To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies from members of the cabinet.

None.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 15 February 2018.

Resolved:       That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 February 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive questions from members of the public.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Monday 12 March 2018.

Accepted questions will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting.

Please see https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/getinvolved for information on how to submit a question.

No questions were received from members of the public.

To receive questions from councillors.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Monday 12 March 2018.

Accepted questions will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting.

No questions were received from councillors.

The purpose of this report is to seek approval for the council to directly provide a new assessment and support service for young carers.

The cabinet member for health and wellbeing introduced the report. He noted that the proposed service would support a vulnerable group upon whom other vulnerable people depended for care and that it would be complementary to the services already provided by Herefordshire Carers Support (HCS).

Officers explained that the council’s duties in respect of young carers were set out in a number of different pieces of legislation. The scope of services provided by HCS was not sufficient to enable the council to be confident that it was discharging all its statutory duties in full. In particular, it was necessary to take further steps to ensure that assessments of young carers were holistic and considered all aspects of the young person’s life, beyond just their caring role and the wider family situation.

It was recognised that the existing support provided by HCS was valued by both carers and the council. The proposed new service would ensure that statutory duties were met, would follow the early help model of assessment and would connect to other support services in diverse and flexible ways.

The option to outsource the service was not recommended as the contract would be of low financial value and the working environment would be complex. The proposal was therefore to establish an in-house service, building on existing connections and partnerships with other support services. The service would be regularly reviewed to monitor achievement of objectives and subject to a significant review towards the end of 2020.

In discussion of the item it was noted that:

·         assessments of young carers’ needs would draw on whichever sources were relevant to each individual and would make use of existing connections e.g. schools and GPs;

·         the specification for the new service had been prepared in conjunction with those who would manage the objectives using an outcomes based approach;

·         performance monitoring of the new service would be based on the accumulation of data, with periodical sampling of those young carers who had received support;

·         HCS had a contract with the council but this did not include provision of services for young carers, such services as HCS provided were at the organisation’s own initiative and funded through external grants;

·         regular contact with HCS would continue to make sure information was shared as appropriate and services were complementary, wider strategic work was also taking place with all agencies that might come into contact with young carers;

·         the in-house service would draw on the existing connections to partner agencies, it was hoped that making use of these established networks would help to identify young carers who might not otherwise come forward;

·         identification of carers of all types was a challenge and a key focus for the Carers Strategy Action Group.

Group leaders were invited to present the views of their group. There was broad support for the proposals but some concerns were raised. Further clarification was provided that:

·         the service would operate county wide, partnerships with GPs and schools being particularly important in rural areas;

·         national research showed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 105.