Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Chair advised that there would be a change in the order of the agenda and item 11 – Recognition of Service by Susie Lunt, and item 10 – Social Services Accolades, would be brought forward.

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly

None were received.

None were received.

To recognise the service of Susie Lunt to Flintshire County Council’s Social Services.

The Chief Officer (Social Services) led the tributes in recognition of the work of Susie Lunt, Senior Manager – Integrated Services and Lead Adults.  He gave background information and spoke of her professional and personal qualities, ability, and dedication to service.  He referred to her many achievements on behalf of the Council’s Social Services portfolio and cited examples of the numerous services which were held in high regard locally and in other authorities/organisations as a direct result of her work. 

The Chair paid tribute to Susie Lunt and spoke of her long career in Social Services which she said was an excellent example of what could be achieved through hard work and commitment.   The Chair spoke of her willingness to help and resolve all issues brought to her attention and her genuine concern and care for others.  She wished her a long and healthy retirement.

Councillors Christine Jones, Paul Cunningham, David Mackie, and Gladys Healey also paid personal tributes to Susie Lunt and said her valuable contribution would be greatly missed.  Members thanked her and wished her a happy retirement.

Susie Lunt thanked Members for their comments and best wishes.

Flintshire County Council’s ‘Lleisiau Clwyd Voices of the Future’ project

This project between children’s social services in Flintshire and Theatr Clwyd offers vulnerable children and their siblings the chance to spend time at Theatr Clwyd on weekends and in the school holidays. During these sessions, families can take a break from their caring role in the knowledge that their children are safe, trying out activities and having fun.

North Wales Together Learning Disability Transformation Programme, a partnership involving the social care departments of the six local authorities in north Wales and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

The project aims to co-produce services with people with learning disabilities and their parents and carers. Sixty-eight projects have since been set up to support the North Wales Learning Disability Strategy 2018 to 2023 and more than 125 ‘roles’ have been created for citizens and carers, building on their individual strengths.

The Chief Officer (Social Services) introduced two short video presentations on the following projects:

Flintshire County Council’s ‘Lleisiau Clwyd Voices of the Future’ project

The project between Children’s Social Services in Flintshire and Theatr Clwyd offers vulnerable children and their siblings the chance to spend time at Theatr Clwyd on weekends and in the school holidays. During these sessions, families can take a break from their caring role in the knowledge that their children are safe, trying out activities and having fun.

North Wales Together Learning Disability Transformation Programme, a partnership involving social care departments of the six local authorities in North Wales and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

The project aims to co-produce services with people with learning disabilities and their parents and carers. 68 projects have since been set up to support the North Wales Learning Disability Strategy 2018 to 2023 and more than 125 ‘roles’ have been created for citizens and carers, building on their individual strengths. 

The Chair paid tribute to the Chief Officer, Senior Manager – Children’s Services, and Service Manager - Disability, Progression and Recovery, on the recent success of the above projects being shortlisted and highly commended in the Social Care Accolades in recognition of the national work delivered.  The Chair asked that the Committee’s thanks be passed to all involved in the projects. 

Councillor Paul Cunningham praised the achievements of the Social Services teams which he said led the way in social services and social care.  He took the opportunity to highlight the success of the ‘Double Click’ project and asked if a presentation on the work of ‘Double Click’ could be made to a future meeting of the Committee.  It was agreed this would be included on the Forward Work Programme.

Councillor David Macke spoke of the work and involvement of Theatr Clwyd with the community which he said was outstanding.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 9 June 2022.

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

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 June 2022 were submitted.  The minutes were approved as a correct record as moved by Councillor David Mackie and seconded by Councillor Rob Davies.

          Matters arising

                      Following a question from the Chair, it was confirmed that the next meeting of the Digital Strategy Group would be held on 22^nd August and that an update on the matter raised by Councillor Mackie concerning short term care digital records would be provided to the Committee at the next meeting in September. 

          RESOLVED:

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

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be noted;

(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 Committee notes the progress made in completing the outstanding actions. 

The Community and Education Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator presented the current Forward Work Programme and drew attention to the items to be considered at the next meeting of the Committee.  She advised that the Chair had e-mailed all Members of the Committee to ask if they had any items for consideration on the Programme.  It was agreed that when items had been received, the Social Care and Environment Facilitator would liaise with the Chair and Senior Officers during the August recess to update the Programme and present a revised version to the next meeting of the Committee in September.

During discussion it was proposed that the following items be added to the Forward Work Programme:-

• presentation from Double Click (preferably before Christmas to allow Members to order products if they wished).
• NEWCIS – a site visit and report to a Committee meeting (it was suggested that the site visit be held the day before a Committee meeting).
• SPOA – November meeting.
• Nanny Biscuit – presentation from James Hunt on the work of Nanny Biscuit at a future meeting of the Committee.
• how to become a Micro Carer

The recommendations in the report were moved by Councillor Paul Cunningham and seconded by Councillor Mel Buckley.         

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be noted;

(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 Committee notes the progress made in completing the outstanding actions. 

That the Committee support the proposed amendments to its terms of reference as set out in Appendix 2 of the report.

The Community & Education Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator introduced a report to consult on proposed changes to the Terms of Reference for the Committee. She provided background information and explained that the current Overview & Scrutiny Committee terms of reference were attached as Appendix 1 to the report and the proposed changes to the terms of reference were shown in Appendix 2. 

The Facilitator advised that the terms of reference were being submitted to each of the Overview & Scrutiny Committees during July. Following this a report would be submitted to the next meeting of the Constitution and Democratic Services Committee to provide feedback from each of the Overview & Scrutiny Committees.  The terms of reference for Overview & Scrutiny Committees would then be put forward to the County Council for approval and adoption within the Constitution.  The Facilitator drew attention to paragraph 1.04 in the report.

The recommendations in the report were moved by Councillor Paul Cunningham and seconded by Councillor Tina Claydon. 

RESOLVED:

That the Committee support the proposed amendments to its terms of reference as set out in Appendix 2 of the report.

(a)       That the levels of progress and confidence in the achievement of

priorities within the 2021/22 Council Plan be supported;

(b)       That the overall performance against 2021/22 Council Plan performance

Indicators be supported; and

(c)        That the Committee was assured by the explanations given for those areas of underperformance.

The Chief Officer (Social Services) presented the report which reflected performance in the last quarter of the Council Plan 2021/22

The out-turn report for the 2021/22 Council Plan showed 73% of activities were making good progress with 74% likely to achieve their planned outcomes. 73% of the performance indicators had met or exceeded their targets, 9% were being closely monitored and 18% were currently not meeting target.  There were no performance indicators (PIs) showing a red RAG status for current performance against target, relevant to the Social & Health Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Referring to pages 48 and 49 of the report, Councillor David Mackie congratulated the Chief Officer and his team on exceeding the national targets.  He also commented on the achievement of the target for Safeguarding Measures (page 54 of the report). 

The recommendations in the report were moved by Councillor Paul Cunningham and seconded by Councillor Gladys Healey.                  

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the levels of progress and confidence in the achievement of

priorities within the 2021/22 Council Plan be supported;

(b)       That the overall performance against 2021/22 Council Plan performance

Indicators be supported; and

(c)        That the Committee was assured by the explanations given for those areas of underperformance.

(a)       That the recommendations in the Audit Wales report on

Commissioning of Older People’s Care Home Placements by North Wales Councils and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board be noted;

(b)       That the actions in the Management Response to address these recommendations be agreed; and

(c)        That the Committee receives regular updates on the implementation of the actions going forward. 

The Senior Manager - Safeguarding and Commissioning presented the report.  She provided background information and explained that the Audit Wales report on the Commissioning of Older People’s Care Home Placements by North Wales Councils and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board made five recommendations (as outlined in paragraph 1.10 of the report).  In response to the report, each of the North Wales Local Authorities and the Health Board was asked to prepare an agreed collective management response detailing how they would work collectively to address each of the recommendations. Audit Wales asked for this collective response to be submitted by 31st January 2022.  The Management Response submitted was attached as Appendix 3 to the report.

In response to comments made by the Chair regarding the complexity of funding arrangements for care homes, the Senior Manager - Safeguarding and Commissioning advised that a leaflet had been produced and was available on the Authority’s website which explained clearly the contribution individuals make to the cost of their domiciliary or residential care.

Councillor David Mackie commented that he felt there was a need to scrutinise care-home provision across North Wales as well as locally. 

The recommendations in the report were moved by Councillor Gladys Healey and seconded by Councillor Mel Buckley.                 .

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the recommendations in the Audit Wales report on

Commissioning of Older People’s Care Home Placements by North Wales Councils and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board be noted;

(b)       That the actions in the Management Response to address these recommendations be agreed; and

(c)       That the Committee receives regular updates on the implementation of the actions going forward.

That the North Wales Market Stability Report 2022 be approved.

The Chief Officer (Social Services) presented the report and provided background information and context.

The Senior Manager - Safeguarding and Commissioning drew attention to the information provided in sections 1.05 and 1.06 of the report.

The Chair thanked the Chief Officer for a detailed and informative report which she said was of a very high standard and asked that the Committee’s thanks be passed to Emma Murphy, Dawn Holt and Marianne Lewis who had co-produced the report. 

The Chair commented on the high number of out-of-county placements in Flintshire as referred to in page 232 of the report.  The Chief Officer commented on the population size in Flintshire and the additional pressures as a result of being a border county.  He also referred to the challenges that could arise due to cultures and behaviours.  He gave reassurance that the total number of Children Looked After were not as high as other authorities in Wales due to the good preventative services in place in Flintshire.  

Councillor Dave Mackie commented on the financial pressures faced by some care home providers in Flintshire.

The recommendation in the report was moved by Councillor David Mackie and seconded by Councillor Gladys Healey.

RESOLVED:

That the North Wales Market Stability Report 2022 be approved.

That the Draft Social Services Annual Report 2021/22, which includes

the key developments of the past year and the priorities for next year be approved.

The Chief Officer (Social Services) introduced the report and provided background information and context.   The purpose of the Social Services Annual Report was to set out the improvement journey and evaluate Social Services’ performance in providing services to people that promote their wellbeing and support them to achieve their personal outcomes.  The Chief Officer referred to the Mockingbird service, and integrated autism regional service.  The Chief Officer invited the Planning and Development Officer – Partnership, Development and Performance Team to give an overview of the draft Social Services Annual Report 2021/22 which was appended to the report. 

The Chair asked if support was available to provide information and assistance to individuals who wished to become a Micro-Carer.  The Senior Manager - Safeguarding and Commissioning explained that the Planning and Development Officer for Micro-Care was further developing the role of Micro-Care with the aspiration that it becomes a commissioned service as well as one delivered through direct payment .  She also commented on legislative boundaries and their impact on the business model, the future monitoring of Microcarers and on-going developments to support established micro-carers.

The recommendation in the report was moved by Councillor Gladys Healey and seconded by Councillor Paul Cunningham.

RESOLVED:

That the Draft Social Services Annual Report 2021/22, which includes

the key developments of the past year and the priorities for next year be approved.

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