Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from County Councillors C Robinson, J Ewing, E Vaughan and S Frewin (Head of Adult Services).

To receive declarations of interest from Members.

The Committee received the following Declarations of Interest from Members relating to items to be considered on the agenda:

1)    County Councillor Heulwen Hulme declared a personal interest in Item 6 (Powys Social Services Response to Llais Feedback (Summer 2023) due to being a member of Llais.

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:

·       08/09/2023

·       22/09/2023

(ii)       To receive and consider the Action Log.

County Councillor C Walsh proposed to authorise the Chair to sign the draft minutes of the meeting held 22^nd September 2023 as a correct record, which was seconded by County Councillor B Breeze. The Committee therefore:

RESOLVED to authorise the Chair to sign the draft minutes as a correct record.

To receive and consider the Cabinet response to the scrutiny recommendations made at the Health and Care Scrutiny Committee held on 8^th September 2023.

Documents Considered:

• Cabinet Response to Scrutiny Recommendations – Quarter 1 Performance Report

Background:

• The Health and Care Scrutiny Committee made recommendations to Cabinet regarding the new quarterly Performance Report and Scorecard at the 8September 2023 meeting.
• Cabinet met on 19 September 2023 and accepted all four of the Scrutiny Recommendations. It was expected that the recommendations would be actioned and implemented for the next iteration of the quarterly performance scorecard.
• In accordance with the accepted recommendation, Officers were now required to share service-level performance reports/indicators with Committee Members in advance of the meeting, when scrutinising the Performance Scorecard (which relates to the Council’s Corporate and Strategic Equality Plan Objectives).
• Quarters one and three of the Performance Report and Scorecard were to be offered to the three Scrutiny Committees for consideration.
• All Scorecard reporting information was to be published on the Council’s public website.

Observations and Recommendations:

• Committee Members noted the Cabinet’s response.

To receive and consider the responses of the Director of Social Services and Housing.

Documents Considered:

• Powys Social Services Response to Llais Feedback (Summer 2023)

Background:

• The Director of Social Services and Housing briefly explained the role of Llais, noting that they engage with people receiving support from health and social care services in Wales and collate their views and experiences. This feedback was then sent to the relevant organisation to consider when planning and delivering health and care services.
• Llais attended a number of community events over the summer and collated the engagement feedback received from the public. The anonymised feedback was then submitted to Powys County Council’s Social Services Feedback Team for formal response.
• The Social Services Feedback Team reviewed the reports and would progress relevant aspects through the Quality Assurance process for both Adults and Children’s Services. The process considered learning and outcomes from complaints and feedback and promoted best practice.
• The letter from the Director of Social Services and Housing, including the anonymised comments and responses to Llais, was provided to the Health and Care Scrutiny Committee for consideration. The Committee’s scope was well suited to scrutinise the Council’s responses to the Llais engagement reports.
• The Director of Social Services and Housing noted in her letter to Llais that some responses were limited due to the feedback being anonymised and where there was no indication whether the support was provided by Social Care Services or Powys Teaching Health Board.
• Future Director responses to Llais engagement feedback would be raised at Portfolio Holder briefings and provided to the Health and Care Scrutiny Committee for consideration.

Issues Raised by the Committee and Responses Received:

To note the scrutiny forward work programme.

The Committee resolved to add the following items to the forward work programme:

1.    Update on Package of Care finances following budget scrutiny in March 2024.

2.    Committee visit to Neuadd Maldwyn, Welshpool.

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 14.18 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.

Following advice from Officers, due to the likelihood of disclosure of personal and commercially sensitive information whilst discussing the following items, the Committee:

RESOLVED to exclude the public for the following items of business on the grounds that there would be disclosure to them of exempt information under categories 2 and 3 of The Local Authorities (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007).

To receive and consider a presentation from Children’s Services.

The Committee received a presentation regarding Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) Looked After by Powys County Council. The presentation and discussion covered: the allocation and referral process, locations of placements, support available for UASC, work with other Local Authorities and the budget and financial aspects of supporting UASC referred to Powys County Council.

To receive an information summary from the Director of Education and Children regarding the recent Joint Inspection of Child Protection Arrangements (JICPA).

The Director of Education and Children provided a verbal update to Committee Members regarding the recent Joint Inspection of Child Protection Arrangements in Powys. It was reported that the public report would be published in December 2023.