Agenda item

• Councillor John Doyle, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.

The Select Commission received a presentation from Councillor John Doyle about his role as Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care.  The presentation was entitled “Rotherham People Calling the Shots” and dealt with the following issues:-

: the impact of Central Government cuts on Council services;

: achievements in providing services for vulnerable people in Rotherham, despite funding reductions and by means of re-shaping and integrating different services and by the better use of limited resources;

: safeguarding is the bedrock of adult social care;

: receipt of customer feedback about service provision, noting the reduction in complaints received during the past twelve months;

: the changing Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection regime of residential and nursing homes; the Council’s own establishments had passed their inspections;

: access to direct payments, giving vulnerable people more control of their own lives;

: HealthWatch will be in place by April 2013;

: in the year ahead, there will be a continued focus on increasing access to continuing health care;

: increasing the amount of advice and support provided for carers;

: assisting people, wherever possible, to live in their own homes rather than staying in residential care;

: improving outcomes for people experiencing domestic abuse;

: ensuring that the services provided will meet and exceed accepted standards;

: significant challenges (eg: delivering budget savings; dealing with service specific and demographic pressures; being held to account for services provided);

: the Armed Forces Covenant (support for ex-service personnel; funding is provided by Central Government) – which states that no-one who has served in the armed forces will be disadvantaged by that service – this Council has signed up to abide by this Covenant; one example of a service is to establish a drop-in centre in Rotherham; the progress being achieved in Rotherham is now recognised as good practice regionally;

The Select Commission Members asked questions about the following matters:-

: adaptations to homes, to assist people with a disability and the sometimes lengthy waiting times for adaptations to be approved and completed; it was noted that this issue was the responsibility of the Cabinet Member for Safe and Attractive Neighbourhoods, whereas the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care was responsible for specialist items of equipment and aids to living for people who suffered a disability;

: the reduction in the number of people in receipt of social care packages, during the last year; it was noted that the eligibility criteria has not altered; an individual’s care package may change as a consequence of a new assessment and/or an improvement in the individual’s own condition;

: issues of domestic abuse and action being taken to reduce these problems; there is continued joint working between the various Council departments and the partner agencies; it is anticipated that there may be additional pressure in respect of domestic abuse, caused in part by the Government’s welfare system reforms;

: reducing long-term admissions into residential care and the provision of direct payments to service clients; appropriate systems were in place to ensure that individuals in receipt of direct payments are using that finance to meet their needs appropriately; every customer receives an annual review of their needs and care and support plan;

: ensuring that appropriate systems of monitoring are in place for service providers commissioned by the Council (eg: domiciliary care providers); the Council works with providers to maintain and improve standards, and can impose sanctions whenever standards are found to be unsatisfactory;

: very recent changes to the definition of persons affected by domestic violence and abuse, particularly young people aged 16 and 17 years – previously only adults were considered to be sufferers of such abuse;

: joint working protocols between Adult Social Care and Children and Families’ Services (e.g.: joint assessments of families’ needs; close working between mental health professionals and children’s social workers; care packages for adults with a disability who are caring for young children);

: the Council has its own inspection regime for residential care establishments, which is operated in addition to the CQC inspection regime; ‘Home from Home’ takes account of the views of residents and customers;

: the Council organises a variety of consultation forums and training sessions for people and organisations involved in the provision of care for vulnerable adults.

The issue of domestic abuse is to be included in this Select Commission’s future work programme.

The Select Commission thanked Councillor Doyle for his informative presentation.