Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm the appointment of a Chair for the Committee.

That Councillor Carol Ellis be appointed Chair for the Committee.

The Facilitator advised that Councillor Carol Ellis had been appointed to this role at the Council’s Annual General Meeting on 10 May 2016 and therefore a vote on the nomination was not required.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Carol Ellis be appointed Chair for the Committee.

That Councillor Andy Dunbobbin  be appointed Chairman for the meeting.

In the absence of the Chair the Facilitator sought nominations for a Chair for the meeting. 

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Andy Dunbobbin  be appointed Chairman for the meeting.

To appoint a Vice-Chair for the Committee.

That Councillor Andy Dunbobbin be appointed as Vice-Chair for the Committee for the municipal year.

Nominations were sought for the appointment of Vice-Chair for the Committee.  Councillor David Wisinger proposed Councillor Andy Dunbobbin and this was duly seconded.  On being put to the vote Councillor Andy Dunbobbin was appointed as Vice Chair for the Committee for the municipal year.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Andy Dunbobbin be appointed as Vice-Chair for the Committee for the municipal year.

Purpose: To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

Councillor Andy Dunbobbin declared a personal interest in the following agenda item in his capacity as a kinship carer:

Agenda item 6 – Improvement Plan 2016/17 (Social & Health Care)

Purpose: To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Education & Youth and Social & Health Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 24 March 2016.

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

The minutes of the joint meeting of the Education & Youth and Social &

Health Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 24 March 2016 had

been circulated to Members with the agenda.

Matters arising

Councillor Christine Jones referred to the high quality early intervention and preventative children's services in Flintshire, as recognised by two recent awards, the CAN Parents quality Mark accredited to the Flying Start service in July 2015 and the Social Care accolade given to the service in the category of Better Outcomes Working Together in the same year.

RESOLVED:

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

(a)       That, subject to the suggested changes, the Committee accepts the content of the Improvement Plan and ‘How we Measure Achievement’ document for the ‘Living Well’ priority; and

(b)       That the Committee accepts the strategic approach to the Improvement Plan and its delivery; and

(c)       That the Committee accepts the proposed targets for the national performance indicators.

The Chief Officer (Social Services) introduced a report on the draft Improvement Plan 2016/17 relevant to the Committee.  He explained that the Improvement Plan had been updated to reflect the key priorities of the Council for next year.  Members were asked to consider the content of the Plan and ‘how we measure achievement’ document for the priority ‘Living Well’.

The Chief Officer referred to the Living Well priority for 2016/17, which was appended to the report, and consisted of the three sub-priorities ‘Independent Living’, ‘Integrated Community Social & Health Services’ and ‘Safeguarding’.  He reported on the main activities relating to each of the sub-priorities as detailed in the report.

The Chair thanked the Chief Officer for his presentation and invited Members to raise questions.

Councillor Dave Mackie referred to page 7, paragraph 1, of the executive summary of the report and sought clarification around the meaning of the final sentence. He expressed a number of concerns regarding the formatting of the information on the proposed national performance indicator targets which was appended to the report and said the data, as presented, was difficult to read on an ipad.  The Chief Officer acknowledged the points raised and agreed to feedback the comments made.  

            Councillor Cindy Hinds referred to the list of activities under the ‘Safeguarding’ sub-priority and suggested that the work undertaken with outside agencies also be included.  The Chief Officer agreed to revisit the ‘Safeguarding’ sub-priority to include a reference to multi agency partnership working.

            Referring to ‘Safeguarding’, Councillor David Healey asked if there was a single named point of contact for outside bodies to seek advice or make a referral.  The Senior Manager Safeguarding and Commissioning explained that no single individual was named on the Authority’s website as a contact point as this was not practical but telephone numbers were given to ensure overall contact and a central point of contact was provided for the Duty and Assessment team. The Senior Manager Children’s and Workforce Services explained that a safeguarding link was also available within each school.  The Chief Officer suggested that it may be helpful if Members met with the Safeguarding Team to enable a more holistic understanding to be gained around how access to the safeguarding services worked.

            Councillor Christine Jones drew attention to the range of initiatives provided in Flintshire to raise awareness and support people with dementia and provide respite, help, and advice to carers.   Councillor David Wisinger congratulated the Chief Officer and his team on the positive developments in Flintshire regarding independent living and quality of life.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That, subject to the suggested changes, the Committee accepts the content of the Improvement Plan and ‘How we Measure Achievement’ document for the ‘Living Well’ priority; and

(b)       That the Committee accepts the strategic approach to the Improvement Plan and its delivery; and

(c)       That the Committee accepts the proposed targets for the national performance indicators.

Purpose: To receive a verbal report from Members of the Committee.

That the updates be received.

Councillor David Healey reported on his visit to North East Wales Community Equipment Services (NEWCES).  He explained that the visit had been a rewarding experience and he recommended that other Members would also find a visit helpful.  He commented on the valuable work undertaken to provide equipment to people with a disability and asked if the service could be expanded outside the community, citing the loan of beds to hospitals as an example.  The   Senior Manager Integrated Services, Lead Adults, explained that whilst the Service supported bed management its purpose and priority was to provide equipment to those with need in the community.

Councillor Veronica Gay provided positive feedback on her visit to Croes Atti Day Care Centre.  She said some concern had been expressed during her visit around a drop in the number of referrals being made to the Centre.  In her response the Senior Manager Integrated Services, Lead Adults, explained that the requirement for traditional day care services had declined due to an increased demand for more community/activity based care provision.

RESOLVED:

That the updates be received.

That the Forward Work Programme be noted.

The Community & Education Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator introduced the Forward Work Programme of the Committee.  Referring to the meeting of the Committee to be held on 9 June 2016 with representatives of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) and the Welsh Ambulance Service, the Facilitator explained that Members had  been requested to email their questions to the Social & Health Care Facilitator prior to the meeting to submit to BCUHB.

The Facilitator advised that the meeting of the Committee scheduled to be held on 23 June 2016 had been rearranged to 27 June 2016 due to the EU Referendum.  She explained that the item on Comments, Compliments and Complaints, which was scheduled for consideration at today’s meeting had been deferred to the meeting to be held on 27 June 2016.

RESOLVED:

That the Forward Work Programme be noted.