Agenda and minutes

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

Cllrs Mike Durke, Joe Hale, Chris Holley, Jeff Jones, Susan Jones and Wendy Lewis declared a personal interest.

No declarations were made.

To receive the minutes of the previous meeting(s) and agree as an accurate record.

The Panel agreed the minutes of the Adult Services meeting on 20 October 2020 and the Child and Family Services meeting of 28 October 2020 as an accurate record of the meeting.

Questions must be submitted in writing, no later than noon on the working day prior to the meeting.  Questions must relate to items on the agenda.  Questions will be dealt with in a 10-minute period.

No questions were submitted by members of the public.

Dave Howes, Director of Social Services

This item was postponed to the following meeting.

Clive Lloyd, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Community Health Services

Elliott King, Cabinet Member for Children Services

Dave Howes, Director of Social Services

Clive Lloyd, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Community Health Services; Elliott King, Cabinet Member for Children Services and David Howes, Director of Social Services attended to present an update to the Panel on the current situation regarding the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Discussion Points:

·         Panel Members asked Cabinet Members/Director to take a message back to staff, expressing thanks and appreciation to all members of staff who have had a huge burden placed upon them and are doing an amazing job in very difficult circumstances.

·         In order to support risk of care home failure, Directorate is proposing the creation of a mobile workforce of care and community health staff who can go into care homes that reach a point of crisis.  Hope to confirm shortly that arrangements are in place.

·         Leaders of all political parties asked to spread the message to their members and their communities by sharing the recording of the meeting.

·         Possibility of care having to be restricted. Director of Social Services will re-circulate to councillors an explanation of what to do if contacted by members of the public regarding issues with care.

·         Links between early help services, Children Services and schools is excellent.  Reassured that everything that could be done for vulnerable children in the current situation is being done.

·         Message to the public is please limit household mixing over Christmas, and if mixing with other household try and protect older loved ones.

·         Message to the Welsh Government is the firebreak did have an impact.  We need something similar sooner rather than later.

·         Huge pressure on staff in Track and Trace as well as Social Services.  Plan in place to add additional resilience to Track and Trace over Christmas but the capacity of this system is being exceeded.

·         Director not convinced mass community testing would have sufficient value for amount of resource it will take up.  Targeted use of lateral flow testing on a daily basis is the model that would work in theory for a large proportion of the workforce who are isolating, as they are a contact, but may not have Covid.  Discussing with Welsh Government how something like this could be rolled out for those people, as it could enable some staff to return to work earlier.

·         Approaching saturation point of number of tests allocated to this region.  Discussions on going at a national level to see if this could be increased.

·         Looking to the future, Panel is concerned about carers in the long term and asked that this be kept in mind.

Actions:

·         Ask leaders of all political group to share the recording of the meeting with their members and communities.

·         Re-circulate to councillors an explanation of what to do if contacted by members of the public regarding issues with care.