Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 October 2019

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 15 October 2019 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interests which they had in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

The following interest was declared:-

Personal Interest

There were no call-in items to consider.

To consider a report of the Cabinet Member for Adult Care and Health.

Earlier this year, in September, the Cabinet presented a series of proposals in response to the summer review of the Medium Term Financial Plan undertaken earlier this year. The review highlighted the continued uncertainty, complexity and volatility facing local government funding - presenting significant challenges for local citizens and their local public services. The Cabinet’s proposals were developed in line with the medium term strategy which was introduced in 2018 to frame the choices the Council will make about its budget, both next year and in future years.

Since this report there have been further developments nationally, such as the 2019 spending review which will inform the local government finance settlement expected to be announced in December

The Cabinet remain committed to engaging widely on proposals and this report includes an update on those draft proposals that fall within this Committee’s remit. Since they were originally presented to this Committee for discussion and comment, further development on proposals have been undertaken. The updated proposals presented as part of this report also now reflect further engagement, or where appropriate consultation, with partners, citizens and relevant groups. These proposals are being presented to Scrutiny for further comment before being considered by the Cabinet on 6th January 2020 for inclusion within the Budget.

The Cabinet are keen to seek views from Scrutiny on these plans ahead of decision making in January 2020.  In order to enable broad engagement on Cabinet’s plans, Scrutiny Committees are receiving this report and suite of appendices relevant to their remit.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to comment on the proposals and consultation results presented within the report relevant to the remit of this committee.

Officer contact: Holly Rae on 0161 474 3014 or email: holly.rae@stockport.gov.uk

The Cabinet Member for Adult Care and Health (Councillor Jude Wells) attended the meeting and submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) detailing a series of proposals in response to the summer review of the Medium Term Financial Plan undertaken earlier this year.  The updated proposals reflected further engagement, or where appropriate consultation, with partners, citizens and relevant groups.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

Getting More out of our Spending

The following issues were raised in relation to the proposals raised below:-

·         The transition to a person-centred approach was broadly welcomed. However, concern was expressed in relation to the potential for a large number of people to be excluded from the process as services transitioned to digital-only.  While it was acknowledged that it was possible to access services at the library, this was not always convenient or practical.

·         It was noted that the support-focussed model of delivery (Model 2) had been shown as the clear preference of respondents to the consultation, however this was the ‘least-worst’ option of those presented in the light of the significant savings being proposed.

·         It was important that the digital infrastructure put in place to support the service was robust so as not to complicate the process for both vulnerable service users and staff that were there to support them.

·         The inclusion of provision for a £100,000 contingency fund was welcomed as a means of mitigating against any potential financial risk.

·         Consultation would continue with partners on this approach. It was commented that this was a one year approach which would be subject to continual review. Investment could be confirmed in the short term for those most affected but the medium term would be reviewed when the situation was clearer to ensure no resident was affected unduly.

Preventative Commissioning Offer, and Efficiencies in the Public Health Budget

The following issues were raised in relation to the proposals raised below:-

·         All existing contracts had been examined to ensure that what was being commissioned met residents’ needs and was fit for the future. 

·         Discussions from previous meetings had led to a clear conclusion that the focus for preventative care in public health would be on the most deprived wards, and it was commented that even within the most affluent wards in the borough, there were pockets of deprivation where residents would benefit from services such as smoking cessation, alcohol misuse and obesity.

Balancing the Cost of Services (BTCOS) Phase 2 in Services to Place, People and Corporate and Support Services (plus scheduled inflationary increases in Adult Social Care)

·         Consideration needed to be given the unintended consequences of changes to fees and charges where the cost of individual packages of care may increase significantly resulting in undue financial pressure.  In response, it was stated that there was a clear appeals process in place for those people who find themselves in such circumstances.

·         It was noted that the Stockport End of Life Team had previously won an award for successful service integration from at the Healthcare Transformation Awards resulting from district nurses, social care staff and commissioners working much closer together to ensure that people lived their final days as well as possible, were involved in making choices about their care, and died with dignity.

·         It was commented that community nursing and social care staff had spoken positively about their experience of working collaboratively and effectively in service users’ own homes both as part of a pilot scheme in Marple, and then as part of Stockport Together.  It was stated that this approach needed to continue to be pursued.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Democratic Services Manager.

The report sets out planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and Forward Plan items that fall within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the information in the report and put forward any agenda items for future meetings of the Committee.

Officer contact: Simon Hughes, 0161 474 3201, simon.hughes@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out planned agenda items for future meetings and relevant entries in the Cabinet Forward Plan.

RESOLVED:-That the report be noted.