There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2012.

RESOLVED:   That the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2012 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To consider the findings and proposals of the Phase 1 reviews in the Root and Branch Review Programme as follows:

·         Older People in Herefordshire

·         Customer Services

·         Housing, Economy and Regulatory Services (HERS)

·         Herefordshire Streetscene

The Leader of the Council presented the report of the Deputy Chief Executive on the Root and Branch Reviews.  The Leader stated that this was Phase 1 of the review the Council was undertaking.  The Leader emphasised the need for cost effective ways of working and that the reviews were fundamental to the decisions of the Council for the future.  He added that the priority was to redefine roles and priorities and to build on the engagement already carried out for the reviews.  Cabinet went on to discuss each area of the review programme.

OLDER PEOPLE IN HEREFORDSHIRE

The following comments were made by the Cabinet Member Health and Wellbeing and Members:

·         Recognised the social care budget was a significantly large budget and therefore it was critical to ensure there is a sustainable budget in place for the future delivery of the service.

·         The discovery phase of the review agreed that the current direction of travel was moving in the right direction.

·         There was a clear need to improve and transform services, have processes in place which were efficient and user friendly and achieved best value for money.

·         There was a need for a national debate on Adult Social Care provision to address the ever rising costs and increased demand.

·         The authority needed to accept the changes and to link plans with neighbourhood plans / planning applications to address how, as a community, we looked after a maturing population.

·         It was acknowledged that in providing for the elderly and most vulnerable there was extensive technology that could be used to assist and that housing provision needed to be fit for life long living.  Members were reminded of a forthcoming seminar addressing housing issues.

·         It was emphasised that there was a need for honesty and clarity in the process in order that the public was fully aware of the potential reductions in service.

The Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny addressed Cabinet with the recommendations of the Committee:

·         The Committee was broadly content with the proposals in the review of older people.

·         The Committee believed it was essential that it was clearly stated that housing policies recognised the needs of older people.

·         That assurance was sought that current contracts were delivering value for money.

·         That it was highlighted to Cabinet that, whilst it was not explicitly stated in the report, the saving target for Adult Social Care for the current financial year would not be met, emphasising the need for a realistic, sustainable budget for adult social care to be established as a priority.

CUSTOMER SERVICES

The following comments were made by the Cabinet Member Corporate Services and Members:

·         It has been made easier for residents to contact the Council and make enquiries.

·         Savings had been made by bringing together of a range of customer contact methods through Info by Phone and Info Shops.

·        Customer Satisfaction ratings had increased.  It was important to build on and improve the consistency of customer services particularly through mobile phone technology and the website and to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.