Agenda item

(a)       That the report be noted;

(b)       That the areas highlighted as ‘red’ risks be referred to the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny who are responsible for the overview and monitoring of performance; and

(c)       That the concerns around timescales for Disabled Facilities Grants for children/young people be referred to the Community & Enterprise Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

The Senior Manager: Commissioning and Performance introduced the report for the Committee to note and consider elements of the 2014/15 Year End Improvement Plan Monitoring Report relevant to the Committee.

A short presentation was given on performance within each of the sub-priority areas, highlighting work which had been undertaken to improve performance and areas where improvement was needed, as outlined within each report.

Independent Living

On the average days taken to deliver a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), the Senior Manager: Commissioning and Performance acknowledged that this was an area of particular concern for children/young people.  He said that officers were looking at measures to reduce the timescales, explaining that the outturn for 2014/15 was due to the two cases involving some complex issues.

Councillor Hilary McGuill asked what was being done to help individuals in those cases, pointing out that the delays represented a long time in the lives of those children.  She went on to stress the importance of ‘future proofing’ to plan for the years ahead where the child’s needs could become more complex.

The Disability Service Manager pointed out that the indicator was measured from the start of the process through to completion sign-off and that did not reflect a range of interim measures implemented to help families awaiting the installation of equipment.  In terms of forward planning, Occupational Therapists were responsible for co-ordinating a range of professional assistance which could be drawn upon, however it was not possible to accurately predict future needs in every case.

Councillor McGuill questioned the effectiveness of this approach and had previously raised with officers her concerns about the lack of forward planning for adaptations on a particular case.  The Housing Regeneration & Strategy Manager was aware of the case and referred to it being highly complex in terms of the adaptations required.  He went on to give assurance of forward planning as much as possible and said that the case highlighted would be reviewed again.

In response to further concerns raised by Councillor McGuill on improving timescales for DFG work for children/young people, the Disability Service Manager suggested that it may be helpful to share anonymised historic assessment data with the Committee to demonstrate the different elements of the process.

When asked how many DFGs had been completed for children/young people beyond 2014/15, the Housing Regeneration & Strategy Manager agreed to find out and respond to the Committee.

On DFGs, Councillor Dave Mackie suggested that it may be useful for future outturns to be accompanied by specific commentary including any feedback from the parent/carer, to satisfy Members of the support given and that perhaps a breakdown of the various elements of the process could help to identify where the problem was.  He also pointed out inconsistencies in the 2013/14 baseline data and 2016/17 aspirational target when compared with the previous year’s report.

In response to the concerns around DFGs, the Senior Manager: Commissioning and Performance suggested that he liaise with Internal Audit and request an assessment of the process to assure the Committee.

The Housing Regeneration & Strategy Manager reiterated that the outturns represented average figures, involving a range of actions, with complex issues including some matters outside the control of the Council.  He remained confident that improvements could be made through the filling of posts in Housing.

Councillor Mike Lowe referred to the need for customers to be satisfied with the DFG work, irrespective of any delays which may be necessary.

In response to a query from Councillor Mackie, the Senior Manager Safeguarding: Lead Children provided explanation on referrals to the Integrated Family Support Service (IFSS) and the outturn which related to the ‘distance travelled’ by families from the start of intervention progressing along the travel spectrum.  She confirmed that the missing data was available and should have been included.  Councillor Mackie also highlighted missing data on the performance indicators relating to homelessness.

For Children’s Services, Councillor Mackie highlighted the need for adequate forward planning to enable child in need plans to be reviewed within the required timescale.  Whilst the Senior Manager felt there was room for improvement, she pointed out that the outturn had improved significantly since the previous year and was above the Welsh average.  On the percentage of referrals that were re-referrals, she stated that a number of these could have been generated by one incident and classed as repeat referrals.  She went on to provide details of the revised structure for Children’s Services, due for consultation, which was aimed at creating more capacity for early intervention preventative work and should help to improve performance figures for next year.

Integrated Community Social and Health Services

Councillor Mackie spoke of concerns shared by the community health council on funding for the predicted demand of enhanced care services.  The Chair said that Health Board representatives had attended a previous meeting where concerns had been raised about the lack of progression on enhanced care and locality working, and that this issue should be passed to the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the report be noted;

(b)       That the areas highlighted as ‘red’ risks be referred to the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny who are responsible for the overview and monitoring of performance; and

(c)       That the concerns around timescales for Disabled Facilities Grants for children/young people be referred to the Community & Enterprise Overview & Scrutiny Committee.