North Yorkshire Council
Care and Independence and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 22nd June, 2023 commencing at 10.00 am.
Councillor Karin Sedgwick in the Chair plus County Councillors Caroline Dickinson, Karl Arthur, Heather Moorhouse, Roberta Swiers, Nigel Knapton, Andy Brown, Robert Heseltine, Jack Proud, Eric Broadbent, George Jabbour, Andy Paraskos and Phillip Barrett.
Councillors Bridget Fortune, Joy Andrews and Pat Marsh attended remotely.
Officers present: Christine Phillipson, Principal Democratic Services and Scrutiny Officer,
Mike Rudd, Head of Housing, Technology & Sustainability, Prevention and Service Development,
Claire Bell, Service Manager, Technology Enabled Care, Cath Ritchie, Business Relationship Manager, Beckie Dukes, Strategic Service Development Manager, Cath Simms, Head of Targeted Prevention, Toya Bastow, Team Manager, Direct Payments, Andrew Rowe, Assistant Director, Housing.
Other Attendees: Councillor Michael Harrison joined remotely.
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Copies of all documents considered are in the Minute Book
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Minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2023
That the minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2023 be taken as read and confirmed by the Chair as a correct record.
It was noted that at item 5, climate change training had been opened out for voluntary and community sector participation by Jill Quinn and it was asked if this had been undertaken ?. This will be followed up with Jill and an update given at the next meeting.
It was noted By Cllr Andy Brown that at agenda item 9 of the minutes, performance measures were requested for review. It was confirmed that these are regularly reviewed by the Executive and were available for the Committee to review should they require.
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Declarations of Interest
There were none.
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Public Questions or Statements
None were received.
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Chairman's Remarks - Correspondence, communication or other business brought forward by the direction of the Chairman of the Committee.
The Chair noted that as all information had been published in the agenda already, presentations would only cover this briefly therefore allowing more time for Members questions and discussion.
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Next Generation Extra Care - Update from Mike Rudd, Head of Housing, Technology & Sustainability, Prevention and Service Development, North Yorkshire Council.
Considered – An Update from Mike Rudd, Head of Housing, Technology & Sustainability, Prevention and Service Development Beckie Dukes, Strategic Service Development Manager, North Yorkshire Council.
This covered the following main points; · Celebrating 20 years of extra care housing in North Yorkshire · What extra care is and how it is delivered across the County · How the programme works and how it varies depending on location · The Team and their success · Demand and financial implications · Extra care providers and the commissioning model · Community schemes to add value · The way forward.
There then followed a discussion with the following points being raised;
Congratulations on the delivery of the 5 new schemes and the positive feedback from residents. The suggestion of a site visit to Kirkwood Hall for Members in the near future. How information on facilities and schemes can be distributed to rural areas. Whether there was currently a higher demand than supply for extra care. Commissioning an independent report to look at areas, catchment, data and statistics and trend information. The scope of land required to build a new facility being 2-3 acres. The challenge of rural planning and escalation of costs. An ageing population in certain areas of the County.
Resolved –
1. The Chair thanked Mike and Becky for their update and discussion. 2. That the possibility of a visit to Kirkwood Hall for the Committee be looked into.
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Digital Lives - Update from Mike Rudd, Head of Housing, Technology & Sustainability, Prevention and Service Development, North Yorkshire Council.
Considered – A presentation from Mike Rudd, Head of Housing, Technology & Sustainability Cath Ritchie, Business Relationship Manager Beckie Dukes, Strategic Service Development manager Claire Bell, Service Manager, Technology Enabled Care
Claire updated the Committee on the digital aspect within the Health and Adult Social Care Directorate covering, Technology and Transformation, Adult Social Care, Public Health and Stronger Communities. Key points to note were;
· The digital network and the vast areas this covers · Funding and strategy · Success in different forms, not simply computers · Getting the basics right · Proactive and preventative services · Examples of the services in use.
The Committee were then introduced to some of the different types of digital assistance in use such as brain in hand, GPS tracking, GEO fence and Oysta.
There then followed a discussion which covered the following points;
Current work with Sheffield University is successful and will ensure ethics are adhered to and prevent poor copies of digital items being re produced. Consent and understanding from the individual or family is absolutely paramount and the utmost priority in the use of any digital enablement. How do the survey results compare, are they improving and how many individuals are using the service and is there a waiting list? There are approx. 1800 units currently in operation and no waiting list.
Resolved – The Chair thanked the team for the presentation.
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Support for Unpaid Carers - Report from Cath Simms, Head of Targeted Prevention, Care and Support, Health and Adult Services, North Yorkshire Council.
Considered – Presentation from Cath Simms, Head of Targeted Prevention, Care and Support.
Cath gave the Committee a presentation around the work that North Yorkshire Council does to support unpaid carers. This focused on the Carers assessment and Support Plan, information and guidance and the different types of support available. The number of unpaid carers in England and Wales is approx. 5 million, of which 53,723 are in North Yorkshire. Likely lines of enquiry by the Care Quality Commission were discussed and the priorities identified in an improvement plan, those being: · Leadership, Practice and Performance · Co – Production, engagement and strategy · Commissioned services for carers.
There followed a discussion around the following points of issue: Budget reductions being reflected in care packages Are we aware of family members that don’t necessarily see themselves as carers ? How do we check on the wellbeing of the “looked after” person, how does safeguarding fit here ?
Resolved – 1. The Committee is asked to note the report 2. The Chair thanked Cath for the presentation and invited her to return to a future Committee meeting with an update.
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Direct Payments - Report from Cath Simms Head of Targeted Prevention, Care and Support and Toya Bastow, Team Manager, Direct Payments, Care and Support, North Yorkshire Council.
Considered – Presentation from Cath Simms, Head of Targeted Prevention, Care and Support, and Toya Bastow, Team Manager Direct Payments, Health and Adult Services.
Toya gave an update to the Committee that covered: · What a direct payment is · Who can access these payments · How direct payments can be used · Comparative data with regional neighbours and England · The statistics in relation to North Yorkshire Councils position · Improvement plan to increase the uptake of direct payments · Some of the changes already made and other planned activities going forward.
The Committee gave its support in helping to raise awareness of direct payments and how the whole organisation can promote this.
Resolved – The Chair thanked Cath and Toya for the update and suggested they return to the Committee in the future with a further update.
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Living Well - Update report from Cath Simms, Head of Targeted Prevention, Care and Support, Health and Adult Services, North Yorkshire Council.
Considered – A presentation from Cath Simms, Head of Targeted Prevention on Living Well.
This reminded the Committee of the background to living well and the team having an overall aim of preventing reducing or delaying the need for social care. Annual referrals continue to increase and now stand at 3930 for April22 to April23. Cath covered the performance outcomes and key developments and gave a statistical summary of activity. The Homes for Ukraine scheme (HFU) continues to receive support with 1287 arrivals since March 2022.
Priorities for the next 12 months are: · Domestic abuse · Falls · Community collaboration · Autism accreditation.
Resolved – The Chair thanked Cath for the update.
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An Overview of Housing - Verbal Update from Andrew Rowe, Assistant Director, Housing, North Yorkshire Council.
Considered – Andrew Rowe, Assistant Director, gave a verbal update on Housing and how this now sits in the Community Development Directorate.
Andrew updated the Committee on the Council’s acquisition of 8.5k council homes following the cessation of the 7 District and Borough councils. Housing covers a number of aspects including: · Homelessness · Prevention and accommodation · Regulation of landlords · Houses of multiple occupation · Disabled facility grants · Retro fitting and energy efficiency · Enforcing standards.
Many of these areas are statutory and will receive scrutiny from Central Government.
The Committee then discussed in some detail their view on their remit and responsibility within Housing and that the care and independence specific did not suggest that all of the housing remit would be covered by this one Committee. This led to a discussion raising the following questions: · Where does it sit? · What is the Committee’s remit? · How do we help the Directorate? · What are the requirements of the Committee?.
The Committee is keen to help and make a difference. The Committee suggested that a recommendation is made to the Executive that a separate Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee is created.
Resolved –
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Work Programme
Considered – The Committee’s work programme.
The Committee discussed the work programme and as well as the items on the programme the following was suggested;
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Other business which the Chairman agrees should be considered as a matter of urgency because of special circumstances.
There was no further business.
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The meeting concluded at 12.50 pm.