Agenda and minutes

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In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City & County of Swansea, no interests were declared.

To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record.

Resolved that the Minutes of the People Policy Development Committee held on 16 October 2019 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Jane Whitmore, Partnership and Commissioning Manager and Lisa Banks, Contract & Planning Unit Planning Officer in the Commissioning Hub provided an update on the Strategic Approach to Commissioning Models regarding New Models of Care & Support.

 

Further to previous discussions in relation to alternative models of delivery the officers outlined details of funding for a pilot scheme in relation to Foundational Economy Challenge Fund.  This would develop new approaches to the design, procurement and delivery of low level care and support in the community.

 

The Foundational Economy Challenge Fund, initially a response to Brexit, aimed to test new ways of nurturing and growing the everyday parts of Wales’ economy, and was part of the Welsh Government’s work to reach out to those communities across Wales who felt disengaged and left behind.

 

Swansea Council had bid for £100,000 of funding to develop a resource to test out two new approaches to the design and procurement of services and to the delivery of services in rural areas of Swansea to:

 

·                  Support people with low level care and support needs to come together to design and procure their own service, making use of direct payments and cooperative approaches;

·                  Work in communities alongside our Local Area Coordinators to find individuals to enter the social care workforce through the development of micro enterprise, social enterprise or cooperative arrangements to deliver low-level care and support.

 

They explained that rural areas where not lucrative for large multi-national companies who struggled to recruit on the terms and conditions they were able to offer within current resources, meaning there was a shortage of care and support in rural areas.  Local providers had also been forced from the market.

 

The care and support on offer was not as flexible or person centred within current resources as people would like it to be and people were not in control of the design or day to day delivery of their care and support.

 

Direct Payments were not currently attractive as there was very little one could purchase.

 

The Authority also wanted to build on our Local Area Coordinator approach in building strong and resilient communities where people who needed care and support could be supported by people who were in a position to deliver it flexibly, locally and with enhanced terms and conditions.

 

It was hoped that the scheme would achieve an:

 

·                 Increase in use of Direct Payments and an increase in the number of individuals cooperating to meet their shared needs;

·                 Increase the number of micro enterprise, cooperatives delivering social care in rural areas, thereby increasing availability of supply and creating choice and reducing waiting lists;

·                 Improved person centred, flexible support where people were in control, resulting in improved outcomes;

·                 Bring people into the social care workforce with improved terms and conditions and local wealth creation.

 

They explained that this model had been tested in Somerset where they had encountered difficulties with obtaining domiciliary care providers across the county.  They found that after 3 years the scheme became self-sufficient.

 

In addition Powys and Pembrokeshire were also in the early stages of applying for funding for similar schemes.

 

Comments from the Committee centred on:

 

·                 Pooling payments and how users would access the facilities;

·                 Whether work would be carried out with Community & Town Councils;

·                 The requirements for registration (or not) with CIW;

·                 Concern regarding quality assurance / qualifications & training / cost effectiveness;

·                 Considerations such as liability, insurance, administration of medicines, etc;

 

In response to comments, officers confirmed that

 

·                 The purpose of the funding was to develop a new model of care rather than funding the actual project;

·                 Expectation that the scheme would become self-sufficient;

·                 Currently working with the Wales Co-operative Centre in relation to 5 adults with learning disabilities who had pooled their funds to commission services via an agency.

 

The committee agreed that contributing to the implementation of this project would meet the requirements of the Authorities Strategic Approach to Commissioning Models regarding New Models of Care & Support.

 

The Committee requested further information in relation to the Somerset project and agreed that they would undertake a workshop style event immediately following the Committee meeting scheduled for 15 January 2020. 

 

Resolved that:

 

1)              The verbal presentation be noted;

2)              The Committee receive verbal updates at its meetings scheduled for 18 December 2019 and 15 January 2020;

3)              The Committee undertake a workshop in relation to the Foundational Economy Challenge Fund immediately following its meeting on 15 January 2020.

The Chair presented the Work Plan for 2019-2020.

 

Resolved that the amended Work Plan be approved:

 

·                 The Mental Capacity Act Amendment Bill (2019) be rescheduled to 18 December 2019 due to officer unavailability.

·                 The Committee receive verbal updates on Strategic Approach to Commissioning Models – New Models of Care & Support at its meetings scheduled for 18 December 2019 and 15 January 2020;

·                 The Committee undertake a Workshop in relation to the Foundational Economy Challenge Fund immediately following the 15 January 2020 meeting.