Agenda item

To consider a report of the Director of Adult Services.

The report provides an overview of the proposed changes to the Adult Social Care Direct Payments Policy, which have been made in response to recent feedback. It will also provide an overview of the public consultation feedback and the equality impact assessment of the policy changes. 

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to:-

a)    Review the consultation feedback (Section 4.0)

b)   Review the EIA (Appendix 2)

c)    Comment on the Implementation Plans and Risks (Sections 5.0 and 7.0)

Officer contact: David Eckersley on 0161 218 1754 or email: david.eckersley@stockport.gov.uk  

The Director of Adult Services submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) which provided an overview of the proposed changes to the Adult Social Care Direct Payments Policy, which had been made in response to recent feedback. It also provided an overview of the public consultation feedback and the equality impact assessment of the policy changes.

The Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care (Councillor Keith Holloway) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         It was queried whether legal services, clients and carers had been consulted in advance of the policy being adopted.

·         In response, it was stated that the initial consultation was inadequate which left the service in a vulnerable position when it came to delivering and administering the policy. As a result, a subsequent consultation has been completed in a meaningful way to produce a report that contains people’s views. It was envisaged that this policy would be produced in a way which is accessible and encompasses the spirit of the council’s objectives and what a direct payment should be.

·         Thanked officers for their honesty and welcomed the revised policy as a step in the right direction and tone of accountability.

·         It was suggested that it would be useful to explore the differences in enthusiasm between the client and carer column and staff column in each of the proposals to reflect with staff on why this is different, individual roles and where the agency sits.

·         In relation to the administration of the policy, Members welcomed the inclusion of workforce development and suggested that the operational issues be considered to deliver a timely, effective service for residents.

·         It was queried what safeguards were in place to ensure that the payments were spent in a meaningful way.

·         In response it was commented that there would be appropriate auditing as part of the provision of a direct payment, with an Audit team supporting people around the account and spending in line with their Care Act assessment and agreed outcomes. In addition, there would be a social work review on a regular basis to support people.

·         It was queried how regular these audits would take place.

·         In response it was stated that the plan was a six-monthly audit and annual social work review. However, there was some staffing capacity issues which would form part of the workforce plan going forwards to ensure those reviews were done in a timely manner.

·         Requested clarification in relation to the timeline of the policy and when this would be presented to scrutiny.

·         In response, it was confirmed that the service was operating on a draft policy at this time due to the withdrawal of the previous policy as a result of the concerns outlined. Whilst the final policy was being approved and would be considered at future meeting of the Committee, it was necessary to adopt a framework to operate within to continue to deliver direct payments.

·         It was queried what would be the position where an individual did not have a social worker.

·         In response Members were informed that there was a finite number of social workers, as a result there was ongoing discussions within the workforce work to devise a mechanism which ensured residents had regular reviews to deal with issues and the overall administrative process to prioritise the allocation of social workers to ensure residents had the right support at the right time.

·         It was noted that the report referenced that direct payments cannot be used for services or support that was considered to be the responsibility of the NHS, however noted the difficulties in accessing services such as dentistry in the current climate and queried whether it was possible for this to be revised.

·         In response it was stated that it was illegal for the local authority to fund services which should be funded by the national health service under the National Assistance Act. Where the health service should be funding a service it but doesn't, that did not mean that the local authority can or should fund this service as an alternative.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.