Agenda and minutes

Consideration was given to the minutes of the previous meeting held on 25^th February, 2013.

Resolved:-  That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 25^th February, 2013, be approved as a correct record.

The notes of the meeting of the Rotherham Safeguarding Adults Board held on 9^th January, 2013, were noted.

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Finance Manager (Adult Services), which provided a financial forecast for the Adult Services Department within the Neighbourhoods and Adult Services Directorate to the end of March, 2013, based on actual income and expenditure to the end of January, 2013. 

It was reported that the forecast for the financial year 2012/13 was an underspend of £352,000 against an approved net revenue budget of £71.445M.   

It was noted that the net budget had reduced to reflect the realignment of procurement savings and associated costs.  Non-recurrent winter pressures funding had also been received from Health which had increased the overall underspend.

The latest year end forecast showed a number of underlying budget pressures which were being offset by a number of forecast underspends:-

Adults General Management and Training

·         A slight underspend mainly due to savings on postages and telephone charges

Older People

·         A forecast overspend on In-House Residential Care, further increase in demand for Direct Payments and In House Transport.  There was now a forecast overspend on Independent Sector Home Care due to increased activity over the last few months

·         Offset by underspends within Enabling Care, independent Residential and Nursing Care, Community Mental Health, Carers’ Services and slippage on Assistive Technology and recruitment to vacant posts within Assessment and Care Management

·         Savings now being realised from the Review of Day Care Provision

·         Overall underspend on Rothercare due to slippage in Service Review including options for replacement of alarms

·         General savings on premises and supplies and services due to moratorium on non-essential spend

Learning Disabilities

·         A forecast overspend on independent sector Residential Care budgets due to increase in clients and average cost of care packages plus loss of income from Health

·         Underspend within Supported Living Schemes due to Continuing Health Care income, use of one-off grant funding and vacant posts

·         Recurrent budget pressure on Day Care Transport

·         Increase in demand for Direct Payment over and above budget

·         Forecast overspend in independent sector Home Care

·         3 new high cost placements in Independent Day Care

·         Increase in Community Support placements

·         Saving on premises costs and supplies and services as a result of the moratorium

Mental Health

·         Projected slight overspend on Residential Care budget and budget pressure on Direct Payments offset by savings on Community Support Services

·         Overspends on employees’ budgets due to unmet vacancy factor and use of agency staff

Physical and Sensory Disabilities

·         Continued pressure on Independent Sector Domiciliary Care, loss of Continuing Health Care funding for one client being challenged, increase in demand for Direct Payments and forecast overspend on Residential and Nursing Care offset by slippage in developing alternatives to residential provision

·         Underspend by independent domiciliary provider as clients were redirected to Direct Payments

·         Vacant posts within Resource Centre and Occupational Therapists

·         Underspend on Equipment budget and savings due to vacant part-time post at Grafton House

·         Review of contracts with independent Day Care providers

·         Forecast savings on contracts with Voluntary Sector providers

Safeguarding

·         Underspend on employee budgets due to vacant post plus additional forecast  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

The Director of Health and Wellbeing submitted for consideration a proposal to increase the Resource Allocation System (RAS) scorecard to reflect the impact of inflation.

The aim of the RAS, linked to the allocation of personal budgets, was to provide a clear and rational way to calculate how much money it was likely to cost to meet a person’s assessed needs as determined in their support plan.

The RAS had to be revised each year to take account of changes in Social Care budgets and support costs.  It should take account of key cost drivers affecting personal budgets and not just the overall Adult Social Care budget.  The ADASS Framework advised that future proofing the RAS would need to be determined locally taking account of the local financial climate.

At the moment, the key cost drivers were the costs of Independent Sector Community Based Services.  The Council’s inflation provisions for these cost drivers had been increased by an average of 1.57% and, therefore, proposed that the RAS scorecard be increased accordingly.

The rates were set out in Appendix 1 of the report submitted.

Resolved:-  That the Resource Allocation System be increased by 1.57% for the 2013/14 financial year, the rates as set out in Appendix 1 of the report submitted.