To receive a presentation by the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Health and Wellbeing reviewing past performance, identifying key issues and commenting on future plans in relation to the her portfolio.

The Committee received a presentation from the Cabinet Member, Adult Social Care, Health and Wellbeing on past performance, key issues and future plans in relation to her portfolio.  In her report

The Cabinet Member report that the Integrated Commissioning Directorate has continued to develop joint health and social care solutions, including our practice led solutions in ‘Transforming Community Services’. The ‘World Class Commissioning strategy was a key driver in the provision of new services and the Council and PCT was successfully delivering a highly complex ‘competitive dialogue’ procurement of mental health services to target, with the active support of staff, service users and carers, clinicians and partners.

She went on to say that the delivery of the Putting People First programme had continued to be effectively managed, and Herefordshire had moved forward on all 4 domains (Choice and Control, Social Capital, Universal Services and Early Intervention).  The Council had declared at amber/green because (like other Local Authorities) there was a delay in the delivery of a Remote Access System, and consequent poor performance on NI 130 (number of personal budgets in place). This had been in part caused by problems in developing the ICT.  Rather than allow this to delay delivery of outcomes, personal budgets had continued to be offered, and this would accelerate once the tools became available.

The Chairman thanked her for her report, and in the ensuing discussion the following points were made:

• That the comment on the County’s stroke service was no noted, and it should be appreciated that this service was poor, and was a major source of handicap in the County.

• That there were concerns over the delay of the Agresso Finance System, which should be in place by October.  There were a number of projects that depended upon this being put in place.  The Service had bought an EMS package for Home Care, but was unable to use it until the appropriate ICT system was in place.

• In reply to a Member, the Principal Accountant said that migration of data onto the Frameworki system in order to enhance the finance module was in hand, and payments were being done on both the new and the old system.  The biggest issues were around residential and home care.  A test would be run in the next few weeks.  AN integration of the PCT and Council finance packages was on track to be in place for 1 April 2011.

• That the withdrawal of the Independent Living Fund would have a detrimental effect on the Service.  Local Authorities were already considering some independent living packages to be too expensive, and it was possible that Herefordshire might have to come to the same conclusion.

• That Homelessness did not sit comfortably in the present Cabinet Portfolio structure. It was an important issue, and consideration might be given to either including it into the Adult Social Care, Health and Wellbeing portfolio, or making it part of the wider corporate management structure.

• That the Council’s Special Energy Efficiency Scheme, which had been running for ten years, had received only a few complaints from over 1,100 jobs that had been completed.  There were a far greater number of concerns expressed over jobs completed with grants from the DEFRA Warm Front scheme, which did not use the same local contractors as the Council did.

• That the Strategy Director from the Alliance would be on the Health and Social Care Commissioning Board, and more use would be made of Third Sector Services.

• The Voluntary Sector Representative added that the Alliance was focused  on addressing a challenging situation over the next  few years, and was anticipating cuts  to Third Sector funding.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.