Agenda and minutes

We noted County Councillor S. Howarth as Chair for today’s meeting.

County Councillor L. Brown declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest pursuant to the Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of agenda item 10, in relation to data access to social care records.

The minutes of the Joint Select Committee Meeting (Adults and Children and Young People) dated 20^th March 2018 were confirmed and signed by the Chair.

The Select Committee to identify areas for future scrutiny with the Health Board:

• Older Adults Mental Health Services.

·         Care Closer to home and how this sits within Monmouthshire Integrated Services.

Context:

To identify areas for future scrutiny with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.

Key Issues:

• Older Adults Mental Health Services.

• Care closer to home and how this sits within Monmouthshire Integrated Services.

• A file was sent to the Adults Select Committee Chair from a Monmouthshire constituent regarding the decision that had been made in respect of care provision in St. Pierre. The Chair will contact the constituent explaining that the matter had been drawn to the attention of the Select Committee and that the constituent could raise this matter further at a future Select Committee meeting, should he / she decide to do so.

• The Chair had also received an email from a constituent and also a former employee of the Authority regarding an issue relating to information. This matter had been resolved.  However, some valid points had been raised which had been considered.  The Chair had responded to the constituent.

Member Scrutiny:

Concern was expressed regarding the lack of data security in respect of access to records of people aged over 18 in adult care. It was noted that this matter was being addressed. However, the Select Committee had not received any information regarding this matter. 

The Head of Adult Services informed the Select Committee that the Directorate had been subject to a number of enquiries regarding this matter which has allowed the Directorate to reflect and review its position in respect of this issue. Two Members of the Select Committee would work with the Head of Adult Services with a view to looking at the data security system and that the Members would report back to the Select Committee regarding this matter.

We received the Adults Select Committee Forward Work Programme. In doing so, the following points were noted:

·         A special meeting of the Adults Select Committee will be required to be held in July 2018 to discuss with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, the following topics:

-       Older Adults Mental Health Services.

-       Care closer to home and how this sits within Monmouthshire Integrated Services.

We noted the report.

We noted the actions arising from the Joint Select Committee Meeting (Adults and Children and Young People) dated 20^th March 2018.

Context:

To scrutinise the outcomes being delivered by the Supporting People Programme Grant (SPPG), as requested by Committee on 8^th March 2016 and to receive an update on the potential changes around the future funding of Supporting People (SP) with respect to regionalisation, the piloted Early Intervention, Prevention and Support Funding (EIPS), Welsh Government’s commitment to extended childcare in the future and the new arrangements from the Supported Accommodation Review (SAR).

Key Issues:

Supporting People is a service providing housing-based support to people in Monmouthshire.  The purpose of the support is to help vulnerable people to either live independently or to achieve the greatest degree of independence that their personal challenges will allow, with a significant focus on the prevention of homelessness.

In 2017, the services supported 2,550 people and contributed to the costs of around 2,000 community based alarms (as in sheltered housing).  SP services are defined in terms of whether being delivered as part of a tenancy expectation or via floating support and whether the expectation for the service duration is “short”, either 6 months or under 24 months or long-term, as in some learning disability or mental health cases.

Whilst the funding for Monmouthshire’s SP services represents approximately only 10% of the Gwent regional provision (£2.04m of £21m), Welsh Government has identified that, overall, it delivers services to a greater proportion of the supported regional cohort.  This, to a greater extent, is due to the Authority’s SP services’ development that is based on service user need and not either their accommodation / tenure type or age which were features of the legacy based services incorporated in 2003 and to some extent continued in the reconfigured 2012 services.  The SP service also has two best practice elements – a Gateway brokerage service and services delivered within the Authority’s place-based delivery model.

The Authority’s service funding is approximately broken down into 14% accommodation based services, 10% Gateway assessment and brokerage service and 76% floating support.

The County Council’s SP programme comprises 33 contracts and / or service level agreements with 12 providers.  These contracts are due for renewal and / or extension on 1st April 2019, with the exception of three small contracts with a total value in the region of £70,000.  Of these contracts, three are regional contracts managed by other Authorities on behalf of Monmouthshire County Council and two are regionally managed by Monmouthshire County Council on behalf of other Gwent Authorities.

SP outcomes are measured across a range of 11 outcomes, each of which can be assessed as relevant to the individual and assessed on a scale of 1-5 where 5 means the individual has achieved their potential for independence in this outcome.

People receiving support make progress that is assessed and recorded on a five step model.  On average, over a year, individuals make five positive steps of progress or the equivalent of achieving one outcome to full independence.  The average cost of achieving this progress is in the region of £1,500, or £300  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Context:

To scrutinise the changes to the criteria and terms and conditions of the delivery of the Welsh Government’s Private Sector Housing Loan schemes.

Key Issues:

Welsh Government has provided local authorities in Wales with mixed funding to improve the standard of housing and help return empty properties back in to use in the private sector. This has taken the form of two types of funding streams: grant funding of £604,749.00, with the launch of the Houses into Homes scheme and a repayable loan funding stream of £620,855.69, known as the Home Improvement Loan Scheme. Both schemes are recyclable and offer loans to applicants on an interest free basis with a fee charged to the applicant for the administration process.

The Houses into Homes funding stream grant is offered to the Council in perpetuity so long as it is being utilised and recycled as loans to applicants. The Home Improvement Loan funding scheme in contrast has to be re-paid to Welsh Government by 2030.       If the funding repayable is less than the award (from loan default) then Welsh Government will share 50% of the shortfall to a maximum amount of 2.5% of the funding awarded.

On the 25th March 2015, Individual Cabinet Member approval was acquired for the Council’s participation in the Welsh Government Home Improvement Loan Scheme.

Local authorities have found varying degrees of success in delivering both schemes.  It is thought that the criteria of both schemes was too rigid and not flexible enough to respond to local factors that probably contributed to their being unsuccessful in a number of local authority areas. To address this the Welsh Government has proposed changes to the criteria and terms and conditions.

The following summarises the main changes to the schemes:

·         Removal of the 50/50 funding allocation criteria between both Houses into Homes and Home Improvement Loan schemes to allow each Authority to spend the loan funding according to demand in their areas.

·         There is an expectation that the loans are prioritised towards bringing back into use empty properties and providing loans to applicants considered to be more ‘risky’, that is, they would fail affordability assessments.

·         The introduction of three distinct loan schemes

-           Owner/Occupier Loans.

-           Property Appreciation Loans - available to those applicants   considered ‘risky’.

-     Landlord Loan (to be marketed in Monmouthshire as Landlord / Property Developer Loans

·         Administration Fees – These are allowed under the new criteria but are capped depending on the loan scheme.  For the Owner Occupier and the Property Appreciation Loans any shortfall between the cap and the actual costs associated with administering the loan application can be recouped from the Grant Funding Stream. The total fee and recouped shortfall will not exceed the actual costs.

-       Owner / Occupier Loans: Monmouthshire will charge 50% of the total cost for administering the application to the client with the remaining shortfall costs up to £500 being funded out of the grant funding stream.

-       Property Appreciation Loans: The fee chargeable to the applicant will be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

We received the Cabinet and Council Forward Planner. In doing so, the Committee agreed that:

·         Crick Road Business Case to come back to the Select Committee for further scrutiny.

·         A special meeting of Adults Select Committee to be held in July 2018 to meet with representatives of Aneurin Bevan University Heath Board.

·         The Select Committee to remain focussed on domiciliary care (Turning the World Upside Down).

·         County Councillors L. Brown and J. Pratt would work with the Head of Integrated Serviceswith a view to looking at the data security system regarding access to records of people aged over 18 in adult care before a report is presented back to the Select Committee.

We noted the report.

Tuesday 10^th July 2018 at 10.00am.

The next ordinary meeting of Adults Select Committee will be held on Tuesday 10th July 2018 at 10.00am.

A special meeting of Adults Select Committee will also be held in July 2018. Date and time to be confirmed.