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 20 November 2019 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Chris Francis, The Principal Business Development and Commissioning Lead provided a verbal update as follows:

The Steering Group had continued its work focusing on the Draft Transition Policy.  The Group was made up of representation from partners in Education, Adult Services, Health and members of the Parent Carer Forum.  The Draft Policy had been circulated to the members of the Steering Group and would be considered by them at their next meeting on Friday, 17 January 2020.  It was hoped that the document would then be ready to be circulated to other stakeholders for wider consultation, including to the People Policy Development Committee.

The Principal Business Development and Commissioning Lead stated that there were significant changes currently taking place in this area of work and it was unclear exactly what the implications would be for both the Council and the Health Board.  These changes included the new Education Tribunal Act and Welsh Government Guidance for Children with Complex Needs.  Both had sections relating to Transition included in them, which would need to be included in any new Policy being considered for adoption by the Council.

He also stated that the West Glamorgan Regional Programme Board continued its work on supporting children with the most complex of needs.  A review had recently been conducted and a series of recommendations had been made.  The Board would be meeting again this week to consider whether the positive work undertaken in relation to Transition could be replicated across the Region. 

The Principal Business Development and Commissioning Lead acknowledged that there was a significant amount of work being undertaken in relation to Transition at a higher level, which may change the future direction of travel.

He informed the Committee that he also chaired a Multi-Agency Managers meeting with representatives from Education, Health and Adult Services.  They had been working on the creation of a comprehensive list of young people that it was believed would require multi-agency support as they transitioned into adulthood.  The next meeting would take place in February, where they would review the list to ensure it was accurate and robust plans would need to be established in order to support the young people during their transition.

The Committee asked several questions, which were responded to appropriately by the Officer.

The Chair thanked the Principal Business Development and Commissioning Lead for the update and a discussion ensued regarding the next steps in relation to the Draft Transition Policy.

Resolved that:

1)              The update be noted;

2)              The Draft Transition Policy be circulated to the People Development Committee at the same time as it is circulated to stakeholders for consultation;

3)              A Workshop be held immediately following the next meeting on 19 February 2020 in order to allow the Committee to consider the Draft Transition Policy.

Jane Whitmore, Partnership and Commissioning Manager explained that she and Lisa Banks, Contract & Planning Unit Planning Officer in the Commissioning Hub would provide a workshop style session immediately following the Committee.  The Committee would further explore their continuing work on considering the New Models of Care and Support for the Commissioning Models in relation to their previous discussions on Social Enterprises.

As requested at the previous meeting in November 2019, Lisa Banks had undertaken a considerable amount of research on this topic.  The Committee would need to consider what the opportunities were, the risks, barriers and relevant actions that would need to be undertaken to progress this piece of work.

Resolved that an update on the results of the workshop be reported to a future meeting.

The Chair presented the Work Plan for 2019-2020.

Resolved that:

1)              The Work Plan be noted;

2)              The Committee undertake a workshop in relation to the Draft Transition Policy immediately following its meeting on 19 February 2020;

3)              An update on the workshop undertaken on 15 January 2020 on “Strategic Approach to Commissioning Models – New Models of Care and Support” be reported to a future Committee meeting.