Agenda and minutes

None.

There were no declarations made.

[A period not exceeding 20 minutes for statements from up

to 5 members of the public on matters within the

Committee’s remit, proposing action(s) which may be

considered or contribute towards the future development of

the Committee’s work programme].

There were no public statements.

The Committee gave consideration to the proposed changes to the Council’s arrangements for adult social care charges.  The Chair acknowledged that Members had already taken the opportunity to go through the consultation and understood the proposals presented to them.

Members were reminded that a review of the charges was long overdue, therefore the proposals had been developed to provide consistency and fairness whilst keeping in line with the Doncaster Growing Together (DGT) principles, local authority comparators and national rules.  The charges proposed would ensure the safety of vulnerable people ensuring they could still access services.  The Committee was informed of a number of amendments to the proposals that would reduce the impact for people, particularly those that would be affected by a number of the proposals. 

Working alongside The Consultation institute, a comprehensive consultation exercise had been undertaken and included writing to 7,000 people, holding focus groups and drop-in sessions and meetings with a number of organisations that represented older people.  It was acknowledged that the consultation helped shape the 9 proposals and if all responses were aggregated the result was 34% of people agreed, 32% did not agree and 32% neither agreed nor disagreed with the proposals.

In response to Members’ questions, the following points were addressed:

·                Sufficient extra investment was confirmed to support the services but to also ensure that appropriate support for individuals was provided. 

·                Following implementation, it was explained that monitoring would be undertaken to ensure consistency and fairness was being achieved at an individual level.  For example, if someone fell into arrears then their individual support would be addressed ensuring the correct charges were being made.  With regard to a Council wide level the impact of charges on particular services would be monitored.

·                Part of the proposals were designed to be preventative, for example,  future offers would include more work with occupational therapy, equipment and adaptations to minimise the need for two carers.

·                With regard to risks, firstly relating to technology there was the need for local authorities to keep up to date with technology development.  For example, where two carers were required, equipment and technology was available but some staff and partners required the skills to operate and in turn providing less intrusive care.  The wider issues relating to a persons income was significant therefore the approach in Doncaster was in line with national and regional approaches to charging.

·                The Local Authority had taken every step to identify people that could be affected by the proposals and if approved, they would be contacted again to ensure any risks were highlighted together with the offer of support.

·                In response to Members wish to ensure the proposals had capacity to be reviewed on an annual basis, it was explained that the programme of measures provided a good framework for the Local Authority to review and fall in line with a reasonable approach to inflation and to respond to Government Policies.

·                In connection to Proposal 9, Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG), 64 couples could see a significant impact,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.