Agenda item

The report details the mid-year Portfolio Performance and Resource Reports (PPRR) for the Adult Care Services, and Communities and Sustainability Portfolios. These provide an update on progress in delivering the portfolio priorities, budgets and capital programmes during 2013/14, and include performance and financial projections for the year.  The reports also include a progress report and risk assessment of the portfolio savings programmes for the first time. 

The reports are based on the Portfolio Performance and Resource Agreements for 2013/14 which were considered by the Committee on 3 July 2013. The Committee is asked to review the housing elements of the Communities and Sustainability Portfolio Report, with the remainder of this being considered separately by the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to

(1) Consider the mid-year Portfolio Performance and Resource Reports.

(2) Review the progress against priorities, performance, budgets and savings targets for 2013/14.

(3) Highlight key areas of and responsibility for taking forward corrective action to address any performance or resource issues.

(4) Identify how areas of strong performance and good practice can be shared in other services.

Officer contact: Mike Harradine/Simon Finch  on 474 4680/ 4019 or email: mike.harradine@stockport.gov.uk / simon.finch@stockport.gov.uk

The Service Director (Adult Social Care) and the Corporate Director for Place Management and Regeneration submitted a joint report (copies of which had been circulated) providing a detailed overview of performance which related to the Adult Care Services and Housing Scrutiny Committee.

Information was provided in the form of Portfolio Performance and Resources Reports for each of the Portfolios having functions within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee namely, Adult Care Services and the housing element of the Communities and Sustainability portfolio.

The Executive Councillors for Communities and Sustainability (Councillor Stuart Bodsworth) and Adult Care Services (Councillor Keith Holloway) attended the meeting to answer members’ questions.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

Adult Care Services

·         Arrangements had been put in place to respond to winter pressures using earmarked funding from the Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group.

·         There remained progress to be made with regard to achieving targets associated with the reablement service, with a particular focus on improving those figures around contact time.  It was stated that although contact time was an important indicator, there were other demands on the service and broader areas of work that needed to be undertaken for which there was insufficient capacity within the independent sector.

·         It was noted that feedback would be sought from general practitioners and service users on the experience of the implementation of the enhanced rapid response service to develop services to prevent avoidable admissions.  It was stated that a further reported would be submitted to a future meeting of the Scrutiny Committee providing a summary of the responses to the feedback received.

·         A discussion took place around the monitoring of those patients with low

level psychosis that were no longer care coordinated, with particular regard to the arrangements that had been put in place for those patients to support them within the community and including those mechanisms to provide additional ‘fast-tracked’ support.

·         It was noted that the Council had been awarded a capital grant of £755,217 by the Department of Health from the ‘Dementia Friendly Environments National Pilot Programme’ and that the Council was in the process of receiving bids from the independent sector towards the use of this funding.

·         It was commented that the ‘overall satisfaction rate’ of service users was 66.8% and categorised as a good performance; however it stated that it was important that further work be done to identify why a third of users were therefore ‘dissatisfied’.   In response, it was reported that a further report would be submitted to a future meeting of the Scrutiny Committee providing a more detailed breakdown of the satisfaction levels of service users.

·         The impact of the ‘Adults Residential and Homecare Price Freeze’ was discussed in the light of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services budget survey which indicated that up to 50% of providers were facing financial difficulties.  In response, it was stated that the Council remained an outlier in comparison to other authorities in terms of the price for residential care and that on balance, and in the light of the available evidence, it was considered that the £12.60 price point was reasonable.

·         Work was being undertaken to monitor the projected deficit in the budget for the Adult Care Services portfolio.

Communities and Sustainability (Housing)

·         The demand for major adaptations had recently risen to levels seen prior to 2011 and those adaptations assessed as being a low priority are currently being held.  Concern was expressed that notwithstanding any low priority assessment attached to a request for an adaptation, it was important to note that a need had still been identified.  In response it was stated that the numbers of adaptations being held were low.

·         It was requested that details of the number of affordable housing units planned for development within the Borough be circulated to members of the Scrutiny Committee.

·         All of those areas identified as a high priority for alleygating had now been completed and the focus was now on targeting areas as part of wider area based initiatives with resources directed based on levels of crime.

·         The removal of age restrictions on properties had not seen a corresponding increase in the levels of reported anti-social behaviour.

·         Consideration was being given in some circumstances to the potential for three bedroom accommodation to be reclassified as two bedroom to increase its marketability.

·         There was the potential for the Council to give further consideration to its ability to use compulsory purchase as a tool to assemble packages of land for future housing development and further that a report would be submitted to a future meeting of the Scrutiny Committee outlining the work that had been completed thus far on how this could be achieved.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.