North Yorkshire Council
Care and Independence Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, 4 August 2026 commencing at 10.00 am.
Councillor Barbara Brodigan in the Chair. plus Councillors Eric Broadbent, Andy Brown, Caroline Dickinson, Robert Heseltine, David Jeffels, Nigel Knapton, Peter Lacey, John Mann, Heather Moorhouse, Roberta Swiers, Robert Windass, George Jabbour, Steve Mason and Steve Shaw-Wright.
In attendance: Councillors Michael Harrison, Lindsay Burr MBE and Keane Duncan.
Officers present: Abigail Barron.
Other Attendees: Mrs Caroline Garrod
Apologies: Councillors Jack Proud, Karin Sedgwick and Monika Slater. .
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Copies of all documents considered are in the Minute Book
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Apologies for Absence
· Councillor George Jabbour attended for Councillor Karin Sedgwick · Councillor Steve Mason attended for Councillor Monika Slater · Councillor Steve Shaw-Wright attended for Councillor Jack Proud
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Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
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Public Participation
Mrs Caroline Garrod attended the meeting to read out the following statement:
‘My husband and I have discussed the report at great length. Although in principle we are happy that Cauwood will continue but we have deep reservations and concerns that the report in its current state doesn’t outline what the future of Cauwood etc will be.
Before Natasha went to Cauwood we spent over a year transitioning her to somewhere she could go after she finished at Henshaw’s College, we thought it was the right fit for her but sadly we were wrong and it all came crashing down around us.
Natasha is very rigid in her routines and before she goes to bed she asks us the same thing every night, ‘where am I going tomorrow and who with’. She started to say, ‘not there again’ and not sleeping because the anxiety was starting to show. She was reluctant to get into her taxi. Her PA at the time in the taxi was brilliant with her and they had a strong bond. She told me that she was quieter in the taxi on those days and didn’t see her bubbly self. She would go into the building reluctantly and was always keen to come home at the end of the day.
One day I got a phone call from the placement saying you need to come and get her as she had attacked a member of staff. I was shocked and all the signals started to kick in, her reluctance, her comments, her anxiety, the non-sleeping and I knew deep down something was wrong.
I contacted the taxi as they had only dropped her o 20 mins before and asked them if they could go back and get her. On arrival Natasha was waiting in the car park with the member of staff who had been allocated to her that day, she was crying, shaking and physically upset and she clung to her PA sobbing saying ‘please take me home’. She was quiet on the way home and to this day won’t tell us what happened. Yes, we had a meeting with the staff, but we never got to the bottom of it. The only information we got was that there had been an issue with one of the other young people and Natasha needed to leave the room. Her exit route was blocked, and she needed to get out. She pushed the member a member of staff into a wall as her anxiety was heightened. She felt scared and trapped and to her that terrifies her as they were blocking her from leaving the room. She needed to get to her safe space, and that didn’t happen. The whole incident left us all traumatised and that is one of reasons we are deeply concerned.
After the incident we spent a long time with her previous social worker trying to come up with a way forward. We agreed on Cauwood. We went to visit it again and spent time there and came to the conclusion that it could work for Natasha. With the dedication and care from Ryedale Special Families staff and the Cauwood staff we slowly transitioned Natasha into Cauwood. It took us months, but we needed to make sure she was happy and enjoyed her time there. We now have a ‘happy Tash’ again and she loves her time at Cauwood.
Before we agree to this report, we as parents need to know where the building is, more detail on how the new Cauwood is going to work, what are the plans etc.
The reason she goes to Cauwood is because of the staff, yes we have been told they will be going. It’s locality, in a quiet area. The relaxed feel and the openness of the building. RSF is the same. Relaxed, open, well-spaced out etc.
We cannot let Natasha go through that again; it took her months to get over it if not longer. We had to increase her anxiety medicine which in turn caused its own issues as sadly she couldn’t tolerate the increase, and it made her unwell.
This and many other reasons are why we are so passionate about Cauwood. We cannot let the report go through as it is as we need a happy Tash. With everything else that is going on at our home with my husband’s illness I myself physically cannot cope with this failing for her and I am not prepared to let this fail.
I hope you understand and can we please make sure that all the guarantees are in place before we accept this final report.’
Councillor Keane Duncan attended the meeting to make a statement in favour of the proposed way forward. He noted that it was about protecting and improving the service, and not about the bricks and mortar. He noted that the associated petition was started at a time when there was no real understanding of what would replace the Cauwood day centre, and he was pleased to note that as a result of officers listening to users feedback, the proposal in the Executive report was now supported in principle by the users and their families subject to the current facility remaining open until the new facilities being up and running.
Councillor Lindsay Burr attended the meeting to speak about her concerns in regard to the proposal within the Executive report. She drew attention to paragraphs 4.3.4; 4.3.7; and stressed the need to retain the valued elements of the current service and to continue to provide bespoke solutions for those requiring tailored support. She also expressed concern about the report’s suggestion in paragraph 7.1 that this was about achieving savings.
She was disappointed to note that the scrutiny committee had not been made aware of the plans as they were being developed or consulted during the process. She suggested that some parents had only been made aware of the proposed replacement site as late as yesterday (3 August 2026), and asked that the Committee consider undertaking a review to ensure the appropriate safeguards are in place going forward. In light of her concerns she asked that the committee seek the following: · Monthly detailed reports on how works are progressing, in line with parents needs at front and foremost · A detailed timeline of works, locations and facility specifications detailing provision, including changeable facilities in Malton. · Full details of budgets set aside for closure and refit/refurbishment of all premises needed for the continuation of services.
In response, Abigail Barron Director for Health & Adult Services thanked Mrs Garrod for her statement and for acknowledging that she and her husband are pleased with the recommendation that the Cauwood Service would continue.
She acknowledged the ongoing concerns that had been raised and accepted that it could be difficult to fully understand the impact of the recommendations without further detail about the future arrangements for the service. She stressed that whilst the proposal was to close the existing building, it was not about closing the whole service and that the intention was to continue to deliver the Cauwood service, in a way that enabled wider opportunities for not only the current users but to be able to reach out to new people who could benefit from what the service could offer.
She confirmed that in order to progress to the next stage of transformation, it was important that a decision was taken regarding the closure of the current building. She went on to reassure Mrs Garrod, and all the families connected with the service, that there was a clear plan in place.
She highlighted the Council’s commitment to ensuring that service users and their families, and staff were actively involved in shaping and delivering the plans and confirmed that the consultation feedback showed that Cauwood was much more than the building and the importance of maintaining a trusted staff team. Also, that for some people a stable building base for the service was important and required.
Abigail Barron went on to confirm: · The Council had been in active discussions for some time with a local provider in the Malton area who was really keen to work with the council around a building base and offer additional opportunities for people. Those arrangements would be confirmed once a decision had been made about the existing building. · The planned use of the council-owned space at 5 Whitby Road in Pickering (previously used as a day centre), as a further base for people who use the service. · The aim to develop a core and cluster model with 2 key core locations within Ryedale alongside several cluster opportunities for people within existing community settings. · The same team of care and support staff would continue working as part of the new Cauwood Service, providing continuity and maintaining the trusted relationships that were so important. · Throughout this time, the service had continued to work closely with families and individuals to review their support needs. Through those conversations, a range of differing outcomes and aspirations had been identified, including that not everyone had an ongoing need for a building-based service. |
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Adult Day Services in Ryedale
The Chair thanked Mrs Garrod and the attending councillors for their contributions, and sought the committee’s feedback on the planned way forward for the Cauwood Day Centre as detailed in the Executive report.
Members sympathised with service users dealing with the effects of service changes. They also agreed that change was good as long as it was understood, and that users and their families needed assurance on what the new model would deliver.
They acknowledged that calling-in the coming Executive decision would only add to the stress felt by families, and therefore suggested there should have been more opportunities for scrutiny engagement in the process before it got to this stage.
In response to Members questions, Abigail Barron confirmed the following: · No.5 Whitby Road currently used for storage, would be refurbished to a higher standard than the current centre. · There was a process for achieving Autism accreditation. This would be sought once a formal decision was taken about the way forward. The building used and its location was an important part of the accreditation process · In the longer term the Council would like to work with a partner to deliver the proposed new model. · The Council was wedded to a quality of service not a building. · Cauwood Day Centre would not close until the entirety of the new service was running, Whitby Road was open, and each of the current users had be given sufficient time to transition to the new site, in line with their individual needs. · The existing changing places facilities in Malton were not up to standard. · There were two changing places in Pickering and other suitable sites would be identified. Members suggested that the North Yorkshire Moors National Park Authority may be able to provide new sites within their villages. · Opportunities for the provision of new changing places facilities would be explored as part of new extra care housing schemes.
Finally, consideration was given to both the recommendations arising from the recent meeting of the Thirsk & Malton Area Committee and the suggestions for monitoring progress suggested by Cllr Lindsay Burr i.e. that the Committee receive: · Monthly detailed reports on how works are progressing, in line with parents needs front and foremost · A detailed timeline of works, locations and facility specifications detailing provision, including changeable facilities in Malton. · Full details of budgets set aside for closure and refit/refurbishment of all premises needed for the continuation of services.
The Executive Member for Health & Adult Services welcomed the proposals but drew attention to the need to respect the confidentiality of users when providing detailed updates, given the very small cohort.
Members accepted they could not scrutinise individual care arrangements, or detailed operational arrangements, as by their very nature those would be very personal. With that caveat, they voted unanimously in favour of the above proposals, and it was
Resolved – That:
i. The recommendations of the Thirsk & Malton Area Committee be endorsed to the Executive.
ii. The following be provided to enable the Committee to scrutinise progress against the development and implementation of an alternative transformed service model, and potential provision of Extra Care on the Cauwood Day Centre site: · Monthly detailed reports on how works are progressing, in line with parents needs front and foremost · A detailed timeline of works, locations and facility specifications detailing provision, including changeable facilities in Malton. · Full details of budgets set aside for closure and refit/refurbishment of all premises needed for the continuation of services.
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Date of Next Meeting - 19 October 2026
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The meeting concluded at 10.50 am.