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Question from: County Councillor Iain McIntosh Subject: Provision of adult and children's social services
Question:
The provision of adult and children’s social services is one of the most important responsibilities that local authorities throughout the entire country have, and rightly so, as it is important that both vulnerable adults and children, and those with special needs, are provided with the right levels of support to ensure they are cared for properly. I understand Powys County Council does not provide all social services from within the authority, with some being provided by external agencies. I’d like to ask about the cost of such service provision. Can the social service portfolio holders please confirm how many individuals in total (adults and children combined) have, over the last 12 months, cost this authority;
Up to £1,000 a week Between £1,001 and £5,000 a week Between £5,001 and £10,000 a week Between £10,001 and £20,000 a week Between £20,001 and £30,000 a week Between £30,001 and £40,000 a week Over £40,001 a week.
Can the portfolio holders also please confirm what measures are in place to ensure the costs of providing social services are kept under control.
Minutes: Response by the Portfolio Holder:
It isnotpossible toprovide thisinformationforthe full calendaryear within the currenttimescalesavailable. However,basedupon the actual rates per week heldfor thefinancialyear 2021/22wehavespendto date,bothpaidandcommittedto theend oftheyear, whichprovidesa robustestimateoftheannualcost,pleasefindbelow. However,it isimportantto notethatthiswillincludea smallnumberofindividualswhohavemovedplacementduringthisperiodandare, therefore,countedmorethanonce. The care costs of individuals is broken down by the commissioning team in order to better understand financial pressures and to ensure value for money. The costs include the accommodation support costs, as well as the actual care staff costs, and other overheads, such as supervision, management etc. This can vary from individuals who have one micro enterprise carer visiting a few times a week to undertake a specific task (such as bathing/showering), which would cost approximately £20-30 per week; to individuals who require specialist 24-hour care by several care staff (for instance someone who may require 3 or 4 care staff providing support at all times due to very challenging behaviour) who can cost upwards of £5,000 per week. This is true for all age groups, but mostly for younger adults and older children.
It is alsoimportant tonotethat these costs donot include: · CouncilStaffing(e.g., social workers, therapists, safeguarding officers, finance and administrativesupportetc.) · Someservice contractsandin-house services(suchas daycare,employmentbases, reablement,shortterm respitebreaksetc.) · Anyaccommodationforchildrenin policeprotection,detentionoronremand,as theseare one-offpayments · Individualsin SupportedLiving,as thisis acommunityindependentlivingservice wherecareandsupportis providedona locality contractbasis · Equipmentand/orTechnologyEnabledCare providedas theseare one-offcostsandtheprovisionandcostsare sharedwithpartnerorganisations It isalso worthnotingthatservices forcarers areconsideredseparatelyas theyareprovidedto thecarers andnot tothe service users.
SocialServices useall theCouncil’sfinancial planning,controlsandmeasuresto managecosts andbudgetseffectively. ASWAP auditofbudgetsetting andbudget management in children’sservices provided‘reasonable’assuranceto theCouncil onthesystem andcontrolswithin theservice insettingandmanagingits budget. It highlightedthatit is“imperativethatneedsare continually prioritised and that resources are fairly allocatedto fulfilall legalresponsibilities”. Adults’SocialCare haveendedtheyear withinbudgetevery yearsince2018/19andachieved £14.2msavings sincethento ... view the full minutes text for item 1. |