Agenda item

Report on the performance against the 5 goals

Emma Davies presented the report and answered the members’ questions with Julie Boothroyd and Eve Parkinson.

Challenge:

What is the position for vulnerable residents who have difficulty connecting? How do we deal with that?

Staff have supported those who need help or assistance to access the technology or get the right kit. There has been very high uptake, exceeding expectations. An unintended benefit has been that it has given people other skills: so, as well as meeting physically, there is now the ability to meet virtually. People have taken to everything really well.

Do we know the amount or percentage of people that haven’t engaged or have lost patience?

We aren’t aware of anyone who has said that that is an issue. If anyone has had difficulties, we have helped them through it. The technology really has been more of an enabler than a barrier for people.

Are there any plans that can be shared about the future of My Mates?

We are currently looking at what we should be doing next, by talking to people. We’re finding that there is a lot of support for the newer ways of working. As well as virtual work, we’ve done many things physically, such as one-to-one visits and taking people out. Now, as restrictions are easing, friends and groups are meeting. Things have been a lot more person-centred over the past year. A number of people and families say that they like this way better, which we are bearing in mind in discussions about how we will work in the future.  

Many are still volunteering – could we hear more about that?

People have put in an amazing effort to this. From the perspective of health and social care, the joining of work with the community and partnerships team has been really helpful – the coordination has been very strong. A lot of very good work was going on in the volunteer sector pre-pandemic, so we were in a good position to build on that when the pandemic hit. The numbers have gone up and down, as expected, but there’s a strong foundation in place. The network of health and social care, community and partnerships and third sector has bolstered that. An example is that we now have a social worker based in the community and partnerships team, which has added great depth to their ability to act across that sector. We have a strong, embedded infrastructure that should manage the peaks and troughs.

Could we have a comment on the percentages and targets in the summary table at the end regarding reablement after 6 months?

That is one of our national indicators, which we are requested to record for benchmarking purposes. We haven’t done so this year because the information hasn’t necessarily been robust enough for the local authorities in Wales to share – ordinarily, there would have been that comparison with other authorities. Regarding the change this year, it’s one of the national measures that has been updated, so we’ve been asked to record it in that slightly re-worded way. We’ve included it so that you have the information but it doesn’t necessarily compare with the way that the measure was recorded last year – the figures wouldn’t necessarily lead on from each other. The reablement process aims to help people to become independent following a period of needing support, so it’s a measure of how many people who have been through that system have gone on to independence.

How has Monmouthshire gone out of its way to capture disabled people who aren’t on the radar of social services or leisure?

This is a very important point: not everyone is on our radar, or needs to be. One of our core principles is to help people to live their own lives. Over the years we’ve tried, at a grassroots level, to understand communities, and provide support where needed but not necessarily create dependence through service. Therefore, we don’t actively seek people. If people move towards us, or if they are signposted to us from services such as leisure, we will help in a proportionate way. But we don’t want to actively interfere in people’s lives. The combined work with community and partnerships has allowed us to have many more ‘eyes and ears’ in the community, making it easier for people to be signposted to us. This will continue to be valuable going forward. Work such as street monitors has broadened our ability to be aware of those who might need help, and support them in more appropriate ways than solely going through the social services route.

It would be helpful to know – separate from the report – what the underlying problems are and how we can help as a committee.

The report in the next item will flesh out and describe these issues.

The next 5 year plan will be totally different – how will you judge that? What direction will it take? How much influence will Welsh Government have?

There are many factors for us to consider, such as the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, the Local Government and Elections Act, etc. There is also a great deal of learning from the last 18 months to consider. We started a piece of work on this recently; much like the Corporate Plan annual update, we are putting together an annual review of the pandemic and its effects, our learning, and the changes it has wrought. This will all contribute to the review of the Corporate Plan – that review would happen now anyway, as it’s due for renewal, but the pandemic ensures it will be a bigger and more far-reaching reconsideration. Some fundamental things will continue to be a focus.

Chair’s summary:

The committee agreed to the recommendations.