Agenda item

Context:

The report sets out the key areas of progress and areas for improvement in Monmouthshire County Council Social Services for the year 2014–15.

Key Issues:

1. The council is making good progress with a transformation in practice agenda and is well placed to meet the requirements as set out in the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act (SSWBW Act). The council has concentrated on moving forward an ambitious agenda in adult’s services. This has been more difficult in children’s services where the department has been working hard to deliver on the post inspection action plan. This was developed to address the recommendations in the inspection undertaken by CSSIW in children’s services in November 2014 where a number of areas of weakness were found. The action plan also identified the areas for improvement set out in last year’s Annual Council Reporting Framework (ACRF).

2. Progress has been made in a number of areas to date. In particular the council has made improvements around statutory visits to looked after children and the timeliness of reviews for children in need as well as recruitment to permanent posts. However, there is still a journey of improvement that children’s services will need to continue over the next year.

3. The council works well with partners across both adult and children’s services to deliver better outcomes in the most efficient and effective ways. In adult services, partnership arrangements with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) are mature at both strategic and operational levels. However, although work is progressing sometimes this needs to develop at a faster pace with renewed energy and clear objectives. The mental health integration work around the Listen Engage Act Participate (LEAP) project across the whole council is an example of this.

4. Performance in adult services has improved further in a number of key areas in particular in relation to delayed transfers of care which have decreased. Ongoing progress in reablement services is evident and is working effectively in the hubs where they have been implemented. However, whilst headway has been made, the pace of change to roll out services overall more systematically across the whole council needs to

increase in order to recalibrate services in an appropriate and timely way.

5. There is significant support corporately and from members who have a good understanding of the challenges facing social care. This is evidenced by the protection of budgets in Social Services in 2014-15 and the agreement reached for additional funding of £1.2million in children’s services in order to deliver its statutory functions and safeguard children effectively. However, this will become more difficult in the future when there is a need to make significant savings across all services within the council.

6. The council acknowledge that whilst its citizens have high expectations of public services in the future services will need to be provided in a different way and not necessarily by the council. Greater emphasis will be placed on support.

Member Scrutiny:

It was asked by a Member if placements from other Authorities were monitored. It was answered that yes, there was a register, the parent Local Authority would pay the costs and that some Authorities have reciprocal arrangements.

A Member asked what areas the Authority should be concentrating on. We were told that it was important to prioritise the journey that children’s services were on, all recommendations were being worked through. It is important that we focus on the outcomes in adult and children’s services with particular focus on early intervention and prevention.

The Cabinet Member updated the Committee on the 2 apprentices who sit on the Corporate Parenting Panel and talked about Dementia Care training, which gives people the tools to understand.

Recommendations:

A number of areas of improvement were identified:

•Ongoing work with health and social care strategic partnership and relationships with the health board

• Increased capacity and responsiveness corporately in relation to recommendations to drive improvements required and meet demand

• Strengthening of the corporate parenting arrangements to ensure voices of care leavers are heard and drive strategic thinking

• Level of challenge and understanding of Select Committee

• Consider how children continue to be safeguarded in light of financial pressures faced by the council