Agenda and minutes

Cllr Susan Jones was confirmed as Convener of the Panel for 2024-25.

Tony Beddow was confirmed as a co-optee on the Panel for 2024-25.

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

No disclosures of interest were received.

No declarations were made.

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

Panel agreed the Minutes of the meeting on 7 May 2024 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 received.

Panel agreed its role.

Louise Gibbard, Cabinet Member for Care Services

Amy Hawkins, Head of Adult Services and Tackling Poverty

Helen St John, Head of Integrated Community Services

Louise Gibbard, Cabinet Member for Care Services, David Howes, Director of Social Services and Amy Hawkins, Head of Adult Services and Tackling Poverty attended to provide some initial verbal feedback and stated CIW had identified a number of areas of positive practice, the written Inspection Report will be published later in the week, and it will be circulated to Panel Members.  A full briefing and action plan will be brought to a future meeting.

Discussion Points:

·         Panel asked if the Directorate has any problems arising from a transient population moving around within the County.  Informed this did not come up as a specific issue in terms of the Inspection but generally, wherever the Directorate is supporting people on the continuum of need, which is a very diverse population, it is very good at it.  However, there is a fundamental challenge around the levels of demand as demand exceeds capacity.

Actions:

·         CIW Inspection Report of Adult Services to be circulated to the Panel.

·         Add ‘CIW Inspection of Adult Services - Briefing and Action Plan’ to Panel’s Work Plan.

Amy Hawkins, Head of Adult Services and Tackling Poverty

Helen St John, Head of Integrated Community Services

Amy Hawkins, Head of Adult Services and Tackling Poverty briefed the Panel on the Performance Monitoring Report for April 2024 and gave some context in terms of current demand. 

Discussion Points:

·         Officers picked up on earlier question around transient populations stating they are aware there is an increase in terms of people who are vulnerably housed or homeless or threatened with homelessness.  This has a knock-on impact for social care in terms of the wider needs of individuals with people increasingly experiencing mental ill health.

·         In terms of Social Work Assessments and Reviews Completed, Panel asked what percentage this is in terms of where the Department would like to be, as Report does not currently include this.  It was agreed current percentage figures be provided following the meeting and to include trends in future Performance Monitoring reports.

·         Panel queried if the Common Access Point is driving up demand for services.  Heard this is not known but the Directorate hope to ask people more questions to obtain quality information on whether they feel they are being supported well. 

·         Panel concerned about hold on recruitment and wanted to know how long this is for and what effect it has on providing the service.  Heard it is one of the current challenges as demand is great but staffing costs are also really high.  Informed jobs are still being advertised but the Directorate is looking at the critical need for them today as it is in an overspend situation. 

·         Panel noted contracts have been re-let with external providers but there is a problem with one supplier.  Heard that if, as in this case, it is a supplier which provides care across Neath Port Talbot and Swansea, they work with them.  Informed they have escalating concerns, so they have action plans with those providers to try and make sure they turn around and ensure quality is there with individuals.  If they do not meet the standards they are decommissioned, and another provider is brought in to supply that care. 

·         Panel queried what ‘Integrated Therapies’ are.  Heard they are Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists and any allied health professionals.  Some are employed by the Health Board and some by the Authority, but they are totally integrated teams working together to assess the needs of an individual and provide support. 

·         Panel asked if there are any problems with children or young people in the system transitioning from CAMHS to adult mental health services, as they believe there are issues.  Head of Adult Services commented that this has not been escalated to her in terms of mental health. It was agreed that more information on this be provided to Panel Members.

·         Panel noted Direct Payments were still static in April.  Panel feels the more direct payments can be encouraged, especially for rural areas, the less demand on the Council’s services.  Informed the Directorate would like to see levels increase if it is offsetting those that would come into domiciliary care providers. 

·         Panel Members had heard concerns recently about the time taken to deal with Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) and the Report shows a big increase in referrals in the Spring and as a result beginning to see some increase in the backlog. Panel asked about the situation currently.  Heard there are a number of strategies in place to deal with this.  Panel pleased to hear the Team anticipates figures improving by the July Performance Monitoring Report.

·         Panel also interested to know in terms of DOLS, how many are made from afar on behalf of residents, either who have moved away from their families and happen to live in Swansea or who lived in Swansea and their families have moved away, and how this is managed.  Officers agreed to provide information on this outside of the meeting.

Actions:

·         Percentage figures for Assessments and Reviews to be provided to Panel and Trends to be included in future Performance Monitoring reports.

·         Information on issues with transition from CAMHS to Adult Mental Health Services to be provided to Panel Members.

·         Number of DOLS referrals made from afar to be provided to the Panel.

Panel discussed and agreed its work plan for 2024-25.