Issue - meetings

Report of the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health

Recommendations:

That Cabinet approves:

1.    The adoption of the approach for each type of service as described in Option 1 with a total estimated cost of £970.1k

2.    That the position be reviewed after 12 weeks from 1  ...  view the full agenda text for item 6

Consideration was given to a report which had a specific focus on the Adult Care Directorate’s second largest area of spend after Older People, with a gross budget of circa £31.6m per annum on supporting people with a Learning Disability and/or Autism, in the light of a letter from the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6

Cabinet Portfolio                  Adult Social Care and Health

Strategic Directorate            Adult Care, Housing and Public Health

Councillor Wyatt who had declared an interest in this item took no part in the discussion and subsequent vote.

Consideration was given to a report that was submitted for pre-decision scrutiny ahead of the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 11 May 2020 in respect of Financial Support for Learning Disability Day Opportunity Providers during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health and the Assistant Director - Strategic Commissioning attended the meeting to present the report and to answer members’ questions

The report stated that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care had written to all local authorities on 19 March 2020 outlining the financial support that would be made available to support the response to Covid-19 with regards to the provision of adult care services. In the time since the letter had been received the Council had been allocated two un-ringfenced grants totalling £16.2million that were to be used to support Adult Social Care and other Council services impacted by Covid-19. The report stated that the Secretary of State had specifically reminded local authorities for the need, and of their obligation to support the Adult care provider market in their local area

The Secretary of State’s letter highlighted that the funding should be utilised to support specific activities surrounding supporting the adult social care sector. The report detailed the specific areas that then Secretary of State had highlighted as areas that should be targeted for support. These included:

·       Helping providers deal with the costs of increased workforce pressures due to higher sickness absence caused by the outbreak

·       Facilitating arrangements for adjusting packages as required in a timely and non-bureaucratic way, especially where providers are having to operate beyond normal services in order to respond to need.

·       Helping providers to meet costs associated with enhanced infection control and the protection of staff.

·       Finding supportive and creative ways to support providers in handling wider pressures caused by Covid-19.

The report provided information on the actions that were being proposed to enable the Council to respond to the challenges presented by the Covid-19 Pandemic on supporting people with a Learning Disability and/or Autism and  to respond to the increase in financial demands from providers who supported people with these needs in the Borough. It was noted that after Older People’s services this area of service provision represented the Adult Care Directorate’s second largest area of spend, with a gross budget annual budget of approximately £31.6 million.

The report provided details of the challenges that the Covid-19 Pandemic had created for the delivery of support to those with a Learning Disability and/or Autism and information on the actions that were being proposed to deal with these in areas including:

·       Day Opportunities and Direct Payments

·       Residential Care and Supported Living

·       Unpaid Carers and the Voluntary Sector

It was noted that introduction of social distancing measures had impacted severely the provision of services that supported residents with a Learning Disability  ...  view the full minutes text for item 174