and provided background information.  He invited the Planning and Development Officer and Chief Executive Officer of NEWCIS to present the report.

The Planning and Development Officer advised that the Social Services Well-being Act had introduced significant and positive  changes for both unpaid  adult and young carers which had resulted in an opportunity to review the Young Carers service contract  which ended in March last year.    Four young carers had been part of the tendering  process by supporting officers as equal partners. This included shaping the service, choosing questions and interviewing prospective service providers  which had resulted in NEWCIS being awarded the contract.  

Referring to the New Young Carers ID Card she advised that  the new card would build on the foundations of the A2A card previously adopted by Flintshire. She added that Flintshire had decided to take a regional approach to the development of the national Young Carers ID Card, working with Conwy, Denbighshire and Wrexham Councils and the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.  A communication plan was being worked on collectively with partners  including the launch of the new card and potentially  involving high profile celebrities currently planned for the 16 March 2021 to mark Young Carers Awareness day.  

The Chief Executive of NEWCIS expressed her delight at acquiring the contract in July last year.  Whilst Covid 19 restrictions were not factored in whilst drawing up the tender, it had not stopped progress, and had encouraged more innovation in service delivery with virtual meetings due to restrictions on face to face meeting opportunities.  Going forward it was expected that there would be a mix of virtual and physical interaction.  She added that the service was extremely busy and working with young carers was proving to be very positive for NEWCIS staff, whilst recognising there had been a few difficult cases.   She referred to the significant rise in participants both in the under 18 and 18-25 age groups.  Going forward, she was confident that NEWCIS would  continue to provide a good service and referred to good regional links with Credu who provide young carer services for other local authority areas and cited Wrexham and Denbighshire as examples. The Chief Executive Officer was particularly pleased to report that in December a young  carer had been employed by  NEWCIS and  funding had been made available to support a young carer to start his own business.  She commented on the enthusiasm of the young people despite the ongoing challenges of the current pandemic.

The Chair referred to section 1.11 of the report which stated that  201 new referrals had been received between July and September 2020.  The Chief Executive Officer explained this was mainly due to   publicity in partnership with social services and through the development of a more robust  social media presence.  She added that the power of social media had allowed the Service  to engage  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27