Agenda item

To present the report of the Director of Social Services.

The report of the Director of Social Services setting out the latest progress and developments within Adults’ and Children and Families’ Services was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

Councillors Alun Roberts and Gary Pritchard, Portfolio Members for Adults’ Services and Children’s Services respectively provided a summary of the progress highpoints within the two services as outlined in the report and made particular reference to Care Inspectorate Wales’s Performance Evaluation Report of Social Services on Anglesey which was published in December, 2022 and which summarised the findings from the Inspectorate’s inspection of Anglesey Adults and Children and Families’ Services carried out in October, 2022. The report reflected positively on several areas and identified a number of strengths as well as areas for improvement. An internal working group has been established to address those areas. Recruitment challenges remain and are replicated nationally especially with regard to residential care home staff and domiciliary care workers. The Service continues to work closely with Coleg Menai and with colleagues within the Authority’s HR function to attract people to the social care profession in Anglesey’s Social Services.

The Director of Social Services provided information about the context of the progress report that has been presented to the Corporate Scrutiny Committee and the Executive in the last few years firstly on a quarterly basis and latterly every six months saying that it was to provide assurance about the progress of Children and Families Services’ performance following a critical CIW report back in 2016, and lately the performance of Adults’ Services as well. The assurance which those progress reports as well as the Director of Social Services’ annual report have provided about the improvement journey of Children and Families’ Services has now been reinforced by the recent Care Inspectorate Wales report which also comments positively about Adults’ Services. Both Children and Families’ Services and Adults’ Services are now producing new Service Development Plans consolidating and building on the progress made and these will be presented to and scrutinised by the Social Services Scrutiny Panel.

In considering the report, the Committee discussed the following –

·      The arrangements in place to monitor progress against areas that need attention. The Committee was advised of the multiple ways in which progress is tracked and assurance provided including through the close and constant relationship the Service has with regulators; through corporate and democratic processes including Scrutiny and the Executive, through the Strategic Leadership Team which provides high level oversight, and through regular meetings, audit reviews, and performance monitoring internally within the service itself. Social Services also collaborate closely with partners in Health and other areas to identify challenges.

·      The priority work streams for the Social Services Scrutiny Panel over the next period. The Committee was advised that these will be driven by the Care Inspectorate Wales report with regard to the areas identified for continued focus and by the Children and Families’ Services and Adults’ Services Service Development Plans.

·      The intention not to report progress on Social Services improvements to the Corporate Scrutiny Committee hereafter but rather to the Social Services Scrutiny Panel which will continue to report to this Committee. The Committee indicated that it was satisfied with the capability of the Social Services Scrutiny Panel to challenge and monitor progress and development and to report thereon to the Committee.

It was resolved –

·         To confirm that the Corporate Scrutiny Committee is satisfied with the pace of progress and improvements made to date in Social Services.

·         To recommend to the Executive that progress and pace of improvements in Social Services are adequate, and

·         To support the intention not to report on progress on Social Services improvements to the Corporate Scrutiny Committee but to receive reports in future from the Social Services Scrutiny Panel.