Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Darby and Wootton.

Ms. J. Mullins declared a personal interest in Item No. 109 below being involved with services relating to Older People and Carers.

There were no members of the public and press present.

The Policy and Research Manager, Dawn Roberts, reported on progress made to date towards developing a new Corporate Plan for the Authority. The first draft of the Plan was presented along with details of further work needed to complete it,

Particular reference was made to :-

-     the need to align the Plan with the Community Strategy having regard to the long term vision of the Council and its partners

-     how the Plan was developed, its aims and priorities, objectives and targets

-     proposals for the consultation process

-     member input to the Plan

-     involvement of staff, public and partners

Subsequent queries/comments made were in respect of :-

(a) the priorities for scrutiny such as equal opportunities issues and areas which needed to be improved;

(b) the need to deal with issues more corporately having regard to cross cutting themes. Better communication would be required;

(c) the planning for population trends such as the growth in the numbers of older people and impact on health inequalities;

(d) plans for better access in the Town Centre for people with a disability.

It was noted that the second draft of the Plan was being prepared which would include :-

-           rationalising objectives

-           highlighting partnership issues

-           capturing early milestones, focussing on early deliverable issues

-           simplifying and clarifying statistical information

Resolved:- (1) That progress on the Corporate Plan be welcomed and the areas to be included in the second draft be noted.

(2) That the format and direction of the Corporate Plan be endorsed along with the proposals for the consultation process.

(3) That the suggested minor changes in wording of the vision be endorsed.

(4) That the second draft of the Corporate Plan, when completed, be submitted to this Scrutiny Panel.

The Supporting People Manager submitted a report which summarised progress on the development of two extra care housing schemes and of the extra care housing strategy.

The present situation in respect of the schemes at the site of Dalton House and at the Queensacre site, Swinton, were reported along with the funding details for each scheme and the risks/uncertainties relating to them.

The report submitted also set out how the development of each scheme assists the Council in meeting strategic objectives.

Particular comment was made in respect of delays to the scheme for the Dalton House site and the possible adverse effect on Council commitment.

Resolved:- (1) That the contents of the report submitted be noted along with the progress being made with the Extra Care Housing Strategy 2003-08.

(2) That a further report on progress at the two Extra Care Housing sites be submitted to a future meeting of this Scrutiny Panel.

The Executive Director, Social Services, reported that a strategy for older people is required for Rotherham, which maps the known needs of local older citizens, incorporates further needs assessment/research and sets out an action plan to meet local needs and aspirations of current and future older citizens for improved quality of life.

It also recommends that a Task Group be established to oversee the development of the Strategy involving all Council Programme Areas, the Council’s Older Persons Member Champion (Councillor Hodgkiss), PCT, voluntary sector, Rotherham Partnership and all other stakeholders.

The Strategy will be developed in a national and local policy context, which has seen older people issues come to the fore, as reflected in the recent Improving the Quality of Life of Older Peoples Shared Priority agreed between the Government and the LGA. Reflecting a national trend, Rotherham’s older population is also forecast to grow significantly over the next 20 years from about 20% of the population to about 30%.

The report submitted set out the proposals in detail, the policy context for older people, social care issues to address the needs of older people, current service provision within Social Services and the key themes and questions to be addressed.

The content of the strategy was outlined along with the way in which the work involved would be taken forward.

Particular discussion took place on consultation issues and on addressing matters relating to fuel poverty.

The Chair referred to the scrutiny review undertaken into ‘Improving Services to Older People and Carers’ and whether this would be taken into consideration as work on the strategy progressed.

Resolved:- (1) That this Scrutiny Panel :-

(a) notes the key statistics, research findings and policy imperatives concerning older people;

(b) agrees that a strategy is produced for older people by Summer 2005, led by Rotherham MBC with the Primary Care Trust and Voluntary sector;

(c) agrees that three RMBC Member Champions, including the Council’s Older Persons Member Champion, are closely involved in the development of the proposed Strategy;

(d) agrees that a paper on this approach is submitted to Cabinet and then placed before the Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) Boards for their agreement.

(2) That Councillor Hodgkiss be invited to a future meeting of this Scrutiny Panel to speak on his role as the Council’s Older Persons Member Champion.

(3) That a progress report be submitted to a future meeting of this Scrutiny Panel on the development of the Strategy for Older People in Rotherham.

Consideration was given to the content of the Action Plan based on recommendations from Social and Community Support Scrutiny Panel review into ‘Improving Services for Older People and Carers in Rotherham’.

The Action Plan set out the required action and progress to date on issues, intended outcomes and how the outcome has helped service users.

An update on each of the issues was reported.

Subsequent comments related to :-

-           the One Stop Shop situation

-           the completion dates of action being taken and meeting targets for them

Members expressed concerns that whilst the Executive Director stated that improvements had been made in services to older people and carers, the progress made in implementing the recommendations arising from the review was not clearly reflected in this report. No was it clear in the report why deadlines had not been met.

Resolved:- (1) That the information be received and the progress on issues be noted.

(2) That an update be provided to the Panel in six months time, with progress against targets arising from the review recommendation clearly explained.

The Direct Payments Manager reminded members that the Social and Community Support Scrutiny Panel had undertaken a review of the Direct Payments Schemes.

The review had proposed a number of recommendations that needed to be undertaken in order to raise the profile and increase the take up of Direct Payments. One of the recommendations was the development of a Direct Payments Strategy. This had been undertaken and was submitted for members consideration.

An Action Plan for the other recommendations had been prepared and all were being progressed.

Resolved:- (1) That the content of the Direct Payments Strategy be endorsed and welcomed.

(2) That an update be provided to the Panel in six months time.

Consideration was given to the content of a report which summarised activity in relation to representations and complaints dealt with by Social Services during the first and second quarters of the municipal year, i.e. 1st April to 30th September, 2004.

The report submitted set out statistics and analysis of comments and complaints in relation to Adult Services and Children and Families Services at both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the process.

Reference was also made to :-

-     the complaints timescale which would be tighter when the new procedures were in place

-     Stage 3 complaints undertaken

-     cases involving the Local Government Ombudsman

-     training sessions for staff

-     developmental issues such as the offer of advocates for young people wishing to make a complaint

-     the cumulative impact of the cost of investigations

-     the outcome of complaints and that lessons learned would form part of training plans for managers

It was noted that a significant number of complaints continue to be resolved to client’s satisfaction by first line managers at the first stage in the Complaints Procedure

Subsequent comments related to the action taken if a complaint is upheld, identifying any themes/similarity of complaints and developing a strategy to deal with such in future, and that Rotherham MBC compared favourably with other local authorities in relation to the number of complaints dealt with.

Resolved:- That the report be received.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the meetings on decisions made by the Cabinet Member for Social Services, held on the above dates be received and the content noted.

The Service Manager, Performance Information and Quality, reported that national consultations were being held with regard to the proposed revision of complaints procedures for Social Services.

The report submitted set out details of the proposed changes to the complaints process, which were expanded upon.

The outcome of the consultation on the proposals would result in new regulations guidance, with Rotherham MBC’s current Social Services complaints procedures needing to be revised for both Adult Services and for Children and Families Services.

The meeting was informed that the implementation date had been delayed until October 2005 and that the CSCI had been made aware of this Authority’s view that there appeared to be a lack of member involvement in the complaints process.

Resolved:- (1) That the content of the proposals for the revision of complaints procedures for Social Services be noted and that the responses to the consultations be endorsed.

(2) That a further report be submitted to a future meeting of this Scrutiny Panel on the final guidance and regulations and implementation requirements for Rotherham MBC.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the above meeting be received and agreed.

Resolved:- That the minutes of meetings of the above Committee held on the dates indicated be received.