Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from County Councillors Chris Walsh, Elwyn Vaughan, Heulwen Hulme, Gareth E Jones, Benjamin Breeze, Richard Church (Cabinet Member for a Safer Powys), Jack Straw (Interim Chief Executive Officer) and Sharon Powell (Head of Childrens Services).

To receive declarations of interest from Members.

Following advice from Officers, the Chair explained to Members that they should declare an interest in Item 6 on the agenda if any of their family members used Council-provided day services.

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

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.)

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.

(i)       To authorise the Chair to sign the minutes of the previous meeting held as follows as a correct record:

·       02/06/2023

·       07/07/2023

(ii)       To receive and consider the Action Log.

Members received the draft minutes of the previous meetings held on 2^nd June 2023 and 7^th July 2023. The motion to approve the draft minutes was proposed by County Councillor J Ewing and seconded by County Councillor C Robinson.

RESOLVED that the Chair be authorised to sign the minutes of the previous meetings as a correct record.

(i)             To receive and consider a report of the Director of Social Services and Housing.

(ii)            To receive and consider comments from Officers regarding safeguarding in elective home education and procurement.

Documents Considered:

·       Corporate Safeguarding Board Activity Report - 08/06/2023

o   A presentation was received from the Professional Lead – Procurement and Commercial Services regarding safeguarding considerations in contract management, followed by;

o   Verbal responses from the Education Manager and Designated Safeguard Lead and the Service Manager for Education Support Services regarding safeguarding and elective home education arrangements.

Background:

·       Corporate Safeguarding Board (The Board) met on 8^th June 2023, although the Director of Social Services and Housing noted that the report presented to the Committee had been delayed somewhat due to annual leave commitments over the summer period.

·       The Board noted that the following actions had been, or were close to completion:

o   Lead Officer and Lead Member for Safeguarding’s roles and responsibilities had been published.

o   The Volunteer (Safer Recruitment) Policy was completed pending minor amendments and would be circulated to the Board in due course.

o   The gathering of contractual monitoring information from services regarding safeguarding issues, and the clarification of the Council’s expectations of contracts regarding safeguarding training had taken longer than expected.

o   The Corporate Regulatory Tracker link was now included in the Corporate Safeguarding Board Activity Report as requested by the Committee.

·       Feedback from the Health and Care Scrutiny Committee was received by the Board which were outlined in the report. Of the four requests, three were agreed, however the fourth request required processes to be explored.

·       The Director of Social Services and Housing reported that the Schools Service was currently undertaking work around the Committee’s request to include school staff and volunteers in the mandatory safeguarding training compliance statistics. This information was expected to be received by the Board at a future meeting.

·       The Committee had previously asked what the timeframe was for staff to complete mandatory training – the Board were advised there is a two-week deadline.

·       The Committee had also asked how staff without access to computers could access the mandatory training. The Board were advised that staff had been provided with hard copies of the training material, and training was also being delivered at different times of day to suit the varied work patterns.

o   The report noted a significant increase in corporate safeguarding and VAWDASV training compliance in both the Catering and Cleaning and HTR Service Areas as of 1^st June, compared to 1^st January.

·       SWAP DBS Audit

o   The Board were provided with the Audit Report, and the SWAP Officer confirmed the DBS Team provided high assurance, however there were areas with limited assurance (Taxis, Foster Carers and Procurement) which required improvement. The Heads of Service confirmed remedial actions had been identified and were in the process of being implemented.

·       Safeguarding Audits/Self Assessments

o   The Board were informed further work was needed to analyse the collated information following the Safeguarding Audit. It was noted that different templates were used and not all questions were relevant for every service area. Heads of Service had allocated a series of actions for themselves, resulting in further communications and reminders to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To receive and consider a presentation from the Head of Commissioning and Partnerships.

Documents Considered:

·       Work, Leisure and Learning: Innovative models of day opportunities for adults presentation

Background:

The Head of Commissioning and Partnerships provided a presentation to Members.

Introduction

·       Pre-Pandemic:

o   Traditional Day Services/Centres

o   Many services were closed through a controlled process due to Covid.

o   Diversified alternatives – examples included some supported living providers which tailored their offer within existing services.

o   Day Centre and Day Services staff to provide in-reach support.

·       Recover and Return:

o   Opportunities for reflection, what did and did not work.

o   Information gaps – conversations with clients were undertaken.

o   Gained a greater understanding of the relationships, friendships and shared experiences that were important to clients, such as younger adults living with a learning disability.

o   Employment opportunities – how does the Council enable peoples’ skills to ensure they are ready for employment? Regional Integration Funding was utilised to support the project.

·       Future Focus:

o   Whole population – understanding peoples’ future aspirations, were their outcomes met?

o   Creating collective resources and ideas, including the relevant staff, to provide the peer support and shared learning.

o   Developing expertise in co-production of services between Commissioning and Social Services staff, as required by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

o   Explore different models to ensure the person is at the centre of the offer.

o   What does ‘good’ look like, does the Service understand what clients expect?

o   Community offer and building capacity.

·       Remit and Scope

o   ‘To engage adults with learning disabilities and older people, carers, communities and other stakeholders, in co-producing the services they want, now and for the future’.

o   The Work, Leisure and Learning Project was engaging people about daytime opportunities, employment and leisure across Powys.

o   To deliver services for older people and adults with learning disabilities that reflect their needs and wants, now and into the future.

o   The project aimed to extend across to older people with care and support needs and younger adults with learning, physical disabilities and mental health issues.

o   Project team were undertaking a large-scale co-production and engagement exercise with those in receipt of a day service or attending day centres, and other stakeholders to explore short- and longer-term aspirations and models of support.

o   The project was key to informing a Stronger, Fairer, Greener Powys and was a priority transformation project for Commissioning and Adult Social Care.

·       Traditional model

o   Day opportunities provided individuals with the chance to enhance their wellbeing, develop relationships and gain new skills.

o   Day opportunities within the existing model included:

§  Day centres for older people and day services for adults with learning disabilities – place-based services provided by the Council, or organisations on behalf of the Council, to help people achieve their identified outcomes and lead a fulfilled life.

§  Day time activities targeted at individuals needing care and support, such as a disability support group, dementia café or writing for wellbeing group.

§  Day time activities were open to everybody, and individuals attend with support if need,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To note the scrutiny forward work programme.

Documents Considered:

·       Health and Care Scrutiny Committee Forward Work Programme – 2023/24

Actions:

·       To schedule meetings with the Finance Manager, Chair and Vice-Chair to discuss budget efficiency savings for both Childrens and Adult Services in January 2024, before budget scrutiny begins.

To consider passing the following Resolution:   

RESOLVED to exclude the public for the following item of business on the grounds that there would be disclosure to them of exempt information under category 3 of The Local Authorities (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007).   

The Monitoring Officer has determined that category 3 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules applies to the following item. His view on the public interest test (having taken account of the provisions of Rule 14.8 of the Council's Access to Information Rules) was that to make this information public would disclose information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).   

These factors in his view outweigh the public interest in disclosing this information. Members are asked to consider these factors when determining the public interest test, which they must decide when considering excluding the public from this part of the meeting.

RESOLVED to exclude the public for the following item of business on the grounds that there would be disclosure to them of exempt information under category 3 of The Local Authorities (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007).   

To receive and consider a presentation from the Head of Commissioning and Partnerships.

The Committee received a presentation from the Head of Commissioning and Partnerships regarding Direct Payments.