Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed Members to the first meeting of the Adult Social Care Policy Committee. Safety Information was provided.

No apologies were received.

To note any declarations of interest from councillors. They are asked to

indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular

whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declaration of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of

interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

As listed on the register of interests Cllr Blake declared an interest in Item 8 - Adult Social Care Discharge Grant Fund 2024-25 as a Non-Executive Director of North Bristol NHS Trust.

Cllr Clark noted former involvement with We Care and Repair which had ceased.

Cllr Clark declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in Item 10 - Homes for Ukraine Delivery Scheme and was not present for the meeting for that item.

To receive any announcements from the Chair.

The Chair noted that this was the first meeting of the Adult Social Care Policy Committee and welcomed members.

The Chair reminded the Committee that a CQC inspection of Adult Social Care services in Bristol had been announced on 24th June 2024. Details of the inspection had been circulated to Members.

The Chair emphasised the collaborative nature of the Committee system.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

Any member of the public or councillor may participate in Public Forum. Public Forum items must relate to the remit of the committee and should be addressed to the Chair of the committee.

Members of the public who plan to attend a public meeting at City Hall are advised that you will be required to sign in when you arrive. Please note that you will be issued with a visitor pass which you will need to display at all times.

Please also note:

Questions

1.      Written public questions must be received by 5.00 pm, at least 3 clear working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that questions must be received at the latest by 5.00 pm on Tuesday 25^th June. Please email questions to policycommittees@bristol.gov.uk

2.      Any individual can submit up to 3 written questions.

3.      Written replies to questions will be available on the Council’s website at least one hour before the meeting.

4.      At the meeting, questioners will be permitted to ask up to 2 oral supplementary questions.

Statements

1.      Written statements must be received at latest by 12.00 noon, at least 2 working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that statements must be received at the latest by 12.00 noon on Thursday 27^th June. Please email statements to policycommittees@bristol.gov.uk

2.      Statements, provided they are no more than 1,000 words in length, will be circulated to all committee members and will be published on the Council’s website at least one hour before the meeting.

Petitions

1.      Details of the wording of any petitions, and the number of signatories to petitions must be received at latest by 12.00 noon, at least 2 working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that petition details must be received at the latest by 12.00 noon on Thursday 27^th June. Please email petition details to policycommittees@bristol.gov.uk

2.      At the meeting, individuals presenting petitions may be required to read out the objectives of the petition.

When submitting a question or statement please indicate whether you are planning to attend the meeting to present your statement ask your question.

Public Forum was published in advance of the meeting here: Public Forum 1 July 2024.

One Public Forum statement was presented by Steve Mills on behalf of UNISON. This statement was previously submitted as a motion to HR Committee on 24^th June and was received at the Adult Social Care Policy Committee for information only.

It was noted that the final two paragraphs of the statement had been missed from the published document.

It was agreed that the full statement would be circulated to the Members. Note: this action was completed following the meeting.

Mr Mills welcomed further engagement from Members.

To note the Annual Business Report 2024-25.

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.    To note the membership of the Adult Social Care Policy Committee for 2024/25.

2.    To note the appointment of Cllr Lorraine Francis as the Chair of the Adult Social Care Policy Committee for 2024/25.

3.    To note the appointment of Cllr Kelvin Blake as the Vice-Chair of the Adult Social Care Policy Committee for 2024/25.

4.    To note the terms of reference of the Adult Social Care Policy Committee.

5.    To note the Adult Social Care Policy Committee’s meeting dates for 2024/25.

The Policy Committee Officer presentedthe Adult Social Care Policy Committee Annual Business Report 2024-25 which outlined the Terms of Reference for the Committee as agreed at Annual Full Council on 21 May 2024.

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.    To note the membership of the Adult Social Care Policy Committee for 2024/25.

2.    To note the appointment of Cllr Lorraine Francis as the Chair of the Adult Social Care Policy Committee for 2024/25.

3.    To note the appointment of Cllr Kelvin Blake as the Vice-Chair of the Adult Social Care Policy Committee for 2024/25.

4.    To note the terms of reference of the Adult Social Care Policy Committee.

5.    To note the Adult Social Care Policy Committee’s meeting dates for 2024/25.

To approve the re-procurement of Adult Social Care's Directory of Services.

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.      To authorise the Executive Director for Adults and Communities in consultation with Chair of the Adult Social Care Committee to take all steps required to procure and award the Directory of Services contract for 3+1+1 years at a cost of up to £700,000, in-line with the procurement routes and maximum budget envelopes outlined in this report.

2.      To authorise the Executive Director for Adults and Communities to invoke any subsequent extensions/variations specifically defined in the contract(s) being awarded, up to the maximum budget envelope outlined in this report.

The Transformation and Commissioning Lead introduced the Adult Social Care Directory of Services Retender report which sought approval to procure and award a contract for the delivery of Directory of Services for Adult Social Care.   

Key points of the Member discussion included:

·       Members agreed that the Directory of Services currently in place required improvement.

·       The importance of quality assurance was emphasised.

·       A Member recommended that Officers be aware of how procurement processes did not always produce an accurate reflection of social value and consider how this could be mitigated.

·       Future testing and evaluation was discussed. It was recommended that Officers ensure that evaluation is embedded throughout with a robust system for monitoring future use.

·       Officers noted that engagement with relevant VCSE organisations would be key, and work was being undertaken around both developing the right IT solutions and the ongoing engagement and quality assurance.

·       Members noted the digitally excluded demographics and queried how they would be supported. It was noted that a helpline was in place for those who did not use the internet, and stakeholder work had taken place with community and VCSE groups supporting reaching out to those populations. It was hoped that ongoing monitoring of user experience would help to shape appropriate procurement.

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.      To authorise the Executive Director for Adults and Communities in consultation with Chair of the Adult Social Care Committee to take all steps required to procure and award the Directory of Services contract for 3+1+1 years at a cost of up to £700,000, in-line with the procurement routes and maximum budget envelopes outlined in this report.

2.      To authorise the Executive Director for Adults and Communities to invoke any subsequent extensions/variations specifically defined in the contract(s) being awarded, up to the maximum budget envelope outlined in this report.

To seek approval to accept and spend the 2024/25 Discharge Grant Funds allocated by the DHSC.

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.      To accept the 24/25 Discharge Grant budget of £3.97m.

2.      To approve the use of 24/25 Discharge Grant proposals as outlined in this report with the agreed correction removing reference to council tenants.

3.      To authorise delegated authority to the Executive Director of Adults and Communities to take all necessary steps to spend the grant funding including those spend decisions above the key decision threshold.

The Adult Social Care Discharge Grant Fund report aimed to provide background information to the Discharge Grant and sought authorisation for all actions required to spend the fund.

The Discharge to Assess (D2A) Commissioning Transformation Manager outlined the report, including a summary of the proposals included in Appendix A.

Key points of the discussion included:

·       The evaluation process was discussed. It was confirmed that 3 and 6 monthly reviews had been built into existing contracts.

·       The harm caused by delays to discharge was recognised by Members and the necessity of discharge assessment at the earliest possible point was emphasised. Problems with the current system were acknowledged.

·       A Member queried the average daily wait for clearance to discharge, and the associated cost. It was understood that the average cost was likely to be £550 per day, but that both costs and timescales could change extremely frequently and the elements attributable to the Local Authority were complex. It was noted that Bridging (short-term Domiciliary service development) had supported improvements in this area.

·       A Member noted that in the Discharge Grant Fund Appendix A under proposal 9 - We Care Home Improvement it stated that the funding was to continue a hospital discharge support service for council tenants. It was queried whether this created an equalities issue by focusing on council tenants. Officers confirmed that this had been listed in error and that the service was tenure blind. It was agreed that this reference would be removed.

Cllr Clark proposed the amendment to specify under recommendation 2 that the reference to Council Tenants in the body of the report be removed. Recommendation 2 would therefore read as follows:

2. Approve the use of 24/25 Discharge Grant proposals as outlined in this report with the agreed correction removing reference to council tenants.

The amendment was seconded by Cllr Weston. The amendment was PASSED by the Committee.

Members were asked to vote on the amended recommendations as a substantive motion; this was PASSED.

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.      To accept the 24/25 Discharge Grant budget of £3.97m.

2.      To approve the use of 24/25 Discharge Grant proposals as outlined in this report with the agreed correction removing reference to council tenants.

3.      To authorise delegated authority to the Executive Director of Adults and Communities to take all necessary steps to spend the grant funding including those spend decisions above the key decision threshold.

To present the Committee with the latest detailed financial outturn report.

The Council’s revenue and capital budget for 2023/24 was agreed by Full Council

on 21 February 2023.

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.      To note the contents of report, on the provisional outturn position for Adult Social Care divisions.

The Executive Director for Adults and Communities presented the P2 Finance Report. It was noted that The Council’s revenue and capital budget for 2023/24 was agreed by Full Council on 21 February 2024.

Key points of the Member discussion included:

·       A Member noted that Bristol City Council had been considered a ‘high spender’ in terms of Adult Social Care. Officers confirmed this, but added that in Bristol the spend had remained largely stable while other areas had been seen to increase, so this was less of an outlier than previously seen. The complexities of the factors surrounding benchmarking across core cities and the Bristol position in general were discussed.

·       It was agreed that options for a wider briefing on the Adult Social Care financial position would be explored. (Note: this was raised at a Policy Committee Chairs Briefing following the meeting).

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.      To note the contents of report, on the provisional outturn position for Adult Social Care divisions.

To approve the Homes for Ukraine Delivery Plan.

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.      To note the content of this report including background information on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

2.      To note the successful delivery of the Homes for Ukraine Scheme since 2022.

3.      To agree the continuation of the Homes for Ukraine Programme running until 31 March 2027

4.      To agree to accept and spend Homes for Ukraine grant funding, giving delegated authority to the Executive Director for Adults and Communities in consultation with the Chair of the Adult Social Care Committee to spend Homes for Ukraine Grant in line with the procurement procedures and maximum budget envelopes outlined in the report.

Members noted their support of the programme. The Director for Adult Social Care thanked the team for their work which had received good feedback from service users.

The Committee RESOLVED:

1.      To note the content of this report including background information on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

2.      To note the successful delivery of the Homes for Ukraine Scheme since 2022.

3.      To agree the continuation of the Homes for Ukraine Programme running until 31 March 2027

4.      To agree to accept and spend Homes for Ukraine grant funding, giving delegated authority to the Executive Director for Adults and Communities in consultation with the Chair of the Adult Social Care Committee to spend Homes for Ukraine Grant in line with the procurement procedures and maximum budget envelopes outlined in the report.