Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: By Zoom. View directions

Contact: Wyn Richards  Scrutiny Manager and Head of Democratic Services

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

To receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

An apology for absence was received from County Councillor E Roderick.

2.

Declarations of Interest

To receive declarations of interest from Members.

Minutes:

There were no Declarations of Interest from Members relating to items to be considered on the agenda.

 

3.

Disclosure of Party Whips

To receive disclosures of prohibited party whips which a Member has been given in relation to the meeting in accordance with Section 78(3) of the Local Government Measure 2011.

 

(NB:  Members are reminded that, under Section 78, Members having been given a prohibited party whip cannot vote on a matter before the Committee.)

Minutes:

The Committee did not receive any disclosures of prohibited party whips which a Member had been given in relation to the meeting in accordance with Section 78(3) of the Local Government Measure 2011.

 

4.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 320 KB

To authorise the Chair to sign the minutes of the last meetings as correct records.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair was authorised to sign the minutes of the previous meetings held on 2 March 2022 and 29 June 2022 as correct records.

5.

Annual Report of the Director of Social Services pdf icon PDF 1 MB

To receive and consider the Annual Report of the Director of Social Services.

 

To assist the Committee, it would be useful if Scrutiny Members could consider:

·       Whether the report is an accurate reflection of the situation as they understood it to be during the year of the Annual Report, 2021-22

·       Do Members wish to have clarification on any aspect of the report

·       Whether the Committee wishes to receive more detailed reports on any aspect of this report, to be added to the Committee’s Forward Work Programme for the next twelve months, which would enable officers to prepare information in advance of future meetings

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Documents Considered:

·                Annual Report of the Director of Social Services.

 

Issues Discussed:

·                The report had been compiled by the former Director who has recently left the Council and was for the period April 2021 to March 2022.

·                One of the ongoing themes was the continued impact of the Covid pandemic and increased demand as well as delays in residents accessing treatment.

·                This had an impact on staff in terms of recruitment and retention.

·                Whilst the Service had come out of business continuity on 16 May 2022 but the pressures which had existed to that point remained and were exacerbated due to the cost of living increases and the impact on the war in Ukraine on the economy. This has not only affected Council services but also service providers.

 

·                Questions:

 

Question

Response

Can you provide an update on the pressures for providers in recruiting staff particularly in Domiciliary Care and where are the challenges.

The most significant pressures are around recruitment and retention. Feedback from external providers is that staff are feeling fatigued, and as covid has eased, staff have chosen to be recruited to work in other sectors which has been a significant pressure on the market. Work has been undertaken with the sector around innovative ideas to see how we can support these organisations, attracting people into the sector, provide electric vehicles, and support with fuel pressures. Whilst things have relatively stabilised this is still a significant pressure and the Service is continuing to work with the sector

Is this a national pressure

It is, but the pressure is seen more significantly in Powys due to rurality of the county. There is anecdotal information that staff are feeling that it is not affordable to work in that profession.

Do carers get paid for their travelling time and how much are they paid per mile.

Yes they are paid for travelling time as part of the Powys pledge introduced last year. The pledge is a mechanism where organisations sign up to improve the terms and conditions of the workforce and part of that is to pay for travelling costs. The travel costs are currently 35p per mile. Most organisations are signed up to the silver pledge at the moment. The Gold pledge is being presented to Cabinet to request an increase to 45p per mile which is the HMRC rate. The 45p also provides parity with internal staff rates.

Morale is very low and we are losing staff due to mileage rates and hours of working. It is of concern that we will lose staff. What else is being done within the workforce to ensure staff well-being is being considered and are there any other schemes or programmes being considered. Could we use two carers travelling together in an area which could save on mileage and reduce the stress of staff.

The morale in the sector is generally is very low and this is supported by feedback from the sector. There has also been a significant reliance on agency staff.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

North Powys Well-Being Programme

To receive and consider a presentation by Nigel Brinn (Executive Director Economy and Environment) and Carly Skitt (Strategic Planning Manager – Powys Teaching Health Board)

Minutes:

Documents Considered:

·                Presentation by Sali Campbell from PTHB.

 

Issues Discussed:

·                In 2018 Welsh Government invited significant bids from Partnership Board which would enable integrated health and social care services in Wales.

·                Based on the data showing the greatest need and distance to services Newtown was selected as a hub for the North of the county.

·                This is a health and well-being hub which will provide more day services than are currently available. It also aims to reduce travelling for customers who otherwise would have to go to hospitals in Shropshire.

·                This would integrate health and social care and introduce a new model of care which is being developed.

·                This is not a new hospital but will provide an enhanced level of diagnostic services than currently available, more day facilities for treatment than is currently possible.

·                Other facilities are planned to be on the same site such as the primary school. A new library will also be built as part of the new facility. Supported living was to have been provided but that is available now elsewhere in Newtown.

 

·                Questions:

 

Question

Response

What are the Powys Together sessions focussed on.

They are focussed on early help and low level intervention. The focus is on reducing the need for statutory services.

One question raised previously about the site is how safeguarding will be assured in terms of the location of the school and also services.

The school will be designed in accordance with normal practice with safeguarding built into the project so will be fully secured with fencing in place.  This will be incorporated into the wider planning proposal.

Dafydd Llwyd is shown on the plan but the school moved some years ago

Yes it is correct that Dafydd Llwyd moved to a new building some years ago. The building has been used recently for the integrated family centre for Newtown and also partially for Childrens Services.

What is the purpose and scope of the Academy and what’s going to happen to the library, as it’s Powys’ best library.

In relation to the Academy, the Academy seeks to ‘grow our own’ workforce and offer in house, education, support and training to upskill and recruit staff. Ongoing conversations are being held with the college about how the Academy can complement what the college is providing. There is an Academy just opened in Bronllys and this is about development of the future workforce. This will be a satellite to Bronllys in Newtown and we are looking how we further train staff with Aberystwyth University.

What will happen to the library. Will it remain as it is or will it provide books for this learning.

The current library will be replaced by a new facility which is more integrated with the school and the Academy.

This is a really inspiring project. How might this project be linked or connected to the Regional Skills Partnership.

The RSP will be involved with the Academy as the project progresses and the Academy will also link in with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Working Groups

To re-establish the following Working Groups:

 

·       Adult Services Working Group

·       Childrens Services Working Group

 

It is suggested that the Committee could split the membership into two, half comprising the Adult Services Working Groups and the other half the Childrens Services Working Group.

 

In respect of the Chair and Vice Chair (when appointed) of the Committee they could either:

·       chair one of the Working Groups specifically, or alternate between chairing both of them.

·       be ex-officio members of the Working Groups with another member chairing the Working Group.

Minutes:

The Committee considered establishing the following Working Groups:

 

North Powys Well-Being Hub:

The following Members indicated an interest in this Working Group:

County Councillors G Preston, G Jones

 

Children’s Services:

The following Members indicated an interest in this Working Group:

County Councillors G Jones, L Rijnenberg, J Wilkinson, B Breeze, J Ewing

 

Adults Services:

The following Members indicated an interest in this Working Group:

County Councillors C Robinson, G Preston, G Morgan, C Walsh, J Ewing.

 

The Chair indicated that she would be involved in both the Childrens and Adults Working Groups. The Chair asked if Members could advise her and the Scrutiny Officer of their interest in sitting on a working group by 5th August, 2022.

 

8.

Work Programme

To note the scrutiny forward work programme as follows:

 

 

 

Pre-Meeting

 

 

23-09-22

10.00 – 200

 

Elect Vice-Chair

 

Annual Complaints Report

 

Briefing – Adults Services

 

 

 

Pre-Meeting

 

 

21-10-22

10:00 – 12:00

 

 

Q2 Performance and Risk

Q2 Finance

 

 

 

Pre-Meeting

 

 

15-12-22

10:00 – 12:00

 

 

 

 

Minutes:

Documents Considered:

·                None.

 

Issues Discussed:

·                The Committee suggested that the following items be added to the Forward Work Programme for consideration:

·       Working Group – North Powys Well-Being Project

·       Review of Travelling Rates for carers.

·       Learning from previous projects e.g. Glan Irfon included in next North Powys Well-Being Project presentation.

·       Workforce, Recruitment, Grow your own and retention

·       Self Assessment items.

·       Residential placement figures for children

·       Day Centres.

·       Provision for adults with learning difficulties + developmental occupation. Also look at what services are available to adults with learning difficulties. (Adults WG)

·       Relationship between front door child protection and numbers of children going into children’s services.

·       Extra Care Facilities for Adults – also links to older people’s facilities. What progress is being made on this.

·       Monthly performance reports on Childrens and Adults – to be circulated to Members on Teams for the Committee to comment upon

·       Trends over the past few years for the Services – question to Emma Palmer.

·       Future development on prescribing art

 

Outcomes:

·                Draft Work Programme Noted.

·                Add items to the work programme.