Agenda item

To present the draft Annual Report for 2017/18.

The draft Annual Report of the Statutory Director of Social Services on the effectiveness of the Social Services in the 2017/18 financial year was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

The Assistant Chief Executive (Governance & Business Process Transformation)/ Statutory Director of Social Services reported that the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 since its implementation has fundamentally changed the way the Authority’s Social Services operate. It also sets the format which Welsh Government expects the Statutory Directors of Social Services of all the 22 Welsh local authorities to apply in formulating the contents of the annual report which encompass Adults’ Services, Children’s Services and Corporate Services. The Annual Report is intended to provide information about Social Services’ performance to a wide-ranging audience including Elected Members, the general public, service users and the Care Inspectorate Wales. This being so its contents provide a balance between on the one hand being easily accessible and on the other hand, providing sufficiently detailed information to the Inspectorate. As part of the process of preparing the Annual Report a service challenge session was held in June to which a range of partners was invited the aim being to obtain their input on the Social Services’ activities in the financial year gone by along with the Services’ plans going forwards.

In referring to Adults’ Services, the Officer said that she was pleased with the progress that had been made in 2017/18 especially the collaborative working with the Health Service as a key partner. During the year Garreglwyd in Holyhead was remodelled to provide specialist support for older people with dementia and is a valuable local resource enabling those with dementia to remain on Anglesey closer to family and friends. Hafan Cefni, the new extra care facility in Llangefni will open later in 2018 and will enable more people to stay within their communities as their care and support needs increase.  The facility will also provide care for a small number of dementia clients. There has also been significant work during the year between the Social Services, the Health Service and local communities to strengthen dementia services for people within their own communities across the Island.

The significant progress made in improving Children and Families’ Services during 2017/18 has been well documented in reports to the Council’s committees and has also been recognised by the Care Inspectorate Wales in its letter in January, 2018. The Annual Report describes a number of new elements in Children and Families’ Services including the Prevention and Early Intervention Service, the Resilient Families Team, and Teulu Môn. Alongside the new initiatives, the Service continues to fulfil its core responsibilities i.e. looking after children in care and children who are on the Child Protection Register. Although a great deal has been achieved in terms of improving Children and Families’ Services in the past eighteen months, transforming the Service does not happen overnight and the Service therefore remains on a journey of improvement; it is anticipated that the improvements currently ongoing will take a further eighteen months to complete and to consolidate. A follow-up inspection of Children and Families’ Services will be carried out by Care Inspectorate Wales in the autumn.

The Officer went on to refer to the impact of corporate services in supporting the provision of effective frontline Social Services for example, good progress has been achieved in 2017/18 to ensure that the Council is a safe employer and that it employs and sets contracts in a responsible and safe way that protects the Island’s residents. As part of its corporate responsibilities the Service has arranged for training to be provided to all Council staff on domestic abuse to be followed in the course of this year by training on modern slavery, child sexual abuse, and Prevent, the Government’s programme to stop people from becoming radicalised.

The Committee considered the Statutory Director’s Annual Report for 2017/18 and made the following observations for consideration by the Statutory Director –

•           The Committee noted and recognised that the work undertaken during the 2017/18 financial year was significant with notable developments in both Adults’ Services and Children and Families’ Services.

•           It was also noted that there has been a focus on dementia care services during the reporting period and in particular on developing more community-based dementia provision. Given that the number of people suffering from dementia especially younger people, is expected to grow rapidly in future the Committee sought clarification of how the Authority proposes to support individuals so affected.

The Service Manager for Learning Disability Services said that the new facility at Garreglwyd is designed to provide support for individuals with acute needs; however, this support is not confined to older people but can be extended to younger people who may be in the process of developing dementia and who might otherwise have to go out of county to receive support appropriate to meet their care needs.

The Statutory Director of Social Services said that dementia is a condition that evolves and changes over time. Whilst the objective of the Service is to help people stay independent within their communities for as long as possible, it must also ensure that appropriate provision is available for those whose needs are more severe requiring specialist care. The Garreglwyd resource which was planned, developed and staffed conjointly with the Health Service is in this respect, a truly pioneering initiative.

•           The Committee noted that the report states that Social Services’ collaboration with partners has also improved, in particular with BCUHB, North Wales Police and Third Sector partners. The Committee welcomed this evaluation and emphasised that Social Services cannot work in isolation and that continuing to strengthen partnership working is important if vulnerable adults and children are to receive the best and most effective services.

The Statutory Director of Social Services acknowledged the point made and confirmed that collaboration especially with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is much improved. She added that similarly, the Service’s relationship with North Wales Police has improved with monthly meetings being held and close collaboration on a number of matters both strategically and operationally at local level. There is still further scope for improvement as regards day to day work and Children and Families’ Services continue to work with the Police to ensure that the referrals it makes are appropriate.

•           The Committee noted that there are many legal requirements in relation to Children’s Services. The Chair asked for clarification of the Service’s relationship with the Courts and the impact of new processes and procedures on the Service.

The Statutory Director of Social Services said Social Services operates within a legislative system where there are statutory requirements especially in relation to Children’s Services.  The introduction of the Public Law Outline has set a timescale of six months for completing care proceedings meaning that the Service has had to invest resources in meeting this requirement in terms of the preparation of assessments and related documentation in a timely manner. At the same time the number of children entering care nationally has increased significantly and in Anglesey it has doubled over the last four years from in the region of 70 to 150 at the 5present time. The reason for this increase are complex and varied. However, the Social Services in Anglesey have a good relationship with the courts – the Statutory Director and the Head of Children and Families’ Services have held a meeting with the Family Court Judge to update him on developments in Anglesey; in addition, the Heads of Children’s Services of the six North Wales authorities meet periodically with judges. The Officer referred to CAFCASS as the agency which safeguards the child and ensures that the child’s perspective is put across in courts – the Head of Children’s Services confirmed that quarterly meetings are held with CAFCASS Cymru.

•           The Committee noted that Children’s Services have been under significant financial pressure in recent years partly because as a statutory service it has to respond to demand and partly because the number of children needing care has increased steadily. The Committee sought assurance that the situation is improving and that it is manageable.

The Statutory Director of Social Services said that funding in Children and Families Services is a challenge. The increase in the number of children and young people who enter the care system and are formally looked after by the Authority be that in placements where they remain with parents, in foster care, or with friends and family, has put a strain on the Service’s budget. Whilst the Service is prioritising the recruitment of additional foster carers to the service on Anglesey, there are occasions when it has to have recourse to independent foster carers or out of county placements. A small proportion of young people in the Authority’s care – in the region of 10% - have acute or complex needs which can only be met through specialised residential placements which incur significant costs. The Service has invested in strengthening prevention services and has created the Resilient Families Team to work with children and families so that children are able to remain safely with their families. The Officer said that a great amount of work is being done by the service to maintain looked after children in the locality and to keep them safe within a family setting. The Service is currently considering setting up a Small Group Homes arrangement.

In response to a question about the additional resources allocated to Children and Families Services, the Head of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer said that 0.8% (£265k) of the 4.8% increase in Council Tax in 2018/19 has been set aside for Children’s Services. The Executive in April, 2018 also authorised the release of a further additional sum in the region of £300k to enable Children and Families Services to recruit additional agency staff to support Newly Qualified Social Workers and to deal with legacy cases. The Officer said that based on the information available at this point in time, an overspend of approximately £1.2m is projected for Children’s and Families Services for 2018/19 but, being early in the financial year, the situation can change quickly.

•           The Committee acknowledged that mitigating measures are being taken to try to contain costs within Children’s Services but that being a demand led service these measures can only go so far. The Committee also noted that rising demand in Children’s Social Care is replicated nationally and is matched by similar demand in Adult Social Care which has been described in media reports as a “ticking time bomb”. The Committee sought clarification of whether the situation at present is sustainable and if not, whether there is a case to be made to Welsh Government for a direct injection of funds.

The Statutory Director of Social Services said the Service’s approach is to encourage older people to remain as independent as possible within their communities for as long as possible with the “What Matters” conversation being the guiding principle in making decisions regarding the kind of provision needed. The Officer said that individuals’ needs vary but it has been shown that older people are better able to stay independent if they have a network of family and friends around them on which they can draw – meaning they require lower level support from Social Services. The Service is therefore encouraging people to look at what forms of support is available to them already within their family and communities. The Adults’ Services’ budget is currently being managed successfully; the pressures on the budget are not as great as those on the Children and Families Services’ budget even though Adults’ Services deal with a far greater number of individuals in a year than Children’s Services. However, as public service budgets continue to reduce year on year, and services are forced to make further savings, managing the pressures becomes more difficult. Although Children and Families’ Services have been protected, Adults’ Services have had to find savings and the situation overall is becoming more challenging. Whilst additional Government funding for Health Care is welcome social care also needs investment as the two are inextricably linked.

•           The Committee noted with regard to the demographics of older people that some areas e.g. the southeast corner of the Island, have a higher concentration of older people than other areas due in part to the influx of retirees who after a short time can require Social Services’ support because they have no family in the area to which they have retired. The Committee sought clarification of whether Welsh Government’s funding allocation has regard to the fact that some areas are under greater pressure than others.

The Head of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer said that whilst the local government settlement does take into consideration the number of older people in an area it does not take this analysis further to reflect levels of family support available to them so no additional funding is allocated on that basis.

•           The Committee noted that the safe and timely discharge of older people from hospital can be problematic because of issues in relation to delayed transfers of care. The Committee sought clarification of whether the Social Services are satisfied with the transfer of care arrangements and whether the Service is able to do more to address discharge from hospital.

The Statutory Director of Social Services said that the Service has recently re-tendered the Domiciliary Care contract and where previously Home Care providers were able to select care packages the new contract is based on three areas (“patches”) with the successful companies becoming responsible for all the domiciliary care needs within their patch. Whilst the benefits of the new model will take a few months to become evident it is expected to facilitate the discharge of older people from hospital. Also, the new Garreglwyd facility is a valuable local resource for people with dementia. These two elements will improve the situation and should help ease the pressure on hospitals.

The Corporate Scrutiny Committee acknowledged the extent of the improvement and developmental work undertaken in Social Services during 2017/18 which is ongoing and the Committee thanked the Statutory Director of Social Services for providing the leadership and guidance for the work.

Having considered the information and having received assurance on the matters raised, the Corporate Scrutiny Committee RESOLVED to accept and to note the Annual Report of the Statutory Director of Social Services for 2017/18 and to recommend the report to the Executive.