Agenda and minutes

Items
No. Item

23.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Kearsley. 

 

24.

Declarations of Interest, if any

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made.

 

25.

Minutes of the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Panel held on 24th November 2022 pdf icon PDF 143 KB

Minutes:

That the minutes of the meetings held on the 24th November 2022 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

 

 

 

26.

Public Statements

[A period not exceeding 20 minutes for

Statements from up to 5 members of the public on

matters within the Panel’s remit, proposing action(s)

which may be considered or contribute towards the

future development of the Panel’s work programme].

 

Minutes:

There were no public statements made.

 

27.

“Your Care and Support”: Doncaster’s Local Account for Adult Social Care pdf icon PDF 515 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel was presented with an overview of ‘Your Care and Support Doncaster: Adults, Health and Wellbeing Local Account 2023’.  It was reported that ‘Your Care and Support Doncaster’, had been coproduced by the Making it Real Board (MIRB) and provided strategic oversight to Adults, Health and Wellbeing, influencing and challenging decisions and agreeing priorities for improvements and developments.

 

Martin Walker from Making It Real Board, spoke about his role as an unpaid carer to an elderly parent and about what was helping them live a good life.  Martin also spoke about the honest and open conversations that had taken place through the development of the local account.

 

Glyn Butcher from Making It Real Board, spoke about the various roles he undertakes for a number of different people.  Glyn spoke about what he felt about Doncaster and what had been achieved as a Council and through working together.

 

It was noted that significant progress had been made around Social Work Assessment times.  It was recognised that there was a great deal of bureaucracy and that efforts would be made to reduce that.  It was questioned how people could begin to feel more connected and how existing barriers could be removed. It was noted that there had been a great deal of partnership working and changes made in the culture and the way we talk to each other.

 

Members were informed that a decision was being taken to Cabinet in March 2023.  It was explained that there was now a focused about people being able to remain in their own home, although it was seen that there was a need for more domiciliary support which could be achieved  within communities.

 

A discussion took place that included the following areas;

 

Feedback on Local Account – A Member questioned why the ‘voice’ had not featured more prominently in the report.  It was also felt that context was missing from areas that contained statistical information and may prove challenging for those it was targeted at.

 

It was explained that this was the first Local Account produced since 2015, and was not just about presenting statistics and plans but about how we felt we was doing against our South Yorkshire comparators.  Regarding statistical information, it was commented that some areas were not easy to understand and further clarification was sought.  Officers welcomed Members comments and noted that they would be considered as part of future Local Accounts.

 

Payment Policy (to those with Lived Experience) – In terms of how this worked, it was explained that the Council looked to reduce bureaucracy when making payments as part of the Adult Social Care payment policy.  Glyn Butcher explained that his involvement was paid through non-financial contributions to the People Focused Group (PFG), for example, through the provision of craft items and rooms.  Martin Walker supported how it was important for the Council to offer payments and recognise the work of those with lived experience that provided their time.  It was also commented that financial payments could impact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

28.

Progress and Update on Housing with Care and Support for Adults in City of Doncaster Council pdf icon PDF 471 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report provided an overview and update on the approach being taken around housing for people who may need care and support in Doncaster.  Members were informed that work had been ongoing for a number of years and there was now a focus to bring this work together into a more structured approach and to build on the existing provision.  It was recognised that this was an area of work that needed further work.

 

A discussion took place that included the following areas;

 

Quality of Data Used – It was explained that there were around 24,000 social housing properties and more than 100,000 private ones.  It was noted that it was important to make best use of the existing housing stock. Members were informed of a private sector housing condition survey undertaken by the Building Research Establishment, which would provide the Council with an evidence base on property condition.  It was explained that social housing landlords had better information about their properties (in comparison to the private sector) due to the service they provided and the standards they adhere to.  It was explained that they had blended together some national sets of data about housing conditions to create a picture which would provide an assessment of property condition cast against a framework known as the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.  It was explained that the survey would help form the Health Impact Assessment of the data, which would in turn provide useful information.

 

Regarding the quality of data, it was outlined that teams within the Council looked at both data and projections through POPPI (for older people) and PANSI (for working age population).  It was noted that CENSUS data was used to help when looking at the longer-term projections.  In addition, Needs Assessments were used as well as 3-year rolling data to look at those populations groups and what future housing needs were likely to be. 

 

Housed Outside of Doncaster – Members heard that work was being undertaken to repatriate those individuals with specialist needs that had been housed outside of Doncaster, and that numbers were reducing.  It was outlined that part of the Specialist Housing and Support Steering Group’s role was to provide information on what was needed and where there were commissioning gaps to ensure that the right offer was in the right place.  Members were also told about work being undertaken with Directors of Adult Social Services to look at those very specific areas of commissioning and what could be achieved regionally.  It was also noted that Outside Area Reviews were considered a priority to ensure that there was an oversight when individuals were moved outside of Doncaster.  It was commented that there were links with what was trying to be achieved through Adult Social Care work.

 

It was felt that there was an inadequate provision for homeowners to downsize when their current home was no longer the best option.  It was believed that the Housing Development industry had failed to respond to this demographic  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

29.

Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan and Council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions pdf icon PDF 710 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Senior Governance Officer presented the Scrutiny Work Plan that had recently been agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee and the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

 

RESOLVED: That the update be noted.